Abstract
The Middle Niger Basin is located within the west-central half of Nigeria, as a NW-SE trending Campano-Maastrichtian depo-centre which extends from the southern end of the Sokoto Basin west of Kainji reservoir southwestwards to the convergence of the Benue and Niger Rivers at Lokoja. The aeromagnetic anomaly data of the Middle Niger Basin was interpreted to characterize the structural architecture and depth to the magnetic basement of the basin. This is to expand the current knowledge of the region. The analysis of the data has been facilitated by the application of derivative and source parameter imaging techniques. The results from the application of total gradient to the aeromagnetic data provided here signify a rift origin of the basin and NW-SE trending fault systems in the surrounding basement complex terrain. The absence of magnetic highs on the first vertical derivative of the reduced-to-pole aeromagnetic data reveals lack of volcanic rocks within the sedimentary layers of the basin. Additionally, the consistent NW-SE trending source parameter imaging depth solutions within the basin confirm the internal geometry and NW-SE orientation of the basin with sediments not more than 1100 m thick.
Highlights
The Middle Niger Basin, which extends northwesterly from the convergence of the River Niger and River Benue at the Lokoja/Dekina axis, is flanked on both sides by the basement complex of northwestern and southwestern Nigeria (Figure 1)
From recent studies that have added to our understanding of the origin of sedimentary basins resulting from structural controls (Ziegler and Cloetingh 2004; Lopes de Castro et al, 2012), we have sought to decipher the link between the underlying structural framework of the crystalline basement and the development of the Middle Niger basin
The first vertical derivative (FVD) map and its interpretation satisfy the results of the previous aeromagnetic investigation (Salawu et al, 2020; Ojo 1990) of the Middle Niger Basin, which suggests that the basin sedimentary pile is characterized by the absence of non-igneous intrusions
Summary
The Middle Niger Basin, which extends northwesterly from the convergence of the River Niger and River Benue at the Lokoja/Dekina axis, is flanked on both sides by the basement complex of northwestern and southwestern Nigeria (Figure 1). It separates the basin from the early Cretaceous to late Jurassic Illo and Gundumi Formations of the Sokoto Basin by a narrow geologic formation considered to be crystalline basement around the Kainji reservoir area (Adeleye and Dessauvagie, 1972; Kogbe 1989; Rahaman et al, 2018). The regional structural evolution of the basin has been a subject of debate for long and satisfactory clarification about its tectono-stratigraphic evolution is still in contention (Rahaman et al, 2018)
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