Transcript Catching Earthquakes in Africa and the Origin of the East

 Overview of AfricaArray
 AfricaArray Science
 Broader Impacts
 Milestones
 Next steps
 Discussion/questions/feedback
AESEDA
Alliance for Earth Sciences, Engineering and Development in
Africa
 October 2003 Kick-off Symposium
 Paul Dirks, Head, School of Geosciences
University of the Witwatersrand, S. Africa
 Oil company reps - workforce issues, lack of well
trained African scientists
 Discussions about new seismic projects
(Angola, Uganda, South Africa)
AfricaArray
AfricaArray: Training a Scientific Workforce for
Africa’s Natural Resource Sector
(White paper, November 2003)
Workshops
Wits, Feb. 2004
Houston, May 2004
Wits, July 2004
Target launch date
January 1, 2005
AfricaArray
Goal:
 Establish a unique in-situ geophysics training
and research program to help build a scientific
workforce
 As part of this training and research program,
create a shared scientific facility (broadband
seismic network, GPS) to promote education,
research, and community building in geophysics
How will AfricaArray achieve these goal?
AfricaArray will tightly couple education and research
programs in geophysics with recording stations (seismic
intially) across Africa over a 20 year period for:
 In-situ training of a new generation of African scientists,
 developing facilities within African institutions,
 promoting community building among African scientists,
 increasing basic knowledge of earth structure.
“AfricaArray” = array of stations + array of training programs + array of
research projects + array of partnerships and collaborations
AfricaArray will be implemented in 3 phases
Phase 1 (years 1-3, starting Jan. 2005)
 the geophysics program will be improved and expanded at the
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, to provide BSc, MSc
and Ph.D. degree training
 seismic stations will be installed or upgraded in participating
countries as part of a permanent “backbone” seismic network
 train technical personnel how to operate and maintain seismic
stations
 data from the seismic stations will be used for student thesis
research
AfricaArray Implementation
Phase 2 (years 4-6) & Phase 3 (years 7-10)
 Expand training programs
 build centers of excellence in geophysics at
other universities
 Expand network of permanent seismic stations
 “flexible” seismometer arrays will be installed
 Develop outreach programs
Degree Training Program at Wits
(oil and mining company interests)
 Degrees (US/European standard training in Africa)
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BSc (geology with physics; 3 yrs)
BSc Honours (geophysics; 1 yr)
MSc (geophysics; 2-3 yrs)
Ph.D. (geophysics; 4-6 yrs)
 Fee structure -- no buy-in costs; research support
included in fee structure
 Sandwich program for MSc and Ph.D. students - spend
up to 6 months/yr at US or European University
 2005: 10 BSc students; 1 MSc; 2 Ph.D.
 Students come from 5 African countries
Recent improvements in
training program
 Added to part-time staff (faculty)
 Seismic reflection and mine seismology
 Ground penetrating radar
 Sandwich program set up for MSc and
PhD students (4 U.S. universities; 2
European universities)
Data Policy for AA stations
(as per July 04 workshop)
 Data from AfricaArray stations must be
archived at the IRIS DMC
 Data can be archived at other data centers
at the same time
 Data must be made open after a set
period of time (2 years probably)
HOW is Geophysics relevant to
the development of Africa
MINISTER NGCUKA (Minister of Minerals & Energy, SA)
GEOSCIENCE AFRICA 2004 CONFERENCE, WITS
UNIVERSITY
In her opening address THE MINISTER mentioned the high cost
to South Africa of oil and gas imports. She challenged the
audience to:
• Assist in making new oil & gas discoveries
• Promote mineral exploration
• Promote mine safety issues
• Promote man power development
Endorsement by Minister
Ngcuka
GEOSCIENCE AFRICA 2004
CONFERENCE, WITS UNIVERSITY
Minister Ngcuka specifically endorsed
AfricaArray and mentioned it as:
‘an example of a
collaborative project
worthy of support’.
