Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Marine and Petroleum Geology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpetgeo

Review article

A geotectonic history of the northern Mozambique Basin including the Beira

High e A contribution for the understanding of its development
Estevão Stefane Mahanjane*
Institute National Petroleum (INP), Av. Fernão Magalhaes N. 34, 2nd Floor, PO Box 4724, Maputo, Mozambique

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The interpretation of a comprehensive two dimensional (2D) seismic reflection data set discloses several
Received 13 December 2011 rifting events for a typical passive rifted margin. Two major phases have been identified: Rift I phase is in
Received in revised form agreement with the initial rifting of Gondwana postulated for the early Jurassic. This rift resulted in
16 May 2012
break-up stage 1 governed by a north-eastern motion of Antarctica along the reactivated Pebane shear
Accepted 18 May 2012
Available online 4 June 2012
zone.
Indications for lava flows were identified in the seismic profiles along the Offshore Zambezi Depression.
They form a link between early rifting, the initial break-up and early sea-floor spreading. The nature of
Keywords:
BeiraHigh
these lava flows may be associated with the emplacement of thick volcanic dykes during post-rift
Break-up stages magmatism that occurred when the Antarctica Plate (with the Beira High) drifted dextrally from the
Onset of oceanic crust west to east until the Mid-Jurassic times. It is more likely that the break-up in stage 1 resulted from high
Lava flows tension due to strain relief of Rift I phase. Above all, the extensional deformation occurred in a narrow-
Offshore Zambezi Depression rift mode. Therefore, the V-shape of the Offshore Zambezi Depression suggests a possible rift-failure
Post-rift magmatism structure. This is best explained by the Reeves and de Wit model (2000). This model postulates that
Rifting the motion of Antarctica changed to southward direction at around 170 Ma. Consequently a “rift jump”
Seismic interpretation
from the Offshore Zambezi Depression in the northwest to the south-eastern edge of the Beira High
occurred, and Rift II phase may have started leading to the break-up in stage 2. During this stage (Rift II
phase) the extension migrated towards the east, thus thinning the crust, and exhuming the sub-
continental mantle in the continentaleocean transition zone. The Rift II phase shows a sequence of
half-graben morphologies confining the syn-rift infill that is subdivided in three units: syn-rift I, syn rift-
II and rift sag. All three units appear to have developed under minor extensional regimes in the crust
evidenced by gently dipping, low-angle detachment faults.
With respect to the presence of the two rift phases, it is deduced that break-up and sea-floor spreading
are diachronous within Rift I and Rift II segments.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction led to the break-up of the Super-Continent Gondwana. Cox (1992)

proposed two break-up stages. The first is linked to the early
Major questions regarding the earliest phases of Gondwana Jurassic north-eastern motion of Antarctica along a reactivated
break-up are related to episodes of Karoo (300e200 Ma) rifting in shear zone. The second is a continental separation occurring in
southern Africa that probably occurred along predominantly strike- mid-Jurassic times when Antarctica and Madagascar moved
slip faults with various trends but notably north-south and NE-SW southwards in relation to Africa as a single plate. The second stage
(e.g. Cox, 1992, Klausen, 2009). Major reactivation of the strike-slip is in agreement with the Reeves (2000) model, associating it with
faults occurred in the interval between 190 and 170 Ma, concur- the emplacement of dykes parallel to the Zambezi coast at around
rently with the onshore emplacement of the Karoo and Ferrar 170 Ma (Reeves, 2000). The two stages model of Cox (1992) is based
volcanic provinces (Duncan et al., 1997; Courtillot et al., 1999; on the analysis of the Jurassic Karoo volcanism. In that regard, he
Reeves, 2000; Riley and Knight, 2001; Jokat et al., 2003; König and found evidence of a gap of about 20 Ma between the onset of
Jokat, 2006, Martin, 2007; Klausen, 2009). Subsequently, rifting has volcanism and the formation of the first oceanic crust. The earliest
phase of Jurassic Karoo volcanism exhibits a major peak of activity
at 200e190 Ma (Fitch and Miller, 1984; Garner, 1996), whereas sea-
* Tel.: þ258 84 3031324; fax: þ258 21320932. floor spreading is believed to have started around 170 Ma (Lawver
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected]. et al., 1991b; Courtillot et al., 1999). The termination of rifting with

