Capturing magma intrusion and faulting processes during continental rupture: Seismicity of the Dabbahu (Afar) rift

Geophysical Journal International

Volumn 174, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 1138-1152

  Ebinger, C J ^a,b   Keir, D ^b,c   Ayele, A ^d   Calais, E ^e   Wright, T J ^c   Belachew, M ^a,d   Hammond, J O S ^f   Campbell, E ^a   Buck, W R ^g  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS   (United Kingdom)

^d ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY   (Ethiopia)

^e PURDUE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^f UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL   (United Kingdom)

^g Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences   (United States)

Author keywords

Africa; Neotectonics; Seismic cycle; Seismicity and tectonics; Volcano seismology

Indexed keywords

EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER; EARTHQUAKE RUPTURE; EARTHQUAKE SWARM; EXTENSIONAL TECTONICS; FAULTING; FOCAL MECHANISM; IGNEOUS INTRUSION; MAGMA CHAMBER; NEOTECTONICS; NORMAL FAULT; RIFT ZONE; SEISMICITY; SEISMOLOGY; SEISMOTECTONICS; SUBSIDENCE; VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION;

AFAR; AFRICA; EAST AFRICA; EAST AFRICAN RIFT; ETHIOPIAN RIFT; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA;

EID: 50949130897     PISSN: 0956540X     EISSN: 1365246X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2008.03877.x     Document Type: Article

References (72)

