Tectonic Spiral Structures of the Tethyan Vortex Street (Revisited) GRACE Geoid Interpretations and African Lightning Teleconnections

Bruce A. Leybourne, N. Christian Smoot, Giovanni P. Gregori, Gabriel Paparo, Ismail Bhat

The Tethyan Vortex Street (TVS) spiral structures (Fig. 1) are exemplified by 1.) Sestri Spiral, 2.) Aegean Spiral, 3). Kersihir Spiral, 4). Spiral of the Lut desert, 5). Tibesti Spiral, and 6). Arabia Spiral, [1, 2]. Counter-clockwise spiral structures of the TVS are also common features along the world-encircling vortex street [3]. The 6 spirals have associated gravity highs from GRACE geoid data (Fig. 2) and may be associated with active or dormant joule spikes [4]. Monthly geoid mgal values are data mined from GRACE missions between Feb. 2003 to Nov. 2005 and thermal expansion indicators are examined for each tectonic spiral, while external teleconnections to other gravitational and electrical indicators are sought. Annual flash rates of anomalous lightning over the Congo (Fig. 3) have a similar geospatial pattern and location to the geoid low exhibited in GRACE (Fig. 4). One observation is the joule spike heating elements are generally associated with GRACE gravity highs, while one of the largest lightning grounding areas in the Congo appears as a gravity low. GRACE gravitational teleconnections (Fig. 5) of the Congo and African Rift area exhibit strong teleconnection signals to the Aegean Spiral, while exhibiting weaker links to the Lut Spiral. Extreme amounts of lightning arcing into the mantle underneath Congo and telluric attraction to neighboring joule spikes in Uganda, supplies soldering rift energies which may be capable of anchoring the African continent, and may supply new theoretical evidence suggesting why Africa is considered the most stable of continents of the Pangean Breakup [5]. In addition, African lightning has been linked to tropical Atlantic cyclone formation [6] and unraveling some of these complexities may be possible (Fig. 6 and Fig. 7). Monitoring Acoustic Emissions (AE) [7] and electrical indicators at some key electrical sources and sinks may determine relevant timing information related to tropical hurricane activity.

Full Text