Inkaba yeAfrica

Inkaba yeAfrica is a German-South African collaborative Earth Science initiative that is both
multidisciplinary and intercultural, dovetailing next-generation science and technology with a
strong training and capacity-building component. Section 4.2 is involved in the inkaba programme since 2004. Currently,  our two main themes are these:

Magmatism Rifting and Continental Breakup
The aim of this research is to use geochemical-petrologic tools to read and interpret the magmatic “signal” of deep-earth processes related to Gondwana breakup and the development of the south African mantle "superswell". There are  three main topics: (A) magmatism and the opening of the South Atlantic, which took place in the Early Cretaceous around 130 Ma; (B) Karoo magmatism and the early breakup history of Gondwana at around 180 Ma; and finally (C) the post-breakup magmatism which has affected the southern African continent and its margins intermittently since about 100 Ma.

Quantifying Surface Processes
This research aims to quantify the uplift of the South African margins and surface processes, particularly erosion, over geological timescales in order to resolve causal links between mantle processes, epeirogeny (regional crustal uplift), climate change and ecodynamics.


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