Rotation of the syn-rift stress field of the northern Gulf of Aden margin, Yemen

Tectonophysics

Volumn 364, Issue 3-4, 2003, Pages 147-166

  Huchon, Philippe ^a   Khanbari, Khaled ^b  

^a UNIVERSITÉ DE NICE SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS   (France)

^b SANA A UNIVERSITY   (Yemen)

Author keywords

Continental extension; Gulf of Aden; Rift propagation; Strain localization; Yemen

Indexed keywords

CONTINENTAL MARGIN; EXTENSIONAL TECTONICS; OCEANIC CRUST; REACTIVATION; RIFTING; STRAIN; STRESS FIELD;

ARABIAN SEA; GULF OF ADEN; YEMEN;

EID: 0037431362     PISSN: 00401951     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S0040-1951(03)00056-8     Document Type: Article

References (102)

1. Abbate, E., Bruni, M., Fazzuoli, M., Sagri, M., 1988. The Gulf of Aden continental margin of northern Somalia: cenozoic sedimentation, rifting and drifting. Mem. Soc. Geol. Ital.31, 427-445.
2. Abelson, M., Agnon, A., 1997. Mechanics of oblique spreading and ridge segmentation. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 148, 405-421.
3. Acocella, V., Korme, T., 2002. Holocene extension direction along the Main Ethiopian Rift, East Africa. Terra Nova 14, 191-197.
4. Al Kotbah, A., 1996. Structural geology of South Hadhramaut area, Yemen Republic. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, UK.
5. Al Kotbah, A., 2000. Extensional faulting of the northern margin of the Gulf of Aden, Hadhramaut area, Yemen. Bull. Fac. Sci., Sana'a Univ. 13, 86-120.
6. Angelier, J., 1984. Tectonic analysis of fault slip data sets. J. Geophys. Res. 89 (B8), 5835-5848.
7. Angelier, J., 1990. Inversion of field data in fault tectonics to obtain the regional stress-III. A new rapid direct inversion method by analytical means. Geophys. J. Int. 103, 363-376.
8. Audin, L., 1999. Pénétration de la dorsale d'Aden dans la dépression Afar entre 20 et 4 Ma. PhD Thesis, Paris 7 University, France. 278 pp.
9. Baker, J., Snee, L., Menzies, M., 1996. A brief Oligocene period of flood volcanism in Yemen: implications for the duration and rate of continental flood volcanism at the Afro-Arabian triple junction. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 138, 39-55.
10. Beydoun, Z.R. 1964. The stratigraphy and structure of the eastern Aden protectorate. Overseas Geol. and Mineral Resources Bull. Suppl., vol. 5 HMSO, London, 107 pp.
11. Beydoun, Z.R. 1970. Southern Arabia and Northern Somalia: comparative geology. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 267 A, 267-292.
12. Beydoun, Z.R., Bamahmoud, M.O., Nani, A.S.O., 1993. The Qishn formation, Yemen: lithofacies and hydrocarbon habitat. Mar. Petrol. Geol. 10, 364-372.
13. Beydoun, Z.R., As-Sasuri, M.L., Baraba, R.S. 1996. Sedimentary basins of the Republic of Yemen: their structural evolution and geological characteristics. Rev. Inst. Fr. Pet. 51 (6).
14. Bonini, M., Souriot, T., Boccaletti, M., Brun, J.P., 1997. Successive orthogonal and oblique extension episodes in a rift zone: laboratory experiments with application to the Ethiopian rift. Tectonics, 16(2), 347-362.
15. Bosellini, A. 1989. The continental margins of Somalia: their structural evolution and sequence stratigraphy. Mem. Sci. Geol., 41 373-458.
16. Bosence, D.W., 1997. Mesozoic rift basins of Yemen. Mar. Pet. Geol. 14 (6), 611-616.
17. Bosence, D.W., Nichols, G., Al-Subbary, A.-K, Al-Thour, K.A., Reeder, M. 1996. Synrift continental to marine depositional sequences, tertiary, Gulf of Aden, Yemen. J. Sediment. Res. 66 (4), 766-777.
18. Bosworth, W., Strecker, M.R., 1997. Stress field changes in the Afro-Arabian rift system during the Miocene to Recent period. Tectonophysics 278, 47-62.
