Abstract
The seismicity, the horizontal and vertical ground displacements, and the geometry of active faults and fissures during the seismic and volcanic events of November 1978 in Southern Afar are consistent with an accentuation of the pre-existing topography of the Ghoubbet–Asal rift. The zone of sizeable permanent deformation is restricted to several hundred square kilometres. Elastic rebound models seem to explain the observations. The events occurred in the vicinity of the suggested location of the tip of a lithospheric crack which may have been responsible for the progressive opening of the western Gulf of Aden.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allard, P., Tazieff, H. & Dajlevic, D. Nature 279, 30 (1979).
Lépine, J. C., Ruegg, J. C. & Anis, A. M. 7è Réun. ann. Sci. Terre Lyon, 293 (abstr.) (1979).
Lépine, J. C. & Ruegg, J. C. (in preparation).
Lépine, J. C., Richard, O., Ruegg, J. C., Treuil, M. & Varet, J. C. r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris D283, 9 (1976).
Tapponnier, P. & Varet, J. C. r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris D274, 209 (1974).
Courtillot, V., Tapponnier, P. & Varet, J. Tectonophysics 24, 317 (1974).
Courtillot, V. & Le Mouël, J. L. IPGP Observations magnétiques, Paris, 39p (Paris 1978).
Courtillot, V., Galdéano, A. & Le Mouël, J. L. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. (submitted).
Lépine, J. C. & Ruegg, J. C. Bull Soc. Géol. Fr. 18, 841 (1976); C. r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris D277, 33 (1979).
IGN Rep. Implantation d' un Réseau Géodésique pour la Mesure Directe de l' Expansion d' un Rift Océanique, (Institut Géographique National, Paris, 1973).
Kasser, M., Lépine, J. C., Ruegg, J. C. & Tarantola, A. 7è Réun. ann. Sci. Terre Lyon, 266 (abstr.) (1979).
Kasser, M., Lépine, J. C. & Ruegg, J. C. C. r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris D288, 469 (1979).
Ruegg, J. C., Lépine, J. C. & Kasser, M. Geophys. Res. Lett. (in the press).
Tarantola, A., Ruegg, J. C. & Lépine, J. C. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. (in the press).
Le Dain, A. Y., Robineau, B. & Tapponnier, P. Bull. Soc. geol. Fr. (submitted).
Robineau, B., Le Dain, A. Y. & Tapponnier, P. 7è Réun. ann. Sci. Terre Lyon, 404 (abstr.) (1979).
Courtillot, V. Phys. Earth, planet. Int. (in the press).
Barberi, F. & Varet, J. Bull. geol. Soc. Am. 88, 1251 (1977).
Björnsson, A., Johnsen, G., Sigurdsson, S., Thorbergsson, G. & Tryggvason, E. J. geophys. Res. 84, 3029 (1979).
Björnsson, A., Saemundsson, K., Einarsson, P., Tryggvason, E. & Grönvold, K. Nature 266, 318 (1977).
Tapponnier, P. & Francheteau, J. J. geophys. Res. 83, 3955 (1978).
Bayer, R., Courtillot, V., Daignières, M. & Tapponnier, P. C. r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris D276, 2765 (1973).
Daignières, M., Courtillot, V., Bayer, R. & Tapponnier, P. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 26, 222 (1975).
Needham, H. D. et al. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 28, 439 (1976).
Le Pichon, X. & Francheteau, J. Tectonophysics 46, 369 (1978).
Girdler, R. W. & Styles, P. Nature 271, 615 (1978).
Minster, J. B. & Jordan, T. H. J. geophys. Res. 83, 5331 (1978).
Reid, H. F. Bull. Dep. Geol. Univ. Calif. 6, 413 (1911).
Mansinha, L. & Smylie, D. E. Bull. seis. Soc. Am. 61, 1433 (1971).
Savage, J. C. & Hastie, L. M. Bull. seis. Soc. Am. 59, 1937 (1969).
Savage, J. C., Lisowski, M., Prescott, W. H. & Church, J. P. J. Geophys. Res. 82, 1667 (1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abdallah, A., Courtillot, V., Kasser, M. et al. Relevance of Afar seismicity and volcanism to the mechanics of accreting plate boundaries. Nature 282, 17–23 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/282017a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/282017a0
This article is cited by
-
Pre-existing fractures and eruptive vent openings during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption, Iceland
Bulletin of Volcanology (2023)
-
Crustal structure and upper mantle anisotropy of the Afar triple junction
Earth, Planets and Space (2021)
-
Dynamics of a seafloor-spreading episode at the East Pacific Rise
Nature (2016)
-
Birth of two volcanic islands in the southern Red Sea
Nature Communications (2015)
-
Constraining timescales of focused magmatic accretion and extension in the Afar crust using lava geochronology
Nature Communications (2013)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.