Great Rift Valley - Crack in the Planets Crust

The Rift Valley of eastern Africa and Asia (sometimes called the Great Rift Valley [GRV] or East African Rift system [EAR or EARS]) is an enormous geological split in the crust of the earth, thousands of kilometers long, up to 125 miles (200 kilometers) wide, and between a few hundred to thousands of meters deep. First designated as the Great Rift Valley in the late 19th century and visible from space, the valley has also been a great source of hominid fossils, most famously in Tanzanias Olduvai Gorge. Key Takeaways: Great Rift Valley The Great Rift Valley is a huge fracture in the crust of the earth in the eastern part of Africa.  Crustal rifts are found all over the world, but the one in East Africa is the largest.  The rift is a complex series of faultlines that runs from the Red Sea down into Mozambique.The Lake Turkana basin in the rift region is known as the Cradle of Mankind and has been a source of hominid fossils since the 1970s.A 2019 paper suggests that the Kenyan and Ethiopian rifts are evolving into one single oblique rift.   The Rift Valley is the result of an ancient series of faults, rifts, and volcanoes deriving from the shifting of tectonic plates at the junction between the Somalian and the African plates. Scholars recognize two branches of the GRV: the eastern half—which is that piece north of Lake Victoria that runs NE/SW and meets the Red Sea; and the western half—running nearly N/S from Victoria to the Zambezi river in Mozambique. The eastern branch rifts first occurred 30 million years ago, the western 12.6 million years ago. In terms of rift evolution, many parts of the Great Rift Valley are in different stages, from pre-rift in the Limpopo valley, to initial-rift stage at the Malawi rift; to typical-rift stage in the northern Tanganyika rift region; to advanced-rift stage in the Ethiopian rift region; and finally to oceanic-rift stage in the Afar range. That means the region is still quite tectonically active: see Chorowicz (2005) for much more detail concerning the ages of the different rift regions. Geography and Topography The East African Rift System stretches from the Red Sea to Mozambique. It is marked by the African Great Lakes and is currently the largest rift of the world. S. Brune; Kartengrundlage: Nasa-World-Wind The Eastern African Rift Valley is a long valley flanked by uplifted shoulders that step down to the central rift by more or less parallel faults. The main valley is classed as a continental rift, extending from 12 degrees north to 15 degrees south of our planets​ equator. It extends a length of 3,500 km  and intersects major portions of the modern countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique and minor portions of others. The width of the valley varies between 30 km to 200 km (20-125 mi), with the widest section at the northern end where it links to the Red Sea in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The depth of the valley varies across eastern Africa, but for most of its length it is more than 1 km (3280 feet) deep and at its deepest, in Ethiopia, it is over 3 km (9,800 ft) deep. The topographical steepness of its shoulders and the depth of the valley have created specialized microclimates and hydrology within its walls. Most rivers are short and small within the valley, but a few follow the rifts for hundreds of kilometers, discharging into deep lake basins. The valley acts as a north-south corridor for the migration of animals and birds  and inhibits east/west movements. When glaciers dominated most of Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene, the rift lake basins were havens for animals and plant life, including early hominins. History of the Rift Valley Studies Following on the mid- to late-19th-century work of dozens of explorers including the famous David Livingstone, the concept of an East African rift fracture was established by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess, and named the Great Rift Valley of East Africa in 1896 by British geologist John Walter Gregory. In 1921, Gregory described the GRV as a system of graben basins which included the valleys of the Red and Dead Seas in western Asia, as the Afro-Arabian rift system. Gregorys interpretation of the GRV formation was that two faults had opened up and a central piece dropped down forming the valley (called a graben). Since Gregorys investigations, scholars have re-interpreted the rift as the result of multiple graben faults organized over a major fault line at the plate juncture. The faults occurred in time from the Paleozoic to Quaternary eras, a time span of some 500 million years. In many areas, there have been repeated rifting events, including at least seven phases of rifting over the past 200 million years. Paleontology in the Rift Valley In the 1970s, paleontologist Richard Leakey designated the East African Rift region as the Cradle of Mankind, and there is no doubt that the earliest hominids—members of the Homo species—arose within its boundaries. Why that happened is a matter of conjecture, but may have something to do with the steep valley walls and microclimates created within them. The interior of the rift valley was isolated from the rest of Africa during the Pleistocene ice age  and sheltered freshwater lakes located in savannahs. As with other animals, our early ancestors may have found refuge there when the ice covered much of the planet and then evolved as hominids within its tall shoulders. An interesting study on the genetics of frog species by Freilich and colleagues showed that the valleys micro-climates and topography are at least, in this case, a biogeographic barrier that resulted in the splitting of the species into two separate gene pools. It is the eastern branch (much of Kenya and Ethiopia) where much of the paleontological work has identified hominids. Beginning about 2 million years ago, barriers in the eastern branch eroded away, a time which is coeval (as much as that clock can be called co-eval) with the spread of Homo species outside of Africa. Rift Evolution Analysis of the rift reported by German geologist Sascha Brune and colleagues in March 2019 (Corti et al. 2019) suggests that although the rift began as two overlapping disconnected rifts (Ethiopian and Kenyan), the lateral offset that lies in the Turkana depression has evolved and continues to evolve into a single oblique rift.   In March of 2018, a great crack measuring 50 feet wide and miles long opened up in the Suswa area of southwestern Kenya. Scientists believe the cause was not a sudden recent shift of the tectonic plates, but rather the abrupt erosion to the surface of a long-standing subsurface crack that developed over thousands of years. Recent heavy rains caused the soil to collapse over the crack, exposing it to the surface, rather like a sinkhole.  Ã‚   Selected Sources Blinkhorn, J., and M. Grove. The Structure of the Middle Stone Age of Eastern Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews 195 (2018): 1–20. Print.Chorowicz, Jean. The East African Rift System. Journal of African Earth Sciences 43.1–3 (2005): 379–410. Print.Corti, Giacomo, et al. Aborted Propagation of the Ethiopian Rift Caused by Linkage with the Kenyan Rift. Nature Communications 10.1 (2019): 1309. Print.Deino, Alan L., et al. Chronology of the Acheulean to Middle Stone Age Transition in Eastern Africa. Science 360.6384 (2018): 95–98. Print.Freilich, Xenia, et al. Comparative Phylogeography of Ethiopian Anurans: Impact of the Great Rift Valley and Pleistocene Climate Change. BMC Evolutionary Biology 16.1 (2016): 206. Print.Frostick, L. Africa: Rift Valley. Encyclopedia of Geology. Eds. Cocks, L. Robin M. and Ian R. Plimer. Oxford: Elsevier, 2005. 26–34. Print.Sahnouni, Mohamed, et al. 1.9-Million- and 2.4-Million-Year-Old Artifacts and Stone Tool-Cutmarked Bones from Ain Boucherit, Algeria. Science 362.6420 (2018): 1297–301. Print.Simon, Brendan, et al. Deformation and Sedimentary Evolution of the Lake Albert Rift (Uganda, East African Rift System). Marine and Petroleum Geology 86 (2017): 17–37. Print.

