The Sinai subplate and tectonic evolution of the northern Red Sea region

Although the precise boundaries and kinematics of the Sinai subplate are still doubtful, it has a significant role in the tectonic evolution of the northern Red Sea region. On the basis of earthquake distribution, the Sinai region can be considered as a subplate partially separated from the African plate by the Suez rift. The relative motion between Africa, Sinai and Arabia is the main source generating the present-day earthquake activity in the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba regions.According to geological observations, the southern segment of the Dead Sea fault system can be characterized by a left-lateral displacement of about 107km since the Middle Miocene, in contrast to the northern segment where only 25 to 35km offset can be inferred. We think that along the southern segment the total displacement was 72km until the late Miocene (10Ma). The earthquake activity is strongly reduced along the northern segment of the Dead Sea fault segment. Therefore, we suggest that the northern part (Yammouneh fault) evolves through initial cracking of the crust due to build-up of stress since the Pliocene time (5Ma) and propagates northward into Lebanon and Syria. This last 5 million years is the period when the southern and northern segments became linked and formed a single fault system with a new displacement of 35km.According to the proposed model the predicted opening pole of the Red Sea is near 34.0oN, 22.0oE with an angle of total rotation of 3.4o since the early miocene, providing a 0.82cm/a opening rate in the northern Red Sea. We suggest that the Dead Sea strike-slip fault was active since Middle Miocene time (15Ma) with a slip rate of 0.72cm/a to provide a total displacement of about 107km. This strike slip motion occured about an Euler pole near 33.0oN, 21.0oE with a rotation angle of about 3.0o. It can be inferred from the proximity of the pole and angle of rotations for the Red Sea and Dead Sea fault that more than 85% of the motion has been accommodated on the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea fault and less than 15% in the Gulf of Suez.This model predicts a normal extensional motion in the Gulf of Suez with a minor left-lateral strike-slip component. We expect the pole of this motion to be at 31.0oN, 29.0oE, offshore of Alamein city about 320 km west of the Nile Delta. The rate of motion through the last 15Ma (Middle Miocene) is about 0.1 cm/a and the angle of rotation is 0.9o. During this period the total opening of the Suez rift is 15 km while the rest of the motion (45 km) occured mainly through the first phase of the development before the Middle Miocene.     

Estimating Curie Point Depth and Heat Flow Map for Northern Red Sea Rift of Egypt and Its Surroundings, from Aeromagnetic Data

In this study, we aim to map the Curie point depth surface for the northern Red Sea rift region and its surroundings based on the spectral analysis of aeromagnetic data. Spectral analysis technique was used to estimate the boundaries (top and bottom) of the magnetized crust. The Curie point depth (CPD) estimates of the Red Sea rift from 112 overlapping blocks vary from 5 to 20 km. The depths obtained for the bottom of the magnetized crust are assumed to correspond to Curie point depths where the magnetic layer loses its magnetization. Intermediate to deep Curie point depth anomalies (10–16 km) were observed in southern and central Sinai and the Gulf of Suez (intermediate heat flow) due to the uplifted basement rocks. The shallowest CPD of 5 km (associated with very high heat flow, ~235 mW m^?2) is located at/around the axial trough of the Red Sea rift region especially at Brothers Island and Conrad Deep due to its association with both the concentration of rifting to the axial depression and the magmatic activity, whereas, beneath the Gulf of Aqaba, three Curie point depth anomalies belonging to three major basins vary from 10 km in the north to about 14 km in the south (with a mean heat flow of about 85 mW m^?2). Moreover, low CPD anomalies (high heat flow) were also observed beneath some localities in the northern part of the Gulf of Suez at Hammam Fraun, at Esna city along River Nile, at west Ras Gharib in the eastern desert and at Safaga along the western shore line of the Red Sea rift. These resulted from deviatoric tensional stresses developing in the lithosphere which contribute to its further extension and may be due to the opening of the Gulf of Suez and/or the Red Sea rift. Furthermore, low CPD (with high heat flow anomaly) was observed in the eastern border of the study area, beneath northern Arabia, due to the quasi-vertical low-velocity anomaly which extends into the lower mantle and may be related to volcanism in northern Arabia. Dense microearthquakes seem to occur in areas where the lateral gradients of the CPD are steep (e.g. entrance of the Gulf of Suez and Brothers Island in the Red Sea). These areas may correspond to the boundaries between high and low thermal regions of the crust. Thus, the variations in the microseismic activity may be closely related to thermal structures of the crust. Indeed, shallow cutoff depths of seismicity can also be found in some geothermal areas (e.g. western area of Safaga city along the Red Sea coastal region and at Esna city along the River Nile). These facts indicate that the changes in the thickness of the seismogenic layer strongly depend on temperature. Generally, the shallow Curie point depth indicates that some regions in our study area are promising regions for further geothermal exploration particularly in some localities along the River Nile, Red Sea and Gulf of Suez coastal regions.     

