Tectonic evolution of the Cuvette Centrale, Zaire

Abstract

The Cuvette Centrale (Central Basin) of Zaire is an infra-Cambrian to Recent basin with up to 9 km of sedimentary section. Basin subsidence can be largely explained by a postulated Late Proterozoic failed rift and subsequent thermal relaxation. Seismic reflection profiles and well data reveal a Palaeozoic development of the basin punctuated by two regional deformational episodes; one in the Early Palaeozoic (Late Cambrian) and a second in the Late Palaeozoic (Late Permian-Triassic). Both episodes result from NE-SW contraction, with the Late Palaeozoic episode being largely a reactivation of the Early Palaeozoic structures. The timing of the two deformations correlates with collisional events at continental margins some distance from the Congo Basin. In the Early Palaeozoic the deformation appears to be related to the late stages of the West Congolian fold and thrust belt and coincides regionally with the Pan-African event sensu stricto. The Late Palaeozoic deformation coincides with collisional tectonics along the southern margin of Gondwana and the generation of the Cape and Sierra Ventana Foldbelts. It is postulated that in both the Early and Late Palaeozoic, Africa and Gondwana experienced widespread intracontinental deformation generated by distant collisional processes much as Central Asia is experiencing today.

Congo Basin peatlands: threats and conservation priorities

“…There have also been a number of studies of river water chemistry (Laraque et al 2001(Laraque et al , 2009, the geological origins of the basin (Daly et al 1992;Crosby et al 2010;Kadima et al 2011;Buiter et al 2012), remote-sensing-based studies of hydrology and vegetation distribution (Mayaux et al 2004;Vancutsem et al 2009;Bwangoy et al 2010;Jung et al 2010;Betbeder et al 2014;Lee et al 2015), and the contested origins of Lac Télé (Master 2010). None of these studies have taken account of the status of the Cuvette Centrale as a major peatland complex, but many of them are, with hindsight, relevant to understanding the system as a whole.…”

Depositional environments of the lower Permian Dwyka diamictite and Prince Albert shale inferred from the geochemistry of early diagenetic concretions, southwest Karoo Basin, South Africa

“…Situated on the craton side of the Cape Fold Belt, a north verging fold and thrust belt created by subduction along the palaeopacific margin (Daly et al, 1992), the Karoo Supergroup attains a maximum thickness of 6-8 km in the south (Rubidge, 1995). Little is known about the degree of metamorphism of the Karoo Supergroup, however rocks of the Cape Fold Belt have undergone, at most, lower greenschist grade (approximately 200°C) metamorphism (de Swart and Rowsell, 1974).…”

“…Temperatures of 170°C may have been reached in the Dwyka Group considering the proximity of the study area to the Cape Fold Belt (Daly et al, 1992) and the maximum burial depths of the Dwyka Group (Rubidge, 1995). However, regional metamorphic recrystallisation is expected to result in more uniform oxygen and, in particular, carbon isotopic trends than are observed in these concretions (Fig.…”

Could the mantle have caused subsidence of the Congo Basin?

“…1a) and most of the 1970's Esso/Texaco seismic survey is not publicly available. A description and interpretation of some of these data is in Lawrence and Makazu (1988), Daly et al (1992), and Kadima et al (2011a). The basin contains up to 9 km of sedimentary rocks of Precambrian to Tertiary age (Fig.…”

“…The basin is thought to have been initiated by Neoproterozoic extension and the older, pre-Cretaceous sediments were probably deposited during a long post-rift subsidence phase (Lawrence and Makazu, 1988;Daly et al, 1992; 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 driving-mechanism that created accommodation space for deposition of these sediments (Daly et al, 1992;Giresse, 2005). Different hypotheses have been put forward:…”