Sabkha Field Trip

The ADIPEC Field Trip is to the Modern Sabkha Environment of Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) View Location

The modern carbonate-evaporite depositional environments along the Abu Dhabi shoreline and offshore Abu Dhabi belong to the few areas of the world where the geoscientist can observe the interplay between carbonate and evaporite sedimentation.

Supratidal (sabkha) to intertidal and shallow subtidal (microbial mat and peloid-skeletal tidal-flat) environments will be studied in the vicinity of Al-Qanatir Island.

Al-Qanatir Island: In the vicinity of the road to Al-Qanatir Island participants will be able to study a complete and undisturbed lateral facies succession from the upper supratidal to the lower intertidal and shallow subtidal:

• Upper supratidal stranded beach ridges.
  -Topographic highs, some cm above the adjacent upper sabkha environment.
• Upper sabkha (upper supratidal).
 - Surface covered by polygonally-cracked halite crust.
• Middle sabkha (middle supratidal).
 - Surface covered by finely-crystalline, whitish anhydrite polygons.
• Lower sabkha (lower supratidal).
 - Surface covered by shiny, sparkling gypsum crystals.
• Upper to lower intertidal microbial mat.
 - Crenulated or crinkled microbial mat above gypsum mush facies.
 - Blistered and pinnacle microbial mat.
 - Polygonal and tufted microbial mat.
• Lowermost intertidal to shallow subtidal.
 - Peloid-skeletal tidal-flat.

Many of these depositional environments and facies successions correspond to those observed in cores from the subsurface of the Arabian Peninsula.

Date: Thursday , November 4, 2010
Time: 9:00 to 15:00 hrs.

A maximum number of 30 participants can be accommodated. This will be on a first come first serve basis.

The field trip is sponsored by ADCO and is free of charge. To register for the field trip you have to be a registered delegate of ADIPEC.

Registration

To register for the field trip kindly send an e-mail to:
Mr. Abdulla Al-Mansoori
E-mail address: amansoori@adco.ae

and copy to:
E-mail address: HShebl@zadco.ae

Field Trip Leaders:

Mr. Abdulla Al-Mansoori (ADCO)
Mr. Omar Al-Jeelani (ADCO)
Mr. Ismail Al-Hosani (ADCO)
Mr. Ali Al-Shamry (ADCO)
Mr. Khalil Al-Mehsin (ADNOC)
Mr. Hesham Shebl (ZADCO)