New insights into the evolution of the East African and Arabian rift systems from multidisciplinary data and numerical models
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The northeastern parts of the African lithospheric plate have been tectonically active for the last 30 Myr giving rise to the formation and evolution of the East African and Arabian rift systems. This session will bring together new observations and numerical modelling approaches that contribute to a better understanding of the processes that control basin- to lithospheric-scale deformation in the region over time. One goal is to collect critical information required for quantifying the relative importance of (i) mantle plume-induced forces, (ii) plate boundary forces and (iii) lateral gradients in gravitational potential energy as controlling factors for the rifting process. Individual contributions may provide new data-based images of the mantle, the crust and rift-related depositional patterns, thereby highlighting heterogeneities in physical properties as controls of the present-day thermal and rheological state of the lithosphere. We also invite presentations that focus on the roles of water, magma and volatiles in plume and rifting processes. Another topic of this session may be the re-evaluation of existing stretching models. Finally, we welcome presentations of numerical thermo-mechanical experiments and their implications for the past and future rift evolution, for earthquake and volcanic hazard assessment, and for georesources.
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Stewart Fishwick, Kate Selway, Derek Keir, Judith Sippel and Tesfaye Kidane
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