Evolution and characteristics of continental rifting: Analog modeling-inspired view and comparison with examples from the East African Rift System

The evolution and characteristics of narrow continental rifting are illustrated in this paper through a review of recent lithospheric-scale analog models of continental extension compared with selected examples from the East African Rift System.Rift location is controlled by reactivation of lithospheric-scale pre-existing weaknesses; in these areas, the initial phases of rifting correspond to the activation of few, large-offset boundary faults that accommodate basin subsidence, which can be at places strongly asymmetric. The plan-view geometry of rift faults is primarily related to the relative orientation of the lithospheric weakness with respect to the extension direction: orthogonal rifting gives rise to long, extension-orthogonal boundary faults with associated pronounced subsidence, whereas oblique rifting results in a general en-echelon arrangement of faults and basins with less subsidence. Inherited fabrics having variable orientation with respect to the rift trend may control rift architecture at both regional and local scales. In these initial phases, widespread magmatism may encompass the rift, with volcanic activity localized along major boundary faults, transfer zones and limited portions of the rift shoulders (off-axis volcanism).Progressive extension leads to a change in deformation style from the few, large-offset boundary faults at the rift margins to dense fault swarms – with limited vertical motions – affecting the rift floor where the magmatic activity is concentrated. In these areas of focused tectono-magmatic activity (the so-called magmatic segments) the thinned lithosphere is strongly modified and weakened by the extensive magma intrusion, and extension is facilitated and accommodated by a combination of magmatic intrusion, dyking and faulting. The feedback between strain localization, magma injection and lithospheric weakening is self-reinforcing, facilitating the rupture of the continental lithosphere. At this stage, magmatic segments (as for instance in the Northern Main Ethiopian Rift) act as incipient slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges, developing within a lithosphere that is transitional between continental and oceanic.

Research highlights
► A review of lithospheric-scale analog models of continental rifting is presented.
► Models are compared with selected examples from the East African Rift.
► The comparison exemplifies the typical evolution of narrow continental rifting.
► Early stages are characterized by faulting at the rift margins and diffuse magmatism.
► Late stages show in-rift tectono-magmatic focusing that eases continental break-up.