Cover illustration: NASA satellite image of the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf looking westward. The image shows the coast parallel ridges of the Makran Accretionary Complex on the right central (north) side of the image. The Oman (Semail) Ophiolite is clearly seen as a dark crescent on the central left (south) of the image. Clouds of dust from the deserts of central Arabia can be seen moving northeastwards across the Gulf of Oman. These particles are picked up by the strong summer monsoon winds, driven by low atmospheric pressure over the Tibetan Plateau. The winds drive seasonal coastal upwelling and high biogenic productivity along the Oman margin, whose record is preserved in the sediments of the Arabian Sea.