Abstract
This paper presents the facies and depositional environment of the early Miocene Dam Formation, Eastern Arabian platform, Saudi Arabia. Deposition of Dam Formation (Fm.) was considered as a restricted shallow marine deposition. Few studies suggest the role of sea-level change in its deposition but were without decisive substantiation. Here, we describe the facies and high-resolution model of Dam Fm. under varying depositional conditions. The depositional conditions were subjected to changing relative sea level and tectonics. High-resolution outcrop photographs, sedimentological logs, and thin sections present that the mixed carbonate–siliciclastic sequence was affected by a regional tectonics. The lower part of Dam Fm. presents the development of carbonate ramp conditions that are represented by limestones and marl. The depositional conditions fluctuated with the fall of sea level, and uplift in the region pushed the siliciclastic down-dip and covered the whole platform. The subsequent rise in sea level was not as pronounced and thus allowed the deposition of microbial laminites and stromatolitic facies. The southeast outcrops, down-dip, are more carbonate prone as compared to the northwest outcrop, which allowed the deposition of siliciclastic-prone sedimentation up-dip. All facies, architecture, heterogeneity, and deposition were controlled by tectonic events including uplift, subsidence, tilting, and syn-sedimentary faulting, consequently affecting relative sea level. The resulting conceptual outcrop model would help to improve our understanding of mixed carbonate–siliciclastic systems and serve as an analogue for other stratigraphic units in the Arabian plate and region. Our results show that Dam Fm. can be a good target for exploration in the Northern Arabian Gulf.
Highlights
Outcrop analogues have a paramount role in comprehending subsurface reservoir heterogeneity and architecture (Bosence 2005; Roberts and Bally 2012; Warrlich et al 2008; Asprion and Aigner 1999; Eltom et al 2020)
The lower parts of the outcrops in the Al-Lidam area are covered in Holocene sand deposits (Fig. 10f). It is definitive from the substantiation provided here that facies, deposition, architecture, and heterogeneity in Dam Fm. were robustly controlled by relative sea-level alterations that were accentuated by tectonics
The Dam Fm. in Al-Lidam is divided into twelve facies that are deposited in three episodes, where carbonates are interlayered by siliciclastic facies
Summary
Outcrop analogues have a paramount role in comprehending subsurface reservoir heterogeneity and architecture (Bosence 2005; Roberts and Bally 2012; Warrlich et al 2008; Asprion and Aigner 1999; Eltom et al 2020). Analogues contribute crucial information on geometry, connectivity, and geobody size, which is otherwise challenging from seismic and well log data. The reconstruction of the analogue model in the spatial dimensions by closely spaced high-resolution photographs provides a new tool in conventional field studies. This new paradigm shift initiated the use of high-resolution photographs (all photographs are geo-referenced) for the onsite recording of depositional architectures and facies geometries and lets datasets, which could be impossible to obtain. The high-resolution analogue model provides continuity and connectivity of the observations based on the fieldwork dataset to fit a regional framework
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