Lithospheric extension and the opening of the Red Sea: sediment-basalt relationships in Yemen*

This paper analyses new field and radiometric age data on the timing of extension, sedimentation and magmatism related to the opening of the Red Sea. The first evidence of widespread extension is found in synsedimentary fissures in the fluviatile to shallow marine Tawilah Formation of Cretaceous to early Tertiary age. The first indication of magmatism is the eruption of alkaline basalts (43.5–21.2 Ma) on to marine and non-marine sandstones of lower to middle Tertiary age. The lack of an angular unconformity at the sediment-basalt contact, over a period of 25 Myr, corroborates a diachronous relationship between the Tawilah sandstones and the Yemen Volcanics. These data also indicate that the onset of volcanism in Yemen was in the Eocene, as is the case in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia. A passive rifting model is supported by early extension and sedimentation followed by syn- and post-tectonic magmatism.     

Testing resilience thinking in a poverty context: Experience from the Niger River basin

Resilience thinking is an important addition to the range of frameworks and approaches that can be used to understand and manage complex social–ecological systems like small-scale fisheries. However, it is yet to lead to better environmental or development outcomes for fisheries stakeholders in terms of food security, improved livelihoods and ecological sustainability. This paper takes an empirical approach by focusing on the fundamentals of resilience thinking to evaluate its usefulness in developing relevant management interventions in small-scale fisheries in the Niger River Basin in West Africa. The paper presents the outputs of a participatory assessment exercise where both fishery communities and local experts were involved at two different scales. The resilience frame used was designed to facilitate the identification of socially defined thresholds that help delineate the desirability of the current system configuration and provides a diagnosis framework that tailors management solutions to problems in local context. The analysis highlights some key contributions from resilience thinking to the challenge of diagnosis in small-scale fisheries management in developing countries, as well as important contributions that emerge from taking a pragmatic and critical approach to its application.     

A spatial decision support system (SDSS) for sustainable tourism planning in Johor Ramsar sites, Malaysia

The need for a sustainable approach in tourism development is very often addressed among the academia, the authorities and the stakeholders, as well as the apparent need for tools, which will guide the decision environment in evaluation and planning. This research aims to identify conservation and compatible areas for tourism development in Johor Ramsar sites, using spatial modeling in geographic information system (GIS). The study describes a methodological approach based on the integrated use of GIS and multi criteria decision evaluation (MCE) to identify nature conservation and development priorities among the wetland areas. A set of criteria was defined to evaluate wetland biodiversity conservation and development. Having defined the criteria, the next step was selecting suitable indicators and variables to measure the selected criteria. Subsequently the criteria were evaluated from conservation and tourism development point of view. These criteria were then weighted using the pair wise comparison technique of MCE and the results were integrated into GIS. Several conservation scenarios were generated so as to simulate different evaluation perspectives. The scenarios were then compared to highlight the most feasible and to propose a conservation and development strategy for the wetland areas. The generation and comparison of conservation and development scenarios highlighted the critical issues of the decision problem. This study represents an important contribution to effective decision-making because it allows one to gradually narrow down a problem.     

Geology, Mineral Deposit Model and Potential of the Suwar Cu-Ni Sulphide Prospect, Northwest Yemen

The Suwar Cu-Ni sulphide prospect is very highly regarded for its potential to host a major nickel-copper sulphide deposit in Republic of Yemen, a mineral resource lacking country. The ore-hosting intrusion is a lopolith about 6km long and lkm wide and more than 300m deep. There are two types of Cu-Ni mineralizations in the prospect: primary massive chalcopyrite+ pyrrhotite+ pentlandite controlled by gravitational and structural traps while the secondary Cu-Ni mineralization is coarse grained and occur as veins, veinlets, fracture fill, blebs or associated with coarse, re-crystallized carbonate in shear zones and faults. The deposit type of the prospect is believed to be the one associated with the ultramafic component of a large, broadly differentiated noritic, gabbroid intrusive. It is suggested that the prospect and adjacent area possibly contain a similar world class Ni-Cu deposits as that in Jinchuan, China.     

Instability of triangular libration points in the perturbed photogravitational R3BP with Poynting-Robertson (P-R) drag

We consider the primaries of the circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP) to be luminous and investigate the influences of small perturbations in the Coriolis and centrifugal forces together with Poynting-Robertson (P-R) drag from both primaries on the triangular points. It is seen, both analytically and numerically, that the positions of triangular points are affected by the radiation pressures, P-R drag and a small perturbation in the centrifugal force. This has been shown for the binary systems Luyten 726-8 and Kruger 60.1. These perturbing forces do not influence the nature of the stability of triangular points in the presence of P-R drag. They remain unstable in the linear sense.     

