Geodetic Constraints on Cratonic Microplates and Broad Strain During Rifting of Thick Southern African Lithosphere
Name
Geophysical Research Letters - 2021 - Wedmore - Geodetic Constraints on Cratonic Microplates and Broad Strain During.pdf
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Published version
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2.94 MB
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Author(s)
Wedmore, LNJ
Biggs, J
Floyd, M
Fagereng, Å
Mdala, H
Chindandali, P
Williams, JN
Mphepo, F
Date Issued
August 6, 2021
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Wedmore, L. N. J., Biggs, J., Floyd, M., Fagereng, Å., Mdala, H., Chindandali, P., et al. (2021). Geodetic constraints on cratonic microplates and broad strain during rifting of thick southern African lithosphere. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL093785.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Southern Africa is typically considered to belong to a single tectonic plate, Nubia, despite active faulting along the southwestern branch of the East African Rift System. We analyze regional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements, and find that the “San” microplate, situated south of the southwestern branch of the East African Rift, is statistically distinct from Nubia, with 0.4–0.7 mm/yr of extension across the boundary. Adding nine new campaign GNSS sites, we show that the extension rate across the southern Malawi Rift is 2.2 ± 0.3 mm/yr, with 75% of the relative velocity occurring over 890 km, despite the surface expression of faulting being <150 km wide. Thus, for the first time, we use geodetic measurements to describe the accommodation of strain in broad zones between Archean cratons in southern Africa's thick continental lithosphere.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl093785