19. Bosworth, W., Taviani, M., 1996. Late Quaternary reorientation of stress field and extension direction in the southern Gulf of Suez, Egypt: evidence from uplifted coral terraces, mesoscopic fault arrays, and borehole breakouts. Tectonics 15 (4), 791-802.
20. Bosworth, W., Strecker, M.R., Blisniuk, P.M. 1992. Integration of East African paleostress and present-day stress data: implications for continental stress field dynamics. J. Geophys. Res. 97 (B8), 11851-11865.
21. Bott, W.F., Smith, B.A., Oakes, G., Sikander, A.H., Ibrahim, A.I., 1992. The tectonic framework and regional hydrocarbon prospectivity of the Gulf of Aden. J. Pet. Geol. 15, 211-243.
22. Brannan, J., Gerdes, K.D., Newth, I.R., 1997. Tectono-stratigraphic development of the Qamar basin, Eastern Yemen. Mar. Pet. Geol. 14 (6), 701-730.
23. Brannan, J., Sahota, G., Gerdes, K.D., Berry, J.A., 1999. Geological evolution of the central Marib-Shabwa Basin, Yemen. GeoArabia, 4 (1). Gulf PetroLink, Bahrain.
24. Briais, A., Patriat, P., Tapponnier, P., 1993. Updated interpretation of magnetic anomalies and seafloor spreading stages in the South China Sea: implications for the Tertiary tectonics of Southeast Asia. J. Geophys. Res. 98 (B4), 6299-6328.
25. Capaldi, G., Chiesa, S., Manetti, P., Piccardo, G.B., 1983. Preliminary investigations on volcanism of the Sadah region (Yemen Arab Republic). Bull. Volcanol. 46 (4), 413-427.
26. Chase, C.G. 1978. Plate kinematics: the America, East Africa, and the rest of the world. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 37, 355-368.
27. Chazot, G., Menzies, M.A., Baker, J., 1998. Pre-, syn- and post-rift volcanism on the south-western margin of the Arabian plate. In B.H. Purser, & D.W. Bosence (Eds.), Sedimentation and Tectonics of Rift Basins: Red Sea-Gulf of Aden. Chapman & Hall, London, pp. 50-56.
28. Chessex, R., Delaloye, M., Muller, J., Weidmann, M. 1975. Evolution of the volcanic region of Ali Sabieh (T.F.A.I.) in the light of K-Ar age determination. In P. Rosler (Ed.), Afar Depression of Ethiopia, vol. 1. Schweizebart, Stuttgart, pp. 220-227.
29. Chiesa, S., La Volpe, L., Lirer, L., Orsi, G., 1983. Geological and structural outline of Yemen Plateau, Yemen Arab Republic. Neue Jahrb. Geol. Palaeontol. Mh. 11, 641-656.
30. Chiesa, S., Civetta, L., De Fino, M., La Volpe, L., Orsi, G., 1989. The Yemen trap series: genesis and evolution of a continental flood basalt province. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 36, 337-350.
31. Chorowicz, J., Henry, C., Lybéris, N., 1987. Tectoniques superposées synsédimentaires des secteurs des golfes de Suez et d'Aqaba. Bull. Soc. Geol. Fr. 8 (2), 223-234.
32. Chorowicz, J., Collet, B., Bonavia, F., Korme, T., 1999. Left-lateral strike-slip tectonics and gravity induced individualisation of wide continental blocks in the western Afar margin. Eclogae Geol. Helv. 92, 149-158.
33. Chu, D., Gordon, R.G., 1998. Current plate motions across the Red Sea. Geophys. J. Int. 135, 313-328.
34. Civetta, L., La Volpe, L., Lirer, L., 1978. K-Ar ages of the Yemen plateau. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 4, 307-314.
35. Cochran, J.R., 1981. The Gulf of Aden: structure and evolution of a young ocean basin and continental margin. J. Geophys. Res. 86, 263-287.
36. Courtillot, V., 1980. Opening of the Gulf of Aden and Afar by progressive tearing. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 21, 343-350.
37. Courtillot, V., 1982. Propagating rifts and continental break-up. Tectonics 1, 239-250.
38. Courtillot, V., Vink, G.E. 1983. How continents break up. Sci. Am. 249, 42-49.
39. Courtillot, V., Armijo, R., Tapponnier, P., 1987. Kinematics of the Sinai triple junction and a two phase model of Arabia-Africa rifting. In M.P. Coward, J.F. Dewey, P.L. Hancock (Eds.), Continental Extensional Tectonics. Geological Society Sp. Pub., London, pp. 559-573.
