Present‐Day Motion of the Arabian Plate

Abstract

The present‐day motions in and around the Arabian plate involve a broad spectrum of tectonic processes including plate subduction, continental collision, seafloor spreading, intraplate magmatism, and continental transform faulting. Therefore, good constraints on the relative plate rates and directions, and on possible intraplate deformation, are crucial to assess the seismic hazard at the boundaries of the Arabian plate and areas within it. Here we combine GNSS‐derived velocities from 168 stations located on the Arabian plate with a regional kinematic block model to provide updated estimates of the present‐day motion and internal deformation of the plate. A single Euler pole at 50.93 ± 0.15°N, 353.91 ± 0.25°E with a rotation rate of 0.524 ± 0.001°/Ma explains well almost all the GNSS station velocities relative to the ITRF14 reference frame, confirming the large‐scale rigidity of the plate. Internal strain rates at the plate‐wide scale (∼0.4 nanostrain/yr) fall within the limits for stable plate interiors, indicating that differential motions are compensated for internally, which further supports the coherent rigid motion of the Arabian plate at present. At a smaller scale, however, we identified several areas within the plate that accommodate strain rates of up to ∼8 nanostrain/yr. Anthropogenic activity and possible subsurface magmatic activity near the western margin of the Arabian plate are likely responsible for the observed local internal deformation. Put together, our results show a remarkable level of stability for the Arabian lithosphere, which can withstand the long‐term load forces associated with active continental collision in the northeast and breakup to the southwest with minimal internal deformation.

Resolving the slip-rate inconsistency of the northern Dead Sea fault

“…Together, the descending and ascending BOI results, the GNSS velocities, as well as our modeling results are consistent with the geologic slip rates ( 2 , 21 – 23 ) for the southern and central parts of the ~1000-km DSF. They are also consistent with the relative plate motion rates according to the latest estimate of the Sinai-Arabia Euler pole ( 49 ). The exception is the northern DSF, where the geodetic results clearly point to lower slip rates that are inconsistent with the higher estimated geological rates and with what plate motion models predict (Fig.…”

“…S2 for further profile results. ( E ) Estimated geodetic slip rates and locking depths along the DSF (bold squares, 1-sigma confidence limits; see table S1) compared with other geodetic estimates (other symbols) and the predicted Sinai-Arabia plate motion prediction ( 49 ) (dashed line). For display purposes, some of the symbols have been slightly shifted vertically from their exact locations of estimation.…”

Persisting influence of continental inheritance on early oceanic spreading

“…Each node of the 2D grid is composed of 3 layers (lithosphere, plume material, and normal asthenosphere) of uniform density and viscosity. Employed viscosities are 10 19 Pas for the asthenosphere and 10 18 Pas for the plume material, and the density contrast between plume and asthenosphere is set to 20 kg/m 3 . Plume material is sourced at the 5 central nodes, with a flux appropriate (given the employed viscosities and density contrast) for it to spread up to the model Northern Red Sea at the end of the simulations.…”

Influence of Lateral Plume Channel on the Evolution of Rift Arms of the Afar Triple Junction: Constraints From 3‐D Gravity Interpretation

“…(2022) used paired magnetic anomalies as evidence that seafloor spreading started at ∼10 Ma in the central Red Sea. GNSS‐derived velocities suggest a continuous rotational separation of the Arabian plate with respect to the Nubian plate with velocities of ∼19 mm yr −1 toward the southernmost Red Sea, ∼12 mm yr −1 in the central Red Sea, and ∼7 mm yr −1 in the Gulf of Aqaba region (Viltres et al., 2020, 2022).…”