Present-Day Motion of the Arabian Plate

Renier Viltres; Sigurjón Jónsson; Abdulaziz O. Alothman; Shaozhuo Liu; Sylvie Leroy; Frédéric Masson; Cécile Doubre; Robert Reilinger

doi:10.1029/2021TC007013

Present-Day Motion of the Arabian Plate

Renier Viltres^*, Sigurjón Jónsson, Abdulaziz O. Alothman, Shaozhuo Liu, Sylvie Leroy, Frédéric Masson, Cécile Doubre, Robert Reilinger

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present-day motions in and around the Arabian plate involve a broad spectrum of tectonic processes including plate subduction, continental collision, seafloor spreading, intraplate magmatism, and continental transform faulting. Therefore, good constraints on the relative plate rates and directions, and on possible intraplate deformation, are crucial to assess the seismic hazard at the boundaries of the Arabian plate and areas within it. Here we combine GNSS-derived velocities from 168 stations located on the Arabian plate with a regional kinematic block model to provide updated estimates of the present-day motion and internal deformation of the plate. A single Euler pole at 50.93 ± 0.15°N, 353.91 ± 0.25°E with a rotation rate of 0.524 ± 0.001°/Ma explains well almost all the GNSS station velocities relative to the ITRF14 reference frame, confirming the large-scale rigidity of the plate. Internal strain rates at the plate-wide scale (∼0.4 nanostrain/yr) fall within the limits for stable plate interiors, indicating that differential motions are compensated for internally, which further supports the coherent rigid motion of the Arabian plate at present. At a smaller scale, however, we identified several areas within the plate that accommodate strain rates of up to ∼8 nanostrain/yr. Anthropogenic activity and possible subsurface magmatic activity near the western margin of the Arabian plate are likely responsible for the observed local internal deformation. Put together, our results show a remarkable level of stability for the Arabian lithosphere, which can withstand the long-term load forces associated with active continental collision in the northeast and breakup to the southwest with minimal internal deformation.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	e2021TC007013
Journal	Tectonics
Volume	41
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2021TC007013
State	Published - Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under award number BAS/1/1353‐01‐01. The authors thank Professor Abdulkader M. Afifi (KAUST) for sharing his interpretation of the Arabian plate boundary, particularly along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions. The authors also thank Frederique Rolandone (Sorbonne University) and Khaled Khanbari (Yemen Remote Sensing Center) for their contribution to data acquisition and supervision during the ANR‐YOCMAL project in Yemen and Oman. The authors are grateful to the Saudi Arabia General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information (GASGI) for providing most of the data used in this study. Likewise, The authors thank the various parties at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) for operating their GNSS networks through the years. The authors also thank Tectonics Associate Editor Paola Vannucchi and reviewers Andrea Walpersdorf and Gianluca Vignaroli for their comments and suggestions to an earlier version of this manuscript.

Funding Information:
This research was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under award number BAS/1/1353-01-01. The authors thank Professor Abdulkader M. Afifi (KAUST) for sharing his interpretation of the Arabian plate boundary, particularly along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions. The authors also thank Frederique Rolandone (Sorbonne University) and Khaled Khanbari (Yemen Remote Sensing Center) for their contribution to data acquisition and supervision during the ANR-YOCMAL project in Yemen and Oman. The authors are grateful to the Saudi Arabia General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information (GASGI) for providing most of the data used in this study. Likewise, The authors thank the various parties at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) for operating their GNSS networks through the years. The authors also thank Tectonics Associate Editor Paola Vannucchi and reviewers Andrea Walpersdorf and Gianluca Vignaroli for their comments and suggestions to an earlier version of this manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

GNSS
Plate tectonics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geophysics
Geochemistry and Petrology