0264-8172/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2012.05.007
2 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12

the subsequent drift phase is constrained by magnetic spreading contribution of gravity, and magnetic information acquired in the
anomalies in the Mozambique Basin. The oldest magnetic anomaly northern Mozambique Basin. In summary, this paper gives
is tentatively dated as anomaly M24 (155 Ma) (Jokat et al., 2003) or a description of the BH. It also identifies the break-up stages and
M26 (155.3 Ma) (König and Jokat, 2010). The M26 anomaly is defines the Onset of Oceanic Crust (OC).
located 25 km off the south-eastern flank of the Beira High and The results presented here are based on the MOBAMASIS e LEG
within the area of this study. Considering these premises two major 163 (Reichert et al., 2008) cruise data acquired jointly by the Bun-
questions arise: (i) identification of a more precise time frame and (ii) desanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), the Alfred-
what was the structural response of the initial rifting between Africa Wegener-Institut (AWI), and the Institut Français de Recherche pour
and Antarctica? l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) on board of RV Marion Dufresne
These questions are closely linked with the understanding of the in 2007, and on commercial geophysical data acquired both
nature and origin of the Beira High (BH). The BH structure is onshore and offshore the Zambezi Delta generously made available
approximately 280 km long and 100 km wide, elongated in by the Instituto Nacional de Petróleo (INP) of Mozambique (Fig. 1).
northeast-southwest direction, i.e. more or less parallel to the
coastline (Zambezi Delta) (Fig. 1). This structure is located in the 1.1. Gondwana break-up and the initiation of sea-floor spreading
deep water area (1000e2500 m) of the delta basin, buried by
Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary sequences. Its origin is still Several questions concerning the initial Gondwana break-up are
under debate with three conflicting opinions postulating that its unanswered; mainly the timing of the break-up, the character of
character is either magmatic (oceanic), continental or sedimentary the processes effecting the separation of the blocks, and the
with an overprint by compressional forces. formation of new oceanic crust in the Mozambique Basin and the
Despite the size and the prominent position of the BH, there was conjugate Riiser-Larsen Sea in Antarctica. The Gondwana break-up
only a small amount of data at hand that could be used for a detailed is proposed to have started between Pliensbachian and Toarcian
interpretation. Watts (2001) combined 2D flexural backstripping [190e175 Ma: Duncan et al. (1997); Martin (2007)], or Bajocian
and gravity modelling to investigate the Mozambique rifted margin (170 Ma: Reeves, 2000), Bathonian (167.2 Ma: König and Jokat,
using a single northwest-southeast running profile. He suggests 2006) or later in the Oxfordian stage (157 Ma: Salman and
that the pronounced gravity anomaly between the BH and the coast Abdula, 1995).
is the result of the “edge effect”. This effect is due to the juxtapo- The majority of the reconstruction models converge in terms of
sition of thick continental crust against the regularly thin oceanic coincident ages (182  2 Ma) between Ferrar and Karoo magma-
crust. Hence, it was concluded that off the coast continental crust tism for the break-up commencement (Fitch and Miller, 1984;
immediately adjoins to oceanic crust or thinned transitional crust, Duncan et al., 1997; Riley and Knight, 2001; Segev, 2002). This
encompassing the BH. On the other hand, König and Jokat (2010) documents an early volcanic peak which resulted in the north-
discussed the possibility of remnants of smaller continental south oriented Lebombo around w190 Ma (Cox, 1992; Garner,
blocks within the northern Mozambique Basin that were displaced 1996; Reeves, 2000; Watkeys, 2002; König and Jokat, 2006) or
from the African continent during the phase of rifting between 182 Ma (Klausen, 2009) followed by remarkable formation of
Africa and Antarctica. Okavango Dyke swam and associated rift, and emplacement of
In order to contribute to a better understanding of the BH, I minor continental dyke swarms dated w181e178 Ma (Klausen,
make an approach on the basis of an extensive geophysical data set 2009).
with integrated geophysical models. This is based on an interpre- Similarly, the age of the oldest oceanic crust is under discussion.
tation of the multi-channel reflection seismic (MCS) with the Lawver et al. (1991b) and Courtillot et al. (1999) suggest 170 Ma as

