Assistant Professor
Department of Geology
Colgate University

Title: “Illuminating the African Lithosphere with Surface Wave Tomography”

Abstract: Sub-Saharan Africa hosts tremendous diversity in lithosphere structures and dynamic processes. The backbone of the continent consists of a conglomeration of Archean and Proterozoic cratons separated by Proterozoic mobile belts. These pre-Cambrian features are intact and relatively unaltered in some regions, such as in southern Africa, while in other regions they have been altered by contemporary tectonic activity. In eastern Africa, deformation within the East African Rift System appears to be guided by the geometry of these pre-existing structures, while in western Africa, interactions between mantle flow and craton boundaries may drive the formation of a so-called mantle “hot-line.” This talk explores these diverse lithospheric and asthenospheric features through the lens of surface wave tomography.