Geological Framework of the Red Sea - Research Paper Example

Geological Framework of the Red Sea The Province of Red Sea Basin comprises offshore and neighboring onto land regions, from the northern Gulf of Suez at around 350 km by 70 km and Gulf of Aqaba at around 185 km by 25 km southeastward alongside the Red Sea to the Aden Gulf along the Indian Ocean. The region is a Tertiary cratonic rift south of Egyptian Sinai Peninsula between the Arabian Peninsula and northeastern Africa (Rasul, et al. 2002). Northwest-southeast extent of the region is 2300 kilometers, with a breadth to 400 kilometers. The Gulf of Suez is a deserted rift basin with below than 100 meter water lowest points. The Gulf of Aqaba is a younger, speedily falling down wrench basin with an upper limit water deepness of 1850 meters. The rest of Red Sea Basin region is a full of zip rift where sea-floor spreading has taken place for the last five million years. Additionally, depths of water locally go beyond 2300 meters in the axial province. Geologically, the Red Sea has just in recent times turned into a sea. The Red Sea takes up a fraction of a region of depression and faulting known the Great Rift Valley. The Red Sea was formed by the movement of plates in the surface of the Earth close to 30 million years ago (Mabrook, 2001). During those times, the Arab peninsula began to branch from Africa along a slender break line which was overflowing with the waters of the Ocean. Twenty million years ago, a different geographical movement began (AZAZI, 1992). The Arab peninsula which branched from, Africa began to shift to the north. That shifting thumped resistance in Turkey and swayed east, and a new break line was created. The Hydrothermal vents on the floor of the sea are proof of continuous tectonic activity. The Red Sea is still expanding at approximately one-half inch annually. Plate tectonics is a hypothesis of geology that has been created to clarify the monitored verification for large scale movements of the lithosphere of the Earth. The theory contained and outdated the former theory of continental drift from the opening half of the 20th century and the notion of seafloor expanding initiated in the 1960s. The outmost segment of the interior of the Earth is comprised of two layers: top is the lithosphere, consisting of the crust and the firm upmost part of the mantle. Underneath the lithosphere lies the asthenosphere. Even, though, solid, the asthenosphere has comparatively minimal thickness and shear strength and can stream like a liquid on geographical time scales. The lithosphere is reformed into what are referred to as tectonic plates. In the case of Earth, there are seven key and many insignificant plates. The lithospheric plates rest on the asthenosphere. These plates shift with regards to one another at one of three forms of plate margins: convergent, divergent or spreading, and transform boundaries. Seismic activities, volcanic activity, forming of mountains, and formation of oceanic trench take place along plate margins. The lateral motion of the plates classically is at rates of 0.66 to 8.50 centimeters annually. A watershed is an area of land where façade water from rainfall and snow that is melting or converges of ice to a sole point, habitually the exit of the basin where by the waters integrate a new water body, for instance the sea, an estuary or the ocean (Edwards & Head, 2000). The watershed of the Red Sea encompasses streams that are ephemeral, that classically flow just during storms of winter that may bring hazardous flash floods about in the deeply split open estuaries. The watersheds are located in the Jordan highland, Eastern Escarpment, and the Jordan Rift. Close to the entrance of Hiyyon River lies the interior separation of the Araba estuary which water flows south to the Red Sea. Figure 1.1: Watershed Source: http://exact-me.org/overview/p2829.htm Surface water in the majority of the region flows to the Mediterranean, Red, or Dead Seas. In the vast desert watersheds, the majority of the streams stream only in reaction to storms and drain within, the water fading away or penetrating the earth. Figure 1.2: Plate Tectonics Map Source: http://geology.com/plate-tectonics.jpg&imgrefurl=http://geology.com/plate-tectonics Chapter 2: Surficial Sediment of the Red Sea The whole Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia is projected with coastal fjords. These fjords referred to as lagoons range extensively in size. They are deemed to be erosional components created in the emergence of post-warm Wisconsin’s. In the Red Sea, the dynamically increasing coral, the subsistence of fringing and