Red sea floor origin: rare-Earth evidence.
Abundance patterns of rare earths of submarine tholeiitic basalts from the axial trough of the Red Sea resemble those of basalts from mid-ocean ridges but are distinct from shield or plateau basalts of tholeiitic composition. These results imply that à similar magmatic process, related to spreading of sea floors, operates beneath the axial trough of the Red Sea and the crest of mid-ocean ridges.
Schilling
J G
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