Seismicity of the Sinai subplate region:kinematicimplications

The seismic activity of the Sinai subplate region on the basis of both historical (2200B.C.–1900 A.D.) and recent (1900–1995) earthquake catalogs have been evaluated.Moderateand large earthquakes occurred mainly at the subplate boundaries, Dead Sea Fault (DSF) systemin the east, Cyprean arc in the north, and Suez rift in the southwest.Along the Dead Sea Fault system the activity concentrated at the southern andcentralsegments. The earthquake distribution appears to have a tendency to cluster in time andspace.The swarms (February, 1983; April, 1990; August, 1993 and November, 1995) in the GulfofAqaba indicate that the southern segment of the Dead Sea Fault system is the mostseismogenicthrough the last two decades. North of the Dead Sea depression the seismic activitytends to haveoccurred with NW trend to extend under the Levantine Sea. Although the northernsegment ofthe Dead Sea Fault system is well defined from geological, geophysical and historicalearthquakeactivity recent seismic activity is practically absent especially north of Latitude 34°N.In the eastern Mediterranean the seismicity is much higher in the area of the Hellenicarcthan in the Cyprean arc. Moreover, the activity occurs in a wide belt suggesting that theplateboundary is a deformation zone instead of a single line.The seismic activity in the Gulf of Suez is scattered and does not have any distincttrend.However, three active zones are delineated. At the mouth of the gulf most of activityisconcentrated where the Sinai triple junction (Africa, Arabia, Sinai) is situated. The centralpartand the northern part of the gulf include the adjacent area as far as the river Nile. Actually,theactivity is markedly decreased from south to north.Although there is no seismological evidence that the Suez rift continues into theeasternMediterranean, the activity in the Gulf of Suez region cannot be ignored.The parameters of magnitude-frequency relation (a, b) indicate thatthelevel of earthquake activity in the Sinai subplate region is generally moderate. Moreover,theenergy release curve shows a regular trend and reflects occasional high activity. © 1999ElsevierScience Ltd. All rights reserved.     

Morphotectonics of the Lake Albert Rift Valley and its significance for continental margins

The Lake Albert region is described as an example of a rift valley. It is far more complex than the typical graben used by rift valley modellers. The northern section is a complex half graben with en echelon faults and warps on the west. The central section is a graben, but with uplift axes remote from the faults. The southern section is complicated by the partly faulted but mainly upwarped tilt block of the Ruwenzori massif. Many features of the landscape—drainage patterns, erosion surfaces, regolith—pre-date the rift valley tectonics, and provide insight into the dating and evolution of tectonic features. As rift valleys are precursors of seafloor spreading, the rift geomorphology shows which features may pre-date the formation of new continental edges. Many modern passive margins have morphotectonic features that date back to the rift valley stage of crustal evolution.     

Numerical modeling of the development of southeastern Red Sea continental margin

The Red Sea continental margin (RSCM) corresponds to a wide hinge zone between Red Sea and Arabian plate. This margin has been studied through geological and geophysical observations primarily in regard to the evolution of Red Sea rift. This margin is characterized by occurrence of thin sediments, significant onshore uplift, tectonic subsidence of the offshore sedimentary basin, active faulting and seismicity. Studies indicate that sedimentary sequences of the margin are deformed by faults and folds resulti...     

Opening of the red sea with two poles of rotation

Previous studies have shown that the Red Sea was formed by two stages of sea-floor spreading, with a quiescent period in between. We suggest that these two phases have occurred in different directions. The shape of the central trough indicates that the present-day motion is almost E-W, whereas the total opening, deduced from the shape of the coastlines, is NE-SW. If the axial trough has opened in an E-W direction, the earlier stage of opening was in a direction which made the Dead Sea Rift fall along a small circle to the pole of early opening, and hence suggests that the Dead Sea Rift was a transform fault during this early stage. The later movement gives almost pure extension along the Dead Sea Rift, and this should be seen by normal faulting. Available first-motion studies are not precise enough to confirm or deny this hypothesis.     

