Structural evolution of a salt-cored, domed, reactivated fault complex, Jebel Madar, Oman

• The first structural evolution of Jebel Madar, Oman is proposed.
• Jebel Madar is a salt-cored, domed, reactivated fault complex.
• The dome is influenced by three local tectonic events with different stress regimes.
• The local tectonic events are tentatively linked to regional tectonic events
• Salt diapirism is associated with the first and last tectonic event.

Fault and fracture patterns associated with domal structures are observed around the world both at outcrop and in the subsurface. However, the structural evolution of domes and the influence of previous fault and fracture sets are not yet fully understood. This study provides the first structural evolution analysis of Jebel Madar, a domal outcrop in the Adam Foothills of Northern Oman, and evaluates the role of multiple local tectonic events and the associated salt diapirism on fracture and fault distribution pattern development of a salt-cored domal outcrop.Analyses at Jebel Madar suggest that three local tectonic events with different stress regimes that are tentatively linked to three regional tectonic events resulted in a salt-cored, domed, reactivated fault complex: 1) initial dome-formation and NE–SW oriented mode 1 opening fractures and subsequent grabens; 2) E–W oriented dextral strike-slip faulting; and 3) reactivation and inversion of faults, and final dome formation. Salt emplacement is associated with the first and last tectonic events.This integrated study highlights the complicated evolution of fault and fracture distribution patterns at a salt-cored dome. Caution is therefore required in interpretation of similar structural patterns on top of and around salt-cored domes.