Abstract The southern coast of the Arabian Gulf is considered a good example of an arid carbonate depositional system. The objective of this field investigation is to better elucidate the dynamic controls on the character and pattern of the depositional belts in a carbonate-evaporite lagoonal setting. The interpretation of this lagoon is based on combined field examination and laboratory analyses of surface samples, and this has resulted in an updated depositional model for carbonate-evaporite lagoonal settings. This study highlights the effects of sediment transport by longshore currents, with the formation of sand spits that gradually closed the lagoon during their southwards migration. The associated narrow and elongated back-barrier settings consist of tidal-dominated muddy sediments affected by a network of tidal channels. This wave-dominated high-energy system has generated several carbonate barrier and back-barrier units that migrated southwards and seawards during the last few thousands of years. This updated depositional model significantly differs from shoreline-parallel facies tracts of the classical Trucial Coast model, where the dominant wind is orientated perpendicular to the coastline. Conversely to the sediment belts of the Trucial Coast, the Al Dakhirah lagoon displays a strongly asymmetrical pattern of the sediment belts, marked by a southwards and seawards migration.