Dear colleagues from the Geo.X Network,

we invite you to join us for the Geo.X "Grow Your Idea" workshop: The East African Rift System: geology, resources, paleoenvironment, and human evolution. 

Date: 26 – 27 February 2026 

Place: 26 February: Technical University Berlin, Ernst-Reuter-Platz, Room BH-N 107
              27 February: online

Summary
The East African Rift System (hereafter called EARS) is the longest continental rift system on planet Earth. In this GeoX network, we aim to provide a platform to discuss recent advances in the study of the rift and its surroundings and to foster collaboration among scientists from GFZ, TU Berlin, FU Berlin, the University of Potsdam and other GeoX institutes.   

Meeting agendas

The meeting aims to discuss the following three broad agendas:

1. Rift tectonics 
2. Geothermal Resource explorations and Geohazard
3. Paleoenvironmental and human evolution studies in East Africa

Schedule of the meeting

Day 1 - 26.02.2026

09:00 - 09:30 – registration 

09:30 - 09:40 – welcome 

09:40 - 10:00 – getting to know each other

10:00 - 10:20 – GNSS & InSAR observations at the Olkaria geothermal site – Bodo Bookhagen

10:20 - 10:40 – Geodynamic modeling of Rifts - Sascha Brune

10:40 – 11:10 – coffee 

11:10 – 11:30 – Inversion tectonics in Turkana depression, Kenya – Ameha Muluneh

11:30 – 11:50 - Seismicity in East Africa – Joachim Saul

11:50 – 13:30 – Lunch

13:30 - 14:10 –  Lydia Olaka - invited talk 

14:10 - 14:30 – Seismicity in Olkaria Geothermal site, Kenya – Junior Kimata

14:30 -14:50 – Automatic fault mapping in East Africa rift system – Pauline Gayrin

14:50 -15:20 – coffee

15:20 – 15:40 – CO₂ degassing in the rift  - Luisa Hirche

15:40 – 16:00- ICDP´s plan to drill in Chew Bahir – Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr

16:00 – 16:20 - Tipping Points - Martin Trauth

16:20 – 17:00 – Discussions/concluding remarks 

17:30 – 19:30 - Dinner

Day 2  - 27.02.2026 - ONLINE

09:30 - 09:40 – welcome 

09:40 - 10:00 – Derek Keir – invited talk 

10:00 - 10:20 – Pleistocene alluvial sediments as indicators of Paleoclimate – Robert Bussert

10:20 - 11:00 – coffee

11:00 – 11:20 – River systems in the Kenya Rift during the African Humid Period: relevance for lake level fluctuations and biotic interchange -  Rene Dommain

11:20 - 11:40 – Fauna, Lithics, and Paleoenvironments of the Pleistocene Nile Basin, Sudan: The PALEONILE Project – Faysal Bibi

11:40 - 12:30 – Discussion

The online meeting ends at 12:30. 

We invite participants to bring posters for discussion during the coffee break.

We expect a total of 30 attendees.  

Please contact Ameha Muluneh (ameha@gfz.de) to register until 20 February 2026.

With kind regards
Ameha Muluneh