Fractures system within Dammam Dome and its relationship to the doming process, Eastern Saudi Arabia
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Fractures system within Dammam Dome and its relationship to the doming process, Eastern Saudi Arabia Mustafa M. Hariri
Received: 27 May 2013 / Accepted: 10 September 2013 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2013
Abstract Dammam Dome is an oval-shaped structure that covers an area of about 500 km2 and encompasses Al Khobar, Al Dhahran and part of Ad Dammam cities, east of Saudi Arabia. The dome characterizes by the presence of well developed fractures system that exposes at its apex and extends to its peripheries. Based on their size, trend and extent, fractures within Dammam Dome are divided into three types: regional (major) fractures, local (minor) fractures and very small size-localized fractures. This study discusses the criteria used in classifying those fractures, and the relationship of the regional (major) ones to the doming process. A model for the trends pattern of fracture is suggested for those fractures, and examined with the concentric and radial fracture pattern associated normally with dome structures. The suggested model is compatible and concordant with the dome model, which proves that the major fractures in the area are related to the dome emplacement and process. Outcomes and findings of this study are crucial for understanding the behavior and distribution of fractures associated with domes. Additionally, the suggested model of fractures and their trend pattern is important model in similar setting for hydrocarbon exploration and for any urban development and major constructions within the Dome vicinities. Keywords Dammam Dome . Fractures characterization . Fractures system . Fractures model . Trend pattern
Introduction Dammam Dome is located in the eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is bounded approximately by
M. M. Hariri (*) Earth Sciences Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia e-mail: [email protected]
longitudes 50° and 50°14′N and latitudes 26°12′ and 26°26′E (Fig. 1). The Damman Dome encompasses Dhahran, Khobar and part of Dammam cities and hosts the first oil discovery Dammam-7 well. It is also characterized by gentle sloping topography in all directions with four stand out hills; Jabal Umm Er Rus, and the nearby King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) Jabal (at the top of the dome), and Jabal Midar Ash Shamali and Jabal Midar Al-Janubi (east of the dome). Elevations of these hills are 150, 100, 125 and 92 m, respectively (Weijermars 1999). The exposed rocks of the Dammam Dome range in age from Palaeocene to middle Miocene (Fig. 2). The dome is an anticlinal structure with a core excavated by erosion with a major axis trending N 30–40 west. The rocks exposed within Dammam Dome area are gently dipping Tertiary rocks covered with Quaternary deposits locally developed into sand dune and sheet deposits or extensive sabkha. This study focuses on the fractures system present within Dammam Dome as a very notable and important feature. The aim of this study is to define and characterize the differen
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