The upper Batinah Complex, Oman: allochthonous sediment sheets above the Semail ophiolite

The upper Batinah Complex consists of allochthonous sedimentary sheets that structurally overlie both the Semail ophiolite and its cover of melange (lower Batinah Complex). Sequences represent a former sedimentary transition across the outer part of a passive Mesozoic continental margin. From proximal to distal, units include redeposited quartzitic sandstones and shallow-water limestones, large carbonate buildups floored by Triassic mafic lavas, and pelagic radiolarites or hemi-pelagic calcilutites also underlain by Triassic mafic lavas. Sheets of these upper Batinah Complex sequences were emplaced onto the upper surface of the Semail ophiolite in Late Cretaceous time, during or soon after the advance of the Semail Nappe onto the Arabian margin. Emplacement was along subhorizontal fault zones, with sheets of distal facies followed by successively more proximal sheets. Structural style suggests a low overburden during deformation, with ductile flow of argillaceous material but more brittle behavior of othe...

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