1. Abdallah, A. et al., 1979. Relevance of Afar seismicity and volcanism to the mechanics of accreting plate boundaries, Nature, 282, 17-23.
2. Aronovitz, A., Ebinger, C., Campbell, E., Keir, D., Ayele, A. & Mitra, G., 2007. Segment linkage in Afar via magma intrusion: The birth of a transform fault ? in Proceedings of the Eos Trans. Am. Geophys. Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
3. Ayele, A., Nyblade, A.A., Langston, C.A., Cara, M. & Leveque, J., 2006. New evidence for Afro-Arabian plate separation in southern Afar, in The Structure and Evolution of the East African Rift System in the Afar Volcanic Province, Vol. 259, pp. 254-263, eds Yirgu, G., Ebinger, C.J. & Maguire, P.K.H., Special Publication, Geological Society, London.
4. Ayele, A. et al., 2007a. The volcano-seismic crisis in Afar, Ethiopia, starting September, 2005, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 255, 187-197.
5. Ayele, A., Keir, D., Ebinger, C., Wright, T., Stuart, G., Jacques, E., Ogubazghi, G. & Sholan, J., 2007b. The September 2005 magmato-tectonic activity along the Debbahu-Manda rift basins, A., in Proceedings of the The Geodynamics of Afar and the Ethiopian Rifts: Geophysics, Geohazard Challenges and Resources Conference (Abstracts) Addis Ababa University Press, Addis Ababa.
6. Barberi, F. & Varet, J., 1977. Volcanism of Afar: Small-scale plate tectonic implications, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 88, 1251-1266.
7. Barisin, I., Leprince, S., Avouac, J., Parsons, B. & Wright, T., 2007. Deformation measurements for the September 2005 Afar rifting event from sub-pixel correlation of SPOT images, Eos, Trans. Am. geophys. Un. 88 (52), Fall Meeting Suppl., G51C-0633.
8. Bastow, I., Stuart, G.W., Kendall, J.-M. & Ebinger, C., 2005. Upper mantle seismic structure in a region of incipient continental breakup: northern Ethiopian rift, Geophys. J. Int., 162, 479-493.
9. Bendick, B., McClusky, S., Bilham, R., Asfaw, L. & Klemperer, S., 2006. Distributed Nubia-Somalia relative motion and dike intrusion in the Main Ethiopian rift, Geophys. J. Int.
10. Benoit, M.H., Nyblade, A.A., VanDecar, J.C. & Gurrola, H., 2003. Upper mantle P wave velocity structure and transition zone thickness beneath the Arabian Shield, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1531.
11. Benoit, M. H., Nyblade, A.A. & VanDecar, J.C., 2006. Upper mantle P wave speed variations beneath Ethiopia and the origin of the Afar Hotspot, Geology, 34, 329-332.
12. Berckhemer, H. et al., 1975. Deep seismic soundings of the Afar region and on the highland of Ethiopia, in Afar Between Continental and Oceanic Rifting, pp. 89-107, eds Pilger, A. and Rosler, A., Schweizerbart, Stuttgart.
13. Bjornsson, A., Saemundsson, K., Einarsson, P., Tryggvason, E. & Gronvald, K., 1977. Current rifting episode in north Iceland, Nature, 266, 318-323.
14. Bonafede, M. & Danesi, S., 1997. Near-field modifications of stress induced by dyke injection at shallow depth, Geophys. J. Int., 130, 435-448.
15. Brandsdottir, B., Menke, W., Einarsson, P., White, R.S. & Staples, R.K., 1997. Faroe-Iceland Ridge Experiment 2: Crustal structure of the Krafla central volcano, J. geophys. Res., 102, 7867-7886.
16. Buck, R., Einarsson, P. & Brandsdottir, B., 2007. Tectonic stress and magma chamber size as controls on dike propagation: Constraints from the 1975-1984 Krafla rifting episode, J. geophys. Res., 111.
17. Casey, M., Ebinger, C.J., Keir, D., Gloaguen, R. & Mohamed, F., 2006. Strain accomodation in transitional rifts: Extention by magma intrusion and faulting in Ethiopian rifth magmatic segments, Geological Society Special Publication, Vol. 259, pp. 143-164.
18. Cattin, R., Doubre, C., de Chabalier, J-B., King, G., Vigny, C., Avouac, J-P. & Ruegg, J-C., 2005. Numerical modelling of Quaternary deformation and post-rifting displacement in the Asal-Ghoubbet rift (Djibouti, Africa), Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 239, 352-367.
19. Courtillot, V., Galdeano, A. & Le Mouël, J.-L., 1980. Propagation of an accreting plate boundary: A discussion of new aeromagnetic data in the Gulf of Tadjurah and southern Afar, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 47, 144-160.
20. D'Acremont, E., Leroy, S., Beslier, M-O., Bellahsen, N., Fournier, M., Robin, C., Maia, M. & Gente, P., 2005. Structure and eveolition of the eastern Gulf of Aden margins from seismic reflection data, Geophys. J. Int.
21. Debayle, E., Lévêque, J.J. & Cara, M., 2001. Seismic evidence for a deeply rooted low velocity anomaly in the upper mantle beneath the northeastern Afro/Arabian continent, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 193 (3-4), 369-382.
22. Delaney, J.R., Kelley, D.S., Lilley, M., Butterfield, D.A., Baross, J.A., Wilcock, W.S.D., Embley, R.W. & Summit, M., 1998. The Quantum event of oceanic crustal accretion impacts of diking at mid-ocean ridges, Science, 281, 222-230.
