INTEGRATED THERMOCHRONOLOGIC AND STRUCTURAL INVESTIGATION OF THE SAUDI ARABIAN RED SEA RIFT MARGIN: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RUPTURING OF CONTINENTAL LITHOSPHERE Stockli, D.F., Omar, G., Johnson, P., and Eugene Szymanski  Many of the fundamental processes that control continental rifting and that ultimately lead to rupturing of continental lithosphere and seafloor spreading remain poorly understood. The Tertiary Red Sea rift system is one of the best-exposed examples of a continental rift. Though much progress has been made in understanding the plate tectonic framework and modern strain field of the Red Sea, our limited knowledge of how extensional strain is spatially and temporally distributed along the continental margins, particularly in Saudi Arabia, has made it difficult to adequately evaluate and test models for the dynamic evolution of this rift system. In order to elucidate the dynamics of rupturing of the continental lithosphere in the Red Sea more fully, it is imperative to understand the evolution of rifting in time and space. This proposed NSF-Margins project has secured full scientific and logistical support from the Saudi Geological Survey and thus presents a unique opportunity to study the geodynamic evolution of the eastern margin of the Red Sea rift system.  We intend to perform a study involving apatite fission-track and (U-Th)/He thermochronology
and structural mapping along the central and northern Red Sea rift margin in Saudi
Arabia. Apatite fission-track and (U-Th)/He analysis of samples from exhumed fault
blocks within the rift and from W-E transects that cover the entire width of the
exposed basement rocks bordering the Red Sea can directly determine the timing,
geometry, and amount of extension far inland from the modern Red Sea basin, discriminate
between rigid vs. non rigid rifting models, and quantify erosional exhumation
during rift flank uplift. This proposed investigation will contribute to a more
comprehensive understanding of the Red Sea in conjunction with other geological
and geophysical projects of the Red Sea NSF-Margins initiative.This proposed study will also be of societal and economic value. Our collaboration with scientists from the Saudi Geological Survey will foster an exchange of scientific ideas and technical knowledge. SGS scientists will visit KU and UPenn and will have access to state-of-the-art analytical facilities. In addition, there are opportunities for two KU graduate students to become deeply involved in several mapping expeditions, working closely with scientists and staff from the SGS in Saudi Arabia. This project will yield insights into the way that newly generated continental margins are initiated, develop and evolve. The work has significance and relevance not only in academic terms but also in economic terms, because of the importance of rift systems as hydrocarbon provinces. The initiation of rifts often lays the foundation for rift and hydrocarbon trap architecture.
Download Stockli et al., 2006 Margins Newletter Arctile on Thermochronology along the Saudi Red Sea Margin Gomaa Omar - University of Pennsylvania Peter Johnson - Saudi Geological Survey |
