Sedimentology, chemostratigraphy, and geochronology of the lower Huqf Supergroup, Oman

Abstract

The lower part of the Huqf Supergroup, comprising the Abu Mahara Group and the Hadash and Masirah Bay Formations of the Nafun Group, forms the oldest deposits exposed in Oman. This thesis is based on field study of this lower part of the Huqf Supergroup in the Jebel Akhdar and Huqf areas of Oman. The aim of the thesis is to provide a detailed sedimentological interpretation of this portion of the Oman stratigraphy, as well as analysing the implications of new chemostratigraphic and chronological data from Oman in a regional and global context. Volcanics and volcaniclastic deposits of the Halfayn Formation in the north of the Huqf area form the oldest deposits of the Huqf Supergroup. Previously, the Halfayn Formation has been correlated with volcanics that occur within the Abu Mahara Group of the Jebel Akhdar. However, U-Pb zircon dating of volcanic horizons suggests that the Halfayn Formation probably pre-dates the oldest deposits of the Jebel Akhdar by 80Myrs. An unconformity occurs at the top of the Halfayn Formation, and no further deposition is recorded in the Huqf area until the base of the Nafun Group.