African superswell
Encyclopedia
The African superswell is an extraordinary uplift of the African continent
, particularly its southern half; southern Africa on average lies a full kilometer above sea level, with seemingly anomalous uplifts extending well into the south Atlantic ocean
.
The superswell is a relatively recent phenomenon, probably beginning between 5 and 30 million years ago. A proposed cause of the superswell is a mantle plume
, though this hypothesis is controversial and the origin of the superswell remains an active area of research.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, particularly its southern half; southern Africa on average lies a full kilometer above sea level, with seemingly anomalous uplifts extending well into the south Atlantic ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
The superswell is a relatively recent phenomenon, probably beginning between 5 and 30 million years ago. A proposed cause of the superswell is a mantle plume
Mantle plume
A mantle plume is a hypothetical thermal diapir of abnormally hot rock that nucleates at the core-mantle boundary and rises through the Earth's mantle. Such plumes were invoked in 1971 to explain volcanic regions that were not thought to be explicable by the then-new theory of plate tectonics. Some...
, though this hypothesis is controversial and the origin of the superswell remains an active area of research.