scholarly journals Transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading in the northern Red Sea area

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami El Khrepy ◽  
Ivan Koulakov ◽  
Nassir Al-Arifi ◽  
Mamdouh S. Alajmi ◽  
Ayman N. Qadrouh
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Continental Rifting ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Lower Velocity ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
Oceanic Spreading ◽  
Lithospheric Extension ◽  
Sea Area ◽  
Northern Red Sea

<p><strong>Lithosphere extension, which plays an essential role in plate tectonics, occurs both in continents (as rift systems) and oceans (spreading along mid-oceanic ridges). The northern Red Sea area is a unique natural geodynamic laboratory, where the ongoing transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading can be observed. Here, we analyze travel time data from a merged catalogue provided by the Egyptian and Saudi Arabian seismic networks to build a three-dimensional model of seismic velocities in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the northern Red Sea and surroundings. The derived structures clearly reveal a high-velocity anomaly coinciding with the Red Sea basin and a narrow low-velocity anomaly centered along the rift axis. We interpret these structures as a transition of lithospheric extension from continental rifting to oceanic spreading. The transitional lithosphere is manifested by a dominantly positive seismic anomaly indicating the presence of a 50–70-km-thick and 200–300-km-wide cold lithosphere. Along the forming oceanic ridge axis, an elongated low-velocity anomaly marks a narrow localized nascent spreading zone that disrupts the transitional lithosphere. Along the eastern margins of the Red Sea, the lithosphere is disturbed by the lower-velocity anomalies coinciding with areas of basaltic magmatism.</strong></p>

scholarly journals Transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading in the northern Red Sea area

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami El Khrepy ◽  
Ivan Koulakov ◽  
Taras Gerya ◽  
Nassir Al-Arifi ◽  
Mamdouh S. Alajmi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Continental Rifting ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
Oceanic Spreading ◽  
Lithospheric Extension ◽  
Sea Area ◽  
Northern Red Sea

AbstractLithosphere extension, which plays an essential role in plate tectonics, occurs both in continents (as rift systems) and oceans (spreading along mid-oceanic ridges). The northern Red Sea area is a unique natural geodynamic laboratory, where the ongoing transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading can be observed. Here, we analyze travel time data from a merged catalogue provided by the Egyptian and Saudi Arabian seismic networks to build a three-dimensional model of seismic velocities in the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the northern Red Sea and surroundings. The derived structures clearly reveal a high-velocity anomaly coinciding with the Red Sea basin and a narrow low-velocity anomaly centered along the rift axis. We interpret these structures as a transition of lithospheric extension from continental rifting to oceanic spreading. The transitional lithosphere is manifested by a dominantly positive seismic anomaly indicating the presence of a 50–70-km-thick and 200–300-km-wide cold lithosphere. Along the forming oceanic ridge axis, an elongated low-velocity anomaly marks a narrow localized nascent spreading zone that disrupts the transitional lithosphere. Along the eastern margins of the Red Sea, several low-velocity anomalies may represent crustal zone of massive Cenozoic basaltic magmatism.

scholarly journals Author Correction: Transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading in the northern Red Sea area

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sami El Khrepy ◽  
Ivan Koulakov ◽  
Taras Gerya ◽  
Nassir Al-Arifi ◽  
Mamdouh S. Alajmi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Continental Rifting ◽  
Oceanic Spreading ◽  
Sea Area ◽  
Northern Red Sea

A discussion on the structure and evolution of the Red Sea and the nature of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Ethiopia rift junction - Short discussion contributions

1970 ◽  
Vol 267 (1181) ◽  
pp. 413-414 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Gulf Of Suez ◽  
Gulf Of Aden ◽  
Short Discussion ◽  
The Hague ◽  
Sea Area ◽  
Northern Red Sea

H. M. E. Schürmann ( The Hague ). I would like to remark that epeirogenetic movements in the Precambrian of the Gulf of Suez and the northern Red Sea area have been proven. They are of Precambrian age as they have been observed underneath the Hammamat (youngest Precambrian) transgression. In Palaeozoic times several marine ingressions took place and similar ingressions occurred in Permian, Jurassic and Cretaceous times, indicating continued subsidence. The big clysmic taphrogeny took place in young Tertiary times.

scholarly journals Early magmatism in the greater Red Sea rift: timing and significance

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 1158-1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Bosworth ◽  
Daniel F. Stockli
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Rift System ◽  
Northern Ethiopia ◽  
Gulf Of Suez ◽  
East African ◽  
Red Sea Rift ◽  
Lithospheric Extension ◽  
Extensional Faulting ◽  
Northern Red Sea

Throughout the greater Red Sea rift system the initial late Cenozoic syn-rift strata and extensional faulting are closely associated with alkali basaltic volcanism. Older stratigraphic units are either pre-rift or deposited during pre-rupture mechanical weakening of the lithosphere. The East African superplume appeared in northeast Africa ∼46 Ma but was not accompanied by any significant extensional faulting. Continental rifting began in the eastern and central Gulf of Aden at ∼31–30 Ma coeval with the onset of continental flood volcanism in northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, and western Yemen. Volcanism appeared soon after at Derudeb in southern Sudan and at Harrats Hadan and As Sirat in Saudi Arabia. From ∼26.5 to 25 Ma a new phase of volcanism began with the intrusion of a dike field reaching southeast of Afar into the Ogaden. At 24–23 Ma dikes were emplaced nearly simultaneously north of Afar and reached over 2000 km into northern Egypt. The dike event linked Afar to the smaller Cairo mini-plume and corresponds to initiation of lithospheric extension and rupture in the central and northern Red Sea and Gulf of Suez. By ∼21 Ma the dike intrusions along the entire length of the Red Sea were completed. Each episodic enlargement of the greater Red Sea rift system was triggered and facilitated by breakthrough of mantle-derived plumes. However, the absence of any volumetrically significant rift-related volcanism during the main phase of Miocene central and northern Red Sea – Gulf of Suez rifting supports the interpretation that plate–boundary forces likely drove overall separation of Arabia from Africa.

scholarly journals Earthquakes magnitude predication using artificial neural network in northern Red Sea area

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman S.N. Alarifi ◽  
Nassir S.N. Alarifi ◽  
Saad Al-Humidan
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Artificial Neural Network ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Artificial Neural ◽  
Sea Area ◽  
Northern Red Sea

scholarly journals Lithospheric thinning due to hydration and melting at oceanic transform plate boundaries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhikai Wang ◽  
Satish Singh ◽  
Cecile Prigent ◽  
Emma Gregory ◽  
Milena Marjanovic
Keyword(s):  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Melting Zone ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Deep Penetration ◽  
Plate Boundaries ◽  
Transform Fault ◽  
Equatorial Atlantic ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Velocity Anomaly

Abstract Transform plate boundaries, one of the key elements of plate tectonics, accommodate lateral motions and produce large earthquakes, but their nature at depth remains enigmatic. Using ultra-long offset seismic data, here we report the presence of a low-velocity anomaly extending down to ~60 km depth beneath the Romanche transform fault in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Our result indicates the presence of deep penetration of water leading to extensive serpentinization down to 16 km, followed by a shear mylonite zone down to 32 km over a low-temperature water induced-melting zone, elevating the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary and hence thinning the lithosphere significantly beneath the transform fault. The presence of a thinned lithosphere and the melt underneath could lead to volcanism, migration and mixing of the water-induced melt with the high-temperature melt beneath the ridge axis, and small-scale convections beneath transform boundaries. Hence, a thinned lithosphere will have a major impact on the dynamics of ridge-transform system, and will influence the evolution of fracture zones and oceanic lithosphere.

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