Nabhan, A.; Widinly, N.; Memesh, A.; Khorsheed, M.; El-Sorogy, A.S., and Tawfik, M., 2023. Sedimentological and geomorphological characteristics of Jabal Kudumbul Island, southeast Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. Journal of Coastal Research, 39(6), 1114–1123. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208.

A marine geological survey of the Quaternary volcanic island of Jabal Kudumbul in the rifted southeastern Red Sea in Saudi Arabia has been conducted for the first time. The survey aimed to document sedimentological and geomorphological characteristics from sample collection and interpretation of high-resolution satellite images taken in the last decade. Beach, sand dune, and sand sheet sedimentary facies types were identified. The volcanic mountain in the western zone of the island and the low-lying sandy shorelines in the eastern zone represent the main geomorphic landforms related to wave and current processes in the study area. The volcanic cone showed three volcano-stratigraphic facies units: basalt rocks, phreatomagmatic lapilli tuff, and vesicular basalt/scoria, indicating that they might have been formed during eruption and interaction between rising magma and shallow seas. The coastline constantly changes over time due to longshore processes and spring tides. A suite of complex wind, wave diffraction, longshore current, and biological processes and episodic synrifting in the area played dominant roles in facies and landscape creation and the overall development of Jabal Kudumbul Island. These findings provide important information for future studies on the arid islands in the Red Sea region beyond modern surficial deposits.