Volcanic stratigraphy of large-volume silicic pyroclastic eruptions during Oligocene Afro-Arabian flood volcanism in Yemen

A new stratigraphy for bimodal Oligocene flood volcanism that forms the volcanic plateau of northern Yemen is presented based on detailed field observations, petrography and geochemical correlations. The >1 km thick volcanic pile is divided into three phases of volcanism: a main basaltic stage (31 to 29.7 Ma), a main silicic stage (29.7 to 29.5 Ma), and a stage of upper bimodal volcanism (29.5 to 27.7 Ma). Eight large-volume silicic pyroclastic eruptive units are traceable throughout northern Yemen, and some units can be correlated with silicic eruptive units in the Ethiopian Traps and to tephra layers in the Indian Ocean. The silicic units comprise pyroclastic density current and fall deposits and a caldera-collapse breccia, and they display textures that unequivocally identify them as primary pyroclastic deposits: basal vitrophyres, eutaxitic fabrics, glass shards, vitroclastic ash matrices and accretionary lapilli. Individual pyroclastic eruptions have preserved on-land volumes of up to ∼850 km³. The largest units have associated co-ignimbrite plume ash fall deposits with dispersal areas >1×10⁷ km² and estimated maximum total volumes of up to 5,000 km³, which provide accurate and precisely dated marker horizons that can be used to link litho-, bio- and magnetostratigraphy studies. There is a marked change in eruption style of silicic units with time, from initial large-volume explosive pyroclastic eruptions producing ignimbrites and near-globally distributed tuffs, to smaller volume (<50 km³) mixed effusive-explosive eruptions emplacing silicic lavas intercalated with tuffs and ignimbrites. Although eruption volumes decrease by an order of magnitude from the first stage to the last, eruption intervals within each phase remain broadly similar. These changes may reflect the initiation of continental rifting and the transition from pre-break-up thick, stable crust supporting large-volume magma chambers, to syn-rift actively thinning crust hosting small-volume magma chambers.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Application of spectral decomposition and neural networks to characterise deep turbidite systems in the outer fold and thrust belt of the Niger Delta

We have applied a wavelet‐based spectral decomposition scheme and a multi‐layered feed‐forward neural network to interpret turbidite depositional systems from three‐dimensional reflection seismic data and well logs for a prospective hydrocarbon zone in the outer fold and thrust belt of the Niger Delta. The goal was to overcome difficulties in interpreting depositional systems from deep sections of the Field, occasioned by loss of seismic resolution with depth and the sparse distribution of wells. The decomposition scheme allowed us to delineate multiple depositional systems not apparent on the conventional seismic amplitude display. These systems include linear channel systems with terminal splay lobes, a sinuous channel system and its abandoned meander loops, and sediment wave features in overbank areas. Delineated channel morphologies and transport directions varied both laterally and vertically and were possibly dependent upon the disposition of the pre‐thrusting paleo‐seafloor. Terminal splay lobes are fragmented and coincident with the locations of topographic lows, which are possibly related to the initial configurations of the oceanic basement below. Predicted porosity and resistivity distributions have morphologies that correlate well with the mapping provided by the spectral decomposition scheme. The property distributions indicate that reservoir prone systems in the Field and possibly within the outer fold and thrust belt are composed primarily of channel systems, both linear and sinuous, and their associated splay lobes. The channel systems appear vertically stacked, and this situation possibly increases the potential success rate for exploration wells in the region. Beyond channel limits, redistributive bottom currents varying rapidly in speed and direction apparently encouraged the dispersal of sand‐rich sediments to form sediment waves. Despite the limited well control, the methodology significantly aided our interpretation. It proved effective at revealing the distribution of reservoir prone facies within the Field and provided insight into the dominant factors that controlled deposition within the Field.     

Holocene and Pleistocene pluvial periods in Yemen,southern Arabia

Arabia is an important potential pathway for the dispersal of Homo sapiens (“out of Africa”). Yet, because of its arid to hyper-arid climate humans could only migrate across southern Arabia during pluvial periods when environmental conditions were favorable. However, knowledge on the timing of Arabian pluvial periods prior to the Holocene is mainly based on a single and possibly incomplete speleothem record from Hoti Cave in Northern Oman. Additional terrestrial records from the Arabian Peninsula are needed to confirm the Hoti Cave record. Here we present a new speleothem record from Mukalla Cave in southern Yemen. The Mukalla Cave and Hoti Cave records clearly reveal that speleothems growth occurred solely during peak interglacial periods, corresponding to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1 (early to mid-Holocene), 5.1, 5.3, 5.5 (Eemian), 7.1, 7.5 and 9. Of these humid periods, highest precipitation occurred during MIS 5.5 and lowest during early to middle Holocene.