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Tectonic evolution of the Mountains: an introduction

H. R. ROLLINSON1*, M. P. SEARLE2, I. A. ABBASI3, A. I. AL-LAZKI4 & M. H. AL KINDI4 1School of Science, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UK 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK 3Department of Earth Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Sultanate of Oman 4Exploration Department, Petroleum Development Oman, PO Box 81, Postal Code 100, Mina Al-Fahal, Oman *Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected])

It is now more than 20 years since the Geological During the late 1970s and 1980s two major Society published The Geology and Tectonics of research teams from the USGS (led by Bob Coleman the Oman Region (Robertson et al. 1990) as one and Cliff Hopson) and the Open University, UK of its early special publications. That volume, the (led by Ian Gass, John Smewing and Steve Lip- ‘blue book’ as it became fondly known to multiple pard) conducted detailed geological surveys across generations of undergraduates, has been a major the in the Muscat–Ibra transect (USGS) reference on the geology of Oman for many who and northern ophiolite (OU), respectively. Their work in the region. This present volume, more results were published in a Special Issue of the modest in its size compared to its illustrious prede- Journal of Geophysical Research (volume 86, cessor, is the fruit of a conference on The Geology editors Coleman & Hopson 1981) and the Geologi- of the Arabian Plate and the Oman Mountains cal Society of London Memoir no. 11 (Lippard et al. held in January 2012 at Sultan Qaboos University 1986). Major systematic mapping of the Oman in Muscat, organized by Professor Sobhi Nasir Mountains as well as the interior, Batain coast and with colleagues from Sultan Qaboos University, Dhofar region has been carried out by the Bureau the Oman Government and the Geological Society de Recherches Ge´ologiques et Minieres (BRGM), of Oman. Since the first comprehensive study of France, the Geological Survey of Japan and the the geology of the Oman Mountains during the University of Berne, Switzerland (see for example late 1960s and early 1970s by Ken Glennie and his Peters et al. (1991)) and the whole UAE part of the team from Shell, the Oman Mountains have been northern Oman Mountains was recently mapped by known to contain some of the most spectacular the British Geological Survey (UAE Ministry of and best-exposed geology not only in the Middle Energy Petroleum & Mineral Resources 2012). East but across the world. A summary of the geo- During the last 20 years major research groups logy and the lithostratigraphy is given in Figure 1. from France, Japan, USA and the UK have con- The publications of Glennie et al. (1973, 1974), ducted research projects in the country. Detailed building on many earlier Shell geologists’ internal field studies of the Oman Ophiolite have been reports (notably D. M. Morton, R. H. Tschopp, combined with geochemical and isotopic studies H. H. Wilson, B. M. Reinhardt and M. W. Hughes- to determine the tectonic setting and evolution of Clarke) set out the major stratigraphic framework the Late Cretaceous oceanic crust and upper mantle for the whole area, defined the major structures (Boudier & Juteau 2000). Field-based studies have and critically interpreted the as a also been linked to ocean drilling sites, in particular thrust sheet of oceanic crust and upper mantle the East Pacific rise, to compare the ophiolite to emplaced onto the previously passive continental regions of active fast spreading. Key to the obduc- margin of Arabia. Since the Glennie et al. (1974) tion–emplacement story are the amphibolite and memoir was published, oil companies have carried greenschist facies rocks in the metamorphic sole out increasingly more intensive work comparing that record an inverted metamorphic field gradient well sections in the interior with the Permian– along the base of the ophiolite. The ophiolite has Mesozoic shelf carbonates so beautifully exposed been the source of recent detailed studies involving along numerous wadis cutting through the Jebel the possible sequestration of CO2 by the serpentini- Al-Akhdar and Saih Hatat massifs. zation reactions of ultramafic rocks.

