How to identify oceanic crust—Evidence for a complex break-up in the Mozambique Channel, off East Africa

Klimke, Jennifer; Franke, Dieter; Gaedicke, Christoph; Schreckenberger, Bernd; Schnabel, M.; Stollhofen, Harald; Rose, Jens; Chaheire, Mohamed

doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2015.10.012

Cited by 39 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 82 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It also has to be kept in mind that the crustal nature of the WSB is not conclusively determined and that the continuous presence of oceanic crust in the WSB has been questioned by a number of detailed studies (e.g. Talwani, ; Lort et al ., ; Klimke et al ., ). Moreover, the WSB was not tectonically quiet after the Early Cretaceous cessation of seafloor spreading (e.g.…”

Section: Gondwana Breakup and The Palaeoposition Of Madagascarmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Gondwana breakup: no evidence for a Davie Fracture Zone offshore northern Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya

Klimke

Franke

2016

Terra Nova

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plate tectonic reconstructions assume a major inactive transform fault, the Davie Fracture Zone, in the West Somali Basin, along which Madagascar is thought to have migrated southwards following Gondwana breakup in the Mesozoic. Based on the interpretation of reflection seismic data, we show that the Walu Ridge offshore Kenya and the Kerimbas Basin offshore northern Mozambique are tectonically unrelated to the southward motion of Madagascar and correlate with Late Cretaceous volcanism and inversion in Kenya and the evolution of the East African Rift System respectively. Offshore Tanzania, geophysical data do not show basement structures indicating the presence of a major transform fault. These results challenge the commonly supported transform margin concept and imply a more southerly pre-breakup position of Madagascar within Gondwana. Opening of the West Somali Basin by SW-propagating oblique rifting and seafloor spreading is proposed.

show abstract

Section: Gondwana Breakup and The Palaeoposition Of Madagascarmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For a detailed description of the seismic processing, the reader is referred to Klimke et al . (). Here, we present two profiles, located offshore northern Mozambique, crossing the Kerimbas and Lacerda Basins (Figs.…”

Section: Databasementioning

confidence: 97%

Gondwana breakup: no evidence for a Davie Fracture Zone offshore northern Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya

Klimke

Franke

2016

Terra Nova

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A few large volcanoes to the north (at ~5 and 3°S; see Figure ) have been dated to be of Santonian age (Cruciani & Barchi, ). Inferred Late Cretaceous volcanic edifices have also been mapped in the southern part of the Somali Basin (see Figure of Klimke et al ()). Late Cretaceous volcanic activity was also observed in western Madagascar and along the Mozambique Channel (Bassias & Leclaire, ).…”

Section: Synthesis Of Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraplate Deformation of Oceanic Crust in the West Somali Basin: Insights From Long‐offset Reflection Seismic Data

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Interpretation of new high‐resolution seismic reflection sections reveals intraplate deformation of oceanic crust in the West Somali Basin, between the East Africa margin and the Davie Ridge and its northern extension. The deformation of the oceanic crust takes the form of 1–2 km amplitude buckle folds with a 20–30 km wavelength associated with thrust faults. Reverse faulting is localized along deformation corridors, about 15–30 km wide that we interpret as inherited oceanic fracture zones of the extinct oceanic spreading center. Deformation of the oceanic crust in the westernmost segment started before Hauterivian time (~132 Ma), while oceanic accretion was ongoing to the east of the Davie Ridge, and stopped at Aptian time (~120 Ma), when spreading ceased in the whole Somali Basin. Prior to the deformation of the oceanic crust, large volcanic edifices have been emplaced on top of the oceanic crust along preexisting oceanic fracture zones. Well‐defined groups of reflectors, within the mantle (<~20 km below top basement), are interpreted as large shear zones that tapped a connection to deep lithospheric melt channels leading to magmatic intrusions within the crust and emplacement of postseafloor‐spreading volcanic edifices within deformation corridors.

show abstract

“…Several authors suggested a seaward propagation of the Eastern branch of the EARS but there is a strong dissent about whether there exists an offshore extension of the Western branch (Mougenot et al 1986;Hartnady et al 1992;Kampunzu et al 1998;Stamps et al 2008;Saria et al 2014;Wiles et al 2014;Franke et al 2015;Klimke et al 2015). Hartnady et al (1992) and Ben-Avraham et al (1995) related neotectonic activity in the vicinity of the MozR to a propagation of the Western branch of the EARS into the Natal Valley.…”

Section: Post-sedimentary Magmatism At the Mozambique Ridgementioning

confidence: 99%

The Mozambique Ridge: a document of massive multistage magmatism

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

S U M M A R YThe Mozambique Ridge, a prominent basement high in the southwestern Indian Ocean, consists of four major geomorphological segments associated with numerous phases of volcanic activity in the Lower Cretaceous. The nature and origin of the Mozambique Ridge have been intensely debated with one hypothesis suggesting a Large Igneous Province origin. High-resolution seismic reflection data reveal a large number of extrusion centres with a random distribution throughout the southern Mozambique Ridge and the nearby Transkei Rise. Intrabasement reflections emerge from the extrusion centres and are interpreted to represent massive lava flow sequences. Such lava flow sequences are characteristic of eruptions leading to the formation of continental and oceanic flood basalt provinces, hence supporting a Large Igneous Province origin of the Mozambique Ridge. We observe evidence for widespread post-sedimentary magmatic activity that we correlate with a southward propagation of the East African Rift System. Based on our volumetric analysis of the southern Mozambique Ridge we infer a rapid sequential emplacement between ∼131 and ∼125 Ma, which is similar to the short formation periods of other Large Igneous Provinces like the Agulhas Plateau.

show abstract

How to identify oceanic crust—Evidence for a complex break-up in the Mozambique Channel, off East Africa

Cited by 39 publications

References 82 publications

Gondwana breakup: no evidence for a Davie Fracture Zone offshore northern Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya

Gondwana breakup: no evidence for a Davie Fracture Zone offshore northern Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya

Intraplate Deformation of Oceanic Crust in the West Somali Basin: Insights From Long‐offset Reflection Seismic Data

The Mozambique Ridge: a document of massive multistage magmatism

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About