Erta Ale has been erupting continuously since 1967. Two new studies on Erta Ale have recently been published. Large amounts of heat are released by the volcano but the amount of lava that erupts is relatively small. They proposed that most of the magma accumulates in the underlying crust in the form of dikes and sills. Since the Afar region is under extension, conditions are favorable for the injection of dikes and sills.
Rocks range in composition from basalt to rhyolite.
Their data did not show a significant contribution of sialic material from the continental crust. The silica-rich volcanics are derived from fractional crystallization of basaltic magmas. Other images of Erta Ale . Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 80, p. 85-100. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 80, p. 101-111.