This course uses the Arabian plate to illustrate major geological processes such as plate tectonics, continental accretion, exhumation, and fragmentation, the development of sedimentary basins, plate margin and intraplate magmatism and the formation of hydrocarbon and mineral deposits. The course consists of lectures by the instructors and student presentations on individual research topics relevant to better understanding the geology of the Arabian plate. The following are the main topics:
- Neoproterozoic tectonics and continental accretion of the Arabian-Nubian shield.
- Base and precious metal mineralization in the Arabian shield.
- Phanerozoic stratigraphy and hydrocarbon habitat along the Arabian Tethyan margin.
- Collisional tectonics along the Oman and Zagros mountain belts.
- Cenozoic tectonics and evolution of the Red Sea from a continental rift to an ocean basin.
- Cenozoic stratigraphy, structure, and hydrocarbon habitat of the Red Sea.
- Salt tectonics and reef development in the Red Sea.
- Cenozoic volcanism in the Afar and Harrat lava fields.
- Strike-slip tectonics along the Dead Sea fault.
- Crustal structure of the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea.
- Climate change and geological CO2 sequestration in Arabia.
- The potential for high and low enthalpy geothermal energy in Arabia.