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The role of organominerals in the lithification of calcareous lumps within the intertidal sediments of Bubiyan Island, Kuwait, Arabian Gulf

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Abstract

Calcareous lumps of varying sizes and shapes are scattered on the landward part of the muddy intertidal flat along the southern coast of Bubiyan Island, northeast Kuwait. Two main lithotypes are recognized, namely, hard sandy crust fragments which are mostly formed of porous calcareous grainstone (bio-oosparite) and lithified muddy lumps that consist of calcareous wackestone (bio-micrite). They were originally eroded from the soft tidal flat sediments then lithified. Petrographic, mineralogical, and SEM/EDS examinations revealed that lithification of these calcareous lumps is attributed to cementation by biologically influenced organominerals, mainly high magnesium calcite and aragonite. The conditions responsible for the precipitation of these organominerals as well as variation in their mineralogy within each type of these calcareous lumps were discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the support provided by the Nanoscopy Science Center (NSC) of Kuwait University. This study was partially supported under SAF Grant Number GS01/05, GS03/01. Thanks are extended to the XRD and XRF laboratories of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Special thanks are also extended to Mr. Nabil Basily, Mr. Yousef Abdullah, and Mr. Hisham Mahmoud for their help with field work and thin section preparations.

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  1. Faculty of Science, Earth and Environmental Science Department, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, 13060, Safat, Kuwait

    Arafat A. AlShuaibi & Fikry I. Khalaf

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AlShuaibi, A.A., Khalaf, F.I. The role of organominerals in the lithification of calcareous lumps within the intertidal sediments of Bubiyan Island, Kuwait, Arabian Gulf. Arab J Geosci 10, 390 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3182-y

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