Active Wrench Tectonics of Umm Wu’al Graben Area, Northwest Saudi Arabia

H. Xiao¹, O. Swientek¹, and D. Franken¹

Abstract

The Umm Wu’al Graben in Northwest Saudi Arabia consists of three right-stepping NNW-trending segments with two intervening segments trending at different azimuths, which are collectively visible on surface topography and on a deeper time slice from a 3D seismic cube. The area is being subjected to active wrench tectonics present day, with the maximum principal stress oriented toward the NNW, similar to the stress system surrounding the Dead Sea Transform Fault.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90188 ©GEO-2014, 11th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition, 10-12 March 2014, Manama, Bahrain