Six sandstone blocks sampled during dives along the southern slope of the Ivory Coast-Ghana continental margin have been studied using fission tracks in apatite and zircon. Measurements demonstrate that the rocks were heated above 120°C but below 390°C and cooled quickly. The ages of cooling recorded by the apatite crystals are 90 Ma in the western part of the margin, and 80-70 Ma in the central and eastern part. Heating is interpreted by the heat liberation due to the friction along the active transform fault and by the vicinity of an oceanic spreading center, which slipped along the margin. Cooling is interpreted by two stages of denudation due to minor faults and landslides produced by the increasing of the bathymetric step between the continental margin and the oceanic crust.

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