Abstract
Combined analyses of new geophysical data in the northern Red Sea with data from the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba–Dead Sea rift strongly suggest that the development of the Red Sea took place in three stages: (1) a 'Gulf of Suez' stage in the Oligocene, accompanied by thinning of the continental lithosphere and the formation of an early 'Red Sea–Gulf of Suez' graben; (2) an early 'Dead Sea' stage, with slow seafloor spreading from ∼25 to 15 Myr accompanied by 62km of shear along the Aqaba–Dead Sea transform; and (3) a recent 'Dead Sea' stage, with slow seafloor spreading from 4.5 to 0 Myr accompanied by 45km of shear along the Aqaba–Dead Sea transform.
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Girdler, R., Southren, T. Structure and evolution of the northern Red Sea. Nature 330, 716–721 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/330716a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/330716a0
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