40. Courtillot, V., Jaupart, C., Manighetti, I., Tapponnier, P., Besse, J. 1999. On causal links between flood basalts and continental breakup. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 166, 177-195.
41. Dauteuil, O., Brun, J.P., 1993. Oblique rifting in a slow-spreading ridge. Nature 361, 145-148.
42. Dauteuil, O., Huchon, P., Quemeneur, F., Souriot, T., 2001. Propagation of an oblique spreading center: the western Gulf of Aden. Tectonophysics 332, 423-442.
43. Delvaux, D.F., 1993. Quaternary stress evolution in East Africa from data from the western branch of the East African rift. In Thorweihe, U., Schandelmeier, H. (Eds.), Geoscientific Research in Northeast Africa. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 315-318.
44. Ellis, A.C., Kerr, H.M., Cornwell, C.P., Williams, D.O. 1996. A tectono-stratigraphic framework for Yemen and its implications for hydrocarbon potential. Pet. Geosci. 2, 24-29.
45. Eyal, Y., 1996. Stress-field fluctuations along the Dead Sea rift since the middle Miocene. Tectonics 15, 157-170.
46. Fantozzi, P.L., 1996. Transition from continental to oceanic rifting in the Gulf of Aden: structural evidence from field mapping in Somalia and Yemen. Tectonophysics 259, 285-311.
47. Fantozzi, P.L., Ali Kassim Mohamed, 2002. Geological mapping in northeastern Somalia (Midjiurtinia region): field evidence of the structural and paleogeographic evolution of the northern margin of the Somalian plate. Afr. Earth Sci. 34 (1-2), 21-55.
48. Gaulier, J.M., Huchon, P., 1991. Tectonic evolution of Afar triple junction. Bull. Soc. Geol. Fr. 126, 451-464.
49. Geukens, F., 1960. Contribution à la géologie du Yémen. Mem. Inst. Geol. Univ. Louvain 21, 117-180.
50. Greenwood, J.E., Beackley, D., 1967. Geology of the Arabian peninsula. Aden Protectorate. U. S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap., 560-C, 1-95.
51. Haitham, F.M., Nani, A.S., 1990. The Gulf of Aden rift: hydrocarbon potential of the Arabian sector. J. Pet. Geol. 13 (2), 211-220.
52. Hébert, H., Deplus, C., Huchon, P., Khanbari, K., Audin, L., 2001. Lithospheric structure of a nascent spreading ridge inferred from gravity data: the western Gulf of Aden. J. Geophys. Res., 106(B11), 26345-26363.
53. Hoffmann, C., Courtillot, V., Féraud, G., Rochette, P., Yirgu, E., Kefeto, E., Pik, R., 1997. Timing of the Ethiopian flood basalt event and implications for plume birth and global change. Nature 389, 838-841.
54. Hubert-Ferrari, A., King, G., Manighetti, I., Armijo, R., Meyer, B., Tapponnier, P., in press. Long-term elasticity in the continental lithosphere: modelling the Aden ridge propagation and the Anatolian extrusion process. Geophys. J., Int.
55. Huchon, P., Gaulier, J.M. 1989. Evolution tectonique de l'Afar méridional depuis 3.5 Ma. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 309, 1215-1222.
56. Huchon, P., Jestin, F., Cantagrel, J.M., Gaulier, J.M., Al Khirbash, S., Gafaneh, A., 1991. Extensional deformations in Yemen since Oligocene and the Afar triple junction. Ann. Tecton. 5, 141-163.
57. Huchon, P., Nguyen, T.N., Chamot-Rooke, N., 1998. Finite extension across the South Vietnam basins from 3D gravimetric modelling: relation to South China Sea kinematics. Mar. Petrol. Geol. 15, 619-634.
58. Huchon, P., Nguyen, T.N., Chamot-Rooke, N., 2001. Propagation of continental break-up in the south-western South China Sea. In Wilson, R.C.L. Whitmarsh, R.B. Taylor, B. Froitzheim (Eds.), Non-Volcanic Rifting of Continental Margins: A Comparison of Evidence From Land and Sea. Spec. Publ. - Geol. Soc. Lond., vol. 187, 31-50.
