The Ethiopian Plateau is one of the few tectonically-active regions on Earth that is situated in continental rift zones. About 1.6 km deep gorge of the Nile was carved by the Blue Nile River on the Ethiopian Plateau, as the plateau has been experiencing continuous uplift and exhumation in the Cenozoic. Here, we used quantitative analysis of longitudinal rive-profile forms and parameters (knickpoint and normalized steepness-index ksn) of the Blue Nile tributaries to tease out regional tectonic signals.
244 knickpoints were examined in the tributaries, majority (>80%) of which are unassociated with lithology or geological structures. Knickpoint distribution throughout the plateau reveals three incision phases. The novel approach of correlation of ksn with mantle tomography suggests that higher and lower ksn values occur above low-velocity and high-velocity zones, respectively, indicating that thermal upwelling beneath the plateau linked to Afar mantle plume largely controls the uplift thus incision of the plateau.
","abstract_html":"<p>The Ethiopian Plateau is one of the few tectonically-active regions on Earth that is situated in continental rift zones. About 1.6 km deep gorge of the Nile was carved by the Blue Nile River on the Ethiopian Plateau, as the plateau has been experiencing continuous uplift and exhumation in the Cenozoic. Here, we used quantitative analysis of longitudinal rive-profile forms and parameters (knickpoint and normalized steepness-index <em>k<sub>sn</sub></em>) of the Blue Nile tributaries to tease out regional tectonic signals.</p> <p>244 knickpoints were examined in the tributaries, majority (>80%) of which are unassociated with lithology or geological structures. Knickpoint distribution throughout the plateau reveals three incision phases. The novel approach of correlation of <em>k<sub>sn</sub></em> with mantle tomography suggests that higher and lower <em>k<sub>sn</sub></em> values occur above low-velocity and high-velocity zones, respectively, indicating that thermal upwelling beneath the plateau linked to Afar mantle plume largely controls the uplift thus incision of the plateau.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Neupane, Prabhat Chandra"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis-Restricted","degree_discipline":"Earth and Environmental Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Gani M Royhan","Gani Nahid DS","Georgiou Ioannis Y."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-12-17T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-12-17T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:29:24Z","subjects":["Ethiopian Plateau","tectonic geomorphology","exhumation","stream profile analysis","knickpoint","mantle tomography","Geology","Geomorphology","Tectonics and Structure"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1391","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Gani M Royhan","Gani Nahid DS","Georgiou Ioannis Y."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Neupane, Prabhat Chandra"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Earth and Environmental Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis-Restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Ethiopian Plateau","tectonic geomorphology","exhumation","stream profile analysis","knickpoint","mantle tomography","Geology","Geomorphology","Tectonics and Structure"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1391"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Ethiopian Plateau is one of the few tectonically-active regions on Earth that is situated in continental rift zones. About 1.6 km deep gorge of the Nile was carved by the Blue Nile River on the Ethiopian Plateau, as the plateau has been experiencing continuous uplift and exhumation in the Cenozoic. Here, we used quantitative analysis of longitudinal rive-profile forms and parameters (knickpoint and normalized steepness-index ksn) of the Blue Nile tributaries to tease out regional tectonic signals.
244 knickpoints were examined in the tributaries, majority (>80%) of which are unassociated with lithology or geological structures. Knickpoint distribution throughout the plateau reveals three incision phases. The novel approach of correlation of ksn with mantle tomography suggests that higher and lower ksn values occur above low-velocity and high-velocity zones, respectively, indicating that thermal upwelling beneath the plateau linked to Afar mantle plume largely controls the uplift thus incision of the plateau.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Understanding uplift of the Ethiopian Plateau from longitudinal profile analysis of the Blue Nile drainage system"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Gani M Royhan","Gani Nahid DS","Georgiou Ioannis Y."],"dc:creator":["Neupane, Prabhat Chandra"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Ethiopian Plateau is one of the few tectonically-active regions on Earth that is situated in continental rift zones. About 1.6 km deep gorge of the Nile was carved by the Blue Nile River on the Ethiopian Plateau, as the plateau has been experiencing continuous uplift and exhumation in the Cenozoic. Here, we used quantitative analysis of longitudinal rive-profile forms and parameters (knickpoint and normalized steepness-index ksn) of the Blue Nile tributaries to tease out regional tectonic signals.
244 knickpoints were examined in the tributaries, majority (>80%) of which are unassociated with lithology or geological structures. Knickpoint distribution throughout the plateau reveals three incision phases. The novel approach of correlation of ksn with mantle tomography suggests that higher and lower ksn values occur above low-velocity and high-velocity zones, respectively, indicating that thermal upwelling beneath the plateau linked to Afar mantle plume largely controls the uplift thus incision of the plateau.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1391"],"dc:subject":["Ethiopian Plateau","tectonic geomorphology","exhumation","stream profile analysis","knickpoint","mantle tomography","Geology","Geomorphology","Tectonics and Structure"],"dc:title":["Understanding uplift of the Ethiopian Plateau from longitudinal profile analysis of the Blue Nile drainage system"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Earth and Environmental Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis-Restricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:29:24Z"}