The Huqf Supergroup in Oman contains an exceptionally well-preserved and
complete sedimentary record of the Middle to Late Neoproterozoic Era.
Outcrops of the Huqf Supergroup in northern and central Oman are now
well documented, but their correlation with a key succession in the
Mirbat area of southern Oman, containing a sedimentary record of two
Neoproterozoic glaciations, is poorly understood. Integration of
lithostratigraphic, chemostratigraphic and new U-Pb detrital zircon data
suggests that the Mirbat Group is best placed within the Cryogenian (c.
850-635 Ma) part of the Huqf Supergroup. The c. I km thick marine
deposits of the Arkahawl and Marsham Formations of the Mirbat Group are
thought to represent a stratigraphic interval between older Cryogenian
and younger Cryogenian glaciations that is not preserved elsewhere in
Oman. The bulk of detrital zircons in the Huqf Supergroup originate from
Neoproterozoic parent rocks. However, older Mesoproterozoic,
Palaeoproterozoic and even Archaean zircons can be recognized in the
detrital population from the upper Mahara Group (Fiq Formation) and
Nafun Group, suggesting the tapping of exotic sources, probably from the
Arabian-Nubian Shield.