Geology of Arabian

Shelf
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sedimentary Cover
Dr. Majed Turkistani
Arabian Peninsula
Tectonic Framework

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 2

Outlines
Tectonic Framwork of the Arabian Peninsula

Introduction 5

Tectonic Divisions

Stable Region 16

Eastern Region – Mobile Belt 18

Oman Mountains 21

Red Sea Rift 22

Zagros Fold Belt 23

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Objectives

• This lecture will give you an overview on the tectonic framework of the Arabian
Peninsula.
• You will learn about the divisions of the Arabian Peninsula tectonically.
• You will learn about the divisions of these tectonics and their geologic
formations and rocks.

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian Pennisula

1 Introduction

• The Arabian Peninsula is a crustal plate of sedimentary and

volcanic rocks that are deformed, metamorphic and injected
by plutonic intrusions in the Precambrian period.
• Before the Red Sea formed, the Arabian Peninsula was joined
with the African Plate, which is known as Arabian-Nubian
Plate.
• Toward the end of the Precambrian, the Arabian Plate was
subjected to weathering and erosion processes.
• A huge sedimentary basin formed with the beginning of the
Cambrian period known as the Tethyan Sea that covers the
north, east, southeast and southwest of the plate.
• In this great basin, thousands of meters of sediments
accumulate during the three era (Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and
Cenozoic).

A map of the Arabian Peninsula showing two tectonic divisions, the Arabian Shield,
And the Arabian Shelf.

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Arabian Peninsula
Tectonic Setting and Plate Boundaries

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

2 Introduction

• Stable Core: The peninsula's heart lies in the Precambrian

Arabian Shield, a stable craton formed over 550 million years
ago. This ancient, rigid terrain constitutes the central platform,
largely unaffected by recent tectonic activity (Roobol and Convergent margins
Jagut, 2009).
• Divergent Margins: Flanking the shield are active divergent
margins – the Red Sea Rift on the west and the Gulf of Aden
Rift on the south. These zones of seafloor spreading, driven Divergent margins

by plate separation, are responsible for the ongoing widening

of these water bodies and associated volcanic activity
(Bosworth et al., 2005).
• Convergent Margins: To the north, the Arabian Plate collides
with the Eurasian Plate along the Zagros Fold Belt, resulting
in mountain building and ongoing seismic activity (McQuarrie
et al., 2005). Similarly, the eastern margin interacts with the
Indian Plate, giving rise to the complex tectonic setting of the
A map of the Arabian Peninsula showing two tectonic divisions, the Arabian Shield,
Oman Mountains (Glennie et al., 1974). And the Arabian Shelf.

EPS 302 - Geology of Arabian Shelf Dr. Majed Turkistani 7

Arabian Peninsula
Ancient Orogenies and Paleozoic Events

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian Pennisula

3 Introduction

• Pan-African Orogeny: Prior to the separation of Gondwana,

the Arabian Plate experienced the Pan-African Orogeny
(around 800-550 Ma), marked by widespread crustal
thickening and mountain building (Ghazi et al., 2019).
• This event laid the foundation for the stable Precambrian
basement.
• Paleozoic Tectonic Activity: Throughout the Paleozoic Era
(541-252 Ma), the Arabian Plate witnessed episodic periods of
uplift, subsidence, and sedimentation, punctuated by
unconformities reflecting tectonic movements like the Taconic,
Acadian, and Hercynian orogenies (Steele and Said, 2010).
• These events shaped the Paleozoic sedimentary sequences
with varying thicknesses and facies changes.

West Gondwana with major cratons in brown and

Pan-African orogens in grey (Wikipedia, retrieved 07 Jan 2024)

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Arabian Peninsula
Mesozoic Rifting and Plate Divergence

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

4 Introduction

• Breakup of Gondwana: During the Mesozoic Era (252-66

Ma), the supercontinent Gondwana began to break apart.
• The rifting of the African Plate away from Arabia initiated the
opening of the Red Sea, a process still ongoing (Cloetingh et
al., 2010).
• Similarly, the Gulf of Aden opened through the separation of
Arabia from the African-Somali block.
• Formation of Sedimentary Basins: Rifting along the
margins led to the creation of extensive sedimentary basins,
such as the Rub' Al Khali Basin in the south and the
Mesopotamian Basin in the north, filled with continental and
marine sediments (Beydoun, 1986).

The breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent during the Mesozoic

(Pappas, 2013, retrieved 07 Jan 2024)

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Arabian Peninsula
Cenozoic Plate Interactions and Ongoing Dynamics

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

5 Introduction

• Collision with Eurasia: Since the Eocene (56-34 Ma), the

Arabian Plate has been colliding with the Eurasian Plate,
driving the Zagros Fold Belt's uplift and complex folding and
faulting (McQuarrie et al., 2005).
• This ongoing collision continues to shape the northern Arabian
landscape.
Tectonic model of of the • Counterclockwise Rotation: The Arabian Plate underwent a
Arabian-Eurasia convergence significant counterclockwise rotation during the Cenozoic (66-
(Cai et al., 2021)
0 Ma), influencing the evolution of the Red Sea and Gulf of
Aden rifts and contributing to the formation of the Dead Sea
Transform Fault (Sengör et al., 2012).
• Volcanic Activity: Volcanic activity persists in the peninsula,
particularly along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden rifts, due to
the rising mantle material associated with plate divergence
Corss section of the Arabin
Peninsula Plate (Weebly,
(Rehman et al., 2019).
retrieved 07 Jan 2024)

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Introduction

Harrat Khaybar volcanic field (NASA earth observatory, 2008, retrieved 07 Jan 2024).

