Abstract
Gravity data in the southern Cameroon are interpreted to better understand the organization of underlying structures throughout the northern edge of the Congo craton. The Bouguer anomaly maps of the region are characterized by an elongated SW-NE trending negative gravity anomaly which correspond to a collapsed structure associated with a granitic intrusion beneath the center of the region and limited by fault systems. We applied 3-D gravity modelling and inversion in order to obtain the 3-D density structure of the area. Our result demonstrated that observed gravity anomalies in the region are associated to tectonic structures in the subsurface. The resulting model agrees with the hypothesis of the existence of a major continental collision zone between the Congo Craton and the Pan-African belt. The presence of deep granulites structures in the northern part of the region expresses a continental collision.
Highlights
A craton is a stable part of the continental lithosphere which has not been deformed for a longtime (Bates & Jackson, 1980)
Despite conclusions provided in these studies, there is no consensus on the evolution of the northern edge of the Congo craton since the position of the main suture zones and the character of the different tectonic units are still debate matters (e.g. Toteu, 2007)
We present a new look on the subsurface structure setting of the transition zone between the Congo craton and the Pan-African belt in southern Cameroon u s i n g t h e e x i s ti n g g r a v i ty data
Summary
A craton is a stable part of the continental lithosphere which has not been deformed for a longtime (Bates & Jackson, 1980). In collision zones, cratons can be p a r t i a ll y r e a c t i v a t e d giving rise to geological characteristics different from the cratonic quiescence as well as from the intense activity occurring in a mobile belt. This has been called metacratonic evolution (Abdelsalam et al, 2002). Despite conclusions provided in these studies, there is no consensus on the evolution of the northern edge of the Congo craton since the position of the main suture zones and the character of the different tectonic units are still debate matters (e.g. Toteu, 2007)
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