Access to Document

10.1029/2021TC007013

Cite this

@article{1e1fa07c583f401abe47afb3a8a5c04b,

title = "Present-Day Motion of the Arabian Plate",

abstract = "The present-day motions in and around the Arabian plate involve a broad spectrum of tectonic processes including plate subduction, continental collision, seafloor spreading, intraplate magmatism, and continental transform faulting. Therefore, good constraints on the relative plate rates and directions, and on possible intraplate deformation, are crucial to assess the seismic hazard at the boundaries of the Arabian plate and areas within it. Here we combine GNSS-derived velocities from 168 stations located on the Arabian plate with a regional kinematic block model to provide updated estimates of the present-day motion and internal deformation of the plate. A single Euler pole at 50.93 ± 0.15°N, 353.91 ± 0.25°E with a rotation rate of 0.524 ± 0.001°/Ma explains well almost all the GNSS station velocities relative to the ITRF14 reference frame, confirming the large-scale rigidity of the plate. Internal strain rates at the plate-wide scale (∼0.4 nanostrain/yr) fall within the limits for stable plate interiors, indicating that differential motions are compensated for internally, which further supports the coherent rigid motion of the Arabian plate at present. At a smaller scale, however, we identified several areas within the plate that accommodate strain rates of up to ∼8 nanostrain/yr. Anthropogenic activity and possible subsurface magmatic activity near the western margin of the Arabian plate are likely responsible for the observed local internal deformation. Put together, our results show a remarkable level of stability for the Arabian lithosphere, which can withstand the long-term load forces associated with active continental collision in the northeast and breakup to the southwest with minimal internal deformation.",

keywords = "GNSS, Plate tectonics",

author = "Renier Viltres and Sigurj{\'o}n J{\'o}nsson and Alothman, {Abdulaziz O.} and Shaozhuo Liu and Sylvie Leroy and Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric Masson and C{\'e}cile Doubre and Robert Reilinger",

note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under award number BAS/1/1353‐01‐01. The authors thank Professor Abdulkader M. Afifi (KAUST) for sharing his interpretation of the Arabian plate boundary, particularly along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions. The authors also thank Frederique Rolandone (Sorbonne University) and Khaled Khanbari (Yemen Remote Sensing Center) for their contribution to data acquisition and supervision during the ANR‐YOCMAL project in Yemen and Oman. The authors are grateful to the Saudi Arabia General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information (GASGI) for providing most of the data used in this study. Likewise, The authors thank the various parties at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) for operating their GNSS networks through the years. The authors also thank Tectonics Associate Editor Paola Vannucchi and reviewers Andrea Walpersdorf and Gianluca Vignaroli for their comments and suggestions to an earlier version of this manuscript. Funding Information: This research was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under award number BAS/1/1353-01-01. The authors thank Professor Abdulkader M. Afifi (KAUST) for sharing his interpretation of the Arabian plate boundary, particularly along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions. The authors also thank Frederique Rolandone (Sorbonne University) and Khaled Khanbari (Yemen Remote Sensing Center) for their contribution to data acquisition and supervision during the ANR-YOCMAL project in Yemen and Oman. The authors are grateful to the Saudi Arabia General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information (GASGI) for providing most of the data used in this study. Likewise, The authors thank the various parties at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) for operating their GNSS networks through the years. The authors also thank Tectonics Associate Editor Paola Vannucchi and reviewers Andrea Walpersdorf and Gianluca Vignaroli for their comments and suggestions to an earlier version of this manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.",

year = "2022",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1029/2021TC007013",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "41",

journal = "Tectonics",

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T1 - Present-Day Motion of the Arabian Plate

AU - Viltres, Renier

AU - Jónsson, Sigurjón

AU - Alothman, Abdulaziz O.

