The Main Basalts phase is characterized by effusive basaltic volcanism and volumetrically represents 60–70% of the total erupted volume of Afro-Arabian lavas 9, 11. 1) has been divided into three phases based on field observations, whole-rock geochemical correlations, and 40Ar/ 39Ar dating 8, 9, 10: Main Basalts (31–29.7 Ma), Main Silicics (29.7–29.5 Ma), and Upper Bimodal (29.6–27.7 Ma).

Oligocene volcanism in Northern Yemen (Fig. The Northern Yemen section of the Afro-Arabian LIP is an ideal testbed for using high-precision 206Pb/ 238U zircon dating to quantify the long-term volumetric extrusive rate of a series of flood volcanic eruptions, with three silicic supereruptions (10 15 kg or ~450 km 3 of magma 6, 7) occurring within a 70–310 kyr timeframe at ca. The silicic component of LIPs is largely understudied relative to their mafic counterpart and long-term rates of silicic magma generation have important implications for the energy budget and thermal evolution of the Earth. Although LIPs are generally considered to represent the most productive magmatic systems on Earth 4, uncertainty about volume estimates and imprecise or inaccurate age data for individual events preclude robust estimates of magma flux and volcanic output 1, 5. Many of the largest silicic eruptions on Earth occur in large igneous provinces (LIPs), with total eruptive volumes often exceeding 1000 km 3 dense rock equivalent (DRE) for individual events (e.g., ~132 Ma Paraná-Etendeka, ~30 Ma Afro-Arabia, ~1.6 Ga Gawler Range), which are likely to be emplaced in rapid succession 1, 2, 3.

State of decay 2 change base