scholarly journals Palynological biozonation of the Permian of Oman and Saudi Arabia: progress and challenges

GeoArabia ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike H. Stephenson ◽  
Peter L. Osterloff ◽  
John Filatoff

ABSTRACT Extensive palynological work in sequences in Oman and Saudi Arabia, has allowed a framework of eight biozones for the uppermost Carboniferous to Permian rocks in that region. Five of these are established in the palyniferous uppermost Carboniferous to Lower Permian sequence in Oman, and to some extent these are recognisable in sequences of central and southern Saudi Arabia. OSPZ1 (Oman and Saudi Arabia Palynological Zone 1), associated with the lower parts of the Al Khlata Formation and the Unayzah C member, is probably Stephanian in age. OSPZ2 is Asselian-Sakmarian in age, and is associated with the upper part of the Al Khlata Formation and the Unayzah B member. OSPZ3, which is subdivided into three sub-biozones, is associated with the Lower Gharif member; its age may lie in the range late Sakmarian to Artinskian, based on palynology and brachiopod-based ages for the Haushi Limestone, locally present toward the top of the Lower Gharif member. The composition of assemblages from OSPZ1 to OSPZ3 is similar to that of coeval sequences in other former Gondwana countries and the chronostratigraphical ages assigned to them are partly gained from correlation with faunally-calibrated Western Australian palynological biozones. At the level of OSPZ4, such correlation becomes difficult because significant differences are evident between Western Australian and Arabian assemblages, and because other Gondwana palynological biozonations, with which Arabia has greater affinity, are poorly constrained chronostratigraphically. OSPZ4 and the succeeding two biozones are established in the sporadically palyniferous Middle and Upper Permian sequences of Oman and Saudi Arabia. OSPZ4, though poorly characterised due to low palynological recovery, is probably ‘mid-Artinskian’ to Kungurian in age, and is associated with the Middle Gharif member. OSPZ5, present in southeast Saudi Arabia and Oman appears to be associated with the lower to middle parts of the Upper Gharif member, and is constrained in age, partly by the faunally-dated overlying Oman Khuff carbonates, as being Roadian or earliest Wordian in age. So far the assemblages of the highest biozone, OSPZ6, have been recovered only from the ‘basal Khuff clastics’ of central Saudi Arabia, and are believed to be younger than those of OSPZ5; dating by palynological means is difficult but recent microfaunal studies of the ‘basal Khuff clastics’ suggest a Capitanian age. Further study in appropriate palyniferous sections in other Middle Eastern countries may allow a more complete palynological succession to be established.

An endeavour is made to trace the evolution of mammals from Cotylosaurian ancestors through the carnivorous Therapsida. In Upper Carboniferous times the line probably passed through some primitive generalised Pelycosaurs; in Lower Permian through primitive, probably Therocephalian, Therapsids. In Middle and Upper Permian the line passed through the Gorgonopsia. In Triassic times the mammalian ancestors were small generalised Cynodonts. In Lower Jurassic the mammals are so Cynodont-like, and the Cynodonts so mammal-like, that in no single case are we absolutely certain which is which. In the Therocephalia, the Gorgonopsia, and the Cynodontia, the skull is very mammal-like. The zygomatic arch is, as in mammals, formed by the jugal and the squamosal. The teeth are divided into incisors, canines and molars. In the later Gorgonopsians there is an imperfect secondary palate; in Cynodonts a complete secondary palate as in mammals. In Permian Therapsids there is a single occipital condyle; in the Triassic Cynodonts there may he a single condyle slightly divided or two exoccipital condyles. There is, on passing from earlier to later types, a steady increase in the size of the dentary and decrease in the size of the other elements of the jaw. The quadrate also becomes much reduced in the higher types. In Gorgonopsians and probably all earlier types the arch of the atlas is a pair of bones; in Cynodonts, as in mammals, there is a single arch.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Brezinski

