Recent studies of the crustal structure in the Gulf of Aden
Abstract Cruise 16 of R.R.S. “Discovery” in 1967 has provided new data on the structure of the Gulf of Aden. The existence has now been demonstrated of a median valley, with associated magnetic anomaly, reaching from the Gulf of Tadjura in the west to the Owen fracture zone in the east. The valley is severely fractured and offset in the central region. New seismic refraction data have shown that throughout the Gulf of Aden, the crustal structure is similar to that found under the oceans and that at the western end, the axial zone is underlain by an anomalously low mantle velocity. A minimum separation of 260 km between the continental blocks of Arabia and Africa is indicated.