23. de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen, E., Pedersen, R., Sigmundsson, F. & Pagli, C., 2004. Satellite radar interferometry suggests deep accumulation of magma near the crust-mantle boundary beneath the Krafla volcanic system, Iceland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31.
24. Doubre, C., Manighetti, I., Dorbath, L., Dorbath, C., Jacques, E. & Delmond, J.-C., 2007a. Crustal structure and magmato-tectonic processes in an active rift (Asal-Ghoubbet, Afar, East Africa); 1: Insights from a 5-month seismological experiment, J. geophys. Res., 112.
25. Doubre, C., Manighetti, I., Dorbath, L., Dorbath, C., Bertil, D. & Delmond, J.-C., 2007b. Crustal structure and magmato-tectonic processes in an active rift (Asal-Ghoubbet, Afar, East Africa); 2: Insights from the 23-year recording of seismicity since the last event, J. geophys. Res., 112.
26. Dugda, M. & Nyblade, A., 2006. New constraints on crustal structure beneath eastern Afar from analysis of receiver functions and surface wave dispersion in Djibouti, in Structure and Evolution of the Rift Systems within Afar Volcanic Province, East African Rift, Vol. 259, eds Yirgu, G., Ebinger, C. and Maguire, P., Geol. Soc. London Spec. Pub.
27. Dugda, M., Nyblade, A. & Julia, J., 2007. Thin lithosphere beneath Ethiopia and Djibouti revealed by a joint inversion of Rayleigh wave group velocities and receiver functions, J. geophys. Res., 112.
28. Eagles, G., Gloaguen, R. & Ebinger, C., 2002. Kinematics of the Danakil microplate, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 203 (2), 607-620.
29. Ebinger, C. & Casey, M., 2001. Continental break-up in magmatic provinces: An Ethiopian example, Geology, 29, 527-530.
30. Einarsson, P., 1991. The Krafla rifting episode 1975-1989, in Náttúra Myvatns, (The Nature of lake Myvatn), eds Gardarsson, A. and Einarsson, Á., pp. 97-139, Icelandic Nature Science Society, Reykjavíc.
31. Einarsson, P. & Brandsdóttir, B., 1980. Seismological evidence for lateral magma intrusion during the July 1978deflation of the Krafla volcano in NE-Iceland, J. Geophys., 47, 160-165.
32. Feigl, K.L., Gasperi, F., Sigmundsson, F. & Rigo, A., 2000. Crustal deformation near Hengill volcano, Iceland 1993-1998: Coupling between magmatic activity and faulting inferred from elastic modeling of satellite radar interforograms, J. geophys. Res., 105, 25 655-25 670.
33. Fialko, Y.A. & Rubin, A.M., 1998. Thermodynamics of lateral dike propagation: Implications for crustal accretion at slow spreading mid-ocean ridges, J. geophys. Res., 103, 2501-2514.
34. Foulger, G.R., Jahn, C.-H, Seeber, G., Einarsson, P., Julian, B.R. & Heki, K., 1992. Post rifting stress relaxation at the accretionary plate boundary in Iceland, measured using the Global Positioning System, Nature, 358, 488-490.
35. Gouin, P., 1979. Earthquake History of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada, 258 pp.
36. Grandin, R. et al., 2007, Surface deformation during a magmatic intrusion: The example of the Dabba'hu Rift Crisis of 2005-2006 (Afar, Ethiopia), Eos, Trans. Am. geophys. Un., 88 (Fall Meeting Suppl.), Abstract T51C-0690.
37. Gresta S., PatanèD., Daniel A., Zan L., Carletti A. & Befekadu O., 1997. Seismological evidences of active faulting in the Tendaho rift (Afar triangle, Ethiopia), Pure appl. Geophys., 149, 357-374.
38. Gundmundsson, A., 1995. Infrastructure and mechanics of volcanic systems in Iceland, J. Volc. Geotherm. Res., 64, 1-22.
39. Gudmundsson, A., 2006. How local stresses control magma-chamber ruptures, dyke injections, and eruptions in composite volcanoes, Earth Sci. Rev., 79, 1-31.
40. Hayward, N. & Ebinger, C., 1996. Variations in the along-axis segmentation of the Afar rift system, Tectonics, 15 (2), 244-257.
41. Hofstetter, R. & Beyth, M., 2003. The Afar Depression: interpretation of the 1960 2000 earthquakes, Geophys. J. Int., 155, 715-732.
42. Jacques, E., Ruegg, J.C., Lépine, J.C., Tapponnier, P., King, G.C.P. & Omar, A., 1999. Relocation of M > 3 events of the 1989 Dobi sequence in Afar: Evidence for earthquake migration, Geophys. J. Int., 138, 447-469.
43. Keir, D., Ebinger, C.J., Stuart, G.W., Daly, E. & Ayele, A., 2006a. Strain accommodation by magmatism and faulting at continental breakup: Seismicity of the northern Ethiopian rift, J. geophys. Res., 111.
44. Keir, D., Stuart, G.W., Jackson, A. & Ayele, A., 2006b. Local earthquake magnitude scale and seismicity rate for the Ethiopian rift, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 96.
45. Keir, D. et al., 2008. Repeated dike injection sourced beneath the center of the Dabbahu segment in the Afar rift, Geology, submitted.
46. Kidane, T. et al., 2003. New Paleomagnetic and geochronological results from Ethiopian Afar: Block rotations linked to rift overlap and propagation and determination of a similar to 2 Ma reference pole for stable Africa, J. geophys. Res., 108.
