Quantitative controls on the regional geometries and heterogeneities of the Rayda to Shu’aiba formations (Northern Oman) using forward stratigraphic modelling

The complex geometry of carbonate systems is influenced by a multitude of physical as well as biological processes. The Lower Cretaceous carbonates of Northern Oman are characterised by a variability of regional-scale geometries with expected vertical and lateral facies variations. The main environmental and tectonic controls acting on the depositional processes of the Lower Cretaceous ramps and platforms through space and geological time (in 4 dimensions) are only partially understood. In this study, we use a 4D DionisosFlow Forward Stratigraphic Modelling (FSM) approach to explore the role of: (i) eustasy; (ii) subsidence; (iii) initial paleobathymetry, and (iv) wave energy, to generate carbonate stacking patterns and heterogeneities. Carbonate production was maintained constant through deposition. Multi-disciplinary and multi-scale datasets were used (i.e. seismic, well and field data) to constrain the FSM …