AU - Liu, Shaozhuo

AU - Leroy, Sylvie

AU - Masson, Frédéric

AU - Doubre, Cécile

AU - Reilinger, Robert

N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under award number BAS/1/1353‐01‐01. The authors thank Professor Abdulkader M. Afifi (KAUST) for sharing his interpretation of the Arabian plate boundary, particularly along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions. The authors also thank Frederique Rolandone (Sorbonne University) and Khaled Khanbari (Yemen Remote Sensing Center) for their contribution to data acquisition and supervision during the ANR‐YOCMAL project in Yemen and Oman. The authors are grateful to the Saudi Arabia General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information (GASGI) for providing most of the data used in this study. Likewise, The authors thank the various parties at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) for operating their GNSS networks through the years. The authors also thank Tectonics Associate Editor Paola Vannucchi and reviewers Andrea Walpersdorf and Gianluca Vignaroli for their comments and suggestions to an earlier version of this manuscript. Funding Information: This research was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), under award number BAS/1/1353-01-01. The authors thank Professor Abdulkader M. Afifi (KAUST) for sharing his interpretation of the Arabian plate boundary, particularly along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions. The authors also thank Frederique Rolandone (Sorbonne University) and Khaled Khanbari (Yemen Remote Sensing Center) for their contribution to data acquisition and supervision during the ANR-YOCMAL project in Yemen and Oman. The authors are grateful to the Saudi Arabia General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information (GASGI) for providing most of the data used in this study. Likewise, The authors thank the various parties at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) for operating their GNSS networks through the years. The authors also thank Tectonics Associate Editor Paola Vannucchi and reviewers Andrea Walpersdorf and Gianluca Vignaroli for their comments and suggestions to an earlier version of this manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2022. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

PY - 2022/3

Y1 - 2022/3

N2 - The present-day motions in and around the Arabian plate involve a broad spectrum of tectonic processes including plate subduction, continental collision, seafloor spreading, intraplate magmatism, and continental transform faulting. Therefore, good constraints on the relative plate rates and directions, and on possible intraplate deformation, are crucial to assess the seismic hazard at the boundaries of the Arabian plate and areas within it. Here we combine GNSS-derived velocities from 168 stations located on the Arabian plate with a regional kinematic block model to provide updated estimates of the present-day motion and internal deformation of the plate. A single Euler pole at 50.93 ± 0.15°N, 353.91 ± 0.25°E with a rotation rate of 0.524 ± 0.001°/Ma explains well almost all the GNSS station velocities relative to the ITRF14 reference frame, confirming the large-scale rigidity of the plate. Internal strain rates at the plate-wide scale (∼0.4 nanostrain/yr) fall within the limits for stable plate interiors, indicating that differential motions are compensated for internally, which further supports the coherent rigid motion of the Arabian plate at present. At a smaller scale, however, we identified several areas within the plate that accommodate strain rates of up to ∼8 nanostrain/yr. Anthropogenic activity and possible subsurface magmatic activity near the western margin of the Arabian plate are likely responsible for the observed local internal deformation. Put together, our results show a remarkable level of stability for the Arabian lithosphere, which can withstand the long-term load forces associated with active continental collision in the northeast and breakup to the southwest with minimal internal deformation.

AB - The present-day motions in and around the Arabian plate involve a broad spectrum of tectonic processes including plate subduction, continental collision, seafloor spreading, intraplate magmatism, and continental transform faulting. Therefore, good constraints on the relative plate rates and directions, and on possible intraplate deformation, are crucial to assess the seismic hazard at the boundaries of the Arabian plate and areas within it. Here we combine GNSS-derived velocities from 168 stations located on the Arabian plate with a regional kinematic block model to provide updated estimates of the present-day motion and internal deformation of the plate. A single Euler pole at 50.93 ± 0.15°N, 353.91 ± 0.25°E with a rotation rate of 0.524 ± 0.001°/Ma explains well almost all the GNSS station velocities relative to the ITRF14 reference frame, confirming the large-scale rigidity of the plate. Internal strain rates at the plate-wide scale (∼0.4 nanostrain/yr) fall within the limits for stable plate interiors, indicating that differential motions are compensated for internally, which further supports the coherent rigid motion of the Arabian plate at present. At a smaller scale, however, we identified several areas within the plate that accommodate strain rates of up to ∼8 nanostrain/yr. Anthropogenic activity and possible subsurface magmatic activity near the western margin of the Arabian plate are likely responsible for the observed local internal deformation. Put together, our results show a remarkable level of stability for the Arabian lithosphere, which can withstand the long-term load forces associated with active continental collision in the northeast and breakup to the southwest with minimal internal deformation.

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JF - Tectonics

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M1 - e2021TC007013

ER -

Present-Day Motion of the Arabian Plate

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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