barrier reefs take up an extremely crucial purpose in the extreme production of sediments that are reef and carbonates (Baghdadi, Ghazali & Khan, 2005). The Al-Shoaiba lagoon is endowed with a broad array of sediment texture varying from gravel to mud. This is as a result of differing energy degrees in diverse environments of deposition in the lagoon. The tidal air motions at the entry of the lagoon are in general impacted by the energy and direction of the wind. They may achieve an upmost speed of approximately 80 cm/sec once in a while. This is clearly mirrored in the texture of the sediment at the entry where a gravel rich tongue sand that is muddy is seen, flowing in a northerly direction subsequent to the passageway of the tidal motion of wind. Moderately, sediments that are finer re-suspend by tidal, wave and wind and produce currents at the entry, are transported into the lagoon and deposited in an environment that is quiescent. The northwestern region of the lagoon is moderately calm where sand that is muddy is dominant (Dekker, 2001). Nevertheless, sand that is gravelly is established to be present in the northwestern region around one of the mangrove forests where substances that are finer are not trapped by the mangrove’s roots are seen in other regions where root take up a significant function of trapping sediment that is light (Abrams, 2000). Generally, sand is dominant at shallow depths in the southern, and northern fringes of the lagoon whilst mud dominates in deep waters. Because there is inadequate flow of the river into the lagoon and minimal rainfall, the lagoon obtains extremely minimal or no terrigenous substance through streams that are seasonal. Carbonate sediments at the mouth of entrance of the lagoon is largely detrital in basis. The elevated proportion of carbonate is due to strong tidal currents that get rid of the sediment that is light, leaving the carbonate material that is coarse as lag deposits especially at the entrance of the lagoon (Abul-azm and Barak, 2001). Detrital mineral quartz and carbonate mineral aragonite are the most plentiful mineral accompanied by lofty Magnesium-calcite and feldspars. The domination of aragonite and Magnesium-calcite and inadequate calcite and dolomite are analytical of the coastal sediments of the Red Sea found in the semi-tropical area. Figure 2.1: Sediment distribution map of the area source:http://qspace.qu.edu.qa/bitstream/handle/10576/9959/070323-0001-fulltext.pdf?sequence=4 Sediment Transportation With the exemption, of the northern section of the Red Sea, which is subjugated by unrelenting north-west winds, with velocities varying between 7 km/h equivalent to 4.3 mph and 12 km/h equivalent to 7.5 mph, the remaining of the Red Sea and the Aden Gulf are exposed to the manipulation of ordinary and seasonal winds that are reversible. The wind system is exemplified by both recurrent and regional disparities in velocity and direction with standard speed normally augmenting northward (Abu-Jaber, 2001). Wind is the source of power in the Red Sea for carrying the material either as suspension or a bed load. Currents that are induced by wind play a significant function in the Red Sea in instigating the development of re-suspension of underneath sediments, and transport of substances from dumping sites to burial sites in inactive environment of dumping. The measurement of Wind produced current is as a result, significant in order to establish the sediment dispersion blueprint, and its function in the erosion and accumulation of the coastal rock disclosure, and the underwater coral beds (Wad, 2002). Figure 2.2: Wind storm in the Red Sea Source: http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/images/wsci_03_img0388.jpg Red Sea Coral Reefs The different and spectacular coral reefs for which the Red Sea is known for are located in its northern and central half. The majority of the Red Sea coast is perimetered by wide-ranging shallow shelves of submarines that hold up broad fringing reef organisms, which are by a large amount the main most fundamental form of coral reef found here (Anthony et al. 2000). These reef raised areas are more than 5000 years of age, and broaden along approximately 2000 km, which is equivalent to, 1,240 miles of shoreline. They up hold a dense cover of algal reefs and give essential firm substrate in regions that are sandy. The majority are comprised largely of branching corals of the Acropora and Porites genera (Awad, El-Abd, & El-Haj, 2001). A number of the fringing reef organisms develop directly from the seashore. In such occurrences, the more dynamically budding corals of the face of the reef are