Scientists at the University of Southampton have demystified the process by which 'stable' continental sections rise to form towering land structures.

Their research explains the formation of the world's most extensive landforms, such as plateaus and escarpments.

On August 7, the team of scientists published their findings in Nature, addressing a longstanding enigma concerning the dynamic forces that shape our planet.

Tom Gernon, professor of earth science at the University of Southampton and lead author of the study said: "Scientists have long suspected that steep kilometre-high topographic features called Great Escarpments — like the classic example encircling South Africa — are formed when continents rift and eventually split apart.

"However, explaining why the inner parts of continents, far from such escarpments, rise and become eroded has proven much more challenging. Is this process even linked to the formation of these towering escarpments? Put simply, we didn’t know."

The study clarifies how tectonic plates' separation triggers potent waves within the Earth, causing continental surfaces to elevate over a kilometre.

According to the research, these crustal shifts result in stirring movements in the Earth's mantle, the layer between the crust and the core.

When these movements were simulated, an intriguing pattern emerged.

The mantle 'waves' speed under continents closely matched major erosion events in Southern Africa following the ancient supercontinent Gondwana's breakup.

The released findings propose that Great Escarpments originate at ancient rift valleys' edges, akin to the steep walls at the East African Rift's borders.

Concurrently, the rifting generates a 'deep mantle wave' that travels along the continent's base at approximately 15-20 kilometres per million years.

The series of experiments conducted also revealed the continental lifting effects of 'mantle waves'. Researchers noted that the removal of a substantial weight of eroded rock results in further land elevation, creating raised plateaus.

This breakthrough study led by the University of Southampton team, including Dr Thea Hincks, Dr Derek Keir, and Alice Cunningham, in collaboration with the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and the University of Birmingham, has offered a compelling solution to the puzzling vertical movements of cratons - the stable parts of continents.