Overview
- Researchers report the Gulf of Suez is extending at approximately 0.26–0.55 millimeters per year, overturning its long-held 'failed rift' label.
- An analysis spanning roughly 300 kilometers used 300 digital elevation profiles to detect fault-related steps and persistent landscape uplift.
- Ancient coral terraces measured at 25 sites now sit about 18.5 meters above present sea level, indicating ongoing uplift from active faults.
- Current deformation rates include uplift up to ~0.13 millimeters per year and extension comparable to other mildly active rift zones such as the Basin and Range.
- The peer‑reviewed findings in Geophysical Research Letters argue for reassessing supposedly inactive rifts and refining long‑term seismic and landscape models.