Continental Flood Basalts and Rifting: Geochemistry of Cenozoic Yemen Volcanic Province

Rift formation is a crucial topic in global tectonics. The Yemen rift-related area is one of the most important provinces, being connected to the rifting processes of the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and Afar Triangle. In this paper, a review of the Yemen volcanic province and its relations with the Red Sea rifting are presented. Tertiary continental extension in Yemen resulted in the extrusion of large volumes of effusive rocks. This magmatism is divided in the Oligo-Miocene Yemen Trap Series (YTS) separated by an unconformity from the Miocene-Recent Yemen Volcanic Series (YVS). Magmas of the YTS were erupted during the synrift phase and correlate with the first stage of sea-floor spreading of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (30 - 15 Ma), whereas the magmas of the YVS were emplaced during the post rift phase (10 - 0 Ma). A continental within plate character is recognized for both the YTS and YVS basalts. The YTS volcanic rocks are contemporaneous with, and geochemically similar to, the Ethiopian rift volcanism, just as the volcanic fields of the YVS are geochemically alike to most of the Saudi Arabian volcanics. YTS and YVS have analogous SiO2 ranges, but YVS tend to have, on average, higher alkalis and MgO contents than YTS. Fractional crystallization processes dominate geochemical variations of both series. Primitive magmas (MgO > 7.0%) are enriched in incompatible elements and LREEs with respect to primitive mantle, but YVS are more enriched than YTS. To first order, the different geochemical patterns agree with different degrees of partial melting of an astenospheric mantle source: 25% - 30% of partial melting for YTS and 10% - 3% for YVS. Secondly, the higher degree of enrichment in incompatible elements of YVS reflects also greater contribution of a lithospheric mantle component in their source region.

Heavy metal content in coral reef sediments from Red Sea of Yemen and its significance on marine environment

In order to determine and assess the concentrations of trace elements in coral reefs sediments from Red Sea of Yemen,sediment samples were collected,treated and analyzed for cadmium,chromium,cobalt,copper,manganese,nickel,iead,iron,zinc and vanadium by the atomic absorption spectrometric analysis.The result is that cadmium,cobalt and lead concentrations were high and other elements are low or the same as natural background.It is concluded that the high cadmium,cobalt and lead levels in coral reefs sediments will have negative effects on marine life of the sites,so further researches are needed to characterize the sources fate,biogeochemical processes and impacts of these trace elements on coral reefs and marine of the region.

Geology and fluid inclusion of Wadi Sharis Neoproterozoic orogenic gold deposits in northwestern Yemen

The Wadi Sharis orogenic gold deposit in northwestern Yemen is related to the fault and shear zones vein at medium depth in the crust in the Neoproterozoic meta-sedimentary and meta-volcanosedimentary succession of greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism.Three distinct fluid inclusion types have been identified in the gold-bearing quartz sulphide veins of the deposit:(1) type I:vapour-liquid two-phase(VH2O-LH2O),(2) type II:three-phase CO2(VCO2-LH2O-LCO2) and(3) type III:vapour-rich(LCO2-VCO2) inclusions.Six analysis of individual fluid inclusion indicate the fluid inclusions comprise mainly of H2O and CO2.Formation P-T conditions recorded by fluid inclusions in quartz crystals correspond to 180℃-380℃ and up to 130 MPa,as indicated by high-density CO2 bubbles(up to 0.98 g/cm3) observed in some inclusions.The estimated crystallization pressures correspond to approximately 4-10 km of overburden,assuming a lithostatic load.The salinity ranges from 0 to 22 wt%.The deposit holds at 0.2-5 g/t Au and contains low-moderate salinity.

Stability evaluation and protection of slope for Laosongling-Yanji Highway

The authors analyzed the engineering geological characteristics of the slope of the study area (K75+840-K76+340). Two typical cross-sections have been chosen to analyze the failure modes after the excavation of the highway. Different types of the failure modes have been calculated and analyzed. The results show that some dealing methods have been advised to ensure the stability of the slopes.

