Cenozoic volcanic rocks of Saudi Arabia

Coleman, Robert G.; Gregory, Robert T.; Brown, Glen F.

doi:10.3133/ofr83788

Cited by 46 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…They are very similar to the 31-30 Ma alkali basalts of Afar, and perhaps represent material derived from an offshoot of the same plume system. These oldest Harrats were erupted onto a moderate-to low-relief topographic surface within the Arabian-Nubian Shield (e.g., Coleman et al 1983;Coleman 1993). Laterite deposits are preserved beneath the basal flows of several of the volcanic fields.…”

Section: Saudi Arabia Older Harratsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Early magmatism in the greater Red Sea rift: timing and significance

Bosworth¹,

Stöckli

2016

Can. J. Earth Sci.

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Throughout the greater Red Sea rift system the initial late Cenozoic syn-rift strata and extensional faulting are closely associated with alkali basaltic volcanism. Older stratigraphic units are either pre-rift or deposited during pre-rupture mechanical weakening of the lithosphere. The East African superplume appeared in northeast Africa ϳ46 Ma but was not accompanied by any significant extensional faulting. Continental rifting began in the eastern and central Gulf of Aden at ϳ31-30 Ma coeval with the onset of continental flood volcanism in northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, and western Yemen. Volcanism appeared soon after at Derudeb in southern Sudan and at Harrats Hadan and As Sirat in Saudi Arabia. From ϳ26.5 to 25 Ma a new phase of volcanism began with the intrusion of a dike field reaching southeast of Afar into the Ogaden. At 24-23 Ma dikes were emplaced nearly simultaneously north of Afar and reached over 2000 km into northern Egypt. The dike event linked Afar to the smaller Cairo mini-plume and corresponds to initiation of lithospheric extension and rupture in the central and northern Red Sea and Gulf of Suez. By ϳ21 Ma the dike intrusions along the entire length of the Red Sea were completed. Each episodic enlargement of the greater Red Sea rift system was triggered and facilitated by breakthrough of mantle-derived plumes. However, the absence of any volumetrically significant rift-related volcanism during the main phase of Miocene central and northern Red Sea -Gulf of Suez rifting supports the interpretation that plate-boundary forces likely drove overall separation of Arabia from Africa.Résumé : Dans l'ensemble du grand système du rift de la mer Rouge, les strates initiales syn-rifting et l'extension par failles d'âge cénozoïque tardif sont étroitement associées à un volcanisme basaltique alcalin. Les unités stratigraphiques plus anciennes précèdent la formation du rift ou ont été déposées durant l'affaiblissement mécanique de la lithosphère qui a précédé la rupture. Le superpanache est-africain est apparu dans le nord-est de l'Afrique à ϳ46 Ma, mais n'était pas accompagné d'une importante déformation par failles. Le rifting continental a commencé dans l'est et le centre du golfe d'Aden à ϳ31-30 Ma, en même temps que le début du volcanisme continental de plateau dans le nord de l'Éthiopie, en Érythrée et dans l'ouest du Yémen. Le volcanisme est apparu peu après à Derudeb, dans le sud du Soudan, et aux Harrats Hadan et As Sirat, en Arabie saoudite. À partir de ϳ26,5-25 Ma, une nouvelle phase de volcanisme a débuté avec l'intrusion d'un essaim de dykes allant du sud-est d'Afar jusque dans l'Ogaden. À 24-23 Ma, des dykes ont été mis en place presque simultanément au nord d'Afar et s'étalant sur plus de 2000 km jusque dans le nord de l'Égypte. L'intrusion de dykes a relié Afar au mini-panache plus petit du Caire et correspond au début de la distension et de la rupture lithosphériques dans le centre et le nord de la mer Rouge et le golfe de Suez. À ϳ21 Ma, l'intrusion de dykes sur toute la longueur de ...

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Section: Saudi Arabia Older Harratsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Those centers that initiated shortly after the Early Oligocene Afar CFV are termed the Older Harrats (Coleman et al 1983;Brown et al 1989;Camp and Roobol 1992). Best known from this sequence are Harrats Uwaynd, Hadan, and As Sirat ( Fig.…”

Section: Saudi Arabia Older Harratsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early magmatism in the greater Red Sea rift: timing and significance

Bosworth¹,

Stöckli

2016

Can. J. Earth Sci.