47. Klein, F.W., 2002. User's guide to Hypoinverse-2000, a FORTRAN program to solve for earthquake locations and magnitudes, U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Rep., 02-171, pp. 1-123.
48. Lahitte, P., Gillot, P.-Y., Kidane, T., Courtillot, V. & Abebe, B., 2003. New age constraints on the timing of volcanism in central Afar, in the presence of propagating rifts, J. geophys. Res., 108.
49. Macdonald, K.C., 1998. Linkages between faulting, volcanism, hydrothermal activity and segmentation on fast-spreading centers, in Faulting and Magmatism at Mid-Ocean Ridges, Vol. 106, Geophysical Monograph, 348 p., eds Buck, W.R., Karson, J.A. and Lagabrielle, Y., pp. 27-59, American Geophysical Union, Washington DC.
50. Manighetti, I., Tapponnier, P., Courtillot, V., Gruszow, S. & Gillot, P-Y., 1997. Propagation of rifting along the Arabia-Somalia plate boundary: The gulfs of Aden and Tadjoura, J. geophys. Res., 102, 2681-2710.
51. Oppenheimer, C. & Francis, P., 1998. Implications of longeval lava lakes for geomorphological and plutonic processes at Erta 'Ale volcano, north Afar, J. Volc. Geoth. Res., 80, 101-111.
52. Préjean, S., Stork, A., Ellsworth, W., Hill, D. & Julian, B., 2003. High precision earthquake locations reveal seismogenic structure beneath Mammoth Mountain, California, Geophys. Res., Lett., 30.
53. Roman, D.C. & Heron, P., 2007. Effect of regional tectonic setting on local fault response to episodes of volcanic activity, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34.
54. Rowland, J.R., Baker, E., Ebinger, C., Keir, D., Kidane, T., Biggs, J., Hayward, N. & Wright, T., 2007. Fault growth at a nascent slow-spreading ridge: 2005 Dabbahu rifting episode, Afar, Geophys. J. Int., 171.
55. Rubin, A., 1992. Dike-induced faulting and graben subsidence in volcanic rift zones, J. geophys. Res., 97, 1839-1858.
56. Rubin, A. & Gillard, D., 1998. Dike-induced earthquakes: Theoretical considerations, J. geophys. Res., 103, October 017-10 030.
57. Rubin, A. & Pollard, D., 1988. Dike-induced faulting in rift zones in Iceland and Afar, Geology, 16, 413-417.
58. Rubin, A., Gillard, D. & Got, J-L., 1998. Re-interpretation of seismicity associated with the January 1983dike intrusion at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, J. geophys. Res., 103, 10003-10015.
59. Ruegg, J.-C., 1975. Structure profonde de la croute et du manteau superieur du Sud-Est de l'Afar d'après les données sismiques, Ann. Geophys., 31, 329-360.
60. Sigmundsson, F., 1992. Tectonic implications of the 1989 Afar earthquake sequence, Geophys. Res. Lett., 19, 877-880.
61. Sigmundsson, F., 2006. Iceland Geodynamics: Crustal Deformation and Divergent Plate Tectonics, Springer-Praxis, Chichester, UK, 228 p.
62. Snoke, J.A., 2003. FOCMEC: Focal mechanism determinations (Chapter 85.12), in International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, eds Lee, W.H.K., Kanamori, H., Jennings, P.C. and Kisslinger, C., Academic Press, San Diego.
63. Souriot, Th. & Brun, J-P., 1992. Faulting and block rotation in the Afar triangle, Africa; the Danakil crank-arm model, Geology, 20, 911-914.
64. Stuart, G., Bastow, I. & Ebinger, C., 2006. Crustal structure of the Northern Main Ethiopian Rift from receiver function studies, in Structure and Evolution of the Rift Systems within Afar volcanic province, East African rift, Vol. 259, pp. 253-268. eds Yirgu, G., Ebinger, C., and Maguire, P., Geol. Soc. London Spec. Pub.
65. Tryggvason, E., 1994. Surface deformation at the Krafla volcano, North Iceland, 1982-1992, Bull. Volcanol., 56, 98-107.
66. Vigny, C., DeChabalier, J.B., Ruegg, J.C., Huchon, P., Feigl, K., Cattin, R., Asfaw, L. & Khanbari, K., 2006. 25 years of geodetic measurements along the Tadjoura-Asal rift system, Djibouti, East Africa, J. geophys. Res., 111.
67. Waldhauser, F. & Ellsworth, W., 2000. A double-difference earthquake location algorithm: Method and application to the northern Hayward fault, California, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 90, 1353-1368.
68. Whitehead, J., Dick, H.J.B. & Schouten, H., 1984. A mechanism for magmatic accretion under spreading centres, Nature, 312, 146-148.
69. Wolfenden, E., Ebinger, C., Yirgu, G., Renne, P. & Kelley, S.P., 2005. Evolution of the southern Red Sea rift: Birth of a magmatic margin, Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., 117, 846-864.
70. Wright, T., Ebinger, C., Biggs, J., Ayele, A., Yirgu, G., Keir, D. & Stork, A., 2006. Magma-maintained rift segmentation at continental rupture in the 2005 Afar dyking episode, Nature, 442 doi 10.1038/nature04978.
71. Yirgu, G., Ayele, A. & Ayalew, D., 2006. Recent seismo-volcanic crisis in northern Afar, Ethiopia, Eos, Trans. Am. geophys. Un., 87, 325-336.
72. Yirgu, G., 2007. The August 2007fissure eruption on the Dabbahu rift segment, in Proceedings of the Active Volcanism and Continental Rifting Conference: 26th ECGS Workshop, Luxembourg, 2007 November.