Geological assessment of the Neom mega-project area, northwestern Saudi Arabia: an integrated approach

Abstract

The Neom mega-project area is located on the northwestern Arabian Plate and is associated with the Red Sea divergence and the Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea transform boundary. The study area is controlled by numerous major regional tectonic features including the Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea fault system, and a large number of recorded earthquakes. Evaluation of the tectonic framework of the Neom mega-project is important because of its economic and developmental significance. Here, geological, geophysical, field investigation, and seismological data were integrated to achieve these aims. The sinistral strike-slip regime of the study area involves extensional structures including normal faults and horizontal shear zones of vertical planes. In the Aqaba-Dead Sea faults, the left-lateral transform fault system is sharply expressed along the Wadi courses cutting into Proterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks. The historical and instrumental seismicity data collected and processed illustrates a good association with the general tectonic trends affecting the Neom area. Moreover, the Gulf of Aqaba region remains the most active seismotectonic source zone affecting northwest Saudi Arabia and the Gulf of Aqaba region, with three big earthquake swarms recorded in 1983, 1993, and 1995.