T42D:
Rifting in Africa: How Did It Start and Where Does It End?

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Session ID#: 31592

Session Description:
The East African Rift system (EARS) is one of the largest active continental rifting systems in the world and has provided valuable insights into the anatomy of extensional plate boundaries. Despite the increased scientific interest over the past decade, many aspects of this rift remain enigmatic. In particular, it is unclear where the EARS ends at its southern tip, the stress regime here, and the resulting seismicity, volcanism and surface deformation.

We invite contributions from diverse fields of expertise (geophysics, seismology, geodynamics, geology, geochemistry, geodesy) on the characterization of the EARS. Of particular interest is the Mw 6.5 earthquake in central Botswana of April 3 2017, which provides new insights on the extent of the active rifting zone, along with the overall seismo-tectonic and geodynamic framework of southern Africa. Furthermore, we hope to shed light on the relationship between present-day large earthquakes and the long-lived geological structure of cratonic regions.

Primary Convener:  Stephen Paul Hicks, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO14, United Kingdom
Conveners:  Mark van der Meijde, University of Twente, Earth Systems Analysis, Enschede, Netherlands, Estella A Atekwana, Oklahoma State University Main Campus, Stillwater, OK, United States and Hanneke Paulssen, Utrecht University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Utrecht, Netherlands
Chairs:  Estella A Atekwana, Oklahoma State University, Boone Pickens School of Geology, Stillwater, OK, United States and Mark van der Meijde, University of Twente, Earth Systems Analysis, Enschede, Netherlands
OSPA Liaison:  Estella A Atekwana, Oklahoma State University, Boone Pickens School of Geology, Stillwater, OK, United States

Cross-Listed:
  • DI - Study of the Earth's Deep Interior
  • EP - Earth and Planetary Surface Processes
  • V - Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology
Index Terms:

1213 Earth's interior: dynamics [GEODESY AND GRAVITY]
7230 Seismicity and tectonics [SEISMOLOGY]
8105 Continental margins: divergent [TECTONOPHYSICS]
8109 Continental tectonics: extensional [TECTONOPHYSICS]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Is Active Tectonics on Madagascar Consistent with Somalian Plate Kinematics? (Invited) (247343)
Dr. D. Sarah Stamps, PhD, Corne Kreemer, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Reno, United States and Tahiry Andriantsoa Andriantsoa Rajaonarison, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Department of Geosciences, Socorro, United States
Seismicity and lithospheric structure of Central Mozambique: implications for the southward propagation of the East African Rift System (268240)
Ana Domingues, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa, Portugal and Joao F B D Fonseca, IST, University of LIsbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Extending the Rift Zone: evidence from central Botswana (271249)
Islam Fadel, University of Twente, Earth System Analysis, Enschede, 7500, Netherlands, Mark van der Meijde, University of Twente, Applied Earth Science, Enschede, Netherlands, Hanneke Paulssen, Utrecht University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Utrecht, Netherlands and Tarzan Kwadiba, Principal Geophysicist 1 & Head of Geophysics Division, Botswana Geoscience Institute, Lobatse, Botswana
Source Mechanism and Aftershock Study of the Central Botswana M6.5 Earthquake of April 3, 2017 (272575)
Hanneke Paulssen1, Mark van der Meijde2, Islam Fadel2 and Tarzan Kwadiba3, (1)Utrecht University, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Utrecht, Netherlands, (2)University of Twente, Applied Earth Science, Enschede, Netherlands, (3)Principal Geophysicist 1 & Head of Geophysics Division, Botswana Geoscience Institute, Lobatse, Botswana
Neogene Rift Propagation of the East African Rift System (EARS) into Central Africa and its Implications: Tectonic, Topographic and Geomorphic Impacts of the Luangwa and Luapula Rift Valleys on the Upper Congo Drainage Basin, Lake Bangweulu Wetlands and the Development of the Diffuse Southwestern Tip of the EARS. (210781)
Michael Christopher Daly and Anthony Brian Watts, University of Oxford, Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford, United Kingdom
Crustal and Mantle Structure beneath the Okavango and Malawi Rifts and Its Geodynamic Implications (219403)
Stephen S Gao1, Kelly Hong Liu1, Youqiang Yu2, Cory A Reed1, Kevin Lee Mickus3 and Moikwathai Moidaki4, (1)Missouri University of Science and Technology, Geology and Geophysics Program, Rolla, MO, United States, (2)TongJi University, ShangHai, China, (3)Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, United States, (4)university of botswana, gaborone, botswana, Botswana
Rayleigh Wave Phase Velocities Beneath the Central and Southern East African Rift System (246538)
Aubreya Nicole Adams, Colgate University, Department of Earth and Environmental Geosciences, Hamilton, United States and Jonathan Charles Miller, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, United States

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