Segmentation and along-strike asymmetry of the passive margin in Socotra, eastern Gulf of Aden: Are they controlled by detachment faults?

International audienceOn the island of Socotra, the southern passive margin of the Gulf of Aden displays along its strike two different types of asymmetric structures. Western Socotra is made up of a series of southward tilted blocks bounded by consistently northward dipping normal faults. Eastern Socotra consists of a broad asymmetric anticline with a steep northern limb and a gently dipping southern limb. A zone of NE-SW striking strike- slip and normal faults separates the two areas. The overall structure is interpreted as representing two rift segments separated by a transfer zone. The along-strike juxtaposition of crustal-scale asymmetric structures on the southern margin of the Gulf of Aden is complemented by the asymmetry of the conjugate margins on either side of the gulf. Whereas the western Socotra margin is narrow and characterized by oceanward dipping normal faults, the conjugate Oman margin is broader and dominated by horsts and graben. Considering that asymmetric structures in the upper crust are often associated with synthetic shear zones at deeper ductile levels, we propose that the western and eastern Socotra margin segments were controlled at depth by two detachment faults with opposite dips and senses of shear. The normal faults of western Socotra would sole out into a top-to-the-north ductile shear zone, whereas the asymmetric anticline of eastern Socotra would be associated with a top-to-the-south detachment fault

Crustal structure of the rifted volcanic margins and uplifted plateau of Western Yemen from receiver function analysis

International audienceWe analyse P-wave receiver functions across the western Gulf of Aden and southern Red Sea continental margins in Western Yemen to constrain crustal thickness, internal crustal structure and the bulk seismic velocity characteristics in order to address the role of magmatism, faulting and mechanical crustal thinning during continental breakup. We analyse teleseismic data from 21 stations forming the temporary Young Conjugate Margins Laboratory (YOCMAL) network together with GFZ and Yemeni permanent stations. Analysis of computed receiver functions shows that (1) the thickness of unextended crust on the Yemen plateau is ∼35km; (2) this thins to ∼22km in coastal areas and reaches less than 14km on the Red Sea coast, where presence of a high-velocity lower crust is evident. The average Vp/Vs ratio for the western Yemen Plateau is 1.79, increasing to ∼1.92 near the Red Sea coast and decreasing to 1.68 for those stations located on or near the granitic rocks. Thinning of the crust, and by inference extension, occurs over a ∼130-km-wide transition zone from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coasts to the edges of the Yemen plateau. Thinning of continental crust is particularly localized in a <30-km-wide zone near the coastline, spatially co-incident with addition of magmatic underplate to the lower crust, above which on the surface we observe the presence of seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) and thickened Oligo-Miocene syn-rift basaltic flows. Our results strongly suggest the presence of high-velocity mafic intrusions in the lower crust, which are likely either synrift magmatic intrusion into continental lower crust or alternatively depleted upper mantle underplated to the base of the crust during the eruption of the SDRs. Our results also point towards a regional breakup history in which the onset of rifting was synchronous along the western Gulf of Aden and southern Red Sea volcanic margins followed by a second phase of extension along the Red Sea margin

Magmatism on rift flanks: insights from ambient noise phase velocity in Afar region

During the breakup of continents in magmatic settings, the extension of the rift valley is commonly assumed to initially occur by border faulting and progressively migrate in space and time toward the spreading axis. Magmatic processes near the rift flanks are commonly ignored. We present phase velocity maps of the crust and uppermost mantle of the conjugate margins of the southern Red Sea (Afar and Yemen) using ambient noise tomography to constrain crustal modification during breakup. Our images show that the low seismic velocities characterize not only the upper crust beneath the axial volcanic systems but also both upper and lower crust beneath the rift flanks where ongoing volcanism and hydrothermal activity occur at the surface. Magmatic modification of the crust beneath rift flanks likely occurs for a protracted period of time during the breakup process and may persist through to early seafloor spreading

