HR: 0800h
AN: T51C-1349    [Abstracts]
TI: The Geologic Structure of the Tebesti and Ennedi; Not Just Plateaus, Mountains, and Inland Seas
AU: Millham, R A
EM: rosemary.millham@gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Oklahoma State University, 300 Cordell North, Stillwater, OK 74078-8034 United States
AU: * Koren, I
EM: ilank@climate.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 130.3 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001 United States
AB: Research into the origins of the Tebesti and Ennedi structures where sources of dust streaming into the Bodele are of major importance to the study of global climate forcing, have resulted in a geologic story quite different from previous research results. The volcanic nature of both structures are not only similar in geologic time; when comparing the mineralogy and structure throughout the Saharan, based on extensive geological studies conducted in the region early to mid 1900's, the two areas appear to be connected in time and composition. It is quite possible the Tebesti Mountains and Ennedi Plateau region are one structurally cohesive unit with common mineralogy and geologic history. Two scenarios appear to predominate at this time. One, the entire geomorphology of the Sahara is a huge syncline/anti-syncline system ranging from the East to West coast with marked synclinal depressions affording opportunity for inland seas to develop during crustal deformation in the past. Second, geologic indicators suggest that the entire Tebesti and Ennedi region form an ancient caldera extending northeast into Egypt and southwest into Chad, just north of the Bodele. Mineralogy and structure of the region could be interpreted as a caldera of massive proportion existing early in the African continent's history prior to possible crustal deformation and the formation of the syncline/anti-syncline basin and range system.
DE: 0850 Geoscience education research
SC: Tectonophysics [T]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005