To Rotate or to Link? The Connection Between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Rifts in Central Afar
Abstract Central Afar is shaped by the interaction between the Red Sea (RS) and Gulf of Aden (GoA) rifts. While there have been several studies conducted in the region, we know surprisingly little about the mechanism of connection between these two rift branches. Here we use high‐resolution 3D litho...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108732 |
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| author | Ameha Muluneh Sascha Brune Carolina Pagli Alessandro La Rosa Derek Keir Derek Neuharth Giacomo Corti |
| author_facet | Ameha Muluneh Sascha Brune Carolina Pagli Alessandro La Rosa Derek Keir Derek Neuharth Giacomo Corti |
| author_sort | Ameha Muluneh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Central Afar is shaped by the interaction between the Red Sea (RS) and Gulf of Aden (GoA) rifts. While there have been several studies conducted in the region, we know surprisingly little about the mechanism of connection between these two rift branches. Here we use high‐resolution 3D lithospheric scale geodynamic modeling to capture the evolution of linkage between the RS and GoA rifts in central Afar. Our results demonstrate that the two rifts initially overlap and interact across a broad zone of faulting and vertical axis block rotation. However, through time, rift overlap is abandoned in favor of direct linkage which generates a series of localized en‐echelon basins. The present‐day direct linkage between the two rifts is supported by geodetic observations. Our study reconciles previously proposed models for the RS and GoA rift connection by considering spatial and temporal evolution of the rifts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8d1fcdae0cfc45fb82cb1aebbea97c77 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-8d1fcdae0cfc45fb82cb1aebbea97c772025-08-20T01:52:06ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-06-015112n/an/a10.1029/2024GL108732To Rotate or to Link? The Connection Between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Rifts in Central AfarAmeha Muluneh0Sascha Brune1Carolina Pagli2Alessandro La Rosa3Derek Keir4Derek Neuharth5Giacomo Corti6Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa EthiopiaGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam GermanyUniversity of Pisa Pisa ItalyUniversity of Pisa Pisa ItalyUniversity of Florence Florence ItalyETH Zurich Zürich SwitzerlandCNR National Research Council of Italy Florence ItalyAbstract Central Afar is shaped by the interaction between the Red Sea (RS) and Gulf of Aden (GoA) rifts. While there have been several studies conducted in the region, we know surprisingly little about the mechanism of connection between these two rift branches. Here we use high‐resolution 3D lithospheric scale geodynamic modeling to capture the evolution of linkage between the RS and GoA rifts in central Afar. Our results demonstrate that the two rifts initially overlap and interact across a broad zone of faulting and vertical axis block rotation. However, through time, rift overlap is abandoned in favor of direct linkage which generates a series of localized en‐echelon basins. The present‐day direct linkage between the two rifts is supported by geodetic observations. Our study reconciles previously proposed models for the RS and GoA rift connection by considering spatial and temporal evolution of the rifts.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108732afar riftstrain ratelinkageASPECTgeodynamicsmodeling |
| spellingShingle | Ameha Muluneh Sascha Brune Carolina Pagli Alessandro La Rosa Derek Keir Derek Neuharth Giacomo Corti To Rotate or to Link? The Connection Between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Rifts in Central Afar Geophysical Research Letters afar rift strain rate linkage ASPECT geodynamics modeling |
| title | To Rotate or to Link? The Connection Between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Rifts in Central Afar |
| title_full | To Rotate or to Link? The Connection Between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Rifts in Central Afar |
| title_fullStr | To Rotate or to Link? The Connection Between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Rifts in Central Afar |
| title_full_unstemmed | To Rotate or to Link? The Connection Between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Rifts in Central Afar |
| title_short | To Rotate or to Link? The Connection Between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Rifts in Central Afar |
| title_sort | to rotate or to link the connection between the red sea and gulf of aden rifts in central afar |
| topic | afar rift strain rate linkage ASPECT geodynamics modeling |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108732 |
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