Overview of the Neoproterozoic Sedimentary Series Exposed Along Margins of the Congo Basin

Basinal setting and origin of thick (1·8 km) mass‐flow dominated Grand Conglomérat diamictites, Kamoa, Democratic Republic of Congo: Resolving climate and tectonic controls during Neoproterozoic glaciations

“…Only a single deposit (the Lower Diamictite Formation of the West-Congo Supergroup, West Congo Belt) has been dated (694 AE 4 Ma; Straathof, 2011) and this age contrasts with the bracket obtained from radiometric dating for the Grand Conglom erat of 765 AE 5 to 735 AE 5 Ma (Key et al, 2001), the maximum age of the Grand Conglom erat obtained from Re-Os dating in the Mwashya Subgroup of 727Á3 AE 4Á9 Ma (Rooney et al, 2015) and also the 757 AE 5 Ma lower limit age obtained for the Chuos Formation of Namibia by Nascimento et al (2016). In the light of detailed sedimentological data from Kamoa it seems reasonable to argue that mass flow was a widespread (if not dominant) and diachronous process in peri-Congolese Katangan rift basins and that such deposits cannot be used in support of a notional pan-glacial Snowball Earth event (see also Delpomdor & Pr eat, 2015;Delpomdor et al, 2016Delpomdor et al, , 2017. Regional ice covers whose timing reflect a dominantly tectonic control on basin development and topographic relief are possible but the wealth of sedimentological detail available from deep drilling at Kamoa identifies a distal and weak (if any) glacial influence.…”

“…(). In the light of detailed sedimentological data from Kamoa it seems reasonable to argue that mass flow was a widespread (if not dominant) and diachronous process in peri‐Congolese Katangan rift basins and that such deposits cannot be used in support of a notional pan‐glacial Snowball Earth event (see also Delpomdor & Préat, ; Delpomdor et al ., , ). Regional ice covers whose timing reflect a dominantly tectonic control on basin development and topographic relief are possible but the wealth of sedimentological detail available from deep drilling at Kamoa identifies a distal and weak (if any) glacial influence.…”

“…Katanga Supergroup deposition was terminated about 550 Ma by the collision and docking of the Congo-São Francisco Craton with the Kalahari Craton during the Lufilian Orogeny (Kampunzu & Cailteux, 1999;Porada & Berhorst, 2000;Master et al, 2005;Wendorff, 2011). The Katanga Basin is broadly coeval with other basin fills now preserved as variably deformed orogens ('belts') between Archean to Mesoproterozoic basement blocks that make up the Congo-São Francisco Craton, such as the Damara Belt and West Congolian Belt (De Waele et al, 2008;Delpomdor & Pr eat, 2015;Fig. 1A).…”

Accelerated Contribution of the Paleo–Congo River to Global Seawater 87Sr/86Sr Change Following Eocene‐Oligocene Collapse of the African Surface

“…0.8-0.5 Ga) Proterozoic mobile belts. The upper part of this basement exposes vast Cryogenian-Ediacaran carbonate platforms with relatively low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (0.706-0.710; Delpomdor & Préat, 2015). U-Pb detrital zircons geochronology identified three main sources for the Congo Basin sediments derived from the Precambrian terrains Séranne et al, 2008).…”

“…0.8–0.5 Ga) Proterozoic mobile belts. The upper part of this basement exposes vast Cryogenian‐Ediacaran carbonate platforms with relatively low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (0.706–0.710; Delpomdor & Préat, ).…”