Map from 2009 article showing the karoo basins, with south africas great karoo basin outlined in gold colour. Following on from the first 2 books in the series, sedimentary basins of the world, which covered chinese sedimentary basins volume 1 and south pacific sedimentary basins volume 2, comes volume 3, on african basins. South western karoo basin, south africa, by shell exploration company b. It was the second major glacial period of the phanerozoic. Shale gas developments in the karoo basin i 1 doug colehaajierah mosavel characterisation of surface dust and trapped dust samples around some asbestos mine dumps in mpumalanga province, south africa i 3 maphuti kwata the all new young geoscientists network i 4 refilwe shelembe first south africacanada bilateral collaboration. Elangob adepartment of earth and atmospheric sciences, university of alberta, 126 earth sciences building, edmonton, alta.
Pdf the coalbearing sediments and coal seams of the karoo basin, southern africa are described and discussed. The southern main karoo basin of south africa is considered prospective for shale gas exploration. The late paleozoic icehouse, formerly known as the karoo ice age, was between 360260 million years ago mya during which large landbased icesheets were present on earths surface. Earth stewardship science nelson mandela metropolitan university shale gas in south africa fff johannesburg 29 may, 2012. The karoo supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in africa south of the kalahari desert. Depositional environments and stratigraphic correlation of. The location of the still submersed cederberg and hex rivierbaviaanskloof mountains formed a stiff block against which the southwestern part of the karoo basin moved down for a while. This is an overview of the karoo basin in south africa, and its geologic setting. Jul 25, 2017 this is an overview of the karoo basin in south africa, and its geologic setting. No exact definition of what constitutes the karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The early ordovician to early carboniferous cape basin 160 ma is believed to have developed by extensional processes cloetingh et al.
The exhumed fans 3 and 4 systems in the tanqua depocenter, karoo basin, south africa have been the subject of various studies on their. Currently the permian whitehill formation is thought. Late permian paleoenvironmental factors expounded through analysis of a forestfloor paleosol profile, karoo basin, south africa except where reference is made to the work of others, the work described in this. 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. Deep crustal seismic reflection experiment across the sothern karoo basin, south africa. Bordy department of geological sciences, university of cape town, private bag x3.
Forensic analyses of deep karoo geology, water and gasshales. Contact metamorphic devolatilization of shales in the karoo. Stratigraphy, depositional controls, and glacial dynamics. The petroleum potential of south africas onshore karoo. This study is a pilot basin analysis rather than a definitive and final answer to a complex problem.
Exploration in the basin revealed that methane concentrations in the coal seams of the morupule and serowe formations are undersaturated. During that time of increasing water depth mainly clays were deposited, followed by the tanqua karoo deepwater sand deposits. Is the vertebratedefined permiantriassic boundary in the karoo basin, south. Stratigraphic chart with the major lithostratigraphic subdivisions of the karoo supergroup in the main karoo basin of south africa based on the time scale of. The cape and karoo basins represent two largescale episodes of intermittent subsidence and sedimentation within the interior of gondwana fig. The application area intersects the western cape, northern cape and. The iullemmeden basin is a major subsaharan inland basin in west africa, extending about 1,000 kilometres 620 mi north to south and 800 kilometres 500 mi east to west. Pdf geophysically plumbing the main karoo basin, south. This book describes the latest research on the geological, geochemical, geochronological, biological, and geomorphic evolution of the unique and relatively pristine landscape of the cape mountains and the karoo basin. Submarine mass movement deposits exposed in the vischkuil formation, laingsburg karoo basin, south africa, provide a rare opportunity to analyse and interpret their emplacement history and deformation.
The main karoo basin constitutes a retroarc foreland basin. 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. 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. Location of the basin the ellisras basin is situated in the northern part of the waterberg district, located in. South africa eiaari world shale gas and shale oil resource assessment june, 20 xix1 xix. Basin fill consists of sedimentary rocks of the karoo supergroup, with maximum thickness of 1,500 metres 4,900 ft the principal economic resources in the basin. The karoo basins of southcentral africa university of alberta. Origin and terminal architecture of a submarine slide. Pdf carboniferouspermian glaciation in the main karoo. New late permian tectonic model for south africas karoo basin. Mitigating environmental damages dean raviv 6 administration that the karoo basin may hold up to 485 tcf of technically recoverable shale gas, which at the time of writing, makes it the. Petroleum potential of the karoo basins5 matchdeck. The forest sandstone is a geological formation in southern africa, dating to roughly between 200 and 190 million years ago and covering the hettangian to sinemurian stages of the jurassic period in the.