William Shakespeare s Macbeth And Fyodor Dostoevsky s...

Joanne Marius World Humanities Professor Bonaparte 17 December 2014 Similar Actions... Different Outcomes Many novels throughout the world have been known to hold insight on many life decisions. It is common to read about how positive actions have positive outcomes. Some however, give insight to negative outcomes from negative actions. Yet, how is it that some people are able to overcome these outcomes from their decisions? It does not come without hardships that affect the person mentally. Two famous narratives of literature in particular are William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment. Both works are allegorically similar in that the situations and struggles of the protagonists have complex ways of following a decision that has lead to distinctly different outcomes. However, both narratives are also vastly different in nature. Some similarities between the two works of literature are the recurring themes of good and evil, guilt, motive, and ambition. Through an in depth understanding of the context surrounding what lead to the pr otagonists murders in both stories, and the actions that each protagonist upholds, it will be easier to understand how Macbeth ultimately destroys his life in the end of the play and how Raskonikov starts his redemption at the end of the story due to the many factors that lead them to their distinctly different outcomes. Macbeth is about how one man, who appears to be a loyal and honorable person in

MBA Admissions Essays Free Essays

Essay # 1 List one of your most significant professional or organizational accomplishments. Describe your precise role in this event and how it has helped to shape your management skills. I started out initially as a technical support representative for a Stage Software Inc. We will write a custom essay sample on MBA Admissions Essays or any similar topic only for you Order Now in 2003 for a period of six months while presently I am associated with McKing Consulting Corporation. However for a period of two years I was associated with SunTrust Bank, where I started out as a Staff Accountant level one and in a year’s time was promoted to the next level this was based on outstanding job performance and proposal. In addition during the initially stage I was one of the team members who was responsible for relocation and change of the accounting system of an acquired bank into SunTrust’s accounting system. (Listed as Significant Achievement in the Resume) In the beginning of my last year with the bank, SunTrust finance organization experienced some specific changes in various departments. This was done to realign its objectives to achieve strategic vision of the Bank. Consequently, my department’s operations were altered the Controllers to Finance operations. Prior to the changes the monthly financial closing constituted s cross-functional departments, — my department was also a part of this financial closing. Following were some of the problems which existed in the past: For each financial closing a significant challenge was that most of the time some of the more important processes which were crucial for month end close were missed or delayed. Communication between team members was either limited or non-existent There was no system in place for a smooth flow of process. Understanding the need to restructure the month end process, I rose to the challenge by taking the idea of synchronizing the month end close. As I was not very familiar with the different processes, my inexperience was one of the major impediments. I succeeded in coming up with a task plan to achieve the goals. Initially I set up a meeting with the related teams and managers who were involved to get familiar with the different month end actions that needed to be processed. From the information received at the meeting I was able to draft a month end schedule, which detailed a list of responsibilities and prioritized the orders. This was presented for productive criticisms and reaction. It was accepted by the teams and the managers and after its implementation there was a remarkable improvement in the month end process. This experience taught me the importance of working as a team and the importance of communication and coordination—a skill which is essential for business leaders and managers.   In addition the significance of organization and time management through prioritization to achieve objectives became very clear. This was my first experience as a leader as I initiated the change to create a more efficient set-up. The opportunity gave me an insight into the organizational processes. Although at a very basic level however this initiative showed me as a leader and strengthen my professional growth however it was not enough as there is a need to further strengthen and polish the skills I have and MBA degree would he helpful in these respects. I am confident that my MBA experience will provide me with ample opportunities to demonstrate my leadership skills and also learn from future leaders. Essay # 2 Of Goizueta`s core values (courage, integrity, accountability, rigor, diversity, team, community), which value resonates most with you and why? 1 page Courage is the something which I believe is a very important part of my personality and life.   Almost 8 years back when I left Nigeria leaving behind family and friends I was not sure what it would be like in the United States and the people and the environment was completely alien for me. However it was my determination and my courage which made me carry on in spite of all the adversities. I was determined to be successful in my life and through perseverance and concerted effort I was able to assimilate in the new society. Initially it was very depressing as I was all alone and had no one to turn to and I realized that if I kept on pondering about it I would have to return. For this I formed a plan to succeed and I went started implementing it. I found a group of immigrants from Nigeria –this group provided a sense of support to carry on and eventually I was able to familiarize myself with the surroundings. Another thing I realized was to be financially independent. In Nigeria it was the parent’s responsibility to put children through school however here I had to get and education and support myself at the same time. With careful research, I realized that I would be able to secure financial aid and apply for scholarship to pay for school. The immigration experience has in reality strengthened my character different ways and this strength would be helpful both for my career and my personal life. Though it may sound clichà ©d, but courage in the face of adversity inadvertently leads to success. Through this experience I also learned to value and be sensitive to other cultures and to enrich others with mine. I also discovered myself, a thing that would not have happened if I had not been exposed to this kind of experience. I was brave and I had a vision of my future, my resilience and optimism have paved the way for success. Essay # 3 Of Goizueta`s core values (courage, integrity, accountability, rigor, diversity, team, community), which value resonates most with you and why? 1 page Courage is the something which I believe is a very important part of my personality and life.   