59. Hughes, G.W., Varol, O., Beydoun, Z.R. 1991. Evidence for Middle Oligocene rifting of the Gulf of Aden and for Late Oligocene rifting of the southern Red Sea. Mar. Pet. Geol. 8, 354-358.
60. Jaeger, J.C., Cook, G. 1979. Fundamentals of Rock Mechanics. London: Chapman & Hall.
61. Jestin, F., Huchon, P., 1992. Cinématique et déformation de la jonction triple Mer Rouge-Golfe d'Aden-Rift Ethiopien depuis l'Oligocène. Bull. Soc. Geol. Fr. 163, 125-133.
62. Jestin, F., Huchon, P., Gaulier, J.M., 1994. The Somalia plate and the East African Rift System: present kinematics. Geophys. J. Int. 116, 637-654.
63. Joffe, S., Garfunkel, Z., 1987. Plate kinematics of the circum Red Sea a reevaluation. Tectonophysics 141, 5-22.
64. Jungwirth, J., As-Saruri, M., 1990. Structural evolution of the platform cover on southern Arabian Peninsula (PDR Yemen). Z. Geol. Wiss., Berlin 6, 505-514.
65. Khanbari, K., 2000. Propagation d'un rift océanique: le Golfe d'Aden - Ses effets structuraux sur la marge yéménite. PhD Thesis, University Paris-Sud, France. 221 pp.
66. Laughton, A.S., Whitmarsh, R.B., Jones, M.T. 1970. The evolution of the gulf of Aden. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A 267, 227-266.
67. Le Pichon, X., Francheteau, J., 1978. A plate tectonic analysis of the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden area. Tectonophysics 46, 369-406.
68. Le Pichon, X., Gaulier, J.M., 1988. The rotation of Arabia and the Levant fault system. Tectonophysics 153, 271-274.
69. Lepvrier, C., Fournier, M., Bérard, T., Roger, J., 2002. Cenozoic extension in coastal Dhofar (southern Oman): implications on the oblique rifting of the Gulf of Aden. Tectonophysics 357, 279-293.
70. Malkin, B.V., Shemenda, A.I., 1991. Mechanism of rifting: considerations based on results of physical modelling and on geological and geophysical data. Tectonophysics 199, 191-210.
71. Manighetti, I., 1993. Dynamique des systèmes extensifs en Afar. PhD thesis, Paris 6 University. 242 pp.
72. Manighetti, I., Tapponnier, P., Courtillot, V., Gruszow, S., Gillot, P.Y., 1997. Propagation of rifting along the Arabia-Somalia plate boundary: the gulfs of Aden and Tadjoura. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 2681-2710.
73. Manighetti, I., Tapponnier, P., Gillot, P.Y., Jacques, E., Courtillot, V., Armijo, R., Ruegg, J. C., King, G., 1998. Propagation of rifting along the Arabia-Somalia plate boundary: into Afar. J. Geophys. Res 103, 4947-4974.
74. Martin, A.K., 1984. Propagating rifts: crustal extension during continental rifting. Tectonics 3 (6), 611-617.
75. McClay, K.R., White, M.J., 1995. Analogue modelling of orthogonal and oblique rifting. Mar. Pet. Geol. 12, 137-151.
76. McKenzie, D.P., Morgan, W.J., 1969. Evolution of triple junctions. Nature 224, 125-133.
77. McKenzie, D.P., Davies, D., Molnar, P., 1970. Plate tectonics of the Red Sea and East Africa. Nature 226, 243-248.
78. Menzies, M.A., Baker, J., Bosence, D., Dart, C., Davidson, I., Hurford, A., Al'Kadasi, M., McClay, K., Nichols, G., Al'Subbary, A., Yelland, A., 1992. The timing of magmatism, uplift and crustal extension: preliminary observations from Yemen. In Storey, B.C. Alabaster, T., Pankhurst R.J. (Eds.), Magmatism and the Causes of Continental Break-Up. Spec. Publ. -Geol. Soc. Lond., Vol. 68, pp. 293-304.
79. Menzies, M., Gallagher, K., Yelland, A., Hurford, A.J. 1997. Volcanic and non-volcanic rifted margins of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden: crustal cooling and margin evolution in Yemen. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 60, 2559-2581.
80. Platel, J., Roger, J., 1989. Evolution géodynamique de Dhofar (Sultanat d'Oman) pendant le Crétacé et le Tertiaire en relation avec l'ouverture du golfe d'Aden. Bull. Soc. Geol. Fr. 2 (8), 253-263.
