Rogers a, kristina curry rogers b, darlington munyikwa c, rebecca c. The permocarboniferous to jurassic aged rocks off the main karoo basin of south africa are world renowned for the wealth of synapsid reptile and early dinosaur fossils, which have allowed a tenfold biostratigraphic subdivision of the karoo supergroup to be erected. Singer e a department of geology, macalester college, 1600 grand avenue, st. The whitehill formation provides the best target for shale gas since it has similar total organic carbon contents to several gasproducing shales in the usa and maturity levels conducive to the production of dry gas. Eymold1,jodiemiller,rickymurray4,sieptalma5, colin j. The karoo basin shell has applied for rights to explore for natural gas in the karoo. The karoo basins of southcentral africa preserve a record of a special time in earths history, when the pangea supercontinent reached its maximum extent during the late paleozoicearly mesozoic interval. Geological map of the main karoo basin and surrounding karooaged sedimentary subbasins and volcanic outliers in south africa, lesotho and swaziland, modified from vorster 2001. Pdf the centrally located kalahari karoo basin of botswana covers more than half the country and comprises a major carboniferous to jurassic. Petroleum potential of the karoo basins5 matchdeck. The aim of this paper is to document the structure, composi tion and evolution of sedimentdominated hydrothermal vent complexes in the karoo basin, south. Presentation layout geographical location of kbs of sca geological significance economic significance the main karoo basin mkb mechanism of formation stratigraphic fill type stratigraphy related extensional basins of sca mechanism of formation e. Comment and response report for the application for gas exploration in the south western karoo basin by shell exploration company b. Contact metamorphic devolatilization of shales in the.
The continental sediments of the karoo sequence in the huab basin, northwestern damaraland, namibia, are interpreted as marginal equivalents of a more than 2000 m thick succession of gondwana beds that have been accumulated in the parana basin of south america. Aukarob hardveld is a semi desert natural region of south africa. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the late carboniferous and early jurassic, a period of about 120 million years. Sills and dykes are present throughout the sedimentary succession, and locally form up to 70% of the basin volume e. The role of fossils in interpreting the development of the. A basin analysis involves the study of host rocks associated with fuel and mineral resources through the documentation of the. Stratigraphy of the karoo supergroup in southern africa. Refining the chronostratigraphy of the karoo basin, south. Elangob adepartment of earth and atmospheric sciences, university of alberta, 126 earth sciences building, edmonton, alta. Structure and evolution of hydrothermal vent complexes in the karoo.
The karoo basins of southcentral africa university of alberta. Investigation of hydraulic fracturing in the karoo basin. We believe that the environmentally sensitive karoo can be protected even if it becomes a national energy resource. May 18, 2020 drilling trends from may 4, 2011 may 18, 2020 the karoo basin reaches 600,000 sq km in central and southern south africa and contains thick, organic rich shales such as the permian whitehill formation. The karoo basin is bounded on its southern margin by the cape fold belt. The karoo basin is a retroarc foreland basin developed associated foreland basin, subsequently fragmented as a in front of the cape fold belt cfb, in relationship to result of gondwana breakup, is preserved today in the late palaeozoicearly mesozoic subduction episode south america parana basin, southern africa karoo. Pdf the karoo supergroup of the kalahari basin researchgate.
The main karoo basin constitutes a retroarc foreland basin, while the rest are intracratonic sag basins or rift basins. The term karoo was extrapolated from the main karoo basin of south africa, to describe the sedimentary. New late permian tectonic model for south africas karoo basin. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units of nonmarine origin, deposited between the late carboniferous and early jurassic, a period of about 120 million years. Exposures of the karoo supergroup occur in the northern and southern portions of malawi, south. The great karoo basin covers an area of over 700,000 km 2 and constitutes a retroarc foreland basin. Sedimentology and taphonomy of the upper karooequivalent. Structural and stratigraphic studies of selected karoo transects. The basin comprises up to 6 km of sedi mentary strata, capped by at least 1. The results of shale gas prospecting in the karoo basin could significantly change the provinces energy mix. Karoo national park wide open spaces, majestic dolerite cliffs and utter tranquillity await you at the karoo national park, conveniently situated off the n1, just outside beaufort west. Abrupt and gradual extinction among late permian land. No exact definition of what constitutes the karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The term karoo was extrapolated from the main karoo basin of south africa, to describe the sedimentary fill of all other basins of similar age across gondwana.
Geothermal energy from the main karoo basin south africa. Sedimentology and taphonomy of the upper karooequivalent mpandi formation in the tuli basin of zimbabwe, with a new 40ar39ar age for the tuli basalts raymond r. The petroleum potential of south africas onshore karoo. Waterberg, zambian and mozambique basins take home points. It is essential that additional, modern subsurface information be. V appendix, technical submissions homepage on the internet.
