Lithospheric structure beneath the Kenya Dome |
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| Authors: | J E G Savage R E Long |
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| Institution: | Department of Geological Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE |
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| Abstract: | Summary. The existence of an anomalously low-velocity, low-density zone within the upper mantle beneath the Kenya Dome has been deduced on the basis of previous gravity and seismic studies. This paper describes an experiment to measure teleseismic delay times across the Gregory Rift near the equator and along a SE radius of the Kenya Dome. The delay times have been determined with good relative accuracy and provide further independent evidence for the existence of the anomalous zone. The pattern of delay times along the two profiles and at other stations indicates that the zone thins rapidly to the SE away from the rift axis, mirroring the attenuation observed, from Kaptagat, for the same zone to the NW. The trend is for the thinning to become very much less rapid with distance, but there is also clear evidence for localized thickening of the zone under the Kilimanjaro–Chyulu volcanic area.
Significantly smaller delay times are measured at the centre of the rift than at the edges. This is shown to indicate that the anomalous zone penetrates the crust to form an intrusion of relatively high-velocity material along the rift axis. The clear correlation of the delay time low with the axial Bouguer high indicates that they are both manifestations of the same underlying structure. Thus the delay time results provide independent confirmation of the existence of the axial intrusion previously inferred from gravity data. The width of this intrusion at the normal base of the crust is well defined by the data as 30 km. |
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