Pattern of mantle thinning from subsidence and heat flow measurements in the Gulf of Suez: Evidence for the rotation of Sinai and along-strike flow from the Red Sea

Abstract

We have undertaken a combined analysis of tectonic subsidence, heat flow and uplift data for the Gulf of Suez. Results show significant differences along the length of the rift. The heat flow and subsidence in the northern Gulf of Suez can be fitted by close to uniform extension in the early Miocene with minimal extension since the middle Miocene. In contrast, the southern Gulf of Suez requires that the early Miocene extension is followed by both continuous slow (~1 mm/yr) extension and mantle thinning greatly in excess of the crustal thinning. The continued extension of the southern Gulf of Suez is interpreted as indicating a counterclockwise rotation of the Sinai Peninsula that allows the ..