Volcanic fields of the Arabian Peninsula with

their commonly accepted
eruption durations (Nemeth et al., 2014).

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Arabian Peninsula
Tectonic Divisions

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

6 Tectonic Divisions (Stable Interior Region)

Arabian Shield:
• The western part of the peninsula consists of the
Arabian Shield, a Precambrian basement complex.
• This shield is a collage of microplates and terranes that
amalgamated during the Neoproterozoic (about 900-
600 million years ago) as a result of the closure of the
Mozambique Ocean (Johnson, P.R., 2006,
"Explanatory notes to the map of Proterozoic geology
of western Saudi Arabia": Saudi Geological Survey
Technical Report SGS-TR-2006-4).
• It is characterized by a series of metamorphic and
igneous rocks, indicative of a complex geological
history involving subduction, collision, and accretion
processes.
• In addition to thin sedimentary layers distributed in A map of the Arabian Peninsula showing two tectonic divisions, the Arabian Shield,
And the Arabian Shelf.
several locations within the region.

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

7 Tectonic Divisions (Stable Interior Region)

Arabian Shield:
• This region is arched and slightly flat and dipping
slightly to the north and northeastern, and to east.
• Its rocks are deformed by folding and faulting
processes due to two orogeneses and injected by
plutonic intrusions (mainly Granite).
• The surface of the Arabian Shield is covered by
basement sand (Lower Paleozoic Era) accumulated
after the stabilizing by the end of the Precambrian
A map of the Arabian Peninsula showing two tectonic divisions, the Arabian Shield, Period.
And the Arabian Shelf.

A cross section of the Arabian

Shield,
Showing the dipping and surface
of the shield.

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

8 Tectonic Divisions (Eastern Region – Mobile Belt)

Eastern Region – Mobile Belt:

• This region is also known as the “Arabian Shelf”, and it
is the second largest tectonic region within the Arabian
Peninsula forming two third of the total size of the plate.
• The shelf lies on the Precambrian rocks, which form the
basement of the shelf.
• In general, the Arabian Shelf consists of sequences of
shallow marine sediments that range in age from the
Precambrian to Pliocene with slightly dipping away
from the Arabian Shield.
• It is known for its extensive petroleum reserves, which
are primarily located in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic
sedimentary Basins.

A map of the Arabian Peninsula showing two tectonic divisions, the Arabian Shield,
And the Arabian Shelf.

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

9 Tectonic Divisions (Eastern Region – Mobile Belt)

Arabian Shelf Divisions:

• The Arabian Shelf is divided into two main segments:
• Interior Homocline: these layers extend from
Tabuk (north) to Jauf, and along the eastern edge
of the Arabian Shield to Yemen (South).
• The layers thickness in the northern part reach 400
km wide, 600 km west of Empty Quarter, and in
Oman its width reach 300km.
• These layers dip slightly (1.5o) to the east,
especially within the Permian and Triassic layers,
and 0.2o within the Upper Cretaceous and Eocene
layers.
• It contains some grabens and horsts near the
Central Arabian Arch due to stretch structures.

A map of the Arabian Peninsula showing the Arabian Shelf divisions.

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

10 Tectonic Divisions (Eastern Region – Mobile Belt)

Arabian Shelf Divisions:

• The Arabian Shelf is divided into two main segments:
• Interior Platform: extend along the edge of the
interior Homocline layers from the east.
• Its width is up to 400km near Qatar and extend
east to the coastline of Iran.
• Its width in the western and southern (near Empty
Quarter) parts ranges from 100 to 200km.
• In subsurface, the seismic data shows the
sedimentary rocks of the interior platform are thick
and uneven, folded (anticlines) oriented north-
south.
• The interior platform encompasses the largest oil
fields in the world named “Ghawar, Abqaiq, and
Qatif”.
A map of the Arabian Peninsula showing the Arabian Shelf divisions.

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

11 Tectonic Divisions (Oman Mountains)

• The northeastern edge of the peninsula is marked by

the Oman Mountains (Al Hajar Mountains), a result of
the obduction of the Semail Ophiolite during the Late
Cretaceous (Glennie et al., 1974, "Geology of the
Oman Mountains").
• This region provides insights into the oceanic crust and
upper mantle materials that were thrust over the
continental crust.

A map of the location of Oman Mountains (Luedeling and Buerkert, 2007).

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

11 Tectonic Divisions (Red Sea Rift)

• The western margin of the Arabian Peninsula is defined

by the Red Sea Rift, a part of the larger East African
Rift System.
• This rift formed due to the separation of the Arabian
Plate from the African Plate, a process that began in
the Eocene and continues today (Bosworth et al., 2005,
A model of the Red Sea "New insights into the Red Sea Rift: Introduction to the
separation (GotBooks,
retrieved 07 Jan 2024). special issue").
• The rifting process has led to the formation of new
oceanic crust and is a classic example of continental
breakup.

A model of the Red Sea

separation (Red Sea Rift,
retrieved 07 Jan 2024).

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Tectonic Framework of Arabian
Pennisula

13 Tectonic Divisions (Zagros Fold Belt)

• The northeastern boundary of the Arabian Plate is

marked by the Zagros Fold Belt, formed due to the
collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates.
• This orogenic belt is characterized by extensive folding
and thrusting, and it plays a significant role in the
region's seismic activity (Alavi, M., 2007, "Structures of
the Zagros fold-thrust belt in Iran").

A map of the Arabian Peninsula showing Zagros Fold Belt.

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