attached to the seashore by an extremely trivial reef flat encompassing small spread outposts of coral that is alive. In various sections, the fringing reef organisms start at a few distances from the shoreline, and encircle a well built up back confined reef region (lagoon), inclusive of patch reefs, meadows of sea grass, and mangroves. Different reefs are located amid Quseir and Ras shukhei along the coastline of Egypt. In the Red Sea, there are close to 13 primary communities of coral. The majority demonstrate substantial localization related with latitude, however, related with modifications that are gross in coastal, morphology and bathymetry. On whichever reef in the Red Sea, the usual system of coral disparity with depth pursues that of the majority of indo-pacific reefs, increasing to the utmost depth of 5 – 20 meters prior to declining (Backer & Feller, 2006). Coral cover is generally below 50 percent. However, in areas that are sheltered, a few species, classically Porties, may envelop 80 percent of the substrate. The Gulf of Aden, in spite of upwelling water and shorelines that are sandy hold up amazingly reefs that are rich and composite. There are approximately 200 species of corals accounted in the Saudi Arabian coast. Roughly, 30 species have been discovered in the Aqaba Gulf, and close to 80 around Jeddah. Five regions along the Red Sea coast are noticed for their broad coral reefs: coastline of Thuwal and Obhur, Tiran Islands, Jeddah, Wejh bank and Farasan bank. In spite of the intense condition features of the area, in general, Red Sea coral reefs are in superb physical shape. Coral reefs vary extensively in state and cover, with up to 85 percent subsisting coral cover at the paramount sites and more than 50 percent subsisting coral cover at numerous other locations. There is by and large nominal coral bleaching apparent, though a few localized outbursts are accounted now, and again. Still, a lot of Red Sea coral reefs located in the vicinity of urban centers and other enlarged divisions of the coast have been enormously spoilt or vanished as a result of the conventional impacts of inadequately planned or regulated populace growths and coastal expansion, alongside with related decrease in the quality of water. Oil and Gas Potential Pockmarks were initially referred to as concave depressions that are craterlike and take place in profusion on mud bottoms transverse the Scotian Shelf. The largest pockmark is of a diameter of hundreds of meters and a deepness of hundreds of meters (Ambraseys, Melville, and Adams, 1994). It is commonly located close to deltas and regions where petroleum is produced or tectonic movement. Additionally, they are also widely spread in the mid-latitude estuaries. There is significant deposit of oil and natural gas down the Red Sea Coast. This reserve can be pulled through commercially. A great number of far-off companies have been operating in Eritrea on the drawing out and promotion of oil and natural gas. References Abrams, M. (2000). Aster. International Journal Remote Sensing 21, no. 5: 847-59. Abul-Azm, A. and Barak,, M.A. (2001). Coastal development in the Red Sea, case study. IOC Workshop Report. UNESCO, Paris, France. Abu-Jaber, M.H. (2001). Morpho-sedimentological controls on the environmental management. North Carolina: Duke University. Anthony, Kenneth. et al. (2000). Adaptation to life on turbid reefs. Coral Reef Symposium. Ambraseys, N.N.; Melville, C.P.; Adams, R.D. (1994). The Seismicity of the Red Sea Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Awad, M.B.; El-Abd, Y.I.; El-Haj, E.A. (1991). Gravity implications of Red Sea, Egypt. Journal of Marine Sciences. Azazi, G. (1992). Recent sea floor benthonic foraminifera analysis for the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Tokyo: Tokai University Press. Backer, H.; Fellerer, R. (2006). Marine Mineral Exploration. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Baghdadi Z.A.; Ghazali, F.M.; Khan, A.M. (2001). Model pile testing in carbonate sediments of the Red Sea. Canadian Geotechnical Journal. Dekker, H., (2001). Additions to the knowledge of Iacra species. Triton. Edwards, A.J. & Head, S.M. (2000). Red Sea, Key Environments Series. UK: Pergamon Press. Mabrook, B. (2001). Environmental Impact on Red Sea, Egypt. Desalination. Rasul, Basham. Et al. (2002). The geochemical aspects of Surficial sediments. Journal of Marine Sciences. Tsagarakis, C.M., Seddon, P.J., & van Heezik, Y. (2000). Wildlife Conservation in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. WAD, H. (2002). Hydrocarbons in Saudian Red Sea coastal waters. Oceanography & Fisheries. Read More