Formation of the Sole of the Oman Ophiolite

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Slices of oceanic crust (ophiolite) are emplaced into many orogenic belts and most have unusually steep, inverted metamorphic gradients at their base. These inverted gradients are thought to be the product of synchronous faulting and metamorphism but the details of the mechanisms involved are still unknown. This study will examine the rocks at the base of the Oman ophiolite, one of the best exposed and best known in the world, to determine the microstructural, thermobarometric and thermochronologic history of an archetypical inverted metamorphic gradient. The results will have important implications for the tectonic evolution of all mountain belts that contain ophiolitic rocks.