Geological map of the main karoo basin and surrounding karoo aged sedimentary subbasins and volcanic outliers in south africa, lesotho and swaziland, modified from vorster 2001. Tectonic evolution of the cape and karoo basins of south. The geometry of karoo dolerite dykes and saucers in the. The karoo basins of southcentral africa evolved during the firstorder cycle of supercontinent assembly and breakup of pangea, under the influence of two distinct tectonic regimes sourced from. Structure and evolution of hydrothermal vent complexes in. For this reason, the karoo basins sensu stricto, which show clear similarities with the main karoo basin of south africa, are generally restricted to southcentral africa fig. Origin and evolution of the cape mountains and karoo basin.
Unconventional gas explorer, challenger energy has announced that its subsidiary here in south africa, bundu gas and oil exploration, has taken a decision to proceed with its application for shale gas exploration rights in south africas karoo basin. Contact metamorphic devolatilization of shales in the karoo basin, south africa, and the effects of multiple sill intrusions ingrid aarnesa. We believe that the environmentally sensitive karoo. The term karoo was extrapolated from the main karoo basin of south africa, to describe the sedimentary fill of all other basins of. Until recently, the karoo basin was not considered prospective for productive hydrocarbons resulting in very limited modern hydrocarbon exploration onshore in south africa. 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.
The karoo basin system in the nwtrendingubende belt in tanzania and east congo is a manifestation of the early stage of gondwana breakupin eastcentralafrica. The karoo basin of southern africa is wellknown for its massive deposits of igneous rocks left behind by extensive basaltic lava flows during the early jurassic. Abrupt and gradual extinction among late permian land. Generally, both pre and syn karoo fault systems are considered to have had a local influence on the distribution and thickness of the karoo sequence ecl 1998. Deep crustal seismic reflection experiment across the sothern. If found in commercially viable quantities, this gas could help secure south africas energy future, but only if we can preserve the unique character of the area as well. These deposits found north of the karoo basin are found as the lowermost geological formation of the springbok flats. Application to explore the karoo for shale gas continues. It is named after the tillite dwyka group found in the karoo basin. Carboniferouspermian glaciation in the main karoo basin, south africa. Logr method in coals of the central kalahari karoo. Unpacking the issues around fracking in 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 in southern africa, rocks of the karoo supergroup cover almost two thirds of the present land surface, including all of. The dwyka group fa1 forms the base of the karoo supergroup in the gemsbok sub basin and overlain by the ecca group deposits.
The karoo basin and the end permian mass extinction. Deep sedimentary basins are currently being assessed globally with respect to their geothermal energy resources. Deflating the shale gas potential of south africas. See related open access article, is the vertebratedefined permiantriassic boundary in the. Dwyka group deposits are also found outside of and north of the karoo basin. The great karoo basin covers an area of over 700,000 km 2 and constitutes a retroarc foreland basin. Historical reflection seismic, petroleum exploration wells and regional magnetic data are used to better understand the. The ellisras basin is a geological basin that spans the border between south africa and botswana, extending west from the town of lephalale formerly ellisras in limpopo province. The karoo basin in south africa offers an ideal study area to evaluate these processes because the region is targeted for shale gas extraction in the near future, but has only been minimally developed for conventional energy extraction previously. The future of shale gas in south africa karoo space. South africa summary south africa has one major sedimentary basin that contains thick, organicrich shales the karoo basin in central and southern south africa, figure xix1. Rapid vertebrate recuperation in the karoo basin of south africa following the endpermian extinction. However, with population growth, climate change and the need to combat. Sedimentary deposits of the karoo sequence in northwestern damaraland are exposed in the goboboseb mountains south of the ugab river, as well as in an area approximately 100 by 50 km wide on both the northern and southern sides of the huab river fig.
