Composition and thermal evolution of the lithospheric mantle beneath the Harrat Uwayrid, eastern flank of the Red Sea rift (Saudi Arabia)

Volcanism in the western part of the Arabian plate resulted in one of the largest alkali basalt provinces in the world, where lava fields with sub-alkaline to alkaline affinity are scattered from Syria and the Dead Sea Transform Zone through western Saudi Arabia to Yemen. After the Afar plume emplacement (∼30 Ma), volcanism took place in Yemen and progressively propagated northward due to Red Sea rifting-related lithospheric thinning (initiated ∼27–25 Ma). Few lava fields were emplaced during the Mesozoic, with the oldest 200 Ma volcanic activity recorded in northern Israel. We report results from volcanic pipes in the Marthoum area, east of Harrat Uwayrid, where over a hundred pipes occupy a stratigraphic level in the early Ordovician Saq sandstones. Most of them are circular or elliptical features marked by craters aligned along NW-SE fractures in the sandstone resulting from phreatomagmatic explosions that occurred when rising magma columns came in contact with the water table in the porous sandstone host. These lavas have Sr-Pb-Nd-Hf isotopic compositions far from the Cenozoic Arabian alkaline volcanism field, being considerably more enriched in Nd-Hf and Pb isotopes than any other Arabian Plate lava ever reported. New K-Ar dating constrains their age from Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene, thus anticipating the Afar plume emplacement and the Red Sea rift. Basalt geochemistry indicates that these volcanic eruptions formed from low-degree partial melting of an enriched lithospheric mantle source triggered by local variations in the asthenosphere-lithosphere boundary. This mantle source has a composition similar to the HIMU-like enriched isotopic component reported in the East African Rift and considered to represent the lowermost lithospheric mantle of the Nubian Shield. The generated melt, mixed in different proportions with melt derived from a depleted asthenosphere, produces the HIMU-like character throughout the Cenozoic Arabian alkaline volcanism. Although apparently hidden, this enriched lithospheric component is therefore ubiquitous and widespread in the cratonic roots of the African and Arabian subcontinental mantle.

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Tectono-Thermal Evolution of the Red Sea Rift

Frontiers in Earth Science ◽

10.3389/feart.2021.713448 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Samuel C. Boone ◽

Maria-Laura Balestrieri ◽

Barry Kohn

Keyword(s):

Red Sea ◽

Tectonic Evolution ◽

Thermal Evolution ◽

Vitrinite Reflectance ◽

Thermal Flux ◽

Red Sea Rift ◽

Geological Past ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Well Data ◽

Geodynamic Activity

The Oligocene-Recent Red Sea rift is one of the preeminent examples of lithospheric rupture in the recent geological past, forming the basis for many models of how continental breakup occurs and progresses to the formation of new oceanic crust. Utilisation of low-temperature thermochronology in the Red Sea Rift since the 1980s has been key to constraining its spatio-temporal evolution, providing constraints for the propagation of strain and geomorphological development of its margins where datable syn-tectonic strata and/or markers are absent. We review the wealth of published apatite fission track and (U-Th-Sm)/He data from along the Red Sea, affording insights into the Oligocene-Recent thermo-tectonic evolution of the Nubian and Arabian margins. A regional interpolation protocol was employed to synthesise time-temperature reconstructions generated from the mined thermochronology data and burial histories produced from vitrinite reflectance and well data. These cooling-heating maps record a series of pronounced episodes of upper crustal thermal flux related to the development of the Oligocene-Recent Red Sea Rift. Assimilation of these regional thermal history maps with paleogeographic reconstructions and regional magmatic and strain histories provide regional perspectives on the roles of tectonism and geodynamic activity in Red Sea formation and their effects on rift margin development.

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Hidden but ubiquitous: the pre-rift continental mantle in the Red Sea region

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-10863 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Camilla Sani ◽

Alessio Sanfilippo ◽

Najeeb M.A. Rasul ◽

Luigi Vigliotti ◽

Nawaf Widinly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Red Sea ◽

Lithospheric Mantle ◽

Volcanic Rocks ◽

Volcanic Eruptions ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Eastern Africa ◽

