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The Red Sea pp 219–233Cite as

Geochemical Classification of Brine-Filled Red Sea Deeps

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Abstract

The major geochemical characteristics of Red Sea brine are summarized for 11 brine-filled deeps located along the central graben axis between 19°N and 27°N. The major element composition of the different brine pools is mainly controlled by variable mixing situations of halite-saturated solution (evaporite dissolution) with Red Sea deep water. The brine chemistry is also influenced by hydrothermal water/rock interaction, whereas magmatic and sedimentary rock reactions can be distinguished by boron, lithium, and magnesium/calcium chemistry. Moreover, hydrocarbon chemistry (concentrations and δ13C data) of brine indicates variable injection of light hydrocarbons from organic source rocks and strong secondary (bacterial or thermogenic) degradation processes. A simple statistical cluster analysis approach was selected to look for similarities in brine chemistry and to classify the various brine pools, as the measured chemical brine compositions show remarkably strong concentration variations for some elements. The cluster analysis indicates two main classes of brine. Type I brine chemistry (Oceanographer and Kebrit Deeps) is controlled by evaporite dissolution and contributions from sediment alteration. The Type II brine (Suakin, Port Sudan, Erba, Albatross, Discovery, Atlantis II, Nereus, Shaban, and Conrad Deeps) is influenced by variable contributions from volcanic/magmatic rock alteration. The chemical brine classification can be correlated with the sedimentary and tectonic setting of the related depressions. Type I brine-filled deeps are located slightly off-axis from the central Red Sea graben. A typical “collapse structure formation” which has been defined for the Kebrit Deep by evaluating seismic and geomorphological data probably corresponds to our Type I brine. Type II brine located in depressions in the northern Red Sea (i.e., Conrad and Shaban Deeps) could be correlated to “volcanic intrusion-/extrusion-related” deep formation. The chemical indications for hydrothermal influence on Conrad and Shaban Deep brine can be related to brines from the multi-deeps region in the central Red Sea, where volcanic/magmatic fluid/rock interaction is most obvious. The strongest hydrothermal influence is observed in Atlantis II brine (central multi-deeps region), which is also the hottest Red Sea brine body in 2011 (~68.2 °C).

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Acknowledgment

Multilateral scientific, logistic, and political efforts during the last decade made it possible to collect this comprehensive geochemical data set for brine in the Red Sea. However, the main analytical work and data evaluation have been conducted during the last 3 years within the Jeddah Transect Project (www.jeddah-transect.org). The collaboration for the Jeddah Transect Project between King Abdulaziz University (KAU) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research GEOMAR, Kiel, was funded by King Abdulaziz University, under Grant no. T-065/430-DSR. The authors therefore acknowledge with thanks KAU technical and financial support. We also thank reviewers E. Faber and J. Scholten for their valuable suggestions and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Wischhofstr. 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Mark Schmidt

  2. Faculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80207, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Radwan Al-Farawati

  3. Institute of Geosciences, University Kiel, Ludewig-Meyn-Str. 10, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Reiner Botz

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  1. Mark Schmidt
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  2. Radwan Al-Farawati
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Correspondence to Mark Schmidt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Saudi Geological Survey Center for Marine Geology, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Najeeb M.A. Rasul

  2. Stewart Geophysical Consultants Pty. Ltd., Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Ian C.F. Stewart

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Schmidt, M., Al-Farawati, R., Botz, R. (2015). Geochemical Classification of Brine-Filled Red Sea Deeps. In: Rasul, N., Stewart, I. (eds) The Red Sea. Springer Earth System Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-45201-1_13

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