Posted on 06/27/2025 12:41:41 PM PDT by Red Badger
The Manda-Hararo rift in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Credit: DavidMPyle / CC BY-SA 4.0
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A steady underground pulse has been discovered beneath East Africa, where researchers believe a new ocean is gradually forming.
The rhythmic movement was detected in the Afar region of Ethiopia, a geological hotspot where three giant sections of the Earth’s crust—the Arabian, Nubian, and Somalian plates—are slowly pulling apart. The site, known as the Afar Triple Junction, is one of few places on Earth where the process of continental breakup can be observed on land.
As the plates drift in different directions, the ground in the Afar Triangle is thinning. Over time, scientists predict this stretch of land will submerge below sea level, allowing seawater to rush in and eventually form a new ocean basin connected to the Red Sea.
Volcanic rocks reveal clues from deep within the Earth
To better comprehend the forces behind this process, a research team led by geologist Emma Watts of Swansea University studied the chemical makeup of volcanic rocks in the area. The team collected 130 samples from Afar and the Main Ethiopian Rift and analyzed their composition to trace their origin from deep within the Earth.
Watts, who conducted the research while at the University of Southampton, said the underground layer beneath Afar is dynamic rather than still or uniform. “It pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures,” she said.
The movement appears tied to surface changes
These rising pulses of molten material appear to be influenced by the way the surface plates above them are shifting. In places where the crust is thinner or pulling apart faster—such as the Red Sea—the pulses flow more easily and regularly, Watts explained.
Geologist Tom Gernon of the University of Southampton said the repeating chemical patterns found across the region point to a distinct pulsing motion. “The chemical striping suggests the plume is pulsing, like a heartbeat,” he said.
New findings reshape understanding of Earth’s interior This pulse movement beneath Africa is likely shaped by a plume of hot material pushing up from deep within the Earth. Unlike a symmetrical fountain, the plume is irregular and affected by its environment, including the thickness and speed of the plates above.
If the researchers’ model is correct, it shows that deep Earth activity is not just a one-way force—it can also respond to surface conditions. This changes how scientists view the connection between Earth’s interior and events like volcanoes, earthquakes, and even the breakup of continents.
“We have found that the evolution of deep mantle upwellings is intimately tied to the motion of the plates above,” said geophysicist Derek Keir, who is affiliated with both the University of Southampton and the University of Florence in Italy.
Future studies aim to better understand how quickly this material moves and how it helps shape the surface of our planet.
18. An Indian chief and a cavalry captain climb to the top of a tall hill and look out upon the entire Indian tribe. The captain says worriedly, “I don’t like the sound of those drums.” The chief says, “I know. It’s not our regular drummer.”
I don’t get it
What do a drummer and a blind javelin thrower have in common?
Neither one has to be very good to get peoples’ attention.
Can I book a dive trip?
Auto-didact.
That’s a big issue in the prehistoric migration of species, including hominids, out of Africa. It’s also an issue in Biblical archaeology. The whole region, including what is now the Middle East, was wetter as recently as 5-7,000 years ago, into “modern” times when the Egyptians and Mesopotamians were inventing civilization and written records begin to appear.
I caught a YouTube video some time back that discussed the “missing” rivers of the Garden of Eden. Biblical scholars have always assumed the Tigris and Euphrates, with the Garden of Eden arguably (probably) located in the formerly marshy areas of the lower Euphrates (largely drained by Saddam Hussein to help control the Marsh Arabs). But where are the others?
There is also a substantial stream, which was much larger as recently as 5-7,000 years ago, which flows from the Zagros Mountains into the lower Euphrates.
There is also a now completely dried up ancient riverbed that ran from the coastal mountains of Israel and Jordan east across what is now the desert regions of Jordan and Iraq; I don’t recall whether it ran far enough south to loop into northern Saudi Arabia as well. The man who put together the video drove the route, and once you see it, it’s unmistakable. Today, it’s a dry wadi, though I imagine it is susceptible to flash flooding in the ways that desert wadis are. As recently as 5-7,000 years ago, it was a major river.
The river count in Genesis may be historically correct without any need for the innumerable theories reaching as far out as the Indus and Nile. Those rivers are geographical nonsense, but when theory comes up short a few facts, scholars are known to get pretty inventive — sometimes to the point that they set themselves up for well-placed mockery from the debunkers. If we reconstruct the ancient climate, that problem may disappear.
What do you consider “the river count” in Genesis?
The Afar region contains an array of both salt and fresh water lakes.
GODZILLA!
Thanks Red Badger.
I’ll step lightly because I don’t read Hebrew, but Genesis says a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden and from there divided into four streams.
One garden. Five rivers. Then it gets tricky. Since I can’t read the original text, I have to punt, but I gather that at least some scholars argue that directionality is not definitive in ancient Hebrew, so what we translate as flowing in vs. flowing out, or upstream vs. downstream, is open. I dunno.
But start with the five rivers. We have the Tigris and Euphrates, uniting to form the lower Euphrates. That’s three. Now find two more.
7,000 years ago, maybe that was obvious on the ground.
He taught them, would be my guess.
That would be 42, of course.
I thought 42 was the number of the beast before he grew up.
If there’s Afar there, it must have been set by the hotspot.
‘Ancient Dry Riverbed from the Coastal Mountains of Israel East.’
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I’ve heard it said Jerusalem was likely the area of the Garden of Eden which would explain God’s affinity for it —perhaps.
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Also Jesus’ Return will be to touch down at the Mount of Olives which Will Split and a River will Flow from it.
This part is in Scripture.
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Ok. Find five rivers, ancient or modern, around Jerusalem.
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