Victoria continental microplate dynamics controlled by the lithospheric strength distribution of the East African Rift

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dc.contributor.authorGlerum, Anneen
dc.contributor.authorBrune, Saschaen
dc.contributor.authorStamps, D. Sarahen
dc.contributor.authorStrecker, Manfred R.en
dc.contributor.departmentGeosciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2020-08-05T13:49:19Zen
dc.date.available2020-08-05T13:49:19Zen
dc.date.issued2020-06-08en
dc.description.abstractThe Victoria microplate between the Eastern and Western Branches of the East African Rift System is one of the largest continental microplates on Earth. In striking contrast to its neighboring plates, Victoria rotates counterclockwise with respect to Nubia. The underlying cause of this distinctive rotation has remained elusive so far. Using 3D numerical models, we investigate the role of pre-existing lithospheric heterogeneities in continental microplate rotation. We find that Victoria's rotation is primarily controlled by the distribution of rheologically stronger zones that transmit the drag of the major plates to the microplate and of the mechanically weaker mobile belts surrounding Victoria that facilitate rotation. Our models reproduce Victoria's GPS-derived counterclockwise rotation as well as key complexities of the regional tectonic stress field. These results reconcile competing ideas on the opening of the rift system by highlighting differences in orientation of the far-field divergence, local extension, and the minimum horizontal stress. One of the largest continental microplates on Earth is situated in the center of the East African Rift System, and oddly, the Victoria microplate rotates counterclockwise with respect to the neighboring African tectonic plate. Here, the authors' modelling results suggest that Victoria microplate rotation is caused by edge-driven lithospheric processes related to the specific geometry of rheologically weak and strong regions.en
dc.description.notesThis study was conducted within the Helmholtz Young Investigators Group CRYSTALS (VH-NG-1132). We thank the Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics (geodynamics.org), which is funded by the National Science Foundation under award EAR0949446 and EAR-1550901, for supporting the development of ASPECT. Computations were performed on the German computer cluster Konrad, a HLRN facility. Figures in this paper were made with ParaView, InkScape, MATLAB, and the Generic Mapping Tools. Perceptually uniform color maps were used to prevent visual distortion of the data<SUP>82</SUP>.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF) [EAR0949446, EAR-1550901]; Helmholtz Young Investigators Group CRYSTALS [VH-NG-1132]en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16176-xen
dc.identifier.issn2041-1723en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.pmid32513970en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/99485en
dc.identifier.volume11en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.titleVictoria continental microplate dynamics controlled by the lithospheric strength distribution of the East African Riften
dc.title.serialNature Communicationsen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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