抗腫瘍性トロポロン誘導体の創製と作用機序に関する研究

We image the lithospheric and upper asthenospheric structure of western continental Yemen with 24 broadband stations to evaluate the role of the Afar plume on the evolution of the continental margin and its extent eastward along the Gulf of Aden. We use teleseismic tomography to compute relative P wave velocity variations in south-western Yemen down to 300 km depth. Published receiver function analysis suggest a dramatic and localized thinning of the crust in the vicinity of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, consistent with the velocity structure that we retrieve in our model. The mantle part of the model is dominated by the presence of a low-velocity anomaly in which we infer partial melting just below thick Oligocene flood basalts and recent off-axis volcanic events (from 15 Ma to present). This low-velocity anomaly could correspond to an abnormally hot mantle and could be responsible for dynamic topography and recent magmatism in western Yemen. Our new P wave velocity model beneath western Yemen suggests the young rift flank volcanoes beneath margins and on the flanks of the Red Sea rift are caused by focused small-scale diapiric upwelling from a broad region of hot mantle beneath the area. Our work shows that relatively hot mantle, along with partial melting of the mantle, can persist beneath rifted margins after breakup has occurred

Effect and interaction of temperature, cultivars and storage gases on the processing quality of potatoes

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Paléostress analysis of the volcanic margins of Yemen

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Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the eastern Gulf of Aden conjugate passive margins: Narrowness and asymmetry in oblique rifting context

International audienceHere, we focus on the yet unexplored eastern Gulf of Aden, on Socotra Island (Yemen), Southeastern Oman and offshore conjugate passive margins between the Socotra-Hadbeen (SHFZ) and the eastern Gulf of Aden fracture zones. Our interpretation leads to onshore-offshore stratigraphic correlation between the passive margins. We present a new map reflecting the boundaries between the crustal domains (proximal, necking, hyper-extended, exhumed mantle, proto-oceanic and oceanic domains) and structures using bathymetry, magnetic surveys and seismic reflection data. The most striking result is that the magma-poor conjugate margins exhibit asymmetrical architecture since the thinning phase (Upper Rupelian-Burdigalian). Their necking domains are sharp ( 40-10 km wide) and their hyper-extended domains are narrow and asymmetric ( 10-40 km wide on the Socotra margin and 50-80 km wide on the Omani margin). We suggest that this asymmetry is related to the migration of the rift center producing significant lower crustal flow and sequential faulting in the hyper-extended domain. Throughout the Oligo-Miocene rifting, far-field forces dominate and the deformation is accommodated along EW to N110°E northward-dipping low angle normal faults. Convection in the mantle near the SHFZ may be responsible of change in fault dip polarity in the Omani hyper-extended domain. We show the existence of a northward-dipping detachment fault formed at the beginning of the exhumation phase (Burdigalien). It separates the northern upper plate (Oman) from southern lower plate (Socotra Island) and may have generated rift-induced decompression melting and volcanism affecting the upper plate. We highlight multiple generations of detachment faults exhuming serpentinized subcontinental mantle in the ocean-continent transition. Associated to significant decompression melting, final detachment fault may have triggered the formation of a proto-oceanic crust at 17.6 Ma and induced late volcanism up to 10 Ma. Finally, the setting up of a steady-state oceanic spreading center occurs at 17 Ma

Study of Fractures Network in the Basement of Socotra Island—Yemen by Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

International audienceFractured basement rocks have become an increasingly common target for hydrocarbon production in the Republic of Yemen, where the oil is in production from the deeply buried fractured basement. These basement reservoirs underlie a thick sequence of Mesozoic to Tertiary sediments and in order to study the characteristics of this buried basement, indirect methods must be used. The present work deals with the production of structural maps of basement of Socotra Island, and the extraction of lineaments from remote sensing data (satellite imageries and aerial photographs) as well as the analysis of these extracted lineaments by using GIS. The numerous fractures detected in the basement are characterized by consistent variations in trend, length and density when they affect the different lithological units out cropping in the study areas. The granitic basement is expected to have the best fractured reservoir potential. The dominant fracture trends in the basement of Socotra Island are NW-SE and NE-SW. The presence of this fracture system is thought to be due to major tectonic activity which formed new fractures and also reactivated older fractures