Southeast Indian Ridge Rift Captured Live as Ocean Floor Splits and Erupts Lava

Scientists monitoring the Southeast Indian Ridge recorded the seafloor opening by up to 4.2 metres and a massive lava outflow on 26 April 2024. More than 20 ocean‑bottom stations spread across a 100‑km segment measured seismic activity, acoustic signals and pressure changes, confirming that the Antarctic and Australian plates were pulling apart at a rate of about six centimetres per year, then suddenly releasing accumulated tension.

The eruption released roughly 160 million cubic metres of magma, providing the first direct, in‑situ observation of new oceanic crust forming. Researchers from the United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom highlighted the event’s importance for plate‑tectonic theory, hydrothermal vent ecosystems and the exchange of gases and metals that shape ocean chemistry.