From:Rollinson, H. R., Searle, M. P., Abbasi, I. A., Al-Lazki,A.&Al Kindi, M. H. (eds) 2014. Tectonic Evolution of the Oman Mountains. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 392,1–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP392.1 # The Geological Society of London 2014. Publishing disclaimer: www.geolsoc.org.uk/pub_ethics Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

2 H. R. ROLLINSON ET AL.

Fig. 1. (a) Structural map of Oman showing the main geological features and the subsurface oil and gas fields. Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 3

Fig. 1. (b) The lithostratigraphy of Oman. After Forbes et al. (2010), used with permission from GeoArabia. Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

4 H. R. ROLLINSON ET AL.

The Oman Mountains contain one of the best- imminent danger of destruction, such as the Wadi exposed and best-understood fold–thrust belts Mayh sheath fold, the As Sifah eclogites and anywhere on Earth; much research has focused on several important fossil localities (Jebel Sumeini, the structural evolution of the belt with major rudist reefs in the Huqf, etc.). The suggestion of phases of deformation during the Late Cretaceous establishing GeoParks in Oman has been around associated with ophiolite and another for a long time but it is imperative now to get these major phase of folding and uplift during the Late sites fenced and protected in law. Elsewhere, in par- Palaeogene. Salt exposures have been recently ticular in the desert, the very isolation of some classic discovered in the core of a few of the large-scale localities means that they cannot be completely pro- culminations in the mountains. The Oman Moun- tected from ‘treasure hunters’, although protection tains have a unique belt of high-pressure eclogite, measures have recently been deployed in a number blueschist and carpholite-grade metamorphic rocks of geosites. An additional benefit of this paper, per- in northeastern Oman, a zone associated with haps an unintended consequence, is an excellent attempted of the leading margin of Ara- ‘geotour’ through Oman’s classic geological sites. bian crust beneath the Semail Ophiolite–Gulf of Our first major section of this volume provides Oman oceanic crust. Oman also contains a unique new views on the Tectonics of the Arabian Plate. zone of me´lange, alkaline igneous rocks and Meso- Al-Lazki et al. (2014) use mantle tomographic zoic basinal sediments along the Batain me´lange methods to map out the eastern margin of the beneath the Masirah Ophiolite along the south Arabian Plate along the site of the Arabia–Eurasia coast of Oman. Outcrops of Proterozoic basement plate boundary. They find that in the NE the litho- occur in the Marbat region of south Oman. Com- spheric suture follows the Zagros Suture and that in bining field-based surveys in the mountains with the east the Makran region has the characteristics increasingly more detailed industry 2D and 3D of active subduction, while western Makran is seismic lines in the interior has led to the Oman– underlain by a low Pn velocity anomaly indicative UAE region being one of the most detailed and of hot and unstable upper mantle. Of particular comprehensively understood oil and gas provinces importance is the new finding that northern Oman known anywhere. is underlain by hot and possibly molten upper mantle. This anomaly is perhaps a remnant of the down-going oceanic slabs associated with the Present volume: Tectonic evolution of the Oman Ophiolite’s obduction process. Two papers Oman Mountains discuss the western margin of the plate. Al-Kwatli et al. (2014) discuss the link between tectonic style In the last 10 years groups from France, Germany, and Cenozoic magmatism from Syria in the north- Japan, USA and the UK as well as scientists from ern part of the Arabian Plate. Their new geochemical within Oman itself have continued to conduct sig- and geochronological data provide evidence for nificant research projects