Partnerships
 School of Geosciences, University of Wits ($900K)
 Council for Geoscience ($800K)
 Penn State University ($20K)
($1.7 M in-kind support)
 Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS)
 Countries: South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana,
Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Angola, Nigeria
 Participating educational and government organizations
 Many universities in Africa and the U.S.
 Many geological surveys Africa
growing quickly
Support
 Establish a PUBLIC-PRIVATE funding partnership
Funding Agencies:
Public: NSF, DOE, USAID, NRF, DST, DME,other government
organizations
Private: foundations, Multinational corporations working in Africa
(primarily oil and mineral)
Funding Partners (so far):
Private: Schlumberger, ISSI, CSIR/MiningTek, ExxonMobil,
Mineral Education Trust Fund (S. Africa)
Public: NSF, NRF
GOAL: $2.7M for Phase 1
Science Objectives
 Theme “4D Imaging of the African Crust and
Mantle”
 many geological targets of economic, academic and
societal interest
 extremely old (Archean) to very recent (active faults),
 very large (sub-continental scale) to very small (individual
faults within a basin or intrusive complex)
 very deep (lower mantle) to very shallow (near-surface
aquifers).
AfricaArray science will investigate a wide range of targets
spanning much of geologic time and many spatial scales
using data from the AfricaArray scientific observatories, plus
geophysical, geochemical, and geological data available
from other sources.
AfricaArray science encompasses all geophysics, not just
seismology
Imaging the
African
Superplume
 Largest seismic anomaly in
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the mantle
The largest flow structure in
the mantle
Poorly imaged with current
seismic data due to limited
ray coverage
Structure may hold the key to
unraveling the nature of
convection in the mantle
Improving the seismic images
of the superplume is difficult
without additional data
AfricaArray is positioned to
provide the definitive seismic
data set for imaging the
superplume
NSF funding
Projects under development
 Imaging the Bushveld Complex (David James, Matt
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Fouch, Univ. of Wits)
Imaging the deep structure of the Congo Craton
(Nyblade and diamond exploration companies)
Lithospheric structure of African basins (Nyblade and
ExxonMobil)
Structure and tectonics of the SW East African rift
system (Belgium lead)
Structure, tectonics and uplift of the Ruwenzori Mts.,
Uganda (Germany lead)
Structure of the Wits basin (S. Africa lead)
Broader Impacts
 Enhancing diversity in the Geosciences
 History  Mining Charter Act and pressures within South
Africa to train students from historically
disadvantaged backgrounds
 How does AfricaArray address this problem?
Solution: Summer geophysics field course to
introduce science, engineering and math students
to geophysics
Broader Impacts (cont.)
 Links to NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s
Development). AfricaArray has been well received by
NEPAD officials.
 Tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean.
AfricaArray is well positioned to provide critical data.
 Vehicle to further cooperative research: A model that can
be easily adapted to other science and technology fields
Milestones
 AfricaArray is up and running in just 1 year!
 Three successful workshops in 2004
 High visibility at NSF: presentation to GEO
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January 24, 2005
High visibility within South Africa: NRF, NEPAD,
DME
High visibility within science community: news
article in NATURE
Web site launched end of 2004
First AA students at Wits, January 2005
A few next steps…..
 First data to IRIS DMC within a few weeks
 New stations in: Angola, Namibia, Mozambique
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and Malawi
Fund raising: SEG Foundation, Oil company
foundations, mining companies, AID
organizations
Tsunami warning system for Indian Ocean?
Set up an advisory board
Develop further the governance structure
Workshop goals
 to provide information about AfricaArray to
interested parties;
 to encourage participation in all aspects of
AfricaArray by European scientists;
 to define short-time strategies for improving the
AfricaArray seismic network through collaborations
with European scientists and network operators;
 to define long-term strategies for obtaining funding
and other forms of support for AfricaArray from
European organizations and companies.
 Workshop product: A report that includes specific
action items addressing goals 3) and 4).
Agenda
 Informational talks on networks and data
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management
Working group assignments - answer
specific questions
WG leaders report back to whole group
Group discussion of WG
recommendations
Draft report with action items