Exploring Kimberlite Activity and Tectonic Plate Interactions

The island of Java ‘sits’ on the Earth’s tectonic plates which push each other. (Source Earth Observatory of Singapore)

For example, research suggests similar kimberlite eruptions occurred in areas now known as Africa and South America, beginning about 25 million years after the breakup of the southern supercontinent, Gondwana, about 180 million years ago.

North America also experienced a spike in kimberlite activity after the breakup of Pangea about 250 million years ago. Interestingly, these kimberlite eruptions appear to have started at the edge of a tectonic rift and then spread towards the center of the continent.

To understand what triggers this pattern, the researchers used computer models that simulate the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. The results of this study indicate that when tectonic plates separate, the inner continental crust becomes thinner, similar to how the crust at the top stretches and forms valleys.

As a result, the hot rock rises up, comes into contact with the disturbed boundary, then cools and sinks back down, creating local circulation in this unstable region.

However, the next question is how did this instability eventually result in explosive eruptions from within the Earth’s crust?

2023-08-25 09:00:46
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