Gravity profiles across the Uyaijah Ring structure, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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Abstract
Three detailed gravity profiles across parts of the Uyaijah ring structure have been completed using an average station spacing of 260 M (giving a total of 217 gravity stations) and level surveys for elevation control. When combined with regional gravity-anomaly data, the profiles are adequate for construction of a structural model of the ring complex based on gravity models.
The resulting structural model, based on profile fits to gravity responses of three-dimensional models and excess-mass calculations, gives a depth estimate to the base of the complex of 4.75 km. The contacts of the complex are inferred to be steeply dipping inward along the southwest margin of the structure. To the north and east, however, the basal contact of the complex dips more gently inward (about 30 degrees). The ring structure appears to be composed of three laccolith-shaped plutons; two are granitic in composition and make up about 85 percent of the volume of the complex, and one is granodioritic and comprises the remaining 15 percent. The source area for the plutons appears to be in the southwest quadrant of the Uyaijah ring structure. A northwest-trending shear zone cuts the northern half of the structure and contains mafic dikes that have a small but identifiable gravity-anomaly response. The structural model agrees with models derived from geological interpretation except that the estimated depth to which the structure extends is decreased considerably by the gravity results.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Gravity profiles across the Uyaijah Ring structure, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 87-500 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr87500 |
| Year Published | 1987 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Description | i, 19 p., ill., maps |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |