Geological evolution of the southeastern Red Sea Rift margin, Republic of Yemen

Abstract

Research Article| November 01, 1994 Geological evolution of the southeastern Red Sea Rift margin, Republic of Yemen IAN DAVISON; IAN DAVISON 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar MOHAMED AL-KADASI; MOHAMED AL-KADASI 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX2Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Sana'a University, P.O. Box 1247, Republic of Yemen Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar SALAH AL-KHIRBASH; SALAH AL-KHIRBASH 2Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Sana'a University, P.O. Box 1247, Republic of Yemen Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar ABDUL K. AL-SUBBARY; ABDUL K. AL-SUBBARY 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX2Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Sana'a University, P.O. Box 1247, Republic of Yemen Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar JOEL BAKER; JOEL BAKER 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar SUZANNE BLAKEY; SUZANNE BLAKEY 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar DAN BOSENCE; DAN BOSENCE 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar CHRIS DART; CHRIS DART 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar RICHARD HEATON; RICHARD HEATON 3Cairn Energy, Cairn House, 61 Dublin Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom EH3 6NL Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar KEN McCLAY; KEN McCLAY 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar MARTIN MENZIES; MARTIN MENZIES 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GARY NICHOLS; GARY NICHOLS 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar LEWIS OWEN; LEWIS OWEN 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar ANDREW YELLAND ANDREW YELLAND 1Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom TW20 0EX Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1994) 106 (11): 1474–1493. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1994)106<1474:GEOTSR>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation IAN DAVISON, MOHAMED AL-KADASI, SALAH AL-KHIRBASH, ABDUL K. AL-SUBBARY, JOEL BAKER, SUZANNE BLAKEY, DAN BOSENCE, CHRIS DART, RICHARD HEATON, KEN McCLAY, MARTIN MENZIES, GARY NICHOLS, LEWIS OWEN, ANDREW YELLAND; Geological evolution of the southeastern Red Sea Rift margin, Republic of Yemen. GSA Bulletin 1994;; 106 (11): 1474–1493. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1994)106<1474:GEOTSR>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The tectonic evolution of the southeastern margin of the Red Sea Rift in western Yemen has been investigated using a multi-disciplinary field study of an east-west transect between Al Hudaydah and Sana'a. Slow subsidence of up to 1 km occurred over the area during a 100 m.y. period before rifting. There was a major episode of flood volcanism between ca. 30 and 20 Ma, and important extensional faulting began after the eruption of the volcanic rocks and ceased before middle to late Miocene sediments and volcanic rocks were deposited unconformably on top of rotated fault blocks on the coastal Tihama Plain. Surface uplift has produced the Yemen highlands, whose highest peak reaches an elevation of 3660 m. This is attributed to plume heating and eruption of >3000 m of volcanic rocks. Apatite fission-track ages indicate early to middle Miocene exhumational cooling ages, postdating the major volcanic phase and contemporaneous with rifting.Volcanism was accompanied by emplacement of subvertical dike swarms, which generally strike north-northwest to northwest, broadly parallel to the Red Sea coastline. Major faults indicate northeast-southwest-directed extension. Large granitic sheets and plutons (up to 25 km wide) intruded the volcanic rocks. Approximately 30 km of extension has taken place across a 75-km-wide zone (β = 1.7) in 6-8 m.y.The relative timing of volcanism followed by extension and uplift does not fit conventional models of passive or active rifting. We suggest that the proto-Red Sea Rift was caused by regional plate stresses that exploited lithospheric weakening caused by the Afar plume. Appreciable doming only occurred after the main episode of volcanism, which suggests that magmas extruded before maximum thermal expansion of the lithosphere took place. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.