We are excited to invite you to the next seminar of the 2025 Geology and Geophysics Seminar Series, featuring Valentin Rime, a visiting researcher at the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney. Valentin will be presenting on “Rift, breakup and drift: what can we learn from the Afar Depression, Eastern Africa?” exploring the structure, evolution, and key controls of rifting while sharing recent scientific advances.
Date: March 12, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. AEDT
Location: Room 449 (Conference Room), Madsen Building (F09), School of Geosciences
or Online (Join via zoom)
We look forward to seeing you there in person or joining us online!
https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/84796471781?from=addon
Rift, breakup and drift: what can we learn from the Afar Depression, Eastern Africa?
Abstract
The Afar Depression in Eastern Africa forms a triple junction between the Red Sea Rift, the Gulf of Aden Rift and the East African Rift System. It shows several stages and several styles of the rift to drift evolution and allows direct observation of these geological processes. This presentation will introduce the general geology of the area and present recent scientific advances. A combination of field exploration, borehole study, reflection seismic analysis and a revision of the regional tectonostratigraphic evolution allows to better understand the structure, the evolution and the controlling mechanisms shaping the region. Some of these observations allow to propose revised interpretations of several aspects of rifts and rifted margins, including the nature of Seaward Dipping Reflectors (SDR), the formation of oceanic plateaus, and the deposition of thick evaporite deposits.
Graphical Abstract