Based on range data and generic composition, four stages of evolution are recognized for late Paleozoic trilobites of the contiguous United States. Stage 1 occurs in the Lower Mississippian (Kinderhookian-Osagean) and is characterized by a generically diverse association of short-ranging, stenotopic species that are strongly provincial. Stage 2 species are present in the Upper Mississippian and consist of a single, eurytopic, pandemic genus, Paladin. Species of Stage 2 are much longer-ranging than those of Stage 1, and some species may have persisted for as long as 12 m.y. Stage 3 is present within Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian strata and consists initially of the eurytopic, endemic genera Sevillia and Ameura as well as the pandemic genus Ditomopyge. During the middle Pennsylvanian the very long-ranging species Ameura missouriensis and Ditomopyge scitula survived for more than 20 m.y. During the late Pennsylvanian and early Permian, a number of pandemic genera appear to have immigrated into what is now North America. Stage 4 is restricted to the Upper Permian (late Leonardian-Guadalupian) strata and is characterized by short-ranging, stenotopic, provincial genera.The main causal factor controlling the four-stage evolution of late Paleozoic trilobites of the United States is interpreted to be eustacy. Whereas Stage 1 represents an adaptive radiation developed during the Lower Mississippian inundation of North America by the Kaskaskia Sequence, Stage 2 is present in strata deposited during the regression of the Kaskaskia sea. Stage 3 was formed during the transgression and stillstand of the Absaroka Sequence and, although initially endemic, Stage 3 faunas are strongly pandemic in the end when oceanic circulation patterns were at a maximum. A mid-Leonardian sea-level drop caused the extinction of Stage 3 fauna. Sea-level rise near the end of the Leonardian and into the Guadalupian created an adaptive radiation of stentopic species of Stage 4 that quickly became extinct with the latest Permian regression.


2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 691-698
Author(s):  
M. J. Sarginson

AbstractThe Clipper Gas Field is a moderate-sized faulted anticlinal trap located in Blocks 48/19a, 48/19c and 48/20a within the Sole Pit area of the southern North Sea Gas Basin. The reservoir is formed by the Lower Permian Leman Sandstone Formation, lying between truncated Westphalian Coal Measures and the Upper Permian evaporitic Zechstein Group which form source and seal respectively. Reservoir permeability is very low, mainly as a result of compaction and diagenesis which accompanied deep burial of the Sole Pit Trough, a sub basin within the main gas basin. The Leman Sandstone Formation is on average about 715 ft thick, laterally heterogeneous and zoned vertically with the best reservoir properties located in the middle of the formation. Porosity is fair with a field average of 11.1%. Matrix permeability, however, is less than one millidarcy on average. Well productivity depends on intersecting open natural fractures or permeable streaks within aeolian dune slipface sandstones. Field development started in 1988. 24 development wells have been drilled to date. Expected recoverable reserves are 753 BCF.


2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Tupper ◽  
Eric Matthews ◽  
Gareth Cooper ◽  
Andy Furniss ◽  
Tim Hicks ◽  
...  

The Waitsia Field represents a new commercial play for the onshore north Perth Basin with potential to deliver substantial reserves and production to the domestic gas market. The discovery was made in 2014 by deepening of the Senecio–3 appraisal well to evaluate secondary reservoir targets. The well successfully delineated the extent of the primary target in the Upper Permian Dongara and Wagina sandstones of the Senecio gas field but also encountered a combination of good-quality and tight gas pay in the underlying Lower Permian Kingia and High Cliff sandstones. The drilling of the Waitsia–1 and Waitsia–2 wells in 2015, and testing of Senecio-3 and Waitsia-1, confirmed the discovery of a large gas field with excellent flow characteristics. Wireline log and pressure data define a gross gas column in excess of 350 m trapped within a low-side fault closure that extends across 50 km2. The occurrence of good-quality reservoir in the depth interval 3,000–3,800 m is diagenetically controlled with clay rims inhibiting quartz cementation and preserving excellent primary porosity. Development planning for Waitsia has commenced with the likelihood of an early production start-up utilising existing wells and gas processing facilities before ramp-up to full-field development. The dry gas will require minimal processing, and access to market is facilitated by the Dampier–Bunbury and Parmelia gas pipelines that pass directly above the field. The Waitsia Field is believed to be the largest conventional Australian onshore discovery for more than 30 years and provides impetus and incentive for continued exploration in mature and frontier basins. The presence of good-quality reservoir and effective fault seal was unexpected and emphasise the need to consider multiple geological scenarios and to test unorthodox ideas with the drill bit.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghaith F. Abu Zeinah ◽  
Sadeer G. Al-Kindi ◽  
Azza Adel Hassan

