Augustin Nico, van der Zwan Froukje M, Devey Colin W, Brandsdóttir Bryndís
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Nat Commun. 2021 Apr 23;12(1):2427. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22586-2.
The crustal and tectonic structure of the Red Sea and especially the maximum northward extent of the (ultra)slow Red Sea spreading centre has been debated-mainly due to a lack of detailed data. Here, we use a compilation of earthquake and vertical gravity gradient data together with high-resolution bathymetry to show that ocean spreading is occurring throughout the entire basin and is similar in style to that at other (ultra)slow spreading mid-ocean ridges globally, with only one first-order offset along the axis. Off-axis traces of axial volcanic highs, typical features of (ultra)slow-spreading ridges, are clearly visible in gravity data although buried under thick salt and sediments. This allows us to define a minimum off-axis extent of oceanic crust of <55 km off the coast along the complete basin. Hence, the Red Sea is a mature ocean basin in which spreading began along its entire length 13 Ma ago.
红海的地壳和构造结构，尤其是（超）慢速红海扩张中心向北的最大延伸范围，一直存在争议，主要原因是缺乏详细数据。在此，我们综合利用地震和垂直重力梯度数据以及高分辨率测深数据，以表明整个盆地都在发生海洋扩张，其方式与全球其他（超）慢速扩张的大洋中脊类似，轴线上仅有一个一级偏移。轴向火山高地的轴外痕迹是（超）慢速扩张洋脊的典型特征，尽管被厚厚的盐层和沉积物覆盖，但在重力数据中清晰可见。这使我们能够确定沿整个盆地海岸外洋壳的最小轴外延伸范围小于55千米。因此，红海是一个成熟的海洋盆地，其扩张在1300万年前就已沿全长开始。
