Development of the Mozambique and Ruvuma sedimentary basins, offshore Mozambique

Abstract

Two major sedimentary basins have been identified on the continental margin of Mozambique—Mozambique Basin and Ruvuma Basin. The formation of the basins is related to the break-up of Gondwana and opening of the western part of the Indian Ocean. The basins are relatively young, having developed discordantly to the structural plan of Gondwana sedimentary basins. The history of the formation of the East African continental margin sedimentary basins within Mozambique has been studied on the basis of the present-day concept of Gondwana break-up and Madagascar's drift with respect to Africa. Two stages in the history of the East African basins can be recognized: late-Gondwana and post-Gondwana. The late-Gondwana stage (303-157 Ma) is typified by sedimentary and volcanogenic rocks of the Karoo Group. The post-Gondwana stage (157-0 Ma) corresponds to the period of active Gondwana break-up and the formation of Indian Ocean marginal basins. The Mozambique Basin occupies both central and southern parts of the coastal plain of Mozambique, extending onto the continental shelf and slope. The sedimentary fill is composed of Upper Jurassic, Cretaceous and Cenozoic rocks which discordantly overly the Karoo basalts. The Upper Jurassic occurs as continental red-beds, mostly distributed within buried grabens. Cretaceous rocks occur as terrigenous sediments of continental and marine genesis. Cenozoic deposits are of predominantly marine and deltaic origin. The Ruvuma Basin, situated in the north of Mozambique, is part of an extended East African marginal basin which includes parts of the coastal plains and continental margins of Tanzania and Kenya. The basement of the basin is composed of crystalline and metamorphic rocks of pre-Cambrian age. The sedimentary fill is represented by continental terrigenous Karoo sediments, marine and lagoonal Jurassic deposits, and marine and deltaic rocks of Cretaceous and Cenozoic age. The main difference between the sedimentary fill of the Mozambique and Ruvuma basins is related to the changing sedimentary environment in the period of Gondwana break-up, Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, when the drift of Madagascar and sea-floor spreading took place and the marine basin gradually extended southwards between the East African margin and Madagascar. From the Late Cretaceous on, the sedimentary environment within both basins was similar, the Mozambique and Ruvuma basins forming a single system on the East African continental margin. The main stages of the basins' development are illustrated by a series of palaeogeographic reconstruction maps.