in the country, achieving magmatism related to extensional tectonics over results that move us on from the science of the the past 18 Ma, which is closely related to Red Sea 1990s and 2000s. It is therefore timely to provide rifting. Using a different information source (that a new summary of geological, geophysical and geo- of terrestrial and freshwater snails) from a more chemical data on the greater Oman region. Our southerly region of the Arabian Plate, Pickford volume is divided into three main sections which et al. (2014) also constrain the timing of the open- discuss the Tectonics of the Arabian Plate, the Pet- ing of the Red Sea. They show from their palae- rology of the Oman Ophiolite and the Sedimentary ontological evidence that the uplift of the Dhofar and Hydrocarbon Systems of Oman. The volume Plateau must have occurred later than the Early starts however with an impassioned plea from Oligocene. Searle (2014) for a fresh initiative towards geocon- The rocks of the Precambrian basement to the servation in Oman. He argues that in some parts Arabian Plate are rarely exposed in Oman. The of the country the pressure of development might new results of U–Pb zircon geochronology by overtake the need to conserve what are, in some Rantakokko et al. (2014) for the Marbat region in cases, world-class sites of scientific importance. In southern Oman therefore provide important con- particular the Semail Ophiolite is by far the most straints on the precise age of the Precambrian base- important example of an ophiolite complex in the ment in this region. These results record an episode world. Likewise, the shelf carbonate exposures in of crustal growth via arc accretion between 850 and Jebal Al-Akhdar and the are 790 Ma. Rather surprisingly, the age characteristics of the utmost importance for both the oil industry of these rocks have affinities with arc terranes in the and academic studies. At this time, however, more westerly part of the Arabian Shield in Saudi most crucial are several smaller sites known to be Arabia rather than the younger eastern arcs. The of unique world-class importance that are in structure and emplacement of the Oman Ophiolite Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 5 is discussed in two papers by Cooper et al. (2014) upper part of the sequence. There is however an and Cowan et al. (2014). Cooper et al. use field- anomalous group of plagiogranites which are found based structural observations and interpret seismic in the mantle section. Rollinson (2014) shows that profiles from northern Oman and the UAE to this group is the product of a mixing of melts from provide a detailed obduction history of the Oman a variety of sources, including a mafic source and Ophiolite. Cowan et al. investigate the metamor- a sedimentary source. In addition, the melts have phic history of the sole to the Oman Ophiolite. They interacted with their mantle host. These results are show evidence for an inverted pressure–tempera- interpreted within the context of a subduction ture profile from garnet–clinopyroxene granulites model for their genesis and used as an analogue by to greenschist facies rocks, implying tempera- which to interpret subduction-related crust gener- tures of up to 900 8C at depths of up to 40 km, ation in the Archaean. Small chromitite bodies are with the timing of metamorphism synchronous well known from the mantle harzburgite section of with magmatism within the ophiolite itself. The the Oman Ophiolite. Boudier & Al-Rajhi (2014) authors use these data to argue for a subduction provide a helpful review of the structural controls setting for this metamorphism and a suprasubduc- on their occurrence. They argue that the rate of tion environment for the ophiolite formation. melt transfer is the key parameter controlling their Geological thinking on the petrological evol- emplacement. Geochemical differences between ution of the Oman Ophiolite, aided by massive chromitites emplaced at shallow depth, close