Advances in Understanding the Physical Volcanology of One of the Largest Monogenetic Volcanic Provinces on the Earth, Western Arabian Peninsula

Abstract

Western Arabia, within the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, contains at least 13 large monogenetic volcanic fields, collectively forming one of the largest Cenozoic monogenetic volcanic provinces on earth. The region includes at least 3000 individual, small-volume, predominantly mafic volcanoes. A review indicates that volcanology research has increased in the number of peer-reviewed, international publications since the early 2010s, coinciding with the Volcanic Risk of Saudi Arabia (VORiSA) programme (~ 2012–2015)—a collaboration involving King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, as well as Auckland University and Massey University in New Zealand. This research mainly focused on the Rahat Volcanic Field, one of the largest and longest-lived in the region, situated between the major Saudi cities of Jeddah, Makkah, and Al Madinah. The last recorded eruption, which took place in 1256 CE near Al Madinah, led to geological mapping under the joint programmes of the United States and Saudi Geological Surveys (USGS–SGS) (~ 2015–2018). These efforts, primarily for volcanic hazard assessment, have resulted in the most comprehensive volcanological summary of any Saudi Arabian volcanic field, partly due to the outcomes of the VORiSA programme. Despite these advances, due to the extensive territorial coverage, diversity of volcanism, and the large number of volcanoes, alongside a limited focus on volcano-scale geological research, several critical knowledge gaps remain. These include a lack of spatio-temporal understanding of volcanic events within individual fields, detailed studies on specific volcanoes at the event scale using advanced analytical techniques, investigations into the impacts of dispersed volcanic ash, and insufficient evidence-based scenario modelling for potential future eruptions. It is also noted that future work should focus on integrating high-resolution geological mapping, developing eruption scenarios, and conducting hazard simulations.