Seafloor Morphology and Evolution of Eastern UAE’s Offshore, Gulf of Oman

The seabed in the western Gulf of Oman, offshore of Fujairah, UAE remains poorly characterised and mapped. Earlier regional studies were too coarse to resolve the origin and evolution of Holocene seafloor geomorphic and tectonic features. Here, we integrate high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and derivative terrain attributes (slope and bathymetric position index), multibeam backscatter, and seafloor grab samples to map seabed morphology and constrain sediment distribution. The surveyed area reveals a wide array of geomorphic elements, including paleoshoreline terraces, paleoreefs, sandwaves, sand ridges, sandbanks, circular and eroded pockmarks, contourite sandwaves, submarine landslides, and fault traces to name a few. These observations enable the reconstruction of Quaternary seafloor evolution, highlighting the coupled influence of tectonics, eustatic sea-level change, and deep marine currents on the seabed development. The refined mapping also resolves several previously misidentified features from earlier basin-scale interpretations. This improved understanding provides a robust geologic framework for offshore geohazard assessment and supports evidence-based planning for marine infrastructure in the eastern UAE Offshore.