Palliative Care (PC) is still a relatively new concept in the Middle East (ME). It was first introduced in Saudi Arabia in 1992 and only recently in countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE. Although the majority of Middle-Eastern countries, including Palestine, Iraq, Oman and Lebanon are in the capacity building phase, others such as Saudi and Jordan already have localized provision. In the absence of any of the ME countries approaching integration with the mainstream service providers, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are currently setting examples of achievement in the field. There are still countries with little or no known Palliative Care activity (Yemen and Syria). Political issues, scarcity of resources, and lack of education and awareness seem to be the common factors restricting the progress of this field in most countries. In order to improve the suboptimal PC services in the ME, emphasis should be directed toward providing formal education to professionals and raising awareness of the public. It is also necessary to put all differences aside and develop cross-border collaborations, whether through third party organizations such as the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) or otherwise. This review compiles the available literature on the history and progress of the field of PC in most ME countries, while pointing out the major obstacles encountered by the active parties of each country.


1989 ◽  
Vol 143 ◽  
pp. 21-45
Author(s):  
L Stemmerik ◽  
E Håkansson

A lithostratigraphic scheme is erected for the Lower Carboniferous to Triassic sediments of the Wandel Sea Basin, from Lockwood Ø in the west to Holm Land in the east. The scheme is based on the subdivision into the Upper Carboniferous - Lower Permian Mallemuk Mountain Group and the Upper Permian - Triassic Trolle Land Group. In addition the Upper Carboniferous Sortebakker Formation and the Upper Permian Kap Kraka Formation are defined. Three formations and four members are included in the Mallemuk Mountain Group. Lithostratigraphic units include: Kap Jungersen Formation (new) composed of interbedded limestones, sandstones and shales with minor gypsum - early Moscovian; Foldedal Formation composed of interbedded limestones and sandstones -late Moseovian to late Gzhelian; Kim Fjelde Formation composed of well bedded Iimestones - late Gzhelian to Kungurian. The Trolle Land Group includes three formations: Midnatfjeld Formation composed of dark shales, sandstones and limestones - Late Permian; Parish Bjerg Formation composed of a basal conglomeratic sandstone overlain by shales and sandstones - ?Early Triassic (Scythian); Dunken Formation composed of dark shales and sandstones - Triassic (Scythian-Anisian). The Sortebakker Formation (new) is composed of interbedded sandstones, shales and minor coal of floodplain origin. The age is Early Carboniferous. The Kap Kraka Formation (new) includes poorly known hematitic sandstones, conglomerates and shales of Late Permian age.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah D Alanazi ◽  
Jan Šlapeta ◽  
Abulaziz Alouffi ◽  
Nichola Calvani ◽  
Mohamed Alyousif ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Vector-borne diseases have been increasing worldwide and reported in many animals including dogs and cats. Limited or no data are currently available regarding canine and feline vector-borne diseases in Saudi Arabia and limited information is available from other Middle Eastern countries. The aim of this study was to compare vector-borne disease prevalence between two bio-climatically distinct regions of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh province that is arid positioned at low elevation and Asir province that is humid at high elevation. Methods: Blood samples from 74d ogs from Riyadh province and 70 dogs and 44 cats from Asirprovince were collected and examined for the presence of genomic DNA of Babesias pp, Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichias pp., Bartonella spp., Mycoplasma spp., and Hepatozoon spp. by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Multiplex-tandem PCR (MT-PCR) and Sanger sequencing.Results: Seventy four dogs were tested from Riyadh province and found be negative of any pathogen. Of the 70 dogs examined from Asir province 45(64.3%) were positive. Specifically, 40 (57.1%) dogs were positive for A.platys, 20 (28.5%) for B.vogeli, 11(15.7%) for My.Haemocanis, two (2.85%) for Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum and one (1.4%) for Br.henselae. Fourteen out of 44 cats (31.8%) were positive for one of the detected vector-borne pathogens. Six cats (13.6%) were positive for Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum and My.haemofelis, respectively, four cats (9.2%) were positive for Br.Henselae, two (4.54%) for Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum and one (2.27%) for A. platys. Conclusions: The results of this study report the occurrence of A. platys, B. vogeli, Br. henselae, and My. haemocanis in dogs and of A. platys, Br. henselae, My.haemofelis and Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum in cats from Asir province Further molecular investigations are strongly recommended in order to reduce the risk of dogs and cats acquiring vector-borne diseases in Saudi Arabia.


