Augustin, Nico , van der Zwan, Froukje M. , Devey, Colin W. and Brandsdóttir, Bryndís (2021) 13 million years of seafloor spreading throughout the Red Sea Basin. Nature Communications, 12 . Art.Nr. 2427. DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-22586-2.

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Abstract

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.

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