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 a 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.