A Geological Study of a Part of North Jabal Ja’alan Area (Oman)

(BSc. project abstract)

Abstract: The area under review is situated in the northeastern flank of Jabal Ja’alan, which lies in the eastern part of Oman about 50 km ssw of Sur. The rock units present are the Ja’alan Complex, the Hawasina deep oceanic sediments and the Cretaceous to Tertiary cover rocks. The Wadi Musawa syncline embraces a sequence of Tertiary sediments that are predominantly marine in origin although non-marine deposits, including coal were laid down in the area during the Lower and middle Eocene. The Tertiary cover sediments are represented by alternating sequences of thick, land-derived fining upwards clastics and generally thinner, shallower water open shelf limestones. The sediment sequences indicate that the area was characterised by a mixed carbonate siliciclastic sedimentary environment in a tropical setting. These sequences were probably built up by the subsidence and shifting of the fluvial-marine channels in the depositional area. Subsidence , sea-level fluctuations, sediment supply and climatic controls maintained a good balance in keeping the entire sedimentary system within a shallow, mostly marine realm.