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The
Ethiopian Rift Valley
The African rift valley is one of the most fascinating natural wonders, known for its unique biodiversity and for being considered -for the important paleoanthropologic discoveries- the "cradle of mankind", i.e. the place where our species has evolved and diversified in the last millions of years. Characterized by a system of linear valleys extending for thousands of kilometers, the rift valley is a huge fracture on the surface of our planet that progressively widens with time, tearing the eastern portion of the African continent apart. It represents a geological wonder where volcanism, earthquakes and fracturing of the Earth's crust are the surface expressions of the enormous forces that shape our planet. These web pages are dedicated to the analysis of the Ethiopian sector of the African rift valley, an ideal natural laboratory to analyze the evolution and dynamics of continental extension and the rupture of lithospheric plates. |
NEWS New paper of interest: Mantle upwelling and initiation of rift segmentation beneath the Afar Depression by Hammond et al. Geology, 41, 635–638. New paper of interest: Controls on magmatic cycles and development of rift topography of the Manda Hararo segment (Afar, Ethiopia) by Medynski et al. Earth Planet Sci Letters, 367, 133–146 New paper of interest: Seismic anisotropy in eastern Africa, mantle flow, and the African Our new paper "Re-orientation of the extension direction and pure extensional faulting at oblique rift margins: comparison between the Main Ethiopian Rift and laboratory experiments" is in press on Terra Nova
New paper of interest: Uppermost mantle (Pn) velocity model for the Afar region, Ethiopia: an insight into rifting processes by Stork et al. Geophysical Journal International, 193(1), 321-328 New paper of interest: The intimate relationship between strain and magmatism: A numerical treatment of clustered monogenetic fields in the Main Ethiopian Rift by Mazzarini et al. Tectonics, 32, 49–64 |
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For more information please contact: Dr. Giacomo Corti, National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources Via G. La Pira, 4, 50121 Firenze, Italia - Email: giacomo.corti@igg.cnr.it | Telephone: +390552757524 | CREDITS |