N-S trending shallow water currents on Late Jurassic Arabian shelf: Evidence from paleo-hydrodynamic modelling and outcrops

This study presents a first attempt to assess hydrodynamic circulation in the shallow water environment of the paleo-ocean that covered Saudi Arabia some 180 million years ago. It provides insights into the paleo-current patterns that may have occurred and their relationship with sediment transport, as well as sediment distribution on the carbonate shelf. Using MITgcm model we were able to simulate the current patterns in the Late Jurassic Arabian shelf which indicates strong currents in the shallow regions. Detailed outcrop investigation of exposed late Jurassic (Hanifa Fm) stromatoporoids/coral reefs provides ground truthing for paleo-hydrodynamic simulation exercise. The close agreement between the modelled current patterns and the orientation of stromatoporoid/coral reefs supports the outcome of the hydrodynamic modeling and underlines the usefulness of employing such models to understand and characterize sedimentary architecture in ancient sequences. An improved understanding of paleohydrodynamics could be used as a constraint to model realistic distribution of reservoir facies (patterns/trends) in subsurface models of carbonate sequences and reservoirs. This is crucial for generating optimized reservoir development plans.

hydrodynamic circulation paleo-ocean sediment transport carbonate shelf MITgcm model modelled current patterns