Circum-Arabian Project

“Circum-Arabian Project: From divergence to convergence back to divergence”

This page is still under construction, thanks for your understanding ! 🙂

Fig. 1: Circum-Arabian regions comprising: Aborted subductions, Active Subductions, Early orogenic belts, “Obduction” and “Collision” belts. Interestingly, it also exhibits remaning pre-convergence rift and oceanic systems (Tethyan) and recent rift to drift systems (Red Sea). It enables to walk through one and a half Wilson cycle…

Taking the advantage of ongoing investigations of active and fossil subductions, early orogenesis and collisions, the Circum-Arabian orogenic regions are exposing all of the stages of convergence. Remnants of the Western Tethys are still exposed and today consumed by the Africa/Arabia-Eurasia convergence. It perfectly enable to study how a pre-convergence lithospheric template interacts with the onset and dynamics of a subduction going to collision. The Western Tethys was extremely segmented leading to the development of transform margins in addition of magma-poor and magma-rich rift systems. Microcontinents separating different rift/oceanic branches are still today occurring and are, of course, playing a significant role for the present-day geological record. In addition of the Greater Caribbean regions (details here), this area is one of our strategic study case to investigate in order to revisit the Wilson Cycle in its real complexity.

More than the divergence-convergence story, the Circum-Arabian regions are also exposing a recent divergent system: the Red Sea. By itself, it represent a world-class example of a segmented hyper-extended rift system with different magmatic budgets, with aborted branches of rift and with a recent break-up and seafloor spreading history. Integrating the Red Sea in the Circum-Arabian context allow to investigate the link between the Tethyan inheritances (both extensional and compressional) and the development of anew phase of divergence.

Our investigations led to unexpected discoveries related to new mineral systems. We are currently developing them into an Explo strategy.

M&U Project Leader

S. Jammes & M. Ducoux

Details

  • Duration: 2020 – 2024
  • Fundings: M&U & multi-Clients
  • Methods & Data: Seismic interpretations, Quantitative analysis techniques, structural geology, sedimentary geology, endogenous & metamorphic petrology, mineral systems.
  • Impacts: O&G industry (new venture exploration), Mining Industry (Cu, Ni, Au, Co, V, PGEs…), H2 & Noble Gas Exploration, CO2 sequestration.
  • Contact us for more info !
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