@article{RiedlMelnickNjueetal.2022,
  author    = {Riedl, Simon and Melnick, Daniel and Njue, Lucy and Sudo, Masafumi and Strecker, Manfred},
  title     = {Mid-Pleistocene to recent crustal extension in the inner graben of the Northern Kenya Rift},
  series = {Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems},
  volume    = {23},
  journal   = {Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {American Geophysical Union},
  address   = {Washington},
  issn      = {1525-2027},
  doi       = {10.1029/2021GC010123},
  pages     = {25},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Magmatic continental rifts often constitute nascent plate boundaries, yet long-term extension rates and transient rate changes associated with these early stages of continental breakup remain difficult to determine. Here, we derive a time-averaged minimum extension rate for the inner graben of the Northern Kenya Rift (NKR) of the East African Rift System for the last 0.5 m.y. We use the TanDEM-X science digital elevation model to evaluate fault-scarp geometries and determine fault throws across the volcano-tectonic axis of the inner graben of the NKR. Along rift-perpendicular profiles, amounts of cumulative extension are determined, and by integrating four new Ar-40/Ar-39 radiometric dates for the Silali volcano into the existing geochronology of the faulted volcanic units, time-averaged extension rates are calculated. This study reveals that in the inner graben of the NKR, the long-term extension rate based on mid-Pleistocene to recent brittle deformation has minimum values of 1.0-1.6 mm yr(-1), locally with values up to 2.0 mm yr(-1). A comparison with the decadal, geodetically determined extension rate reveals that at least 65\% of the extension must be accommodated within a narrow, 20-km-wide zone of the inner rift. In light of virtually inactive border faults of the NKR, we show that extension is focused in the region of the active volcano-tectonic axis in the inner graben, thus highlighting the maturing of continental rifting in the NKR.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RiedlMelnickMibeietal.2020,
  author    = {Riedl, Simon and Melnick, Daniel and Mibei, Geoffrey K. and Njue, Lucy and Strecker, Manfred},
  title     = {Continental rifting at magmatic centres},
  series = {Journal of the geological society},
  volume    = {177},
  journal   = {Journal of the geological society},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Geological Soc. Publ. House},
  address   = {Bath},
  issn      = {0016-7649},
  doi       = {10.1144/jgs2019-021},
  pages     = {153 -- 169},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {The structural evolution of calderas in rifts helps to characterize the spatiotemporal relationships between magmatism, long wavelength crustal deformation and the formation of tectonic deformation zones along the rift axis. We document the structural characteristics of the c. 36 ka old Menengai Caldera located within a young zone of extension in the central Kenya Rift. Field mapping and high-resolution digital surface models show that NNE-striking Holocene normal faults perpendicular to the regional ESE-WNWextension direction dominate the interior sectors of the rift. Inside the caldera, these structures are overprinted by post-collapse doming and faulting of the magmatic centre, resulting in obliquely slipping normal faults bounding a resurgence horst. Radiocarbon dating of faulted units as young as 5 ka cal BP and the palaeo-shorelines of a lake formed during the African Humid Period in the Nakuru Basin indicate that volcanism and fault activity inside and in the vicinity of Menengai must have been sustained during the Holocene. Our analysis confirms that the caldera is located at the centre of an extending rift segment and suggests that other magmatic centres and young zones of faulting along the volcano-tectonic axis of the Kenya Rift may constitute nucleation points of faulting that ultimately foster future continental break-up.},
  language  = {en}
}