The obduction of the northern Oman Ophiolite - crustal loading and flexure

Abstract

The unique opportunity to study a 20 km-deep section of oceanic lithosphere in the Oman Mountains has attracted a wealth of expertise and generated a great deal of geological data. Lippard et al. (1986) offered a solution to the problem of obduction at the former passive margin of Eastern Arabia which incorporated all age data known at that time and accounted for the broad spectrum of geological evidence presented in the mountains. Their emplacement scheme involves the loading and flexure of the transitional zone of a passive margin. Indeed the "isostatic rebound' of the margin is central to the gravity emplacement of the ophiolite. This paper explores the feasibility of such crustal flexure using a numerical model of lithosphere shortening with best-estimate deep crustal and mantle physical parameters. -Authors