Figure 1. General map of the northern Mozambique Basin and the navigation map with the 2D seismic data track lines (a): In literature some confusion exists concerning the
naming of the different structures in the Zambezi Delta area. In this paper, the following nomenclature was used. The Onshore Zambezi Depression is the onshore area crosscut by
the Zambezi River. The offshore area between this depression and the Beira High is named Offshore Zambezi Depression. The coastal area to the north of Beira High is referred to as
Zambezi Coastline. The study area includes the Offshore Zambezi Depression, which is delimited by the area between the Nemo High and the Beira High in the south. It branches off
and dips to the north-northeast until the volcanic “high” referred to as coast-parallel volcanic dykes (Reeves, 2000) or near coast basalt (Raillard, 1990) situated near the Pebane
area. (b) Illustration of the 2D seismic sip’s tracks used for this study including the location of the Figures and profiles. Figures 2 and 3 depict two portions of Profile 1 flagged by
white dashed lines. Tectonic features that predominate the onshore part of the study region: the Pebane transform fault (the Limpopo lineament in Cox, 1992) and the East Africa
Rift System (EARS) consisting of the Chissenga and Urema Graben Systems. The EARS initiated in the Ethiopian Plateau at around 30e35 Ma, propagating towards south with
a spreading rate of 2.5e5 cm/year (Steinbruch, 2010) after the reactivation of the old Mesozoic rift (Pfaffhuber et al., 2009). In Mozambique the EARS is manifested in the
NortheSouth-trending Urema Graben, which crosses the Lower Zambezi Graben (along the Zambezi River). It changes its direction to more or less east-west direction at the
Chissenga Graben, located south-west of the Zambezi Delta.
 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12 3

Figure 2. Enlargement of the western portion of Profile 1. Upper panel: uninterpreted seismic section (migrated). Lower panel: appropriate interpretation as proposed in this study.
Details of geotectonic structures and some sediment stratigraphy are shown. The rugged surfaces with high-amplitudes reflection may indicate the occurrence of lava flows. The
morphology of the lava flows is at least partly controlled by faulting according to the respective seismic observation. One must take into account that the possible magma spread
features (lava flows?) may have solidified and remained horizontal while the surrounding lava subsided during sediment compaction during some extensional deformation. See
caption of Figures 1 and 4 for the abbreviations, and see text for discussion.

the age of the oldest sea-floor between Africa and Antarctica; this is Subsequently the drift phase of the Riiser-Larsen Sea off Dronning
in contrast to the age of 157.6 Ma constrained by magnetic anomaly Maud Land (Antarctica) started, as well as the formation of the
M25 in the Somalia and Mozambique basins, initially proposed by Mozambique oceanic basin and the Somalia Basin in the western
Rabinowitz et al. (1983) and Salman and Abdula (1995). Jokat et al. Indian Ocean (Reeves and de Wit, 2000; Reeves et al., 2002; Jokat
(2003) tentatively interpreted magnetic anomaly M24 (155 Ma) et al., 2003; König and Jokat, 2006). Hence, the reconstruction
which is located north of magnetic anomaly M22 (152 Ma) previ- model that was based on a juxtaposition of Dronning Maud Land
ously identified by Segoufin (1978), Simpson et al. (1979), and against Mozambique (e.g. Simpson et al., 1979) was modified to
Segoufin and Patriat (1980) as the oldest anomaly in the demonstrate the alignment between the Zambezi Coast (Africa) and
Mozambique Basin. König and Jokat (2006) suggest that the rifting Princess Ragnhild coast (Antarctica) (e.g. Cox (1992: fig. 4); Reeves
associated with the formation of the Mozambique/Riiser-Larsen (2000: figs. 3 and 4); Marks and Tikku (2001: fig. 7) and König and
Sea Basins took place at the same time between 170 Ma and Jokat (2006: fig 11)). These models postulated an initial phase of
160 Ma. This is in agreement with the age of the first oceanic crust east-west oriented rifting between Africa and Antarctica which is
proposed by Courtillot et al. (1999). proposed to have occurred at around 165 Ma (Marks and Tikku,
Modern palaeogeographic reconstructions e.g. Leinweber and 2001); or 167.2 Ma (König and Jokat, 2006) and even earlier
Jokat (2012) show concisely that rifting between Africa and between 190 Ma and 182 Ma (Reeves, 2000; Martin, 2007). The
Antarctica began with anti-clockwise rotation of Antarctica with final phase of northesouth rifting and early drifting of East
respect to Africa before the north-south rifting started. Antarctica from Mozambique (Africa) is deduced from magnetic
4 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12

