Abstract
Dredge hauls from the median valley of the Gulf of Aden produced fresh abyssal basalts. Weathered basalts were collected away from the median valley. The fresh basalts occur as pillows and thin flows, and carry phenocrysts and xenocrysts of olivine and plagioclase, and also phenocrysts of augite. Their chemistry is generally tholeiitic, but differs from most other abyssal basalts in showing lower than usual Na 2O and higher than usual CaO. This unusual composition may reflect an abnormal mantle composition or conditions of melting different from those normal under mid-ocean ridges. The nature of the rocks confirms the oceanic nature of the Gulf of Aden.
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