Palynological evidence for a latest Carboniferous-Early Permian glaciation in Northern Ethiopia

Bussert, Robert; Schrank, Eckart

doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2007.09.003

Cited by 42 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The first sediments above the Early Paleozoic planation surface are represented by a few patchy outcrops distributed throughout Ethiopia (Bussert and Schrank 2007) (Fig. 2.6).…”

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detailed studies have been carried out close to the Eritrea/ Ethiopia boundary in the Adigrat areas where greater thicknesses up to 500 m are exposed (Dow et al 1971;Kumpulainen et al 2006;Bussert and Schrank 2007). According to Bussert and Schrank (2007), Ordovician to Silurian fluviatile sandstones (lower Enticho Sandstone) rest beneath Late Carboniferous to Early Permian glacial fluvio/ lacustrine deposits (upper Enticho Sandstone, and Edaga Arbi Glacials). When in contact with the basement, the glacial activity is manifested by striations, roches moutonnées, grooves, and chatter marks.…”

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Paleozoic to Eocene sedimentary cover of the Proterozoic terranes summarized in the general syntheses by Dainelli (1943) and Mohr (1962) has been thoroughly investigated by Dow et al (1971), Bosellini et al (1997Bosellini et al ( , 2001, Hunegnaw et al (1998), Kumpulainen et al (2006), and Bussert and Schrank (2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Geology of Ethiopia: A Review and Geomorphological Perspectives

Abbate

Bruni

Sagri

2015

World Geomorphological Landscapes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Ethiopian region records about one billion years of geological history. The first event was the closure of the Mozambique ocean between West and East Gondwana with the development of the Ethiopian basement ranging in age from 880 to 550 Ma. This folded and tilted Proterozoic basement underwent intense erosion, which lasted one hundred million years, and destroyed any relief of the Precambrian orogen. Ordovician to Silurian fluviatile sediments and Late Carboniferous to Early Permian glacial deposits were laid down above an Early Paleozoic planation surface. The beginning of the breakup of Gondwana gave rise to the Jurassic flooding of the Horn of Africa with a marine transgression from the Paleotethys and the Indian/Madagascar nascent ocean. After this Jurassic transgression and deposition of Cretaceous continental deposits, the Ethiopian region was an exposed land for a period of about seventy million years during which a new important peneplanation surface developed. Concomitant with the first phase of the rifting of the Afro/Arabian plate, a prolific outpouring of the trap flood basalts took place predominantly during the Oligocene over a peneplained land surface of modest elevation. In the northern Ethiopian plateau, huge Miocene shield volcanoes were superimposed on the flood basalts. Following the end of the Oligocene, the volcanism shifted toward the Afar depression, which was experiencing a progressive stretching, and successively moved between the southern Ethiopian plateau and the Somali plateau in correspondence with the formation of the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER). The detachment of the Danakil block and Arabian subcontinent from the Nubian plate resulted in steep marginal escarpments marked by flexure and elongated sedimentary basins. Additional basins developed in the Afar depression and MER in connection with new phases of stretching. Many of these basins have yielded human remains crucial for reconstructing the first stages of human evolution. A full triple junction was achieved in the Early Pliocene when the MER penetrated into the Afar region, where the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea rifts were already moving toward a connection via the volcanic ranges of northern Afar. The present-day morphology of Ethiopia is linked to the formation of the Afar depression, MER, and Ethiopian plateaus. These events are linked to the impingement of one or more mantle plumes under the Afro-Arabian plate. The elevated topography of the Ethiopian plateaus is the result of profuse volcanic accumulation and successive uplift. This new highland structure brought about a reorganization of the East Africa river network and a drastic change in the atmospheric circulation.

show abstract

“…The first sediments above the Early Paleozoic planation surface are represented by a few patchy outcrops distributed throughout Ethiopia (Bussert and Schrank 2007) (Fig. 2.6).…”

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 3mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Geology of Ethiopia: A Review and Geomorphological Perspectives

