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4w ago

Mantle Gases Detected in Zambia’s Kafue Rift Point to Early-Stage Rifting

The findings provide the first geochemical proof of mantle-to-surface flow in the Kafue Rift.

© Ninara via Frontiers
An aerial view shows the Gwisho hot springs and the southern Kafue Rift fault zone, where researchers say a new continental rift could be forming.
An aerial view captures the Kafue River marshes in Zambia.

Overview

  • Researchers report Tuesday in Frontiers in Earth Science that helium and carbon isotope ratios in gases from Zambian hot springs match mantle values, signaling a deep pathway to the surface.
  • Field teams sampled eight geothermal sites across Zambia and found mantle-like signatures only at the six locations inside the suspected rift, not at the two sites outside it.
  • A rift is a long crack where the crust stretches and sinks, and scientists say such early activity can grow into a plate boundary over millions of years even though many rifts stall.
  • The Kafue segment sits within a roughly 2,500-kilometer Southwest African Rift System from Tanzania to Namibia, and wider surveys underway this year aim to learn if the mantle link extends along the zone.
  • Elevated helium in some fluids, reported up to about 2.3%, and high heat flow point to potential helium recovery and geothermal power that could benefit communities if projects move ahead.