Seismicity of the northernmost part of the Red Sea (1995–1999)

Seismicity in the northernmost part of the Red Sea has been studied using data from Hurghada Seismological Network in addition to readings from the existing neighbouring networks. Relocated events in addition to data from national centers are used to obtain a complete and true picture for the seismicity of the area. The spatial distribution of earthquakes defines three earthquake zones in the Gulf of Aqaba and three zones at the entrance of the Gulf of Suez and southern tip of Sinai Peninsula. The thermal activity and the triple junction nature control the activity in this area. The activity defines also an active trend extending from the southern tip of Sinai Peninsula to the median zone of the Red Sea. The seismicity of this trend is probably related to the active spreading zone associated with the opening of the Red Sea. The b-values are derived for the entrance areas of the two gulfs and for Gulf of Aqaba. Values of b are 1.35 for the triple junction region, 1.13 for the activity before the 22 November 1995 Gulf of Aqaba mainshock and 1.25 for the aftershocks of this event.     

Seismological and GPS constraints on Sinai sub-plate motion along the Suez rift

This work presents new seismological and Global Positioning System (GPS) results aimed at understanding the nature and rate of strain associated with the opening of the Suez rift that separates the Sinai sub-plate from the African plate. The Sinai sub-plate has played a significant role in the tectonic evolution of the northern Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean region. Most small, moderate and large earthquakes occur within belts associated with the geologically documented borders of this sub-plate including the Dead Sea fault (DSF) system in the east, the Cyprian arc (CA) in the north, and the Suez rift (SR) to the southwest. The DSF and CA are well defined; however, the SR is only partially defined. Earthquake foci distribution supports the idea that the SR is seismically active, and this earthquake activity cannot be ignored throughout the kinematics evaluation of northern Red Sea region. The earthquake activity is relatively higher in the southern part of the SR and gradually decreases northward. The high seismicity is mainly attributed to the presence of the Sinai triple junction. Earthquake focal mechanisms in the SR are dominated by oblique normal faulting with left-lateral strike-slip components on NW trending fault planes consistent with regional kinematics. The extensional semi-principal stress axes derived from fault plane solutions are oriented NNE-SSW in good agreement with the current stress field obtained from borehole breakouts along the SR as well as results from GPS surveying. Recent survey-mode GPS observations provide evidence for coherent northerly motion of the Sinai sub-plate that varies between 2 and 5 mm/yr. Moreover, strain analysis indicates that the southern SR is dominated by extension while its northern segment is characterized by constriction, inconsistent with earthquake focal mechanisms and regional tectonic models. The overall northward motion of the Sinai sub-plate indicates that slab-pull rather than ridge-push is the dominant force controlling regional kinematics. Based on the low rate of extension and lack of oceanic crust, the SR can be considered an incipient plate boundary between the Sinai sub-plate and the Nubian plate.     

A new contribution to the geology of the Egyptian Red Sea shelf using geophysical data

The study examines the Egyptian Red Sea shelf and throws more light on the structural set-up and tectonics controlling the general framework of the area and nature of the crust. Herein, an integrated study using gravity and magnetic data with the available seismic reflection lines and wells information was carried out along the offshore area. The Bouguer and reduced-to-pole aeromagnetic maps were processed and reinterpreted in terms of rifting and plate tectonics. The qualitative interpretation shows that the offshore area is characterized by positive gravity everywhere that extremely increases towards the centre of the graben, supporting the presence of an intrusive zone below the axial/main trough. The gravity data were confirmed by the presence of high magnetic amplitudes, magnetic linearity and several dipoles concentrated along the rift axis for at least 250 km. The lineament analysis indicates widespread of the Erythrean (Red Sea) trend that was offset/cut by transform faults in the NE direction (Aqaba). The tectonic model suggests the presence of one tensional (N65°E) and two compressional (N15°W, N30°W) phases of tectonism, resulted in six cycles of deformations, classified into three left lateral (N35°E, N15°E and N–S) and three right lateral (N85°W, N45°W and N60°W). The basement relief map reveals a rough basement surface that varies in depth between 1 and 5.6 km. It outlines several offshore basins, separated from each other by ridges. The models show that the basement consists of tilted fault blocks, which vary greatly in depth and composition and slopes generally to the west. They indicate that the coastal plain is underlain by acidic basement blocks (continental crust) with no igneous activity while suggesting elevated basic materials (oceanic crust) below the rift axis. The study suggests that northern Red Sea forms an early stage of seafloor spreading or at least moved past the late stage of continental rifting.     

