Nature Communications (Jun 2020)

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

  • Anne Glerum,
  • Sascha Brune,
  • D. Sarah Stamps,
  • Manfred R. Strecker

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16176-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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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.