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Quantitative/Statistical Analysis Activities
Landscape and Life along the East African
Rift:
the Virunga Mountains, Rwanda
by Robert E. Ford |
Introduction:
The following activities are more advanced and will require some mathematical
calculation and considerable background reading on more technical areas of geology,
geophysics and vulcanology. You will need to consult the Supplementary Reference
Sources and Bibliographies under Learning
Resources as well as the Suggestions for Prior Reading
listed under Instructor's Integrator.
Suggested Quantitative Problem Exercises:
- Calculate the probable annual lateral movement of the African
Plate along the rift system Africa, e.g. particularly along the Red Sea portion (using
the online plate-motion calculator) created by Kensaku Tamaki
at the Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo.
- Calculate the lithospheric vulnerability of the EARS region as
it relates to current understanding of hotspots in Africa. You may want to
read-up either online or in the literature on what are hotspots and what causes them.
And of course, study specifically about hotspots in Africa (see the online module
from the USGS entitled: This Dynamic Earth).
- What is the predicted or expected uplift of land surfaces due
to isostatic rebound in parts of East Africa?
- Assess the level of violence (explosiveness) of East African volcanism.
Advanced Questions to Explore:
- How do earth scientists measure vertical and horizontal displacement
of the earths crust?
- How explosive (violent) or non-explosive (non-violent) is the
volcanism found in East Africa in comparison to other world regions, e.g. Hawaii
or Indonesia?
- What is the current scientific understanding of how hotspots are
formed and their importance and distribution in East Africa? How does this
compare to other regions, e.g. Hawaii?
- What is the concept of lithospheric vulnerability and does it
apply to Africa? If so, how does it help explain observed volcanism and plate motion
in East Africa?
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