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The Red Sea Enigma: What Earthquakes Tell About Oceanic Spreading

Issachar R (.1), Wetzler N (.1), Engelberg S (.1,2), Abelson M(.1)

(1) Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha'ayahu Leibowitz, Jerusalem 9692100, Israel

(2) The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

The Red Sea is an embryonic ocean, offering a rare window into the early evolution of oceans. While the central-southern segment exhibits well-developed oceanic spreading, the tectonic regime of the northern Red Sea remains uncertain, whether it still undergoes continental extension or has already transitioned to oceanic spreading. Thick sediment cover in this segment conceals direct evidence of oceanic crust formation. To address this, we examined the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of over 10,000 earthquakes from a standardized ISC catalog (1960–2024). We found that seismicity is focused in a narrow, ~40 km wide zone along the Red Sea axis, and the activity is overwhelmingly dominated by earthquake swarm sequences. This pattern is typical of other (ultra)slow oceanic spreading centers globally, contrasting with the, wider Mainshock-Aftershock behavior expected in continental rifts. Furthermore, the seismological characteristics, including swarm spatial distribution and overall b-values, are comparable between the northern and central-southern segments. We further find that earthquake swarms repeatedly occur in spatial association with bathymetric deeps, suggesting these are active volcanic centers. This observation also valid in the northernmost Exxon and Conard deeps despite the lack of exposed basaltic crust. Additionally, we find that epicenters and swarms centroids are predominantly located to the east of the Red Sea axis, possibly indicating an underlying eastward-shifted magma chamber. Our comprehensive seismic analysis strongly supports the conclusion that ongoing oceanic spreading extends along the entire length of the Red Sea.

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