to advances in geochemistry, has seen huge develop- the Moho, result from the rapid cooling of melts ment since the 1990s. In the section on Petrology close to a ridge, whereas deeper chromitites are the of the Oman Ophiolite, six papers summarize product of crystallization in shear zones in the pres- some of the new thinking on the origin and evolution ence of a hydrous fluid during the transition from of this classic geological terrain. Kusano et al. spreading to detachment. (2014) describe the volcanic succession from Wadi A significant theme which emerges from these Bidi in northern Oman. The bulk of the lavas in the recent studies on the petrology of the Oman Ophio- upper part of the volcanic sucession have geochem- lite and its emplacement is the role in which subduc- ical affinities with arc lavas and the upper part of the tion processes and subduction-related magmatism sequence is boninitic. This is unequivocally of vol- are a part of the Oman Ophiolite story. This is not canic arc origin and confirms earlier studies in this a new theme, but is one which is gaining promi- area. Koepke et al. (2014) provide detailed petrolo- nence; this theme does not sit comfortably with gical evidence for the ingress of water-rich fluids the more conventional view that the ophiolite is into the hot ophiolite and consequent partial melt- entirely the product of magmatic processes at a ing in olivine gabbros. This study has important fast-spreading mid-ocean ridge, however. implications for the mechanism for fluid migra- The final section of this volume covers the Sedi- tion in hot rocks, as the fluids are shown to have mentary and Hydrocarbon Systems of Oman. migrated through ductile gabbros at very high Heward & Penney (2014) discuss the Late Carbon- temperatures by means of a coupled dissolution– iferous Al-Khlata glacial sediments in the Oman re-precipitation process and therefore do not require Mountains and show that they can be found close a system of fractures. The resultant melts are a to Muscat, 100 km north of where they had been potential source of plagiogranite in the ophiolite. thought to pinch out. This discovery is highly sig- Kaneko et al. (2014) discuss the origin of a very nificant since it represents outcrop analogues for large wehrlite intrusion (olivine + clinopyroxene hydrocarbon-bearing sands at depth in central peridotites) from within the gabbro sequence of Oman. Salad Hersi et al. (2014) report from the the ophiolite. They show that there are in fact two Dhofar area in the south of Oman on the Cretaceous types of wehrlite linked to the two main volcanic Qishn Formation. They describe the stratigraphic events within the ophiolite. Highly refractory harz- evolution and depositional systems of this carbonate burgites from the Fizh area of northern Oman are sequence that onlaps onto the Marbat palaeohigh. thought to have formed through a two-stage This study evaluates the possible hydrocarbon process (Kanke & Takazawa 2014). From a huge source and reservoir of the Qishn Formation. They mineral–chemical database the authors provide a find that the Qishn Formation may have potential geochemical map of their area and show that most hydrocarbon accumulation, especially in the east- harzburgite experienced melt depletion through ern side of the basin. Abbasi et al. (2014) describe the extraction of oceanic basalt beneath a spreading the Late Cretaceous conglomerates of the Qahlah ridge. One area was however fluxed with a water- Formation emplaced following ophiolite obduc- rich fluid and experienced a second stage of melt tion in northern Oman. This siliclastic sequence extraction. They suggest that this happened at the with a high proportion of chert and ophiolite frag- detachment stage during ophiolite obduction. Most ments suggests the rapid erosion of the obducted plagiogranites in the ophiolite are found in the crust, developed in streams draining the ophiolite Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

