The Ethiopian Landmass
The East African Rift System is one of the youngest plume-driven structure on Earth that continues rifting apart Africa into two plates: the Nubian and the Somalian plate. The rift system starting at the Afar Depression/Ethiopia propagates to the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Ethiopian rifts. Large parts of the floor of the Afar Depression are about 120 meter below sea level and form a unique subaerial oceanic basin. The lava lake of Erta’Ale and the Dallol Active Geothermal fields are among the few planetary analog field sites on Earth. This region is also the birth and burial place of “LUCY”: A human ancestor “Australopithecus afarensis” living in this world before 3.2 Ma. Both flanks of the Afar Depression form the Ethiopian highlands (up to 4620 masl) also called the “water towers of Horn of Africa, from which the Blue Nile originates.
Date and Venue
July 22, 2024
11:00 a.m.
online - via ZOOM
https://oeaw-ac-at.zoom.us/j/65303031411?pwd=mJ6r6pmfvYYlzYeFYfdHUO9l9vLUi6.1
Meeting ID: 653 0303 1411
Password: M7Vckn
Program
Registration
No registration required
Further resources
Documentary "Wunder der Natur: Der Ostafrikanische Grabenbruch - auf den Spuren der Erdgeschichte", featuring our guest speaker (in German)
Information
Please note that the event will be recorded. Please turn off your camera if you have any concerns or if you wish to be exempted from this activity.