Tectonic and depositional model of the Arabian and adjoining plates during the Silurian-Devonian

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:7271721

Husseini, M I ^[1]

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1. Aramco, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

During the Late Ordovician and Early Silurian, the western part of the Arabian Peninsula was covered by polar glaciers that advanced from the south pole in African Gondwana. During this period, nondeposition, erosion, or marginal marine conditions prevailed in eastern and northern Arabia. When the glaciers melted in the Early Silurian, sea level rose sharply and the paleo-Tethys Ocean transgressed the Arabian and adjoining plates depositing a thick, organic-rich shale directly over the glaciogenic and periglacial rocks and related unconformities. The post-glacial sequence coarsens upward reflecting the passage of a coastline prograding northward from African and Arabian Gondwana to northern Arabia. A sea level drop in the Late Silurian placed the study area in a terrestrial environment; however, as sea level recovered in the Early Devonian, a carbonate sequence blanketed most of the area. The transgression, however, was interrupted by regional uplift and local orogenic movements in the Middle and Late Devonian. These movements constitute the onset of Hercynian tectonism, which resulted in erosion of the older sequences, depositional hiatuses, and regional facies changes.

• OSTI ID: 7271721
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:1; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
58 GEOSCIENCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
DEPOSITION
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PLATE TECTONICS
GEOLOGIC MODELS
SAUDI ARABIA
DEVONIAN PERIOD
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GLACIERS
PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
SEA LEVEL
SILURIAN PERIOD
SOURCE ROCKS
STRATIGRAPHY
ASIA
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
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LEVELS
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MINERAL RESOURCES
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020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
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& Exploration
030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
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580000 - Geosciences