#tectonics

Gas samples from Zambian hot springs appear to carry a mantle signature, giving researchers new evidence that continental rifting may be starting in the Kafue Rift.

Researchers using seismic reflection imaging and earthquake records say the Juan de Fuca plate is splitting into fragments as it subducts beneath North America, offering a rare view of how subduction zones begin to fail.

Researchers report that the crust beneath the Turkana Rift is thinner and rifting more advanced than previously recognized, sharpening the picture of how the African continent could eventually split apart.

Research highlighted this week argues that Yellowstone may be powered less by a deep mantle plume than by crust-opening stresses linked to the long disappearance of the Farallon plate beneath North America.