Tectono-Sedimentary Evolution of the Cenomanian Carbonate Platform in the Eastern Arabian Plate

Summary Mid-Cretaceous carbonate platforms surrounding an intrashelf basin developed on the eastern Arabian Plate. To clarify their tectono-sedimentary evolution, carbon isotope stratigraphy was performed using samples from four cored wells across the examined Cenomanian carbonate platform. Shallow-water carbonates exhibit higher carbon isotope values than deeper facies, helping to identify a clinoform progradation into the intrashelf basin. The stratigraphic framework spans from the late Albian to the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary, capturing carbon isotope excursions associated with OAE 1d and OAE 2, though the mid-Cenomanian MCE I is missing. Thickness variations between central and marginal parts of the platform highlight a wedge-shaped clinoform that formed during a late Cenomanian forced regression. This period coincided with globally rising sea levels but locally driven tectonic uplift. While the uplift observed here may be a local event, it also may signify the onset of lithospheric bulging caused by ophiolite obduction along the eastern margin of the Arabian Plate. The uplift could have started as early as the late Cenomanian in this region, earlier than its onset elsewhere.