Continental rifts are zones where Earth’s lithosphere stretches and thins, resulting in subsidence of the surface which creates sediment depocenters, and in magmatism. Eventually continents may break up along rift zones. We work on the structure, evolution, sediment infill, and magmatism in rift zones and rifted margins. Please check out my Publications list for a complete list of studies on continental rift zones and rifted margins.

The Rio Grande rift (photograph below) is an active rift zone in the southwestern U.S. We used geodynamic models to study upper mantle flow below the rift zone, and geological field observations and well logs to understand the subsidence history of the rift.

The East African rift is a fantastic natural laboratory to study rifting, from the initiation of a rift zone to the phase of continental rupture. As rifting progresses in eastern Africa, magmatic intrusions have become more important in accommodating lithosphere extension. We have described processes that play a role on different timescales in a review paper.

During the latest stages of continental rifting (before rupture), the continental crust may be stretched extremely thin. We used data from the northern Gulf of California to make a conceptual model of what the crust may look like at that point in time. Following continental breakup, the newly formed oceanic spreading center may become magma-starved. When this happens, a sliver of continent may break off from the main continent, forming a micro-continent.