Land in South Africa has been rising at the rate of 2 millimetres per year, according to a recent report, thought to be due to hot magma rising from the Earth’s mantle. But, loss of water during droughts may have caused the earth’s surface to bounce up as an elastic response when excess water (groundwater, soil moisture, surface water) was removed. The mass of water pressing down the Earth’s crust is reduced, resulting in upward lift of the crust, the report’s authors explained.
Why is land in South Africa rising? Droughts may have a role to play
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