Abstract
Abstract With this Preface, we provide background information, a scientific overview of topics, and an annotated bibliography of the 63 papers published in the Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR) Special Issue on “Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithosphere, with a Focus on the Samail Ophiolite,” collected online at https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1002/(ISSN)2169-9356.SAMAIL1 . Topics covered in the Special Issue include formation and alteration of igneous ocean crust at submarine spreading centers, subduction zone mass transfer at the leading edge of the mantle wedge, the tectonic emplacement and evolution of ophiolites, processes of alteration and weathering of tectonically exhumed mantle peridotite, and the subsurface biosphere in the peridotite weathering environment. The bibliography, in the form of a supplementary Excel spreadsheet with links to each paper, is organized by topic, but can be sorted by first author, order of publication, specific Oman Drilling Project boreholes, and other factors.