Arabian Plate ◽

Alkaline Volcanism ◽

Porous Sandstone

The extensive volcanism in the western part of the Arabian plate forms one of the largest Cenozoic alkali basalt provinces in the world where large lava fields with sub-alkaline to alkaline affinity are scattered from Syria and the Dead Sea Transform Zone through western Saudi Arabia to Yemen (Coleman et al. 1983). Most of volcanism took place after the emplacement of the Afar plume in Yemen (~30 Ma) and progressively propagated northward due to the lithospheric thinning related to the Red Sea rifting starting from 27-25 Ma (Bosworth and Stockli, 2016). However, few lava fields were emplaced during the Mesozoic, with the oldest volcanic activity as old as 200 Ma in the north Israel (Atlit- 1 and Haifa-1 drillholes) (Khon et al., 1993). Here, we report new results from volcanic pipes in the Marthoum area immediately to the east of Harrat Uwayrid where over a hundred pipes are aligned along NW-SE fractures in the Ordovician sandstone of the Saq Formation. The chilled vitric nature of these basalts suggests that the pipes are the result of phreatomagmatic explosions which occurred when the rising magma columns met the water table in the porous sandstone host. These lavas have Sr-Pb-Nd-Hf isotopic compositions that plot out of the field of the Cenozoic Arabian alkaline volcanism, being far more enriched in Nd-Hf and Pb isotopes than any lava ever reported in the Arabian plate. New K-Ar dating limits their age to 80 and 50 Ma, thus predating the emplacement of the Afar plume and the rifting in the Red Sea. Our findings indicate that these volcanic eruptions formed from melts generated by a low-degree partial melting of an enriched lithospheric source triggered by local variations in the asthenosphere-lithospheric boundary. This mantle source has a composition similar to the HIMU-like enriched isotopic component reported in eastern Africa Rift (Rooney et al., 2014) and considered to represent the lowermost lithospheric mantle of the Nubian shield. Although apparently hidden, this enriched deep lithospheric component is therefore ubiquitous and widespread in the cratonic roots of the Arabian and African lithospheric mantle, but variously mixed with melts derived from a depleted asthenosphere to produce a HIMU-like flavour dispersed in the Cenozoic Arabian alkaline volcanism.Bosworth, W. and Stockli, D. Early magmatism in the greater Red Sea rift: timing and signi&#64257;cance. Can. J. Earth. Sci., 53, 1158&#8211;1176, 2016.Coleman, R. G., Gregory, R. T., Brown, G. F. Cenozoic volcanic rocks of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian Deputy Minist. Miner. Resour., Open File Report, USGS-OF-03-93, pp. 82, 1983.Khon, B. P., Lang, B. and Steinitz, G. 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Atlit-1 volcanic sequence, northern Israel, Israel J. Earth-Sci., 42, 17&#8211;28, 1993.Rooney, T. O., Nelson, W. R., Dosso, L., Furman, T., Hanan, B. The role of continental lithosphere metasomes in the production of HIMU-like magmatism on the northeast African and Arabian plates. Geology, 42, 419&#8211;422, 2014.

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Roads of Arabia: New finds of Aqaba amphorae in the Red Sea from a newly discovered wreck site at Jeddah/Eliza shoals

10.31338/uw.2083-537x.pam29.1.05 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rupert Brandmeier

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Red Sea ◽

Saudi Arabian ◽

Maritime Archaeology ◽

Western Coast ◽

Research Activities ◽

Red Sea Coast ◽

Insight Into ◽

Sea Coast

This paper concerns a probable shipwreck cargo of Aqaba amphorae, which was discovered during the second season of the survey project along the Saudi Arabian coast, initiated by nautical archaeologists of Philipps-University Marburg and conducted in cooperation with members of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Heritage in autumn 2013. Seafaring and sea trade was, according to the few ancient sources and modern research activities, a hazardous endeavor in antiquity. Transport containers like the Aqaba Amphorae played a major role in sea trade, a significant number of which have been detected on various sites along the Red Sea coast and its hinterland. The chronological classification as well as the application is far from complete, and recent archaeometrical investigations help to clarify the logistical aspects of manufacturing and distribution of Aqaba amphorae. Finding a number of remains of Aqaba amphorae at a supposed shipwreck site close to Jeddah delivers new insight into the maritime routes and activities along the western coast of Saudi Arabia. The documentary material currently available is the baseline for further research in the field of maritime archaeology as it pertains to trade in the Red Sea.

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A Nabatean port on the Red Sea: note on the pottery finds from al-Qusayr (al-Wajh, Saudi Arabia)

10.31338/uw.2083-537x.pam29.1.23 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Caroline Durand

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

19Th Century ◽

Red Sea ◽

Point Of View ◽

The Other ◽

Trade Routes ◽

Other Hand ◽

Roman Egypt ◽

Pottery Sherds ◽

First Time

Al-Qusayr is located 40 km south of modern al-Wajh, roughly 7 km from the eastern Red Sea shore. This site is known since the mid-19th century, when the explorer R. Burton described it for the first time, in particular the remains of a monumental building so-called al-Qasr. In March 2016, a new survey of the site was undertaken by the al-‘Ula–al-Wajh Survey Project. This survey focused not only on al-Qasr but also on the surrounding site corresponding to the ancient settlement. A surface collection of pottery sherds revealed a striking combination of Mediterranean and Egyptian imports on one hand, and of Nabataean productions on the other hand. This material is particularly homogeneous on the chronological point of view, suggesting a rather limited occupation period for the site. Attesting contacts between Mediterranean merchants, Roman Egypt and the Nabataean kingdom, these new data allow a complete reassessment of the importance of this locality in the Red Sea trade routes during antiquity.

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