The Red Sea – 50 years of geological and geophysical research

Almalki, Khalid A.; Betts, Peter Graham; Aillères, Laurent

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.05.002

Cited by 62 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 159 publications

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“…The IRR has been interpreted by some as a south‐facing, low‐angle, long‐lived normal fault (detachment fault; e.g., Ballu et al, ; Francheteau et al, ; Lonsdale, ; Wiggins et al, ). If IRR is a detachment fault, then we can speculate on magma supply to Hess Deep rift based on studies of oceanic detachment faults (e.g., Buck et al, ; Olive et al, ; Tucholke et al, ) and detachment faults at other rifted margins (e.g., Abers et al, ; Almalki et al, , and references therein; Hill et al, ; Lavier & Manatschal, ).…”

Section: The Intrarift Ridge Within Hess Deepmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the past few decades, there have been many studies to understand the transition from rifting of the lithosphere to the establishment of seafloor spreading (e.g., Bonatti, ; Lonsdale, ; Manighetti et al, ; Taylor et al, ; Van Wijk & Blackman, ). Most studies have examined this transition where continental lithosphere is being rifted apart (e.g., Almalki et al, , and references therein; Augustin et al, ; Bonatti, ; Hayward & Ebinger, ; Ligi et al, ; Martinez & Cochran, ; Rosendahl, ; Taylor et al, , ; Van Wijk & Blackman, ). It has been argued that deformation starts in rheologically weak zones, and as the lithosphere is stretched and thinned, magma supply is established (e.g., Taylor et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Opening of Hess Deep Rift at the Galapagos Triple Junction

Smith

Schouten

2018

Geophysical Research Letters

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At the Galapagos triple junction, the westward propagating Cocos-Nazca (C-N) Rift breaks intõ 0.5 Ma crust accreted at the East Pacific Rise. Rifting transitions to full magmatic seafloor spreading in the wake of the propagating tip. The 25-km-long Hess Deep rift is the transitional segment from rifting to spreading. Intrarift ridge (IRR), located within Hess Deep rift, is interpreted as a detachment fault, which exhumes deep-seated rocks to the seafloor. Although transitional segments must have occurred throughout the westward propagation of C-N Rift, IRR is the only obvious detachment fault along the base of the Rift scarps in the last~5 Ma of its propagation. IRR formation may be in response to a decrease in spreading rate (~40 to <20 mm/yr) and presumed lower melt supply, resulting from the formation of the Galapagos microplate~1.4 Ma, which now controls the opening at the C-N Rift tip. Plain Language SummaryAt the Galapagos triple junction in the equatorial Pacific three midocean ridges come together: North East Pacific Rise (EPR), South EPR, and Cocos-Nazca (C-N) Rift. The C-N Rift, however, stops short of intersecting the EPR. The tip of the C-N Rift propagates westward toward the EPR, breaking apart~0.5-million-year-old crust built at the EPR. Rifting of the crust changes to full magmatic seafloor spreading in the wake of the propagating C-N Rift tip, and the segment that is transitional from rifting to spreading has been identified. The intrarift ridge (IRR) is located within the transitional segment. IRR is interpreted as a long-ived fault, which has brought deep-seated rocks to the seafloor. The IRR is the only long-lived fault identified in the last~5-million years of C-N Rift propagation implying that a long-lived fault is not a common stage in the transition to spreading. The IRR fault may be a result of the slowdown in spreading rate, and presumed decrease in the amount of magma rising beneath the segment, caused by the formation of the Galapagos microplate~1.4-million years ago.

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Section: The Intrarift Ridge Within Hess Deepmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opening of Hess Deep Rift at the Galapagos Triple Junction

Smith

Schouten

2018

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…These observations support the hypothesis that tensional forces above a mantle plume head focused the development and ~120° spacing of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Main Ethiopian Rift arms (Bosworth et al, 2005). However, regional geological and geophysical data show that the three rifts oriented asymmetrically and that they record different tectonic histories and relative timing (Almalki et al, 2015, 2016; Wolfenden et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3‐D Analog Modeling Constraints on Rifting in the Afar Region

et al. 2020

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Rifting in the Afar region is considered to be the only known example of the formation of an incipient divergent triple junction. Taking the Afar region as an example, we use three-dimensional lithospheric-scale laboratory experiments to constrain the factors controlling the structure and the tectonic evolution of the area. We systematically evaluate the role of different preexisting heterogeneities, such as those due to plume head impingement or inherited weak structures, and different kinematic boundary conditions, such as orthogonal versus rotational extension. The interaction between these inherited heterogeneities and the tested boundary conditions results in a range of complex rift geometries and structural features, such as rift segmentation and ridge jumps, which are comparable to those observed in the Afar region. At the plate scale, only under rotational extension, consecutive rift zones intersecting at high angles develop akin to the along-axis segmentation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Under orthogonal extension, the dominant rifting trend is perpendicular to the stretching direction. Preexisting weaknesses, including that due to a mantle plume, trigger different rifting styles and influence the geometry of large-scale continental breakup. When compared to the Afar region, our results suggest that differing the degree of stretching, following the rotation of the Arabian plate since the Oligocene, led to the rifting in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and likely did not cause the formation of the Main Ethiopian Rift.

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“…We compare our lithospheric‐scale experimental results with natural examples from the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Red Sea‐Gulf of Aden rift system, as it represents the best modern example of continental lithosphere that has undergone a transition from rifting to seafloor spreading [ Bosworth et al ., ; Almalki et al ., ]. The system is not only underlain by a narrow zone of warm upper mantle related to the northward channeling of the Afar plume [ Ritsema et al ., ; Chang et al ., ; Hansen and Nyblade , ] but also undergoing a strong rotational relative motion [ Bellahsen et al ., ; Bosworth et al ., ; ArRajehi et al ., ] (Figure ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between propagating rotational rifts and linear rheological heterogeneities: Insights from three‐dimensional laboratory experiments

2017

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The lateral propagation of rifts is a consequence of the relative divergence of lithospheric plates about a pole of rotation. Modern and ancient examples of rifts are known to overprint preexisting linear anisotropies in the crust and lithosphere, such as lithospheric boundaries, crustal sutures, and thermal anomalies. Here we investigate how propagating rifts interact with preexisting structures by using three‐dimensional analogue experiments with rotational extensional boundary conditions and variably oriented linear weak zones in the lithospheric mantle. When linear weaknesses are oriented at low angles to the rift axis, early strain localization occurs in narrow domains, which merge at later stages, resulting in continental breakup by unzipping. Strong strain partitioning is observed when the linear heterogeneity is oriented at high angles with respect to the rift axis. In these experiments, early subparallel V‐shaped basins propagate toward the pole of rotation until they are abandoned and strain is transferred entirely to structures developed in the vicinity of the strongly oblique weak lithosphere zone boundary. The experimental results are characterized in terms of their evolution, patterns of strain localization, and surface topography as a function of the lithospheric heterogeneity obliquity angle. Comparison of the experiments to ancient and modern examples in nature may help to elucidate the common but still poorly understood process of propagating rift‐lithospheric heterogeneity interaction.

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The Red Sea – 50 years of geological and geophysical research

Cited by 62 publications

References 159 publications

Opening of Hess Deep Rift at the Galapagos Triple Junction

Opening of Hess Deep Rift at the Galapagos Triple Junction

3‐D Analog Modeling Constraints on Rifting in the Afar Region

Interactions between propagating rotational rifts and linear rheological heterogeneities: Insights from three‐dimensional laboratory experiments

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