Exploring the potential location of future earthquakes in Harrat Lunayyir, Western Saudi Arabia
The Arabian Shield constitutes the eastern flank of the Red Sea and features zones rich in lava
flows potentially associated with seismic activity. Notably, the Harrat Lunayyir (HL) seismic
dislocation zone in the shield experienced a prominent earthquake swarm in 2009, representing
seismic activity that may have induced subsequent Coulomb stress changes and gravity
anomalies. Integrating analyses of gravity anomalies, earthquake characteristics, and Coulomb
stress transfers were performed to explore the variations in static stress and depth-dependent
crustal heterogeneities. The spatial distribution of hypocentres, seismic moment, focal
mechanisms, and frictional properties demarcates the weakness subzone in HL bordered by
hardness zones. Coulomb stress analysis identified positive stress patterns aligned with
a north-northwest (NNW) trend, parallel to the Red Sea rift axis, while negative stress patterns
were distributed both eastward and westward. Gravity modelling highlighted crustal heterogeneities
with low-density areas corresponding to the seismic activity zone and high-density
regions in the surrounding vicinity. A significant correlation between observed anomalies and
the NNW faults elucidates the regional tectonic processes within the Red Sea rifting system.
The highlighted fault segments and depth-dependent crustal heterogeneities may pose considerable
seismic hazard potentials in the region, emphasising the necessity for ongoing
monitoring and assessment.
This study uses numerical models of topography and Moho depth to quantify horizontal force per unit length (ΔFx) and assess crustal deviatoric stress caused by variations in Gravitational…
The Arabian Shield constitutes the eastern flank of the Red Sea and features zones rich in lava
flows potentially associated with seismic activity. Notably, the Harrat Lunayyir (HL) seismic…
The northern Red Sea (NRS) is considered an extended continental region that has resulted in a rift
system. Gravity and bathymetry data were used to estimate the Moho depth and the elastic…