Lithospheric strength and strain localization in continental extension from observations of the East African Rift

L. Kogan*, S. Fisseha, R. Bendick, R. Reilinger, S. McClusky, R. King, T. Solomon

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    94 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    GPS observations along three profiles across the Ethiopian Rift and Afar triple junction record differences in the length scale over which extension is accommodated. In the Afar region, where the mantle lithosphere is nearly or entirely absent, measurable extension occurs over ∼175 km; in the northern Ethiopian Rift, where the mantle lithosphere is anomalously thin and hot, extensional strain occurs over ∼85 km, extending beyond the structural rift valley; in the southern Ethiopian Rift, where the mantle lithosphere approaches standard continental thickness, extensional strain occurs over <10 km. This trend of increasingly distributed deformation contrasts with the standard model where continental rifts become mid-ocean spreading centers through strain localization.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article numberB03402
    JournalJournal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
    Volume117
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2012

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