The water balance of the Dead Sea: an integrated approach

The Dead Sea is the lowest spot on Earth. It is a closed saline lake located in the middle of the Jordan Rift Valley between Lake Tiberias and the Red Sea. Its major tributaries are the Jordan River itself and the Dead Sea side wadis. The Dead Sea has a unique ecosystem and its water has curative, industrial and recreational significance. The level of the Dead Sea has been continuously falling since the early 1930s at an average rate of 0·7 m per year. The water level, as of February 1998, is about 410·9 m below mean sea level. In this paper, a water balance model is developed for the Dead Sea by considering different hydrological components of this water balance, including precipitation, runoff, evaporation and groundwater flow. This model is calibrated based on historical levels of the Dead Sea. Different scenarios are investigated, including the proposed Dead Sea–Red Sea Canal. This project is supposed to halt the shrinking of the Dead Sea and restore it to pre‐1950 levels in the next century. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic properties of basalts and geodynamics of the rift zone in the southern Red Sea

Magnetic properties of young rift basalts in the southern Red Sea are studied in detail. It is found that basalt samples dredged in the rift zone are characterized by a large spread in magnetic parameters. The magnetic properties of the basalts are shown to indicate a complex evolution of the Red Sea rift zone. Titanomagnetite grains of the basalts are mostly affected by single-phase oxidation processes and have preserved paleomagnetic information. However, basalts discovered near the rift axis yield evidence of multiphase oxidation of titanomagnetite grains, which is untypical of young oceanic basalts. These basalts have high Curie points and large values of the natural remanent magnetization and Koenigsberger parameter. The corresponding samples were taken in nontransform zones where rocks have experienced the action of significant tectonic forces and, moreover, anomalous geomagnetic field patterns correlate with the position of these zones. Using the magnetic properties of the basalts, the northern segment of the rift axis is relocated.     

Relation of Palaeogene ridge and basin structures and vulcanicity in the Hebrides and Irish Sea regions of the British Isles to the opening of the North Atlantic

Comparison with the Red Sea and other regions suggests that a series of partly fault-bounded ridges and basins in the Hebridean and Irish Sea regions are related to tectonic uplift and collapse associated with Palacogene sea floor spreading in the North Atlantic. Three episodes of block faulting involving the formation of horsts and grabens are tentatively correlated with phases of Mesozoic and Tertiary ocean floor spreading.     

藏南错那-沃卡裂谷的第四纪正断层作用及其特征

地表调查发现,位于西藏南部的错那-沃卡裂谷带包含了3个相对独立的地堑-半地堑——沃卡、邛多江和错那-拿日雍错地堑(从北到南),并构成了该区重要的近SN向控震构造带。该裂谷带整体的展布方式及其中各地堑主边界断裂带的正断层活动指示了100°±2°的区域伸展方向。各边界断裂带的活动强度分析表明,断裂的平均垂直活动速率介于0·3~1·9mm/a。其中,末次盛冰以来合理的活动速率估算值为1·2~1·5mm/a,而末次间冰期以来的活动速率只有(0·6±0·3)mm/a,暗示该裂谷带的断裂活动行为可能类似于地震的丛集活动,存在间歇期与活跃期交替出现的特点。综合分析认为,中-下地壳物质的近EW向伸展或流动所导致的上地壳均匀拉张模式可能是该裂谷带的主要成因     

Parameterization of a Composite Attenuation Relation for the Dead Sea Area Based on 3-D Modeling of Elastic Wave Propagation

3-D simulations of elastic wave propagation generated by earthquakes with magnitudes between 5.5 and 7.0 are used to parameterize strong ground motion attenuation relations for the Dead Sea Rift (DSR) graben structure. The results show that standard attenuation relations with an isotropic distance parameter are inadequate for a graben structure with a deep sedimentary trough. A new strategy is devised for the parameterization of attenuation relations in graben structures by looking at the statistical properties of 53 simulated earthquakes of variable magnitudes located at various sites along the western boundary fault of the DSR graben. An exemplary attenuation relation is designed from the synthetics for the 1 Hz spectral acceleration, modifying the Joyner-Boore-type parametrization by adding coefficients suited for three different source-to-sensor configurations: within the graben, beyond the graben and path unaffected by the graben structure.     

On the development of a seismic source zonation model for seismic hazard assessment in western Saudi Arabia

A new seismic source model has been developed for the western part of the Arabian Peninsula, which has experienced considerable earthquake activity in the historical past and in recent times. The data used for the model include an up-to-date seismic catalog, results of recent studies of Cenozoic faulting in the area, aeromagnetic anomaly and gravity maps, geological maps, and miscellaneous information on volcanic activity. The model includes 18 zones ranging along the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea in the north to the Gulf of Aden in the south. The seismic source model developed in this study may be considered as one of the basic branches in a logic tree approach for seismic hazard assessment in Saudi Arabia and adjacent territories.     

