The East African Rift System

The East African Rift System: Geodynamics and Natural Resource Potentials provides state-of-the-art knowledge and skills on how to explore, model, and extract the resources, using the East African Rift System (EARS) as a model. Each aspect to be discussed in the East African Rift System shall have its equivalent case study and readers interested in each rift of the world will find something connected or linked to his/her rift system of interest, be it a sub-chapter on earthquakes, geothermal energy models, etc. The East African Rift System: Geodynamics and Natural Resource Potentials also describes rifting models of all other known rifts (especially continental rifts) of the world such as the Basin and Range Province, Rio Grande (USA); Rhine Graben (France and Germany); the Tibetan Rohai (Tibet); the Shaanxi Bohai (China); Lake Baikal (Russia); North Island (Australia); and the Aegean Sea Rift (Turkey). Key aspects to be presented shall be: rift type, rift age, rift physical dimensions, geothermal gradient models, natural resources, and models of exploration. Connects the science of rift systems to their economic potentials using the East African Rift System as the prime example Includes discussions and case studies from rift systems around the world Features chapters dedicated to natural resources, such as mineral deposit types (Au, He, REE, U) and the basic principles of their exploration?

The seismically and volcanically active East African Rift System is an ideal laboratory for continental break-up processes: it encompasses all stages of rift development. Its northernmost sectors within the Afar volcanic province include failed rifts, nascent sea-floor spreading, and youthful passive continental margins associated with one or more mantle plumes. A number of models have been proposed to explain the success and failure of continental rift zones, but there remains no consensus on how strain localizes to achieve rupture of initially 125-250 km-thick plates, or on the interaction between the plates and asthenospheric processes. This collection of papers provides new structural, stratigraphic, geochemical and geophysical data and numerical models needed to resolve fundamental questions concerning continental break-up and mantle plume processes. The focus is on how mantle melt intrudes and is distributed through the plate, and how this magma intrusion process controls along-axis segmentation and facilitates break-up.

The African continent is unique in that it has escaped widespread orogenic activity after the Pan African orogenic event. Therefore, the African Plate provides the world's best example of the relationship between extensional magmatism and structural setting. This first complete and up-to-date review, written by leading scientists, discusses the evolutionary model and offers a new and reliable basis for scientists working on plate tectonics and extensional areas in other continents.

Traditionally, investigations of the rheology and deformation of the lithosphere (the rigid or mechanically strong outer layer of the Earth, which contains the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle) have taken place at one scale in the laboratory and at an entirely different scale in the field. Laboratory experiments are generally restricted to centimeter-sized samples and day- or year-length times, while geological processes occur over tens to hundreds of kilometers and millions of years. The application of laboratory results to geological systems necessitates extensive extrapolation in both temporal and spatial scales, as well as a detailed understanding of the dominant physical mechanisms. The development of an understanding of large-scale processes requires an integrated approach. This book explores the current cutting-edge interdisciplinary research in lithospheric rheology and provides a broad summary of the rheology and deformation of the continental lithosphere in both extensional and compressional settings. Individual chapters explore contemporary research resulting from laboratory, observational, and theoretical experiments.

This book describes the interrelationship between the spectacular geology of an area of East Africa that includes a branch of the rift valley, as well as giant freestanding ice-capped mountains and extraordinarily toxic, alkaline lakes, and some of the greatest concentrations of wildlife on Earth. It suggests that geological processes that have shaped the iconic landforms, including active volcanoes, may also be responsible for the unusually diverse speciation which characterises the region. Moreover, it is not a coincidence that important palaeoanthropological discoveries have been unearthed in the region. National parks and conservation areas have tremendous potential for geotourism and the book assists both tour guides and visitors in this regard. In addition, the book may provide a better understanding to management of the importance of geology for sustaining wildlife.

This book assesses the cities and communities at critical risk of devastating earthquakes, and asks what we can do to protect them.