Continental breakup sea floor

An integrated approach to continental breakup: insights from central Ethiopia

San Diego State University Department of Geological Sciences Seminars Webinar Series

Dr. Tyrone Rooney San Diego State University Department of Geological Sciences

The East African Rift system is the archetypal example of continental rupture and has global significance in understanding extensional plate tectonic processes. We concentrate on the central Main Ethiopian Rift, which lies between the thicker continental crust in Southern Ethiopia and the thin predominately basaltic crust of the Afar Depression. We utilize Quaternary basaltic lavas erupted in tectono-magmatic fault belts to probe the source of rift magmatism and establish a connection between deeper mantle processes ( e.g. mantle plumes) and continental rifting. This study has also focussed on the relationship between magmatic intrusion in the continental lithosphere and extension. These geochemical results are combined with geophysical studies to produce an integrated geodynamic model for the progression of continental rifting along the Main Ethiopian Rift and call into question the concept of a simple transition between continental rifts and sea floor spreading centers.

Evolution Deep Sea Vents and Life's Origins

Bacteria found deep in the ocean in the volcanic regions of mid-ocean ridges suggest a possible scenario for the beginning of life on earth.

Ocean water seeps into cracks created by sea-floor spreading at the mid-ocean ridges and is heated by magma from inside the earth. Water in these hydrothermal vents reaches temperatures of 375 degrees C and higher and is rich in dissolved minerals. The hot water rises from the vents in geysers and meets cold ocean water, causing minerals to precipitate out of solution as the water cools. In some places compounds of iron and sulfides form "chimneys" on top of the vents. Such an extreme environment seemed unlikely to support life given the conditions of temperature, pressure, and absence of light for photosynthesis.

Volcanoes Of The Deep Sea

A Sweeping and Unparalleled Adventure Of Real Ocean DiscoveryFar below the waves, deep and remote, is an incredible world teeming with life. Only a select few have been able to experience the magic of this place until now.Volcanoes Of The Deep Sea takes you there.Venture with a team of scientists 12,000 feet beneath the ocean surface on a search for a living fossil- an elusive creature that lived hundreds of millions of years before the dinosaurs.Explore astounding undersea volcanic habitats, filled with strange new creatures and landscapes.Unravel the secrets of a dynamic habitat where life is fueled by the planet's internal fires- a place that may hold the key to finding life on other worlds.Volcanoes Of The Deep Sea has been exhibited to great acclaim in IMAX and other giant-screen theatres worldwide, illuminating the deep ocean as never before and delivering a dramatic new vision of planet Earth. This DVD version of the film has been specially mixed and mastered to produce an outstanding DTS Digital Surround and Dolby Digital 5.1 home theatre experience.