Palaeozoic palynology of the Kingdom Saudi-Arabia

GeoArabia Special Publication 1 Knowledge of the Palaeozoic biostratigraphy of the Arabian Peninsula, situated close to the northern margin of Gondwana, was poorly known until a joint special project was held by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and the Commission Internationale de Microflore du Paléozoïque (CIMP) in 1990. Prior to that only a small number of investigations had been published. Few efforts had been made to exploit the strati-graphic potentials of the many undescribed indigenous microfossils. The joint Saudi Aramco-CIMP project was designed to reverse that situation. Comprehensive studies were carried out on a range of microfossil groups throughout the Palaeozoic and results were published in 1995. The 13 papers presented in this GeoArabia Special Publication update those initial findings. They clearly indicate the potential for these palynomorph assemblages to not only to provide a method for well-to-well correlations within Saudi Arabia, but also for establishing the palaeo-biogeographical relationships of the Arabian Plate relative to adjacent landmasses. The conclusions that are proposed here can now be compared with datasets throughout North Africa and with the central and southern parts of South America. Editors: Sa’id Al-Hajri and Bernard Owens 231 pages 40 plates/62 illustrationsSaudi Arabia working group on the Saudi Arabia Platfor