Almost 8 years back when I left Nigeria leaving behind family and friends I was not sure what it would be like in the United States and the people and the environment was completely alien for me. However it was my determination and my courage which made me carry on in spite of all the adversities. I was determined to be successful in my life and through perseverance and concerted effort I was able to assimilate in the new society. Initially it was very depressing as I was all alone and had no one to turn to and I realized that if I kept on pondering about it I would have to return. For this I formed a plan to succeed and I went started implementing it. I found a group of immigrants from Nigeria –this group provided a sense of support to carry on and eventually I was able to familiarize myself with the surroundings. Another thing I realized was to be financially independent. In Nigeria it was the parent’s responsibility to put children through school however here I had to get and education and support myself at the same time. With careful research, I realized that I would be able to secure financial aid and apply for scholarship to pay for school. The immigration experience has in reality strengthened my character different ways and this strength would be helpful both for my career and my personal life. Though it may sound clichà ©d, but courage in the face of adversity inadvertently leads to success. Through this experience I also learned to value and be sensitive to other cultures and to enrich others with mine. I also discovered myself, a thing that would not have happened if I had not been exposed to this kind of experience. I was brave and I had a vision of my future, my resilience and optimism have paved the way for success. Essay # 4 What do you expect to accomplish in the Goizueta Business School MBA program? How will your participation in the MBA program fit in with your experiences and responsibilities as well as your short and long-term career goals? My life and the experiences since 1998 have been anything but normal. Emigrating from Nigeria was the first important landmark in my life. However, when I graduated from Georgia State University with a major in Accounting and Computer Information Systems I realized that in fact my BBA Cum Laude was the first goal in procession goals I had lined up. After my graduation my past four years experience in different organizations mentioned in the resume have helped me gain the knowledge and experience I feel was necessary to start my MBA degree which I regard as the final step before seriously starting a career. Even as my professional experiences have facilitated me to develop strong skills in Accounting with the application of technology, I believe that at this point my career objective is to evolve into corporate finance by channeling my experience and developing further my knowledge of finance. I am convinced that an MBA with concentration in finance coupled with my professional familiarity will be an important asset creating a path to achieve my career goals. My short-term goal is to obtain a job related to Corporate Finance in a Fortune 500 company or to enter corporate finance practice of a consulting firm. This goal has been formed because of my experience working as a second level accountant in the Controllers’ division of SunTrust bank. My experience at SunTrust has given me the experience needed to understand the dynamics of finance and operational activities through the various accounting assignments I participated in. My long term objectives are strategic objectives based on the short term ones, because my ultimate goal — after gaining extensive knowledge and experience—is to form a financial advisory services firm that will cater to the needs of small to mid-size companies by helping organizations with raising capital, and ground-breaking financial planning solutions that will improve financial performance and value of business. An MBA from Emory University is necessary because will provide the additional knowledge base that are vital to fulfill the different short term and long term career goals. What particularly interests me is Gozuieta’s commitment to leadership development through the plus programs and extracurricular activities which would give ample opportunity for me to further improve and enhance my leadership skills.   Also, Goizueta’s flexible program will not only help polish my skills in other fundamental functional business areas but will also allow me to modify my selection of courses according to detailed career interests. Most importantly, my visit to Emory University was both informative and inspirational I was able to obtain more information about the structure of the program. In addition, it gave me the chance to interact with alumni, current MBA students and a faculty member. I it was very beneficial listening to their first hand experiences and also learn about the close-knit community at Goizueta. This I believe is very significant as it allows the fostering of meaningful relationships. Overall, I was really impressed with the talent and diversity of the students this has certainly strengthened my resolve to be a part of Goizueta business school. If given an opportunity I assure you that I would contribute through my hard work and experiences to the classroom and more importantly gain knowledge and an understanding of the corporate world. How to cite MBA Admissions Essays, Essays

