EVIDENCE FOR RECENT COASTAL UPLIFT NEAR AL-JUBAIL, SAUDI-ARABIA

Geologic mapping along the Persian Gulf coast about 15 km north of Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, reveals a series of elevated beach deposits up to 2.8 m above sea level. Carbon-14 age-dating of shell materials from those beach deposits at an elevation of +2.8 m gives an age of 3812 ± 145 years B.P. Archeological evidence about 15 km south of Al Jubail shows that about 5000-6000 years ago relative sea level was about 4 m higher than present sea level. Uplift of the coast near Al Jubail of 5.0 m in the last 3812 ± 145 years and 9.3 m in the last 5000-6000 years is indicated considering Holocene sea-level data from Flint (1971). Considering the higher Holocene sea level of Clark (1977) uplift is estimated to have been at least 0.8 m in the last 3812 ± 145 years and 1.5 m in the last 5000-6000 years. The mechanism for uplift may be the uplift and warping along the extension of a NW-trending anticline near Bahrein that Kassler (1973) suggests has been rising in the last few thousand years. © 1979.