Phénomènes karstiques fossiles et actuels au sein des formations métamorphiques silico-alumineuses de la nappe pan-africaine de Yaoundé (Sud-Cameroun)Fossil and present-time karstic phenomena in silico-aluminous metamorphic formations of the Pan-African nappe of Yaoundé (South-Cameroon)

Numerous karstic features have been recognised in the non-carbonaceous micaschists and gneisses of the Yaoundé Pan-African nappe, south of Cameroon. It is shown that their formation was controlled by the structural features of the rocks. The wells and the pipes in the bedrock outcrops point out a current karstification process, resulting from the plagioclase dissolution by the acid rain waters. Hill wall alveoli and caves, of pre-Miocene age, are exhumed features that were done by dissolution in the aquiferous underground. To cite this article: J.-P. Vicat et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 545–550.     

New igneous zircon Pb/Pb and metamorphic Rb/Sr ages in the Yaounde Group (Cameroon, Central Africa): implications for the Central African fold belt evolution close to the Congo Craton

Three meta-igneous bodies from the Yaounde Group have been analyzed for their petrography, geochemistry, and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb zircon ages. According to their geochemical patterns, they represent meta-diorites. The meta-plutonites yielded identical zircon ages with a mean of 624?±?2?Ma interpreted as their intrusion age. This age is in agreement with previously published zircon ages of meta-diorites from the Yaounde Group. The meta-diorites derived mainly from crustal rocks with minor contribution from mantle material. The ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr isochron ages of one meta-diorite sample and three meta-sedimentary host rocks are significantly younger than the obtained intrusion age. Therefore, they are not related to igneous processes. ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr isochron ages differ from sample to sample (599?±?3, 572?±?4, 554?±?5, 540?±?5?Ma) yielding the oldest Neoproterozoic age (~600?Ma) for a paragneiss sample at a more northern location. The youngest Rb/Sr isochron age (~540?Ma) was obtained for a mica schist sample at a more southern location closer to the border of the Congo Craton. The ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr whole rock-biotite ages are interpreted as cooling ages related to transpressional processes during exhumation. Therefore, several discrete metamorphic events related to the exhumation of the Yaounde Group were dated. It could be shown by Rb/Sr dating for the first time that these late tectonic processes occurred earlier at more distant northern locations of the Yaounde Group and lasted at least until early Cambrian (~540?Ma) more closely to the border of the Congo Craton.     

The Fish River canyon (Southern Namibia): A record of Cenozoic mantle dynamics?

Intracontinental elevated plateaus remain geomorphologic features which are poorly studied. Their genesis requires a coupling between climate and deformation. The Fish River canyon (southern Namibia), the second largest canyon of the Earth, carved the South-African plateau on 550 m along 65 km. This study reveals that the upper and the lower segments are shaped by NE–SW and north-south grabens, respectively. These deformations increased the meandering and the vertical incision mainly in the lower canyon. However the river main trend was not drastically modified attesting that the river was ancient and that the rate of the vertical displacement was slow compared to the erosion rate. The main incision occurred during a NW–SE stretching of Plio-Pleistocene. These stretching episodes belong to two deformation phases previously poorly described in the South-African plateau. These widespread stretching phases are interpreted as a result of deep mantle dynamics affecting the inner African continent.     

Pan-African metamorphic evolution in the southern Yaounde Group (Oubanguide Complex,Cameroon) as revealed by EMP-monazite dating and thermobarometry of garnet metapelites

Garnet-bearing micaschists and paragneisses of the Yaounde Group in the Pan-African Central African Orogenic Belt in Cameroon underwent a polyphase structural evolution with the deformation stages D₁–D₂, D₃ and D₄. The garnet-bearing assemblages crystallized in course of the deformation stage D₁–D₂ which led to the formation of the regional main foliation S₂. In X_Ca–X_Mg coordinates one can distinguish several zonation trends in the garnet porphyroblasts. Zonation trends with increasing X_Mg and variably decreasing X_Ca signalize a garnet growth during prograde metamorphism. Intermineral microstructures provided criteria for local equilibria and a structurally controlled application of geothermobarometers based on cation exchange and net transfer reactions. The syndeformational P–T path sections calculated from cores and rims of garnets in individual samples partly overlap and align along clockwise P–T trends. The P–T evolution started at ～450 °C/7 kbar, passed high-pressure conditions at 11–12 kbar at variable temperatures (600–700 °C) and involved a marked decompression toward 6–7 kbar at high temperatures (700–750 °C). Th–U–Pb dating of metamorphic monazite by electron microprobe (EMP-CHIME method) in eight samples revealed a single period of crystallization between 613 ± 33 Ma and 586 ± 15 Ma. The EMP-monazite age populations between 613 ± 33 Ma enclosed in garnet and 605 ± 12 Ma in the matrix apparently bracket the high temperature–intermediate pressure stage at the end of the prograde P–T path. The younger monazites crystallized still at amphibolite-facies conditions during subsequent retrogression. The Pan-African overall clockwise P–T evolution in the Yaounde Group with its syndeformational high pressure stages and marked pressure variations is typical of the parts of orogens which underwent contractional crustal thickening by stacking of nappe units during continental collision and/or during subduction-related accretionary processes.     

Assessment of shallow groundwater in Lake Nyos catchment (Cameroon,Central-Africa): implications for hydrogeochemical controls and uses

In 1986, carbon dioxide gas exploded from Lake Nyos and killed about 1,800 people. After that disaster, various administrative and research activities have been conducted to mitigate subsequent disasters. However, none of those endeavors have characterized the groundwater chemistry to identify hydrogeochemical processes that control the water chemistry, and the quality of the water for domestic and agricultural uses that support the lives of un-official resettlers around Lake Nyos. Conventional hydrochemical techniques coupled with statistical and graphical analysis were therefore employed to establish the baseline hydrochemical conditions, assess processes controlling solutes distribution in shallow groundwater in the Lake Nyos catchment and explore its usability. Groundwater samples were analyzed for their physical and chemical properties. The wide ranges of electrical conductivity and total dissolved solid values reveal the heterogeneous distribution of groundwater within the watershed. The relative abundance of major dissolved species was Ca > Mg > Na > K for cations and HCO₃ >>> Cl > SO₄ > NO₃ for anions. Piper diagram classified almost all water samples into mixed CaMg–HCO₃ water type. Major ion geochemistry reveals that, in addition to silicates weathering (water–rock interaction), ion exchange processes regulate the groundwater chemistry. Principal component analysis supports the occurrence of water rock interaction. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed that the chemistry of groundwater in the study area is controlled by three main factors, and suggests no hydraulic connectivity between deep lake water and groundwater in the catchment. The quality assessment of the groundwater showed that groundwater parameters are within the acceptable limit of the World Health Organization and Nigeria guidelines for drinking and domestic uses, and water found to be good for irrigation.     

Gravity Modeling of the Au–U Mineralized Crust at the North-Central Cameroon Illustrating Crustal Permeability

Natural Resources Research - The north-central Cameroon is located at the northern edge of Archean Congo–Sao Francisco craton and at the east of the West African craton. This area includes...