Stratigraphy and palynostratigraphy, Karoo Supergroup (Permian and Triassic), mid-Zambezi Valley, southern Zambia

Nyambe, Imasiku; Utting, J.

doi:10.1016/s0899-5362(97)00081-x

Cited by 53 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The deposits in this basin thin from 2 km to 0.5 km, from NE to SW (Table Stormberg). A similar association of predominant aeolian and subordinate alluvial sedimentation marks the Mid-Zambezi Basin, with the former deposits being replaced upwards with windlain sediments (Nyambe and Utting, 1997), as aridity intensified.…”

Section: Eastern Rift or Extensional Basinsmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Palaeoclimate was warm and humid, with longitudinal river systems prograding largely towards the west, parallel with the basin axis (Oesterlen and Millsteed, 1994). The correlated Escarpment Grit Formation (c. 55 m thick) within the Mid-Zambezi half-graben basin has a similar basal unconformity, which oversteps lower Karoo strata onto basement rocks; it comprises coarse to conglomeratic sandstones fining up into fine sandstones and mudstones, deposited on a broad floodplain by braided river systems under a seasonal rainfall regime (Nyambe and Utting, 1997;Nyambe, 1999). Analogous Escarpment Grits also occur in the Lukusashi-Luangwa Basin, where they reach up to 500 m in thickness (Nyambe and Utting, 1997;Nyambe, 1999).…”

Section: Eastern Rift or Extensional Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A sheet (mostly c. 45-150 m thick) of fine-grained, mature, aeolian sandstones is preserved within all the African Karoo basins except for those in Tanzania and Madagascar (Fig. 30), and is mostly associated with wet desert (fan and wadi, playa lakes) subenvironments, which tend to occur in the basal portions of the unit, attesting to the gradational change from Elliot semi-arid settings (e.g., Visser, 1984;Smith et al, 1993;Oesterlen and Millsteed, 1994;Nyambe and Utting, 1997;Holzfö rster et al, 1999;Bordy and Catuneanu, 2002b;references therein). As with the underlying Stormberg units, the greatest thickness is in the Cabora Bassa Basin (Forest Sandstone;up to 2000 m), with about 500 m preserved in the Lukusashi-Luangwa Basin (Red Sandstone Formation), and up to c. 300 m in the Huab and main Karoo depositories (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This would appear to be an Elliot rather than a Molteno analogue in terms of depositional style; however, they are probably about 45 million years younger than Elliot-type deposits across the rest of Africa, and should thus be excluded. General characteristics of the Elliot-like units found across the African Karoo basins are a pervasive, diagenetic red colouration, upward-fining cycles of sandstones and mudrocks, interpreted as either braided or meandering river deposits (or, commonly both, as a result of variable discharge rates) within a semi-arid palaeoclimatic setting subject to increasing aridity with stratigraphic height (e.g., Nyambe and Utting, 1997;Holzfö rster et al, 1999;Nyambe, 1999;Bordy and Catuneanu, 2001). In most of the basins, the lower Elliot contact is gradational, and the upper conformable and sharp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Karoo basins of south-central Africa

Catuneanu

Wopfner

Eriksson

et al. 2005

Journal of African Earth Sciences

520

334

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Eastern Rift or Extensional Basinsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Eastern Rift or Extensional Basinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Karoo basins of south-central Africa

Catuneanu

Wopfner

Eriksson

et al. 2005

Journal of African Earth Sciences

520

334

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Whereas new palynostratigraphic zonation schemes were established in other parts of southern Africa (D'Engelbronner, 1996;Nyambe and Utting, 1997;Stephenson and McLean, 1999;Modie and Le Hérissé, 2009), no recent works address high-resolution palynostratigraphy of the Permian-Triassic coal-bearing formations in South Africa and our knowledge of the Permian and Triassic palynology of the Karoo Basin is based on fundamental research carried out in the 1970s and 1980s by Anderson (1977) and Falcon (1989). Later, palynological studies were carried out only in a few selected sites of Early and Middle Permian age in the Waterberg and Pafuri coal basins (MacRae, 1988), the Witbank and Highveld coalfields (Aitken, 1994;, and near Vereeniging (Millsteed, 1994;.…”