Abbate

Bruni

Sagri

2015

World Geomorphological Landscapes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Ordovician glacial sediments [14] are represented by colluvial deposit on glacial dark tillite (Adaga Formation) and glacial white quartz sandstone (Enticho Formation). Enticho sandstone is exposed to the east and north of the glacigenic deposits and seems to have been deposited in a different basin than the glacial sediments [15]. The Mesozoic sedimentary sequence outcrops over 80% of the study area and it is composed mainly by formations that from bottom to top are called: Adigrat Sandstone, Antalo Limestone and Agula Shale.…”

Section: A Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Land Suitability Analysis for Policy Making Assistance: A GIS Based Land Suitability Comparison between Surface and Drip Irrigation Systems

Rabia¹,

Figueredo²,

Huong³

et al. 2013

IJESD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-Land suitability assessment for irrigation is a very important tool not only in terms of agriculture development planning, but also to overcome the global problem of water scarcity. The aim of this study is to spatially evaluate land suitability of the study area, Kilte Awulaelo district in Ethiopia, for surface and drip irrigation methods based on GIS and remote sensing approaches. This work has been done as a part of the 29 th Course Professional Master in Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare, Florence, Italy. Final suitability maps show the irregularity of suitability classes' distribution over the study area. Results show that only 15% of the study area is suitable for surface irrigation. This is due to the limitation of the topography and stoniness factors for surface irrigation suitability. GIS and remote sensing was highly efficient for modeling and developing land suitability maps together with spatially compare land suitability for deferent irrigation methods.

show abstract

“…They are tilted and in places hydrothermally affected by the emplacement of the syenite plug. In the study area, these sedimentary rocks are commonly associated with the Enticho Sandstones of Carboniferous to Permian age (Beyth 1972;Bussert and Schrank 2007;Bussert 2010;Sacchi et al 2007) and, though it was not possible to establish a clear stratigraphy, they can be considered as a laterally interfingering glacigenic facies unit of the Edaga Arbi Formation (Bussert and Schrank 2007). Both formations are unconformably overlain by the Adigrat Sandstones of Mesozoic age, mostly of continental origin, as shown by the occurrence of palaeosols, fluvial point bar (Beyth 1972;Merla et al 1979;Bosellini et al 1997).…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomorphology of the Archaeological Area of Aksum

Ferrari

Ciampalini

Billi

et al. 2015

World Geomorphological Landscapes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aksum is one of the most important archaeological and historical towns in Ethiopia. The archaeological area stretches on a plateau ranging from 2,250 to 2,460 m, and the general landscape consists of a few dome-shaped hills standing on a plateau crossed by small ephemeral streams. The main geomorphic features are the result of the emplacement of basalt flows; the intrusion of syenite sub-volcanic plugs; and domes, tectonics, weathering and its interaction with various surface erosion processes. In such a context, between 700 BC and 800 AD, the rise and the decay of the Aksumite Kingdom, one of the most known civilisations of East Africa, took place. The core of the archaeological area of Aksum, with tall carved obelisks, is a UNESCO World Heritage listed property. The integration of archaeological data with the analysis of soil conservation measures and agricultural practices, adopted till present, allowed to develop a plough marks-based methodology to assess the historical soil erosion rate and, hence, to understand historical landscape evolution within a man-controlled environment. The occurrence of archaeological evidence in such a characteristic geomorphological context provides an excellent opportunity to study and understand interaction between geomorphic and anthropic processes.

show abstract

Palynological evidence for a latest Carboniferous-Early Permian glaciation in Northern Ethiopia

Cited by 42 publications

References 40 publications

Geology of Ethiopia: A Review and Geomorphological Perspectives

Geology of Ethiopia: A Review and Geomorphological Perspectives

Land Suitability Analysis for Policy Making Assistance: A GIS Based Land Suitability Comparison between Surface and Drip Irrigation Systems

Geomorphology of the Archaeological Area of Aksum

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About