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“…There are also volcanic fields nearby, which have been identified as separate systems based on the variation in vent clustering within and between regions, and relative geochemistry (Coleman et al 1983). Although identified structures may control the orientations of vent lineaments (Connor 1990;Magill et al 2005), little is known about their influence on magma pathways for Harrat Rahat, so no definitive field-limiting factors can be assumed.…”

Section: Geological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity to volcanic field boundary

et al. 2015

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Volcanic hazard analyses are desirable where there is potential for future volcanic activity to affect a proximal population. This is frequently the case for volcanic fields (regions of distributed volcanism) where low eruption rates, fertile soil, and attractive landscapes draw populations to live close by. Forecasting future activity in volcanic fields almost invariably uses spatial or spatio-temporal point processes with model selection and development based on exploratory analyses of previous eruption data. For identifiability reasons, spatio-temporal processes, and practically also spatial processes, the definition of a spatial region is required to which volcanism is confined. However, due to the complex and predominantly unknown sub-surface processes driving volcanic eruptions, definition of a region based solely on geological information is currently impossible. Thus, the current approach is to fit a shape to the known previous eruption sites. The class of boundary shape is an unavoidable subjective decision taken by the forecaster that is often overlooked during subsequent analysis of results. This study shows the substantial effect that this choice may have on even the simplest exploratory methods for hazard forecasting, illustrated using four commonly used exploratory statistical methods and two very different regions: the Auckland Volcanic Field, New Zealand, and Harrat Rahat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For Harrat Rahat, sensitivity of results to boundary definition is substantial. For the Auckland Volcanic Field, the range of options resulted in similar shapes, nevertheless, some of the statistical tests still showed substantial variation in results. This work highlights the fact that when carrying out any hazard analysis on volcanic fields, it is vital to specify how the volcanic field boundary has been defined, assess the sensitivity of boundary choice, and to carry these assumptions and related uncertainties through to estimates of future activity and hazard analyses.

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“…The dates for eruptions are poorly-constrained but estimates using K-Ar whole rock dating range from 0.2 to 2.6Ma (Coleman et al, 1983;Dabbagh et al, 1984). The most recently-measured K-Ar ages were obtained from a basalt flow south of the town of Al Birk, 20 km south of Wadi Dabsa, placing it at 1.37 ± 0.02 and 1.25 ± 0 0.02 Ma .…”

Section: Study Area: the Harrat Al Birkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Harrat Al Birk, SW Saudi Arabia, is one of several harrat (volcanic fields) across the Arabian Shield (Coleman, Gregory, & Brown 1983). Spanning the area between the present-day Red Sea coastline and the foothills of the Arabian Escarpment, between N18.76-17.79º latitude, it is a major (over 1,800 km 2 ) and distinct geomorphological zone that interrupts the flat Tihamat Asir coastal plain bordering the Red Sea (Figure 1; Vincent, 2008).…”

Section: Study Area: the Harrat Al Birkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeolithic artefact deposits at Wadi Dabsa, Saudi Arabia; a multi-scalar geoarchaeological approach to building an interpretative framework

Inglis¹,

Fanning²,

Stone³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Surface artefacts dominate the archaeological record of arid landscapes, particularly the Saharo-Arabian belt, a pivotal region in dispersals out of Africa. Discarded by hominins, these artefacts are key to understanding past landscape use and dispersals, yet behavioural interpretation of present-day artefact distributions cannot be carried out without understanding how geomorphological processes have controlled, and continue to control, artefact preservation, exposure and visibility at multiple scales.We employ a geoarchaeological approach to unravelling the formation of a surface assemblage of 2,970 Early and Middle Stone Age lithic artefacts at Wadi Dabsa, Saudi Arabia, the richest locality recorded to date in the southwestern Red Sea coastal region. Wadi Dabsa basin, within the volcanic Harrat Al Birk, contains extensive tufa deposits formed during wetter conditions. We employ regional landscape mapping and automatic classification of surface conditions using satellite imagery, field observations, local landform mapping, archaeological survey, excavation, and sedimentological analyses to develop a multi-scalar model of landscape evolution and geomorphological controls acting on artefact distributions in the basin. The main artefact assemblage is identified as a palimpsest of activity, actively forming on a deflating surface, a model with significant implications for future study and interpretation of this, and other, artefact surface assemblages.

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Cenozoic volcanic rocks of Saudi Arabia

Cited by 46 publications

References 7 publications

Early magmatism in the greater Red Sea rift: timing and significance

Early magmatism in the greater Red Sea rift: timing and significance

Sensitivity to volcanic field boundary

Palaeolithic artefact deposits at Wadi Dabsa, Saudi Arabia; a multi-scalar geoarchaeological approach to building an interpretative framework

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