Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5787288 | Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors | 2017 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
In this paper we combine kinematic reconstruction and seismic strain rate analysis to understand the along-strike variation in strain accommodation in the Ethiopian Rift (ER) evolution. The reconstruction poles close the southern and central ER at 19 and 15 Myr, respectively whereas there is 34 ± 14 km overlap in the northern ER at 11 Myr. Using Kostrov summation, seismic strain rates of 6.81Ã10-9 yrâ1 and 0.06 Ã 10â9 yrâ1 are obtained for the south-central and northern ER, respectively. Comparison of the seismic and geodetic strain rates shows that seismic deformation dominates the south and central ER contrary to the northern ER that deforms aseismically. The results obtained indicate that Nubia/Somalia plate reconstructions together with information on the onset of rifting overestimate the kinematics of the northern ER. We argue that magmatic processes play significant role in accommodating the â¼2 Myr opening of the rift. Our findings agree well with previous geophysical and geological studies in the Ethiopian Rift.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Geophysics
Authors
Ameha A. Muluneh, Marco Cuffaro, Tesfaye Kidane,