Re: Geologists witness 'ocean birth'

In article <111220050024062249%dave.gerecke@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Dave Gerecke
wrote:
> How long before we see ocean water down Kenya way?
>
pROBABLY A FEW MILLIONS OF YEARS. (Bloody CapsLock key!) Were you
thinking of holding your breath?
The opening of the Red Sea, thus far, has taken around 20
million years. In the order of 10 million years was spent with the rift
being filled as fast as it was opening by sediments from the margins
(there would have been thermal uplift of the margins in the same way
that the Ethiopian Highlands and the E + W margins of the African Rift
are also elevated. This provides much of the sediment source necessary.
). Then another 10 or so million years were spent with the Red Sea
basin being filled in with evaporites (anhydrite and polyhalites,
halite, bitterns?) from a (probably) shallow sea being routinely
re-filled via a narrow connection with the oceans. There's a lot of
well data on this - though not in the public domain - it's a patchily
prospective area.

--
Aidan Karley FGS
Aberdeen, Scotland,
Location: 57°10'11" N, 02°08'43" W (sub-tropical Aberdeen), 0.021233

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