Thermo-tectonic imaging of the Gulf of Aden-Red Sea rift systems and Afro-Arabian hinterland

Abstract

Low-temperature thermochronology has long been utilised in the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden rift systems and adjacent hinterlands to examine exhumation cooling histories of basement blocks, particularly where datable syn-tectonic strata and/or markers are often absent. Such data have provided insights into the spatio-temporal evolution of rift basins, morphotectonic rift shoulder development and timing and rate of surface uplift. However, the relatively limited number of samples and confined areas involved in many individual case studies have precluded insights into the longer wavelength tectonic and geodynamic phenomena responsible for the latest Eocene-Oligocene to Recent separation of the Arabian..