Geochemistry and genesis of magmatic PGE-bearing Cu-Ni sulphide deposit in Wadi Bayhan,southeastern Yemen

The Wadi Bayhan mafic-ultramafic intrusions associated with magmatic PGE-bearing Cu-Ni sulphide deposit are located in the south margin of the Arabian-Nubian Shield,SW Yemen.The intrusions consist of dunite,olivine-pyroxenite,lherzolite,hornblendite,gabbro and gabbronorite.The dunite and lherzolite are the main host rock for the Cu-Ni ores.The new data of the chemical compositions of the rocks have SiO2(50%-53.6%),Al2O3(0-32%) and MgO(4%-28%),and relatively low TiO2(0-3.2%) and K2O+Na2O(0.04%-5.2%).The geochemical characteristics indicate that the parental magma is high-magnesium tholeiitic.Sulfur had reached saturation and immiscible sulfides droplets segregated from silicate magmas before their emplacement.

Causes of rockfalls in Al-Huwayshah area,Yemen

According to topography of Yemen,most areas and villages are located at obligated crest,toe of mountain and under cliffs.Therefore Al-Huwayshah consisting of Tawilah sandstone group is characterized by steep slope reach to 90° in some areas.This area is affected by strong tectonic movements and faults that occurred during the geological epochs.This effect enhances to find out fractures and joints as well as the rocks become brittle and ready to slide depending on the position of area.And there are some fractures and joints on the surface of the areas due to tectonic movement associated with opening the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.The rainfalls,fractures,joints,earthquakes,gravity,vegetations,temperatures and human activities play a big role in the processes of rockfalls and landslides in this area.All those factors are considered as the basic causes and catalyzed factors for occurrence of rockfall in the studide area.In addition,the authors carried out laboratory test for many rock samples to get the physical properties of the rocks.

Monitoring of coastline changes along the Red Sea,Yemen based on remote sensing technique

The coastline changes along Yemen's the Red Sea (Al-muka, Al-khohah, Al-tiaf, Ras Katib and Al-Urji spits) were studied using a series of landsat images (MSS, TM and ETM+, 1972, 1989, 2000, 2006), coupled with geomorphological, sedimentological and meteorological findings. Comparison of satellite images provided a viable means for establishing long-term coastal changes (accretion and erosion) as observed in the studied spits (Al-Urj, Ras Sham, Ras Maemoon, Ras Katib, Al-Mandar, Nukhaylah, Mujamilah, Ras Ashab Abu-Zahr and Mukha). The rate of the spit accretion has the greatest value up to 89 pixel/year corresponding to 72 290 m2/year in Mukha, while the spit erosion shows greatest value up to 131 pixel/year corresponding to 106 404 m2/year in Mujamilah. The patterns of accretion and erosion along the spits depend on the spit direction, natural processes mainly of wave-induced longshore currents, the sediments supply and depth of sea.

Approach to quantification drawdown of groundwater wells:a case study from Sana'a City,Yemen

Although research on a field investigation about quantification drawdown of ground water wells has hitherto been conducted with emphasis on Sana'a basin which is 3 200 km2 in area characterized by general hazard in quantity and quality of water,there exist uncertainties about the size of the hazardous annual decline in the level of underground water. So the authors are trying to assess reliable hazard data on the depth of ground-water which were obtained by measuring static water level. The data set are twenty six wells from 9 regions which were selected to represent Sana'a basin and collected during the course of the 20 months groundwater monitoring survey from January 2008 to January 2009. The results show that the average drawdown during 20 months to be 3.22 m with an average 0.16 m per month and 2 m per year.

Analysis of petroleum hydrocarbons in mangrove sediments of Red Sea of Yemen

A field work has been carried out to identify the occurrence of oil and oil products pollution in mangrove sediment from Red Sea of Yemen. The concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons is from 700ng/g at Kamaran Island station to 400 ng/g at Al-Hodiedah station, and the total organic carbon (TOC) in samples ranges from 0.07% at Dhubab station to 0.03% at Kamaran Island station. This pollution is as a result of localized oil pollution and/or heavy ship traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.