Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change
Open Access

Abstract

Biostratigraphic studies have been conducted on the Late Paleocene to Early Eocene Muthaymimah Formation at several localities on the western flank of the Northern Oman Mountains, United Arab Emirates. These are compared with similar studies of the Atbasi Formation, northwest Turkey. Based on the variations in the planktonic foraminiferal assemblages (such as Morozovella spp.), and the lithological character of both formations, the mudstone/wackestone facies of both study areas records deposition in an open marine environment, during tectonism and rapid sea level rise. Both study areas also share a similar shallow-marine packstone/grainstone facies, rich in benthonic foraminifera (such as Bolivinoides curtus, Neoflabellina jarvisi and Somalina sp., and Nummulites spp.) and skeletal shell remains (molluscs, bryozoa and echinoids), accompanied by thin calcarenite and iron oxides. In both areas sedimentation occurred during extensive rifting and rapid subsidence, in an environment of seafloor oxidation.

Biography

Mahmoud Abu Saima has completed his PhD at the age of 29 years from the Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. He is instructor of the Department of Geology at the United Arab Emirates University. He is particulary interested in micropaleontology. He has published numerous papers on the Triassic and Jurassic palynomorphs and Cretaceous/Tertiary foraminifera in international journals.

Email: m.abusaima@uaeu.ac.ae