IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v11y2020i1d10.1038_s41467-020-16521-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Geophysical imaging of ophiolite structure in the United Arab Emirates

Author

Listed:
  • M. Y. Ali

    (Khalifa University of Science and Technology)

  • A. B. Watts

    (University of Oxford)

  • M. P. Searle

    (University of Oxford)

  • B. Keats

    (University of Oxford)

  • S. Pilia

    (Khalifa University of Science and Technology
    University of Cambridge)

  • T. Ambrose

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

The Oman-United Arab Emirates ophiolite has been used extensively to document the geological processes that form oceanic crust. The geometry of the ophiolite, its extension into the Gulf of Oman, and the nature of the crust that underlies it are, however, unknown. Here, we show the ophiolite forms a high velocity, high density, >15 km thick east-dipping body that during emplacement flexed down a previously rifted continental margin thereby contributing to subsidence of flanking sedimentary basins. The western limit of the ophiolite is defined onshore by the Semail thrust while the eastern limit extends several km offshore, where it is defined seismically by a ~40–45°, east-dipping, normal fault. The fault is interpreted as the southwestern margin of an incipient suture zone that separates the Arabian plate from in situ Gulf of Oman oceanic crust and mantle presently subducting northwards beneath the Eurasian plate along the Makran trench.

Suggested Citation

  • M. Y. Ali & A. B. Watts & M. P. Searle & B. Keats & S. Pilia & T. Ambrose, 2020. "Geophysical imaging of ophiolite structure in the United Arab Emirates," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-16521-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16521-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16521-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-020-16521-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-16521-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.