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Structural and photogeological evidence for the boundaries to an East Arabian' block

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

P. L. Hancock ,
S. O. Al-Khatieb  and
A. Al-Kadhi
P. L. Hancock
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 ITR, England
S. O. Al-Khatieb
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Riyadh Riyadh Saudi Arabia
A. Al-Kadhi
Affiliation:
Rio Finex Geological Mission, P.O. Box 3880, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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Summary

Computer-enhanced Landsat images reveal a 65 km arcuate lineament linking the concealed fault zone beneath Wadi Al-Batin to the central Arabian graben and trough system. Detection of the link allows a continuous 1000 km arc of faults and troughs cutting the Mesozoic-Cenozoic rocks of the Arabian Shelf to be recognized. The arc, here called the East Arabian fault zone, is interpreted as forming the western and southern boundaries of the East Arabian block, a tectonic unit underlying at least 200 000 km2 of the Arabian Peninsula.

Stratigraphical relationships within the 560 km central Arabian graben and trough system demonstrate that its faults were active during the late Cretaceous-early Palaeogene, movements ceasing when the Red Sea began to open and the Arabian subplate was established. The principal hydrocarbon fields of the Arabian Peninsula lie within the boundaries of the East Arabian block.

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 118 , Issue 5 , September 1981 , pp. 533 - 538
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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