Thermal history of the eastern margin of the Gulf of Suez, I. Reconstruction from borehole temperature and organic maturity measurements

Abstract

The Gulf of Suez is a Tertiary continental rift associated with prominent flank uplift. Despite numerous studies which focused mainly on the western and central parts of the graben, the thermo-mechanics controlling the tectonic evolution of the Gulf of Suez is still enigmatic. We have integrated borehole temperatures and organic maturity measurements in the eastern margin of the Gulf of Suez, in order to study rift-related paleothermometry and the present-day thermal regime. The data obtained suggest that the present thermal regime represents the maximum heat flow and temperatures for the sedimentary section in the basin. Furthermore, lateral distributions of geothermal gradient and heat flo..