Keele University Revives 1970s Data to Redefine Africa-Arabia Rift Models
Afar Depression is a triple junction where East African Rift meets Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Magnetic lineations from Afar run west into the region then north-south along the Red Sea, contradicting traditional triangular models.
Study revises plate-tectonic models, showing Africa and Arabia began separating tens of millions of years ago.
Decades-old data shows basaltic rocks record geomagnetic reversals like a barcode, indicating slow continental breakup.