GloRiDa - The Global Rifts database

Rift basins and passive margins are an archive of extensional processes affecting the shape and integrity of lithospheric plates. The spatio-temporal occurrence and dynamics of these structures are not only relevant for resource exploration but also contain important information on forces acting on continental lithospheric plates and for a next generation of plate kinematic models with deforming plates. I present the first quantified geospatial database of global rift structures for the Phanerozoic which allows a “big data” approach to the analysis of lithospheric extension patterns over geological time.

I will analyse the geological history of global rift patterns and relate these with tectonic parameters such as magnitude of rifting, duration and time of occurrence, lithospheric and crustal substrate, and proximity to plate boundaries. The analysis shows distinct temporal patterns in the rate of 'failed' versus 'successful' rifts over geological time as well as in the lifespan of active rifting, related to plate tectonic environment. In addition, I will utilise a new global sediment thickness compliation to extract kinematic information from those rift basins and present how this information is used for plate tectonic models with deforming plates.