Rapid crustal transit of magma drives magmatic rifting in Ethiopia

Rapid crustal transit of magma drives magmatic rifting in Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Rapid crustal transit of magma drives magmatic rifting in Ethiopia Kevin Wong, Dan Morgan, David Ferguson, Marie Edmonds, Amdemichael Tadesse, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5459781/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The evolution of a continental rift towards an ocean ridge appears to be strongly controlled by the magmatic architecture of the rifting crust. Geophysical evidence from magmatically rifted margins and active continental rifts suggests that a key stage of rift maturation is localisation of extensional activity to narrow magmatic rift zones. The dynamics of magma ascent beneath these rift zones is key to driving further crustal extension and eventual breakup. Here we constrain the dynamics and timescales of magma ascent beneath two magmatic rift zones in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER). At both locations we find that magmas move rapidly through the crust, replenishing mid-crustal reservoirs only weeks to months before intrusive-eruptive events. Our results suggest that upper crustal rifting in the MER occurs during transient magmatic events, mediated by dynamic mid-crustal magma reservoirs. These timescales of melt ascent are notably similar to the return times of dykes observed during rifting episodes at more mature rift zones, suggesting that the onset of oceanic-style magmatic rifting of the crust can occur relatively early in the development of a continental rift system, prior to significant attenuation of the lithosphere. Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Volcanology Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Tectonics Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geodynamics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files supplement.pdf Supplementary information for: ‘Rapid crustal transit of magma drives magmatic rifting in Ethiopia’ Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5459781","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":386723355,"identity":"091badf3-7106-4c1b-8622-78aad4816122","order_by":0,"name":"Kevin 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