Author(s):  
Ali Mustafa Qamar ◽  
Rehan Ullah Khan ◽  
Suliman Alsuhibany

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization in March 2020. Since then, it has attracted the enormous attention of researchers from around the world. The world has gone through previous instances of corona-viruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome. Nevertheless, none was of these were of this serious nature as COVID-19. In this research, we carry out a bibliometric analysis of coronavirus research using the Scopus database. However, we restricted ourselves to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The analysis was performed using Biblioshiny software. We analyzed 4288 articles written by 24226 researchers from 1994 till 2021, published in 1429 sources. The number of authors per publication is 5.65. A bulk of the research (more than 68%) appeared in the form of articles. More than 43% of the publications appeared in 2020 and more than 44% in 2021. Saudi Arabia appears the most-cited country, followed by Qatar. Journal of Infection and Public Health published the most number of papers, whereas New England Journal of Medicine is the most-cited one. Memish, Z.A. wrote the maximum number of papers. The top source, according to the H-index, is the Journal of Virology. Furthermore, the two most prolific universities are King Saud University and King Abdulaziz University, both from Saudi Arabia. The research uncovered deep learning as a niche theme used in recent publications. The research landscape continues to alter as the pandemic keeps on evolving.


Author(s):  
Azeem Gul ◽  
Rizwana Karim Abbasi ◽  
Syed Arslan Haider

The strategic rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been worsened for the last two decades. This historical sectarian divisions led by Saudi Arabia and Iran has now morphed into a struggle for regional influence between Shia political power led by Iran and Sunni political power led by Saudi Arabia. Against this backdrop, the study examines the contours of the Middle Eastern security in the context of Saudi and Iran strategic rivalry in various conflicts such as crisis in Syria, Yemen, and situation in Iraq including proxy wars and Iran’s nuclear program. The study finds out that the security situation of the Middle East would have been much better if Saudi and Iran would have cooperated on various issues such as Yemen and Syrian crisis. In addition, the internal vulnerabilities of the Middle East with Iran and Saudi strategic antagonism provided opportunities to the external power intervention that further has intensified the conflicts in the region. The study concludes that the solution of the Middle Eastern problem would lie in building cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia relations and in this respect the current rapprochement between the two states is a positive development for Middle Eastern security.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (02) ◽  
pp. 291-304
Author(s):  
Anis Widyawati

The emergence of several large cases of migrant workers in Malaysia and Singapore as well as in several Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia, made all the nation's components flinch. Many people argue that the problem occurs because of the low level of education of migrant workers. There are also those who say that this problem occurs because employers of Indonesian labor services companies (Pengerah Jasa Penyalur Tenaga Kerja Indonesia, PJTKI, now called Perusahaan Penyalur Tenaga Kerja Indonesia Swasta, PPTKIS) are not nationally minded and only pursue profit (profit-oriented). There were also those who argued that the cases of migrant workers occurred due to the inactivity of regulative and punitive functions of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. Based on the background above, the problem can be formulated is how the urgency of legal protection for Indonesian migrant workers abroad and how the legal protection model for Indonesian migrant workers abroad. Research carried out at BP3TKI and the Semarang Manpower and Transmigration Office underlined that legal protection for Indonesian migrant workers abroad is very important. The urgency in legal protection due to fulfillment of the rights of victims who work legally abroad but also cannot be fully implemented properly, due to differences in legal systems with migrant workers recipient countries that do not necessarily want to protect the rights of migrant workers who experience treatment not please from their own citizens. The migrant workers who work illegally the government has not been able to fully protect the rights of victims who have experienced criminal acts. The legal protection model for migrant workers currently emphasizes the fulfillment of victims’ rights who work legally abroad, such as obtaining legal assistance from a local lawyer appointed by the ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in the country receiving the migrant workers, mentoring by psychologists and clergy, bringing the families of victims, compensation, and insurance claims. And at the same time, for migrant workers who work illegally the government has not been able to fully protect the rights of the victims.


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