6 H. R. ROLLINSON ET AL. and in alluvial fans with some marine incursions. Al-Lazki,A.&Al Kindi, M. H. (eds) Tectonic Lacinska et al. (2014) examine the ophiolite- Evolution of the Oman Mountains. Geological derived conglomerates of the Barzaman Formation Society, London, Special Publications, 392, 409–445. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP392.20 in the UAE with respect to their potential for car- Al-Kwatli Gillot LeFe`vre Hil- bon dioxide sequestration. Alluvial fans containing , M. A., , P. Y., , J. C., denbrand,A.&Kluska, J.-M. 2014. Magma mafic and ultramafic clasts have been extensively genesis controlled by tectonic styles in the northern dolomitized during diagenesis. Mineral reactions part of the Arabia plate during Cenozoic time. have taken place under surface conditions and In: Rollinson, H. R., Searle, M. P., Abbasi, I. A., serve as an important analogue for the process of Al-Lazki,A.&Al Kindi, M. H. (eds) Tectonic Evol- carbon capture and storage. The authors estimate ution of the Oman Mountains. Geological Society, that 150 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide are London, Special Publications, 392, 61–91. http://dx. stored in this sequence. doi.org/10.1144/SP392.4 Al-Lazki, A. I., Al-Damegh, K. S., El-Hadidy, S. Y., The petroleum systems of the entire Middle Ghods Tatar Eastern region are reviewed by Alsharhan (2014). ,A.& , M. 2014. Pn-velocity structure beneath Arabia–Eurasia Zagros collision and Makran He provides a comprehensive discussion of the tec- subduction zones. In: Rollinson, H. R., Searle,M. tonic setting and the geological history of sources P., Abbasi, I. A., Al-Lazki,A.&Al Kindi,M.H. and reservoirs in this massively oil- and gas-rich (eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Oman Mountains. region. He concludes that richness of oil habitat Geological Society, London, Special Publications, is primarily a result of the long-lived tectonic stab- 392, 45–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP392.3 ility and the available large structures drawing Alsharhan, A. S. 2014. Petroleum systems in the Middle from very large ‘kitchens’, with exceptional lateral East. In: Rollinson, H. R., Searle, M. P., Abbasi, Al-Lazki Al Kindi migration allowing oil pools to fill quickly from a I. A., ,A.& , M. H. (eds) Tectonic broad area. He also emphasizes that vast areas of Evolution of the Oman Mountains. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 392, 361–408. http:// the Middle East have yet to be extensively drilled. dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP392.19 In a similar vein, Al-Kindi & Richard (2014) Boudier,F.&Al-Rajhi, A. 2014. Structural control on provide a summary of the subsurface structural deposits in : the Oman case. In: styles of the hydrocarbon reservoirs of Oman. The Rollinson, H. R., Searle, M. P., Abbasi, I. A., authors argue that the present-day geology of Al-Lazki,A.&Al Kindi, M. H. (eds) Tectonic Evol- Oman is the product of multiple deformation ution of the Oman Mountains. Geological Society, events resulting in a number of different structural London, Special Publications, 392, 263–277. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP392.14 domains. Oil and gas reservoirs may be located in Boudier Juteau these different domains and must be interpreted ,F.& , T. (eds) 2000. The ophiolite of Oman and United Arab Emirates. Marine Geophysical in their correct regional context. Of particular Researches, 21, 145–407. importance in this regard is the geometry of fault Coleman,R.G.&Hopson, C. A. (eds) 1981. Oman systems, a topic discussed by Richard et al. ophiolite. Journal of Geophysical Research, 86, (2014). They use outcrop and sandbox analogues 2495–2782. coupled with high-quality seismic data to set up con- Cooper, D. J. W., Ali,M.Y.&Searle, M. P. 2014. ceptual geometric models to better understand fault- Structure of the northern Oman Mountains from the ing in carbonate rocks and its importance for Semail Ophiolite to the foreland basin. In: Rollinson, Searle Abbasi Al-Lazki reservoir modelling. H. R., , M. P., ,I.A., ,A.& Al Kindi, M. H. (eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Oman Mountains. Geological Society, London, The colour images in this volume were funded by a gener- Special Publications, 392, 129–153. http://dx.doi. ous grant from Petroleum Development Oman, to whom org/10.1144/SP392.7 we are most grateful. We thank Dr Moujahed Al-Husseini, Cowan, R. J., Searle,M.P.&Waters, D. J. 2014. Editor-in-Chief, GeoArabia for permission to use Figure 1. Structure of the metamorphic sole to the Oman Ophio- lite, Sumeini Window and Wadi Tayyin: implications for ophiolite obduction processes. In: Rollinson, References H. R., Searle, M. P., Abbasi,I.A.,Al-Lazki,A.& Al Kindi, M. H. (eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Abbasi, I. A., Salad Hersi,O.&Al-Harthy, A. 2014. Oman Mountains. Geological Society, London, Late Cretaceous conglomerates of the Qahlah For- Special Publications, 392, 155–175. http://dx.doi. mation, north Oman. In: Rollinson, H. R., Searle, org/10.1144/SP392.8 M. P., Abbasi,I.A.,Al-Lazki,A.&Al Kindi, Forbes,G.A.,Jansen,H.S.M.&Schreurs, J. 2010. M. H. (eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Oman Mountains. Lexicon of Oman subsurface stratigraphy: reference Geological Society, London, Special Publications, guide to the stratigraphy of Oman’s hydrocarbon 392, 325–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP392.17 basins. GeoArabia Special Publication, 5, Gulf Petro- Al Kindi,M.H.&Richard, P. D. 2014. The main struc- Link, Bahrain. tural styles of the hydrocarbon reservoirs in Oman. Glennie, K. W., Boeuf, M. G., Hughes-Clarke, In: Rollinson, H. R., Searle, M. P., Abbasi, I. A., M. H. W., Moody-Stuart, M., Pilaar,W.F.& Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on October 2, 2021

INTRODUCTION 7

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