3D flexural subsidence and paleobathymetry of the United Arab Emirates foreland and passive margin basins

Abstract

The Oman–United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreland basins record relief growth, erosion, and marine flooding along the eastern Arabian margin after Late Cretaceous ophiolite obduction. Previous subsidence analyses are largely one-dimensional and fail to capture three-dimensional foredeep–forebulge–backbulge variability. Here, we apply 3D flexural backstripping to resolve along-strike segmentation and the time-dependent migration of the UAE foreland system. By integrating 2D and 3D seismic reflection data, 549 exploration wells, and regional chronostratigraphy, we reconstruct three-dimensional tectonic subsidence, paleobathymetry, and sediment accumulation across eleven stratigraphic intervals spanning the Neoproterozoic to the present. Backstripping and forward flexure modeling document two major subsidence phases: an Early Permian–Jurassic episode related to reactivation of inherited Neoproterozoic structures, and a Late Cretaceous phase driven by Semail ophiolite loading. A preferred elastic thickness (Te ≈ 25 km) reproduces a ∼ 2.9 km foredeep and ∼ 155 m peripheral forebulge, consistent with seismic and gravity derived basement geometry. Reconstructed water depths indicate progressive deepening of Paleozoic–Lower Mesozoic rifts, followed by post Campanian shallowing as the Aruma foreland infilled and loads waned. Decompacted isopachs document two major pulses of sediment accumulation: Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous during final rifting, and Late Cretaceous–Paleogene during foreland development and rapid erosion of the rising Oman–UAE mountains. These results link margin scale flexural architecture to the distribution and burial history of marine source and reservoir intervals and provide a regional template for comparison among collisional foreland systems.