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Atmospheric science
George Mason University
Events

6 Nov (GEOL) Hamdi Omar, Cyclostratigraphy, Paleoclimatology

Nov 6, 2025, 4:30 - 5:30 PM

Speaker: Hamdi Omar, AOES, George Mason University

Title: Reading Time in Sedimentary Rocks: A Decade of Cyclostratigraphy in Tunisia (Southern Tethys)

Time: Thu, 6 Nov, 4:30pm

Location: Exploratory 1309 and via Zoom (for link, email lhinnov@gmu.edu)

Host: Linda Hinnov

 

ABSTRACT: Tunisia occupies a key position at the junction between the African craton and the Tethyan realm, recording over 500 million years of geodynamic evolution of stratigraphic basins throughout the Phanerozoic. Its geological architecture is classically subdivided into distinct structural domains (the Tellian domain, the Atlassic chains, and the Saharan Platform), each bearing the imprint of major tectonic and climatic events linked to the opening and closure of the Tethys Ocean, the Alpine orogeny, and the Cenozoic foreland evolution. The Tunisian stratigraphic record offers a nearly continuous archive from the Lower Paleozoic to the Quaternary, encompassing a broad range of depositional environments from continental to deep marine settings. These successions document the interplay of tectonics, eustasy, and climate that shaped North Africa’s geological framework along the southern Tethyan margin.

Unlike Europe, China and the US—where cyclostratigraphic studies have been carried out extensively—studies in North Africa are scarce. Over the past decade (2015 – 2025), we have conducted extensive fieldwork across Tunisia to identify and analyze sedimentary successions that preserve rhythmic bedding patterns amenable to cyclostratigraphic investigation. This work spans multiple regions and time intervals—from Paleozoic source/reservoir rocks to Mesozoic hemipelagic deposits and Cenozoic carbonate platforms—providing a multi-scale view of astronomical forcing in North African stratigraphy. The goal of this long-term effort has been to establish astronomical time scales for key stratigraphic intervals, improve the temporal calibration of regional geological events, and improve the chronostratigraphic framework of Tunisian sedimentary basins.


 

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