The Formation and Evolution of Africa A Synopsis of 3.8 Ga of Earth History

About this book

The African continent preserves a long geological record that covers almost 75% of Earth's history. The Pan-African orogeny (c. 600-500 Ma) brought together old continental kernels (West Africa, Congo, Kalahari and Tanzania) to form Gondwana and subsequently the supercontinent Pangaea by the late Palaeozoic. The break-up of Pangaea since the Jurassic and Cretaceous, primarily through opening of the Central Atlantic, Indian, and South Atlantic oceans, in combination with the complicated subduction history to the north, gradually shaped the African continent.

This volume contains 18 contributions that discuss the geology of Africa from the Archaean to the present day. It celebrates African geology in two ways: first, it highlights multidisciplinary Earth science research by viewing the formation and evolution of Africa from 18 different angles; second, it celebrates the work of Kevin Burke and Lewis Ashwal and portrays the wide range of interests and research angles that have characterized these two scientists throughout their careers, working in Africa, and studying African geology.

Contents

VAN HINSBERGEN, D. J. J., BUITER, S. J. H., TORSVIK, T. H., GAINA, C. & WEBB, S. J. The formation and evolution of Africa from the Archaean to Present: introduction

LETTS, S., TORSVIK, T. H., WEBB, S. J. & ASHWAL, L. D. New Palaeoproterozoic palaeomagnetic data from the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa

VAN SCHIJNDEL, V., CORNELL, D. H., HOFFMANN, K.-H. & FREI, D. Three episodes of crustal
development in the Rehoboth Province, Namibia

KEY, R. M., PITFIELD, P. E. J., THOMAS, R. J., GOODENOUGH, K. M., DE WAELE, B., SCHOFIELD, D. I.,BAUER, W., HORSTWOOD, M. S. A., STYLES, M. T., CONRAD, J., ENCARNACION, J., LIDKE, D. J.,O'CONNOR, E. A., POTTER, C., SMITH, R. A., WALSH, G. J., RALISON, A. V., RANDRIAMANANJARA, T., RAFAHATELO, J.-M. & RABARIMANANA, M. Polyphase Neoproterozoic orogenesis within the East Africa-Antarctica Orogenic Belt in central and northern Madagascar

WENDORFF, M. Tectonosedimentary expressions of the evolution of the Fungurume foreland basin in the Lufilian Arc, Neoproterozoic-Lower Palaeozoic, Central Africa

DE WALL, H., DIETL, C., JUNGMANN, O., TEGENE, A. T. & PANDIT, M. K. Tectonic evolution of the Central Steep Zone, Axum area, northern Ethiopia: inferences from magnetic and geochemical data

LONGRIDGE, L., GIBSON, R. L., KINNAIRD, J. A. & ARMSTRONG, R. A. Constraining the timing of deformation in the southwestern Central Zone of the Damara Belt, Namibia

TORSVIK, T. H. & COCKS, L. R. M. The Palaeozoic palaeogeography of central Gondwana

EL HACHIMI, H., YOUBI, N., MADEIRA, J., BENSALAH, M. K., MARTINS, L., MATA, J., MEDINA, F., BERTRAND, H., MARZOLI, A., MUNHA, J., BELLIENI, G., MAHMOUDI, A., ABBOU, M. B. & ASSAFAR, H. Morphology, internal architecture and emplacement mechanisms of lava flows from the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) of Argana Basin (Morocco)

DEENEN, M., LANGEREIS, C., KRIJGSMAN, W., EL HACHIMI, H. & CHELLAI, E. H. Palaeomagnetic results from Upper Triassic red-beds and CAMP lavas of the Argana Basin, Morocco

RUIZ-MARTINEZ, V. C., PALENCIA-ORTAS, A., VILLALAIN, J. J.,MCINTOSH, G.&MARTIN-HERNANDEZ, F. Palaeomagnetic and AMS study of the Tarfaya coastal basin, Morocco: an early Turonian palaeopole for the African plate

GANEROD, M., TORSVIK, T. H., VAN HINSBERGEN, D. J. J., GAINA, C., CORFU, F., WERNER, S., OWEN-SMITH, T. M., ASHWAL, L. D., WEBB, S. J. & HENDRIKS, B. W. H. Palaeoposition of the Seychelles microcontinent in relation to the Deccan Traps and the Plume Generation Zone in Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene time

AYALEW, D. The relations between felsic and mafic volcanic rocks in continental flood basalts of Ethiopia: implication for the thermal weakening of the crust

ENDRESS, C., FURMAN, T., EL-RUS, M. A. A. & HANAN, B. B. Geochemistry of 24 Ma basalts from NE Egypt: source components and fractionation history

WICHURA, H., BOUSQUET, R., OBERH#NSLI, R., STRECKER, M. R. & TRAUTH, M. H. The Mid-Miocene East African Plateau: a pre-rift topographic model inferred from the emplacement of the phonolitic Yatta lava flow, Kenya

MAHANEY,W. C., BARENDREGT, R. W., VILLENEUVE, M., DOSTAL, J., HAMILTON, T. S. & MILNER, M. W. Late Neogene volcanics and interbedded palaeosols near Mount Kenya

CAPITANIO, F. A., FACCENNA, C., FUNICIELLO, R. & SALVINI, F. Recent tectonics of Tripolitania, Libya: an intraplate record of Mediterranean subduction

BRAITENBERG, C., MARIANI, P., EBBING, J.& SPRLAK, M. The enigmatic Chad lineament revisited with global gravity and gravity-gradient fields

FISHWICK, S. & BASTOW, I. D. Towards a better understanding of African topography: a review of passive-source seismic studies of the African crust and upper mantle

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