The base of the lystrosaurus assemblage zone, karoo basin. For this reason, the karoo basins sensu stricto, which show clear similarities with the main karoo basin. Predrill groundwater geochemistry in the karoo basin. Desorbed gas contents range between karoo shale gas baseline research program gets on the way at nmmu 20140219 this project recognises the need for independent robust scientificbased advice to objectively evaluate costbenefit equations, in light of potential bias andor sectional interests related to potential shale gas exploitation in the karoo. Poor yields of palynomorphs from the beaufort and stormberg groups have complicated the. Evolution, architecture and hierarchy of distributary deep. So far, the utilization of deep geothermal energy has not been addressed or included in any renewable energy scheme of south africa. Beaufort group in a wide arc across the northern and northeastern parts of the great karoo basin, to determine if new technology can be applied to producing these challenging deposits. Pdf rapid vertebrate recuperation in the karoo basin of. A new gisbased biozone map of the beaufort group karoo. The current model for the endpermian terrestrial ecosystem crisis holds that systematic loss exhibited by an abrupt turnover from the daptocephalus to the lystrosaurus assemblage zone az. Forensic analyses of deep karoo geology, water and gasshales who decides what is natural, and how. Karoo basin and cape fold belt and the influence of the in.
Those politicians involved in this rape of the earth must be named and shamed, this will not be good for the country and only a few elite will get anything out of it, and those are the ones who do not care. 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. Click to view article in pdf format the petroleum potential of south africas onshore karoo basins lindiwe. Jan 23, 2015 this will destroy the beautiful karoo. 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. The endpermian is associated with major changes in both marine and terrestrial biodiversity. A provisional basinal study of the waterbergkaroo, south africa.
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 geodynamic interpretation of the cape and karoo basins. The main karoo basin of south africa is renowned for its exceptional palaeontological record and while its vertebrate fossils have been extensively researched, karoo floras have received considerably less attention. Sep 22, 2015 the karoo basin and eastern south africa. Inversion tectonics of the cape fold belt, karoo and. Structure and evolution of hydrothermal vent complexes in the karoo basin. The coalbearing sediments and coal seams of the karoo basin, southern africa are described and discussed. The karoo basin shell has applied for rights to explore for natural gas in the karoo. Kirschvink,4 roger smith3 the karoo basin of south africa exposes a succession of upper permian to.
Thinking in terms of such fault and structural systems, this kavango basin can be related along strike to the karoo basins in eastern africa via features such as the omaruru lineament, implying the possibility. Major portions of the karoo basin have igneous sill intrusions and complex geology, which may affect the quality of the shale resources and create significant exploration risk in pursuing shale plays in the prospective area. Shale gas developments in the karoo basin i 1 doug colehaajierah mosavel characterisation of surface dust and trapped dust samples around some asbestos mine dumps in mpumalanga province. Recent interest in the main karoo basin of south africa has been sparked by the possibility of extensive shale gas resources. Extensive outcrops in the tanqua depocentre, south. Aukarob hardveld is a semi desert natural region of south africa. Stratigraphy of the karoo supergroup in southern africa. It relates to the exploration right application referred to as the central precinct pasa reference no. Because of their abundance in the beaufort group and the paucity of basin. Geological survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature.
Deep borehole lithostratigraphy and basin structure of the. Along the basin s southern margin the karoo succession attains a maximum composite thickness of 12 km. If enough natural gas is found, it could provide south africa with a stable, cleanerburning energy supply for power. Shell has applied for rights to explore for natural gas in the karoo. The karoo large igneous province represents the continental scale outpouring of basaltic magmas of the drakensberg group that capped the sediments of the karoo supergroup during the breakup of gondwana at ca. Overall, the karoo supergroup across the kalahari karoo basin reflects a transition from a glaciation period through to deltaic and swampy periods ultimately turning arid before the extrusion of. The karoo basin of south africa forms part of a series of basins that.
The cape and karoo basins represent two major episodes of intermittent sub sidence and. Transboundary aquifer mapping and management in africa africa is heavily reliant on groundwater resources, with an estimated 75% of the population dependent on this resource for basic water supplies. The karoo basins of southcentral africa sciencedirect. Is the vertebrate defined permiantriassic boundary in the karoo basin, south. Well, joining us on the line from perth, australia, is the companys chief. Swne schematic cross section of the main karoo basin, according to a foreland basin model e. Origin and evolution of the cape mountains and karoo basin linol, b. Jul 14, 2017 unpacking the issues around fracking in south africa. The basin is bounded by the cape fold belt along its southern. 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, onlaps onto. Is the deepseafan laingsburg formation permian, karoo basin, south africa in fact.
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