Tectonic model of Egypt based on magnetic analysis

The main target of this work was to study the dynamics of the Earth’s crust for Egypt based on the magnetic survey. High-resolution land magnetic data were analyzed, combined with the results of GPS and seismic stress analyses. The constructed tectonic map shows that the N35°-N45°W trend of the structure (related to the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez tectonics) predominates along the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea, covering wide parts of the study area. The N45°-N65°E tectonic trend (related to the Syrian Arc tectonics), prevailing in the northern part of Egypt, is of the second rank. The Aqaba (N15°-25°E) and E-W trends prevail in the northern part and along the transition zone of stable/unstable shelves. The depth to the basement rocks ranges from the surface along the Red Sea and southern parts of Egypt to more than 4 km below sea level at the northern part of the study area.     

Role of Lithology and Subsurface structures detected by potential field data in controlling the radioactive mineral accumulation at Natash area,Eastern Desert,Egypt

Wadi Natash area is located in the southern part of the Eastern desert of Egypt. It has a great importance for containing accumulations from the radioactive minerals of Uranium, Thorium and Potassium. An integrated potential study was carried out on the study area with the aim of locating depths to causative bodies with sufficient magnetic susceptibility that may represent magmatic intrusions with relation to the radioactivity location and delineate the subsurface structures affecting the area. Both magnetic and Bouguer data as well as radiometric data were interpreted rapidly for source positions and depths using Euler deconvolution, Werner deconvolution and 3D modeling techniques. The results deduced from the trend analyses show that the major fault trend affecting the area have NNW-SSE (Red Sea–Gulf of Suez trend) direction intersected by the less predominant NNE-SSW(The Gulf of Aqaba–Dead Sea trend) and WNW-ESE (Najd Fault System) fault trends. The causative bodies were imaged at depths ranging from 0.3 km to about 1.5 km. The depths along the interpreted profiles display discontinuities in potential field markers due to presence of the NNW-SSE fault trends act as pass channels for the hydrothermal solutions.It can be stated that the radioactive mineral accumulations were caused by the hydrothermal solutions rich with radioactive minerals as a result of intruding Natash volcanic to the granitic rocks. The Qouseir clastics and the Nudian sand stone were affected by these solutions and show a positive response for the radioactive minerals.     

Source mechanisms of the June 2004 Tabuk earthquake sequence, Eastern Red Sea margin, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

A sequence of earthquakes took place in June 2004 approximately 60 km southeast of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The first felt event (M _W = 3.9) occurred on June 9 and caused minor damage in the epicentral area according to the National Earthquake Information Center and the local reports. Another moderate size event occurred on June 22 (M _W = 5.1) and was followed by a few felt aftershocks without any reported damage. This earthquake sequence caused considerable alarm at Tabuk and highlights the fact that damaging earthquakes can occur in this region away from the major plate boundary in the Red Sea. Being the largest well-recorded event in the area for which the digital and broadband records from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus, and Kuwait are available, it provides an excellent opportunity to study the tectonic process and present day stress field acting on this area. The digital records from these regional networks were used to relocate the largest three events of this sequence. Focal mechanisms were obtained from full waveform inversion and indicate normal faulting mechanisms with two nodal planes oriented NW–SE in parallel to the faults bounding the Tabuk graben and the Red Sea rift axis. These events originated at shallow focal depths of 4–5 km, possibly contributing to the widely felt ground motions. These events offer a unique opportunity to study the active tectonics of the region as well as inform future studies of seismic hazard in northwestern Saudi Arabia, the Gulf of Aqaba, and eastern Egypt.     

The Red Sea outflow regulated by the Indian monsoon

To investigate why the Red Sea water overflows less in summer and more in winter, we have developed a locally high-resolution global OGCM with transposed poles in the Arabian peninsula and India. Based on a series of sensitivity experiments with different sets of idealized atmospheric forcing, the present study shows that the summer cessation of the strait outflow is remotely induced by the monsoonal wind over the Indian Ocean, in particular that over the western Arabian Sea. During the southwest monsoon (May–September), thermocline in the Gulf of Aden shoals as a result of coastal Ekman upwelling induced by the predominantly northeastward wind in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Because this shoaling is maximum during the southwest summer monsoon, the Red Sea water is blocked at the Bab el Mandeb Strait by upwelling of the intermediate water of the Gulf of Aden in late summer. The simulation also shows the three-dimensional evolution of the Red Sea water tongue at the mid-depths in the Gulf of Aden. While the tongue meanders, the discharged Red Sea outflow water (RSOW) (incoming Indian Ocean intermediate water (IOIW)) is always characterized by anticyclonic (cyclonic) vorticity, as suggested from the potential vorticity difference.