[DLS] Folarin Kolawole (Columbia)

“Cracking Continents: Decoding the Earliest Phase of Divergent Plate Boundary Initiation”

The fate of actively extending continents hinges on sustained and persistent accommodation and localization of strain in the lithosphere, starting with the rift initiation phase, and continuing through the rift maturation, late-stage extension, to continental breakup. Despite decades of geological and geophysical investigations into the evolution of continental rifts, key questions remain on how rifts initiate and become established as distinct divergent plate boundaries, especially during the first 1 million years of rift life. In recent years, my research has focused on these problems at several nascent continental rifts worldwide. In my talk, I will present a series of new results from East Africa and eastern California, detailing the distinct space-time and multi-scale crustal deformation patterns, and the associated mechanisms that facilitate the initiation and early establishment of divergent plate boundaries in extending continents.

EAPS Department Lecture Series —

Weekly talks aimed to bring together the entire EAPS community, given by leading thinkers in the areas of geology, geophysics, geobiology, geochemistry, atmospheric science, oceanography, climatology, and planetary science. Runs concurrently with class 12.S501.

Contact: eapsinfo@mit.edu