Rhythmic pulsing deep beneath landlocked east Africa is literally tearing the continent apart. The Afar Rift zone is one of the few examples on Earth where three tectonic rifts converge. As suspected, the Afar mantle plume isn’t uniform or static. Microscope image of a thin sliver of one of the volcanic rocks from Afar, Ethiopia. Credit: Emma Watts / University of Southampton / Swansea University“It pulses, and these pulses carry distinct chemical signatures,” Watts said in a statement.