81. Redfern, P., Jones, J.A., 1995. The interior rifts of the Yemen. Analysis of basin structure and stratigraphy in a regional plate tectonic context. Basin Res. 7, 337-356.
82. Ring, U., Betzler, C., Delvaux, D., 1992. Normal vs. strike-lip faulting during rift development in East Africa. Geology 20, 1015-1018.
83. Rochette, P., Tamrat, E., Féraud, G., Pik, R., Courtillot, V., Kefeto, E., Coulon, C., Hoffmann, C., Vandamme, D., Yirgu, E., 1997. Magnetostratigraphy and timing of the Oligocene Ethiopian traps. Earth Planet. Sc. Lett. 14, 497-510.
84. Roger, J., Platel, J.P., Cavelier, C., Bourdillon-de-Grisac, C., 1989. Données nouvelles sur la stratigraphie et l'histoire géologique du Dhofar (Sultanat d'Oman). Bull. Soc. Geol. Fr. 2, 265-277.
85. Sahota, G., 1990. Geophysical investigations of the Gulf of Aden continental margins: geodynamic implications for the development of the Afro-Arabian Rift system. PhD Thesis, University College, Swansea, UK.
86. ApSahota, G., Styles, P., Gerdes, K., 1995. Evolution of the Gulf of Aden and implications for the development of the Red Sea. Rift Sedimentation and Tectonics in the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden Region Sana'a, Yemen, p. 56. Abstr.
87. Schüppel, D., Wienholz, R., 1990. The development of Tertiary in the Habban-Al Mukalla area, PDR Yemen. Z. Geol. Wiss., Berlin 6, 523-528.
88. Sella, G.F., Dixon, T.H., Mao, A., 2002. REVEL: a model for recent plate velocities from space geodesy. J. Geophys. Res. 107 (B4) (10.1029/2000JB000033).
89. Sichler, B., 1980. La biellette danakile: un modèle pour l'évolution géodynamique de l'Afar. Bull. Soc. Geol. Fr., 925-933.
90. Souriot, T., Brun, J.P., 1992. Faulting and block rotation in the Afar triangle: the Danakil "crank-arm" model. Geology 20, 911-914.
91. Stern, R.J., 1985. The Najd fault system, Saudi Arabia and Egypt: a Late Precambrian rift-related transform system?. Tectonophysics 4, 497-511.
92. Strecker, M.R., Blisniuk, P.M., Eisbacher, G.H., 1990. Rotation of extension direction in the central Kenya Rift. Geology 18, 299-302.
93. Tamsett, D., Searle, R., 1990. Structure of the Alula-Fartak Fracture Zone, Gulf of Aden. J. Geophys. Res. 95, 1239-1254.
94. Taylor, B., Goodliffe, A., Martinez, F., Hey, R., 1995. Continental rifting and initial sea-floor spreading in the Woodlark basin. Nature 374, 534-537.
95. Taylor, B., Goodliffe, A., Martinez, F., 1999. How continents break up: insights from Papua New Guinea. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 7495-7512.
96. Thoué, F., 1993. Quantification par imagerie tridimensionnelle de l'extension continentale et des déplacement associés. Exemples au Kenya et au Yémen. PhD Thesis, University Joseph Fourier-Grenoble 1, France.
97. Thoué, F., Vidal, G., Gratier, J.-P 1997. Finite deformation and displacement fields on the southern Yemen margin using satellite images, topographic data and a restoration method. Tectonophysics 281, 173-193.
98. Tron, V., Brun, J.P., 1991. Experiments on oblique rifting in brittle-ductile systems. Tectonophysics 188, 71-84.
99. 39Ar chronostratigraphy of the pre- and syn-rift bimodal flood volcanism in Ethiopia and Yemen. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 198, 289-306.
100. Watchorn, F., Nichols, G.J., Bosence, D.W. 1998. Rift-related sedimentation and stratigraphy, southern Yemen (Gulf of Aden). In B. Purser, & D. Bosence (Eds.), Sedimentation and Tectonics in the Rift Basins Red Sea-Gulf of Aden. Chapman & Hall, London, pp. 165-189.
101. Withjack, M.O., Jamison, W.R. 1986. Deformation produced by oblique rifting. Tectonophysics 126, 99-124.
102. Ziegler, M.A., 2001. Late Permian to Holocene paleofacies evolution of the Arabian plate and its hydrocarbon occurrences. GeoArabia 6 (3), 445-503.