Collaborative Research: Acquisition of Equipment to Upgrade and Expand the AfricaArray Seismic Network

0824956PulliamAfricaArray是一个有3年历史的多层面计划，旨在促进教育和研究项目的结合，以实现以下目标：1)在美国和非洲建立科学能力；2)解决非洲具有学术、经济和社会重要性的基础科学问题；3)增强美国和非洲地球科学的多样性。“非洲阵列”的核心是一个由横跨非洲东部和南部11个国家的26个永久地震台站组成的网络，由非洲各地的地震台网运营商在美国和欧洲科学家的帮助下合作建立，形成一个为非洲和美国科学家提供服务的共享研究设施。在这个项目中，AfricaArray地震台网将得到升级和扩展，以提供确定的地震数据集，用于成像地幔中最大的地球物理异常，即非洲超级羽流。来自升级和扩展的地震网络的数据将使科学家能够解决几个一级的、相互关联的问题，这些问题集中在非洲超级羽流的结构和动力学上。1)非洲超级羽流的性质和起源是什么？2)非洲超级羽流与地幔对流的地球动力学关系如何？3)东非裂谷系统和高原下的上地幔对流动力学是什么？它与南部非洲下的非洲超羽流结构有何关系？4)非洲克拉通岩石圈的结构及其对非洲板块下地幔动力学的影响；确定非洲超级地幔柱的化学和动力学原因，并确定其与浅层地幔结构和表面过程（隆起、裂谷、火山作用）的关系，可以说是理解深部地幔动力学的最重要问题。地震图像将在获得这种理解方面发挥关键作用

0824956PulliamAfricaArray is a 3-year-old multi-faceted initiative to promote coupled educational and research programs for 1) building science capacity in the U.S. and Africa 2) addressing fundamental science questions in Africa of academic, economic and societal importance, and 3) enhancing diversity in the geosciences, both in the U.S. and Africa. At the core of AfricaArray is a network of 26 permanent seismic stations spanning 11 countries in eastern and southern Africa that has been built cooperatively by seismic network operators across Africa, with assistance from U.S. and European scientists, to form a shared research facility that serves African and U.S. scientists alike. In this project, the AfricaArray seismic network will be upgraded and expanded to provide the definitive seismic data set for imaging the largest geophysical anomaly in Earth's mantle, the African superplume. Data from the upgraded and expanded seismic network will allow scientists to address several first-order, inter-related questions focused on the structure and dynamics of the African superplume.1) What is the nature and origin of the African superplume?2) What is the geodynamic relationship between the African superplume and mantle convection?3) What are the dynamics of upper mantle convection under the east African rift system and plateau and how does it relate to the African superplume structure under southern Africa?4) What is the structure of African cratonic lithosphere and how does it influence mantle dynamics beneath the African plate?Determining the chemical and dynamic causes of the African superplume and defining its relation to shallower mantle structure and surface processes (uplift, rifting, volcanism) is arguably the most important issue in understanding the dynamics of the deep mantle. Seismic images will play a key role in gaining this understanding.***