The Dukhan Sabkha: A Modern Analog for the Arab C Carbonate Reservoir, Dukhan Field, Qatar

Holocene sediments extending from the Dukhan sabkha north to Bir Zikrit in Qatar present a modern example of coastal<br>sedimentation in an arid climate that provides an analogue for some ancient, arid carbonates such as the Jurassic Arab C<br>Formation at the Dukhan Field. The Holocene at Dukhan illustrates sedimentation and diagenetic patterns that differ from<br>those documented in ‘classical’ sabkha models which are dominated by examples from Abu Dhabi. In these models facies<br>tracts and diagenetic profiles are characterized by linear facies belts that systematically prograde seaward. Cross-sections of<br>these sabkhas show strata dipping gently seaward, providing a medium for dense fluids to flow from updip to downdip,<br>mixing with marine waters.