Ophiolites and the tectonic evolution of the Arabian Peninsula

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Abstract
Summary: Arabian ophiolites mark periods of important tectonic activity. Their petrotectonic evolution gives insights on movements of the Arabian plate through Proterozoic and Phanerozoic times. The upper Proterozoic ophiolite belts in Saudi Arabia and NE Africa indicate that oceanic crust of this age was incorporated within the continental crust during its Precambrian evolution. Recent studies on the Semail ophiolite in Oman reveal that it was emplaced onto the Arabian plate in the Campanian during the closure of Neo-Tethys. An igneous complex of sheeted dykes, layered gabbro, granophyre, and basaltic-rhyolitic lava on the SE margin of the Red Sea represents new oceanic crust formed some 20–24 m.y. ago during the initial opening of the Red Sea when the continental crust became attenuated.