What is the tectonic history of the red sea?
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The Red Sea has a complex tectonic history. It started with plume-related basaltic trap volcanism in Ethiopia, NE Sudan, and SW Yemen around 31 million years ago (Ma) . Rifting began in the Gulf of Aden and the Eritrean Red Sea around 29-27 Ma . By 24-23 Ma, strong rift-normal extension occurred throughout the entire Red Sea, accompanied by volcanic activity and deposition of syn-tectonic sediments . At 14-12 Ma, a transform boundary formed in Sinai and the Levant, changing the extension direction and decreasing convergence between Africa and Eurasia . The Red Sea transitioned from a continental rift to an oceanic rift, with spreading centers forming in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea around 19-18 Ma and 5 Ma, respectively . The northern Red Sea is a hyperextended basin with no oceanic spreading, evolving differently from the southern Red Sea .
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01 Jan 2015 114 Citations | The tectonic history of the Red Sea involves plume-related volcanism, rifting, extension, and the transition from continental disruption to oceanic spreading. |
| The paper provides information on the ongoing and geologically recent tectonics of the Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, and Gulf of Aqaba, including the orientation of stress fields, extensional faulting, earthquake activity, and movement of the Sinai micro-plate. However, it does not specifically discuss the complete tectonic history of the Red Sea. | |
09 Mar 2020 1 Citations | The paper provides insights into the tectonic structure of the northern Red Sea, but it does not explicitly discuss the tectonic history of the entire Red Sea. |
7 Citations | The paper discusses the thermo-tectonic evolution of the Red Sea Rift, providing insights into its spatio-temporal evolution and the roles of tectonism and geodynamic activity in its formation. However, it does not explicitly provide a detailed tectonic history of the Red Sea. |
01 Jan 2020 42 Citations | The tectonic history of the Red Sea is characterized by crustal separation of Arabia from Africa, leading to the opening of the Red Sea Basin through seafloor spreading. |
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