Is boron in Oman groundwater, an inherited characteristic of the Tertiary Sea or the Tethyan Sea

The incentive for the present study derives from the high concentration of boron in several aquifers of the Tertiary period of Oman. Thus, the scope of the research is the study of boron geochemistry and the origin in the Tertiary rocks in the south Arabic peninsula (Sultanate of Oman). The currently completed project in collaboration with Petroleum Development of Oman revealed several new findings in the origin of excessive boron in several Tertiary aquifers in Oman. The perspective of boron origin exclusively from salts dissolution may not explain the high boron concentrations which are observed in several localities. Specialized geochemical analysis of boron isotopes (10B and 11B) and Rare Earth Elements (REE) revealed that dissolution of minerals which are derived from ophiolite rocks (mafic components and secondary minerals like serpentine) may have influence considerable the water quality and the boron concentration in several aquifers in Oman. Thus, the investigation of the ophiolites as a major geological component which has influence the water quality in Oman remains in question. The present project is proposed in the view of the Oman Drilling Project (ODP) which is under operation currently in the Sultanate of Oman. The present proposal will significantly have a twofold contribution firstly in the understanding of the relation between ophiolites and boron content in Oman aquifers and secondly the implications of CO2 sequestration in ophiolites regarding the boron geochemistry. We intent to obtain rock samples and water samples from the wells which are operated from ODP (SQU is part of the project) for the study of the distribution of boron in those samples. Especially the study of the weathered products from carbon sequestration will be operated in natural samples which have already sequester CO2 from the atmosphere.