Section: Coals As Palaeoclimate Archivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

South Africa's coalfields — A 2014 perspective

Hancox

Götz

2014

International Journal of Coal Geology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlights• South Africa's Coalfields are presented.• The role of Gondwanan coals as palaeoclimate archives is stated.• Future research fields include palynology, sequence stratigraphy, basin fill. AbstractFor well over a century and a half coal has played a vital role in South Africa's economy and currently bituminous coal is the primary energy source for domestic electricity generation, as well as being the feedstock for the production of a substantial percentage of the country's liquid fuels. It furthermore provides a considerable source of foreign revenue from exports.Based on geographic considerations, and variations in the sedimentation, origin, formation, distribution and quality of the coals, 19 coalfields are generally recognised in South Africa. This paper provides an updated review of their exploration and exploitation histories, general geology, and coal seam nomenclature and coal qualities. Within the various coalfields autocyclic variability is the norm rather than the exception, whereas allocyclic variability is much less so, and allows for the correlation of genetically related sequences. During the mid-Jurassic break up of Gondwana most of the coals bearing successions were intruded by dolerite. These intrusions are important as they may cause devolatilisation and burning of the coal, create structural disturbances and related seam correlation problems, and difficulties in mining operations.Whilst many of the coalfields have been extensively explored and exploited, those in the north of the country have until recently received much less attention. Four coalfields occur partly or wholly within the Limpopo Province of South Africa and these may contain as much as 70% of South Africa's remaining coal resources. These coalfields in particular have been the focus of recent exploration due to the presence of large coking and thermal coal resources, as well as for their coal bed methane potential, resources that need to be unlocked regards to maximum benefit and minimal environmental degradation. South Africa's coals have been also recently addressed as palaeoclimate archives recording Gondwana's postglacial climate amelioration by major changes in land plant communities, and proving high-resolution palyno-stratigraphy as a crucial tool to decipher climate change during the Permo-Carboniferous. This aspect of the coals of South Africa is also reviewed.

show abstract

Phanerozoic Morphotectonic Evolution of the Zimbabwe Craton: Unexpected Outcomes From a Multiple Low‐Temperature Thermochronology Study

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The fragmentary Phanerozoic geological record of the anomalously elevated Zimbabwe Craton makes reconstructing its history difficult using conventional field methods. Here we constrain the cryptic Phanerozoic evolution of the Zimbabwe Craton using a spatially extensive apatite (U‐Th‐Sm)/He (AHe), apatite fission track (AFT), and zircon (U‐Th)/He (ZHe) data set. Joint thermal history modeling reveals that the region experienced two cooling episodes inferred to be the denudational response to surface uplift. The first and most significant protracted denudation period was triggered by stress transmission from the adjacent ~750–500 Ma Pan‐African orogenesis during the amalgamation of Gondwana. The spatial extent of this rejuvenation signature, encompassing the current broad topographic high, could indicate the possible longevity of an ancient topographic feature. The ZHe data reveal a second, minor denudation phase which began in the Paleogene and removed a kilometer‐scale Karoo cover from the craton. Within our data set, the majority of ZHe ages are younger than their corresponding AHe and AFT ages, even at relatively low eU. This unexpectedly recurrent age “inversion” suggests that in certain environments, moderately, as well as extremely, damaged zircons have the potential to act as ultra‐low‐temperature thermochronometers. Thermal history modeling results reveal that the zircon radiation damage accumulation and annealing model (ZRDAAM) frequently overpredicts the ZHe age. However, the opposite is true for extremely damaged zircons where the ZHe and AHe data are also seemingly incompatible. This suggests that modification of the ZRDAAM may be required for moderate to extreme damage levels.

show abstract

Stratigraphy and palynostratigraphy, Karoo Supergroup (Permian and Triassic), mid-Zambezi Valley, southern Zambia

Cited by 53 publications

References 6 publications

The Karoo basins of south-central Africa

The Karoo basins of south-central Africa

South Africa's coalfields — A 2014 perspective

Phanerozoic Morphotectonic Evolution of the Zimbabwe Craton: Unexpected Outcomes From a Multiple Low‐Temperature Thermochronology Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About