Sir Bu Nair Island Geology as Part of An Ecosystem

Sir Bu Nair Island is a nature reserve that belongs to the Emirate of Sharjah. It was declared protected area by Emiri Decree No. 25 at 2000 AD. The island is characterized by its biological and geological diversity. I’ve had several visits to the island over the past five or so years, I observed in that period and documented everything that caught my eye. Its geological formations give you the feeling that you are on another planet, its beaches are characterized by colours and geological formations that make you think that you had a trip through an entire continent. Its minerals, rocks and fossils tell you about Eras passed to tell us how this land was formed. How different creatures in the island uses the minerals to build their nests to be heat resistant or how they use the geological formation to live in or even why sea turtles choose a specific beach to lay their eggs is it the structure of the sand the reason, all these ideas pushed me to try documenting the island geology and minerals. As for its formation and nature, the island is a salt dome It was formed and rose above sea level millions of years ago Its topography was formed by the influence of weather factors such as weathering and erosion Over the centuries, it became as we see it now. Below I review some of what was spotted on the island.

The island main wildlife is three colonies of bird the sooty gul and tern and Socotra cormorant. Also, the beach is one of the most rush sea turtle nesting beaches in the Arabian gulf. I think biodiversity on this island is a study title, there is more to be studied, plants, marine life, insects, and reptiles.

Visitors to Sir Bu Nair Island is aware of the geological importance, as the geological diversity is evident to the eye rocks and the different geological layers formation, and diversity of its soil is clear Visible even from satellite images. It was most of my interest during my visits to the island, I spotted and inspected More than a thousand samples of rocks, minerals, and fossils, I will convey to you some of what I saw in Sir Bu Nair. The island is like an open mine. It is a generous island with treasures rich in minerals. As I mentioned earlier, the topography of the island was formed because of factors. It is natural to find a large contrast in the colours of the soil due to the diversity of rocks and minerals on the island, eight different soil samples were collected from the island. But I guess if I have more time, I will collect more than twenty different sample, not only by their colours, but also by Its structure, specific weights, and particle size (Figure 1).

Figure 1:

(Figure 2), (Figure 3), (Figure 4), (Figure 5), (Figure 6), (Figure 7), (Figure 8), (Figure 9), (Figure 10).

Figure 2: Hematite.

Figure 3:Limonite.

Figure 4: Pseudomorph hematite after magnetite.

Figure 5: Gypsum.

Figure 6: Barite.

Figure 7: Celestine

Figure 8: Sulphur.

Figure 9: Garnet.

Figure 10:Topaz.

Sir Bu Nair Island ecosystem need be field studied covering all the parts of it starting from its biodiversity to the plants and insects and marine life as it is a rich sustain ecosystem. There are many more biodiversity signs that need to be studied and registered.

1. S Shuhail (2021) My trip to Sir Bu Nair Island. UAE.
2. All photographs taken by author.