Recent inactivity in African rift
Article Abstract:
Geological research using global positioning geodesy indicates that the Ethiopian portion of the East African rift is growing wider at one-half to one millimeters a year, or one to two centimeters in 20 years. Moreover, the measurements suggest that an extensive strain of 10 to 20 nanostrain per year affects the region, a remarkably low rate given that the East African rift is believed to be a newly forming plate boundary. Episodic rifting probably accounts for the rift's slow movement; active rifting may take place only once every 3,000 years, much slower than in other rifting zones such as Iceland.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
The mountains will flow
Article Abstract:
The mountainous regions of western North America with a high gravitational potential energy (GPE) are extending, while those with a low GPE are contracting. The deformation, essentially a flow process, is due to stress and density distribution inside the continent. The deformation is greater in areas with a high temperature. The GPE of the mountains is similar to that in oceanic plates, but the mountains show greater deformation. The geophysical data shows that the mountains are too weak to be considered as a plate, and internal forces are an important parameter in tectonic reconstructions.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Plateau 'pop-up' in the great 1897 Assam earthquake
Article Abstract:
Research is presented concerning the geological processes which caused devastation during the earthquake in Assam, India, in June 1897. The 11-meter rise of the Shillong Plateau during the earthquake is discussed.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2001
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Avian movements and wetland connectivity in landscape conservation. Space use of killdeer at a Great Basin breeding area
- Abstracts: Liquefaction of quicksand under stress. Smart polymer solutions. Controlling droplet deposition with polymer additives
- Abstracts: Functional interaction of beta-catenin with the transcription factor LEF-1. Fluorescent pigments in corals are photoprotective
- Abstracts: Computing with cyclic AMP. Plasticity in single neuron and circuit computations. Moving rhythms
- Abstracts: A new perspective on the dynamical link between the stratosphere and troposphere. Removal of chlorofluorocarbons by increased mass exchange between the stratosphere and troposphere in a changing climate