Existence of the Oman Line in the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia and its Continuation in the Red Sea

Abstract

The broad structural discontinuity known as the Oman Line extends NNE from Oman across the Strait of Hormuz and divides the flysch-rich eugeosynclinal sediments of the Makran Ranges in the east from the miogeosynclinal shelf sediments of the Zagros Mountain Ranges to the west. The Zagros Crush Zone, west of the Oman Line, marks the location of a continent/continent-style active margin where the Arabian Platform has collided with the Eurasian Plate to the north. To the east, the active margin is a continent/ocean-style boundary where the oceanic lithosphere of the Indian Ocean is being subducted beneath the Central Iranian Microcontinent and other more easterly microcontinental blocks. Geological investigations in the Arabian Plate indicate the presence of a NE-SW trending lineament. This lineament is also recognized on geophysical maps by aligned highs and lows, steep contours gradients and linear offset of trends. There are some indications suggesting that this lineament could represent a SW extension of the Oman Line from Oman across the Empty Quarter (Rub al Khali) of Saudi Arabia to eventually form a transform fault in the Red Sea.