The Smallest Difference free essay sample

During the summer of 2010, I spent a lot of my time working at baseball camps for America’s Game Baseball Facility. I was a staff member there, and I got the chance to teach the game of baseball to young children. There were two groups of kids that I worked with, the first group was ages 6-9, and the second group was ages 9-11. The camps were each a week in length, and there were five different sessions, so I had the opportunity to work with a lot of different kids. However, there was one youngster that stood out to me. He was a seven year old boy by the name of Kevin, and he was a little different from most of the other kids at the camp. Kevin was small for his age, he was not the most skilled player, and he was somewhat of an outcast of the group. We will write a custom essay sample on The Smallest Difference or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Kevin did not seem to have much confidence in himself when he arrived at the camp, which I believe caused him to hold back and not play to the best of his ability. Day after day, I worked with the kids, paying special attention to Kevin; not necessarily focusing on improving his swing or correcting his throwing motion, but more so on simply talking and getting to know him a little bit more every day. Slowly, but surely, I noticed him starting to gain confidence in himself while he was amongst his peers, and after the first couple days Kevin started feeling more comfortable around me as well. He would come sit next to me on our lunch break and engage in conversation as if we had known each other for years. Often we would not even discuss baseball; we would talk about whatever Kevin could think of; his siblings for example, or what television shows he enjoyed watching. Just as I had thought, the more Kevin talked and gained confidence, the better he would do in the physical aspect of the game. By the end of the week, Kevin was no longer the shy, self-conscious kid that I had seen on the first day. He had come such a long way in every sense; he had made new friends and improved his baseball skills tremendously. On the last day of camp when parents were coming to pick up their children, Kevin ran up to me and gave me a hug. With a big smile on his face, he said â€Å"Thank you, Coach Adam†. This is one moment that I will never forget for as long as I am a coach. It is a great feeling to know that you personally made even the smallest difference in a young kid’s life, even if it is something as insignificant as teaching the game of baseball. It did not show up on any score card or stat sheet, but helping Kevin was a personal home run for me; one that I would not trade for anything.