Volcanism and Lithospheric Dynamics in the Arabian Plate

The Arabian Plate hosts an extensive record of Cenozoic volcanism linked to the evolution of the Red Sea rift and interaction with the Afar mantle plume. Rifting initiated in the late Oligocene and propagated northwards, thinning continental lithosphere and facilitating melt generation within mantle beneath western Arabia. This produced scattered basaltic fields—locally known as harrats—stretching from Yemen through western Saudi Arabia to southern Syria. Geochemical signatures record contributions from sub‐lithospheric asthenosphere and enriched lithospheric components, reflecting variable melt sources and depths of origin. Seismic imaging reveals low‐velocity channels beneath major volcanic alignments, indicative of lateral plume flow from Afar. In parallel, gravity, magnetic and remote sensing surveys have delineated fracture networks, thermal anomalies and subsurface density contrasts that both control volcanic emplacement and offer targets for geothermal development. Ongoing seismicity, occasionally forming swarms, attests to active magmatic and tectonic processes in the upper crust. Together, these observations demonstrate that volcanism and lithospheric dynamics in the Arabian Plate are governed by a complex interplay between extensional tectonics, plume‐derived melt transport and inherited structural fabrics. Understanding these processes is vital not only for reconstructing continental rifting and plume–lithosphere interaction, but also for assessing geothermal resources and volcanic hazards in one of the world’s most rapidly urbanising regions.

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Volcanism and Lithospheric Dynamics in the Arabian Plate publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in volcanism and lithospheric dynamics in the arabian plate across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Lithosphere: The rigid outer layer of Earth, comprising crust and uppermost mantle, which behaves elastically over geological timescales.

Asthenosphere: A mechanically weak, ductile zone of the upper mantle beneath the lithosphere, capable of slow flow and melt transport.

Mantle plume: An upwelling of anomalously hot mantle material that can produce volcanic provinces upon impinging on the base of the lithosphere.

Tomography: A method of imaging subsurface structure by inverting seismic wave travel times and amplitudes to infer velocity or attenuation variations.

Geothermal gradient: The rate of temperature increase with depth in the Earth, influenced by heat production and thermal conductivity of rocks.

Volcanic field: A region of dispersed volcanic vents and lava flows, typically monogenetic, formed over a broad area and time span.

References

1. Machine Learning Techniques in Predicting Bottom Hole Temperature and Remote Sensing for Assessment of Geothermal Potential in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability (2023).
2. Asthenospheric Flow of Plume Material Beneath Arabia Inferred From S Wave Traveltime Tomography. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (2020).
3. Teleseismic P-Wave Attenuation Beneath the Arabian Plate. Geosciences (2023).