Group takes a fresh look at the lithosphere underneath southern Kenya

Since the turn of the century the well-developed Kenya rift has been a crucial location for studying the interrelationships between extension, uplift, and magmatism. In 1989–1990, an experiment conducted by the Kenya Rift International Seismic Project (KRISP) focused on the central and northern portions of Kenya (Figure 1) and provided a rich base of information regarding the structure and evolution of the rift, which answered many key questions and raised others. Does the crust thin to the south of the Kenya dome as it does to the north?, and if it does, which crustal layer would be mainly affected? How is the Chyulu Hills Quaternary volcanism related to the rifting process? What is the relationship between the crust and lithospheric mantle during extension?