Ophiolite Genesis and Evolution of the Oceanic Lithosphere

Ophiolites are key sources of information regarding the genesis and evolution of oceanic lithosphere. Over the past decades, the geological ~tudy of ophio- lites has provided a wealth of insight into lithospheric processes and has proved to be an indispensible prerequisite to interpreting geophysical and other investigations of the crust underlying recent oceans. The Oman Ophiol- ite offers the most complete and structurally undisturbed sections of the oceanic crust in vast, clean exposures. It is, therefore, most fortunate for the scientific community that Mhd. Kassim, Director General of Minerals and Dr. Hilal Al Azri, Director of the Geological Survey, took upon themselves the task of organizing in Oman an international meeting on ophiolites. Having planned for an attendance of only 100 to 150 persons, the logistics of the organizing committee were put to a severe test by th~ 300 participants who eventually arrived from 27 countries. The 14 field trips, most of which were conducted twice, provided the participants with an excellent introduc- tion to the geology of Oman, the ophIolite sequence, and re~ated phenomena.