Abstract
The mid-ocean rift in the Red Sea is recently regaining attention in the geosciences due to the possibility of investigating this young ocean in more detail than ever by state-of-the-art methods and modern deep-sea instrumentation. During the first AUV surveys of the Red Sea rift in Spring 2022, we collected multibeam bathymetry, backscatter, sub-bottom, and water column data over a 9 km long ridge segment in the Hadarba Deep between 22.49°N and 22.56°N to investigate the volcano-tectonic processes of this mid-ocean ridge. This area's total spreading rate of about 12 mm per year is defined as ultra-slow spreading. The high-resolution hydroacoustic data of the used Kongsberg Hugin Superior AUV (operated by Fugro) revealed more than 100 individual lava flows with different stages of sedimentation. The oldest lava flows are buried under 3-4 m of sediment, indicating ages of up to 28 ka. A dome volcano with a 2.5 km diameter and an average height of 300 m dominates the mapped area but has been inactive for at least ~8.4 ka. Several younger lava flows show recent episodes of volcanism along the rift axis. However, their sediment cover is below the vertical sub-bottom-profiler resolution of about 10 cm and thus might be only a few hundred years old or younger. We will present our geomorphological maps, analyses, and statistics that reveal a moderately faulted, ultra-slow spreading MOR segment in the Red Sea with a surprisingly large amount of magmatic extension and show implications for the formation history of this ridge segment.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.