Contact metamorphic devolatilization of shales in the karoo basin, south africa, and the effects of multiple sill intrusions ingrid aarnesa. The petroleum agency evaluated this assessment and concluded that, owing to the limited amount of available data in the area, it is impossible to quantify the resource accurately, other than to say that it is potentially very large. The southern main karoo basin of south africa is considered prospective for shale gas exploration. Late permian karoo basin tectonics in south africa are reflected as two finingupward megacycles in the balfour and upper teekloof formations. Swne schematic cross section of the main karoo basin, according to a foreland basin model e. The coalbearing sediments and coal seams of the karoo basin, southern africa are described and discussed.
With a basal skull length of 18 cm, it is the largest lopingian cynodont. In this interpretation, the basin formed km inland from the southern. Anatomy of a mixedinfluence shelfedge delta, karoo basin. Structure and evolution of hydrothermal vent complexes in. South africas main coal deposits occur in an arc across the northern flank of the basin but major reserves are also contained in the. Predrill groundwater geochemistry in the karoo basin, south africa by jennifer s.
Initial flexural tectonics resulted in partitioning of the foreland system into foredeep, forebulge and backbulge flexural provinces. Brief geologichydrologic overview of the karoo basin the karoo basin, located in south africa, spans an area of more than 200,000km2 and underlies a majority of the country aarnes et al. The karoo basins of southcentral africa article pdf available in journal of african earth sciences 43. Hydrothermal vent complexes and volcanic phreatic complexes are numerous in the karoo. Energy information administration useia, south africa has 390 trillion cubic feet tcf of technically recoverable shale gas resources. If enough natural gas is found, it could provide south africa with a stable, cleanerburning energy supply for power generation and economic activity for decades. Magnetostratigraphic constraints on the age of the lower. Later in the evolution of the karoo basin, flexural tectonics was supplemented by dynamic subsidence, which created additional accommodation across the entire foreland system. Pdf the coalbearing sediments and coal seams of the karoo basin, southern africa are described and discussed. Depositional environments and stratigraphic correlation of. Paul, mn 55105, usa b science museum of minnesota, 120 w. Correlations with karoo sequence sediments in south africa and south america uruguay, brazil are further discussed. In southern africa, rocks of the karoo supergroup cover two thirds of the present land surface, including all of lesotho the. Figure 1 maximum downwarping occurred in the south where cumulative sediment thickness reached 12 km.
Karoo basin the karoo basin in south africa is a sedi mentary basin covering more than half of south africa. The permocarboniferous to jurassic aged rocks oft1. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the late carboniferous and early jurassic, a period of about 120 million years in southern africa, rocks of the karoo supergroup cover almost two thirds of the present land surface, including all of. The karoo supergroup in southern africa occurs in the areally extensive main karoo and kalahari basins as well as in a number of subsidiary basins in south africa, namibia, botswana, zimbabwe and mozambique. Karoo basin above the dolerite border woodford and chevallier 2002. Using a geologybased assessment methodology, the u. The karoo basin is bounded on its southern margin by the cape fold belt, onlaps onto the. Wickens3 5 1stratigraphy group, school of earth, atmospheric and environmental sciences, university of 6 manchester, manchester m 9pl, uk. Pdf the centrally located kalahari karoo basin of botswana covers more than half the country and comprises a major carboniferous to.
The centrally located kalahari karoo basin of botswana covers more than half the country and comprises a major carboniferous to jurassic siliciclastic sequence with widespread continental flood. Hydrocarbonrich groundwater above shalegas formations. The karoo basins of southcentral africa sciencedirect. Assessment of permian coalbed gas resources of the karoo. Kirschvink,4 roger smith3 the karoo basin of south africa exposes a succession of upper permian to. The palaeozoic palynostratigraphy of the karoo supergroup and.
Abrupt and gradual extinction among late permian land vertebrates in the karoo basin, south africa peter d. Methane gas is known to occur in the ecca group shale of the karoo basin. When the exploration began in 2018, there was a great deal of excitement and a number of karoo towns, especially in the central karoo basin. What follows is an open file report to the community and all. This is an overview of the karoo basin in south africa, and its geologic setting. The karoo basin of south africa has the best global record of lopingian late permian nonmammaliaform cynodonts, currently represented by five species. Geological survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 5. Currently the permian whitehill formation is thought to be most favourable target formation for shale gas exploration and production, owing to the high total organic content toc averaging 5%, favourable maturities ro 1 4 %, thickness 30m average.
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