Earth’s crust under Africa is thinning in a way never seen before

Sometimes, pieces of Earth’s outer layer pull apart like taffy. Right now, part of Africa is being stretched to nearly the breaking point.

The giant jigsaw pieces of Earth’s outer layer are called tectonic plates. Scientists knew that the plates beneath eastern Africa are being tugged apart. The crust there is already thin and weak in places. But new data show that one region — the Turkana Rift Zone — is undergoing “necking.” It’s a key part in the process of a continent breaking up and has never been seen before.

The new observations hint that this part of East Africa may be closer to splitting — and doing so more rapidly — than previously thought. Researchers shared their discovery April 23 in Nature Communications.

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