Figure 3. Enlargement of the south-eastern portion of Profile 1. Upper panel: uninterpreted seismic section (migrated). Lower panel: appropriate interpretation as proposed in this
study. Details of geotectonic structures and some sediment stratigraphy are shown. Prominent features are the rift-grabens with asymmetric half-graben morphology. Obvious are
the continentward-dipping seismic reflectors (CDR) are indicated syn-rift, divergent sediment infill truncated by the footwall. In place of detachment faults tilted basement blocks
were formed during the rifting phase. Along the pronounced anti-clockwise tilted blocks that underwent uplifting and erosion the Pre-Rift Unit is visible. See captions of Figures 1
and 4 for the abbreviations, and see text for discussion.

anomalies M21 and M24 (Bergh, 1977; Segoufin, 1978; Simpson during break-up stage 2 most of the eastern edge of the BH was
et al., 1979; Jokat et al., 2003), giving an age range between deformed. In the following, first the layered successions are
147 Ma and 155 Ma. described, then the rift-related structures and finally the continent-
ocean transition to the east of BH.
2. Data interpretation and results
2.1.1. Post-rift units
2.1. Multi-channel reflection seismics The post-rift units are not the focus of this paper. Hence,
I provide a brief description of the general appearance: parts of the
The aim of the seismic interpretation is to provide insights into successions were penetrated by deep wells (De Buyl and Flores,
the geotectonic evolution of the southern margin of Mozambique, 1986). This allows the identification of relevant geological events,
along the Zambezi coast, particularly the Beira High (BH). particularly the Neocomian Unconformity (NU), Top Cretaceous/
The BH structure reflects a complex geologic history; it is Base Tertiary (BT), and Pliocene Unconformity (PU).
extensively faulted and preserves evidence of being affected by The post-rift successions are mainly Cretaceous and Cenozoic
several tectonic events. deposits. Below a thick sedimentary section [w4.0 s two-way travel
The analyzed seismic profiles (examples are presented as time (TWT)] two important unconformities are identified (Profiles
regional Profiles 1e5, see Figure 1b for location) are intersecting 1e5). At first, the top of the Intra Early Cretaceous (NU) defining the
features that give evidence for the existence of two stages of break- first marine sedimentary facies was deposited in shallow water on
up. Break-up stage 1 is manifested along the Offshore Zambezi top of the eroded Karoo successions (Salman and Abdula, 1995) at
Depression, between the BH and the Zambezi Coast. In contrast, around 130 Ma. The second is the Base Tertiary (BT), correlated
 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12 5

Figure 4. e The structural map that resulted from the seismic interpretation. The foremost geological features are the Beira High, the Nemo High and the lava flows. The Beira High
is weakly deformed in the west by the Rift I event. On the other hand, the eastern edge displays evidence of several tectonic deformations during the Rift II phase. The majority of
faults along the border of the lava flows indicate several rifting episodes during the Rift I stage. The NE-SW exhumed (uplifted) block (w100 km long) is the eastern border of the
catchments for the syn-rift and rift-sag infills (see Fig. 3). OC is likely to coincide with the position of the sea-floor spreading magnetic anomaly M26 (König and Jokat, 2010). Key:
BH e Beira High, NH e Nemo High, LF e Lava Flows, FZ e Fracture Zone, OC e Onset Oceanic Crust.

from the information from the Zambezi-1 and Zambezi-3 wells (De 2.1.2. Break-Up Unconformity (BU)
Buyl and Flores, 1986, Salman and Abdula, 1995). Prominent high- The most prominent horizon is a distinct erosional unconfor-
amplitude reflectors dominate in the Early Tertiary. They are indi- mity that is interpreted as the Break-Up Unconformity (BU). This
cators for deposition of carbonate facies as well as for sequences of unconformity is likely to have been formed at the transition from
carbonate build-ups. They are topped by deltaic progradation facies Mid to Late Jurassic times. Further offshore, it merges with what is
(e.g. prominent basin floor-fans that stretch out over 2e3 km, e.g. interpreted as the top of the oceanic basement (TOB) (Profiles 2e4).
on west of Profile 1 between Shot Points 5300e1400, and east of The BU represents an erosional surface with clear top-lap trunca-
Profile 5 between Shot Points 2150e4150). There are also wide- tions of the pre-rift sediments, except in rift-grabens where it
spread buried submarine channels in the area over the BH (Profiles truncates the syn-rift sediments.
2e5). Varying in size, these channels increase in quantity from the In the seismic reflection data the unconformity appears mostly
BH towards the southwest with heights that reach 2 s (TWT) and as a continuous, prominent and high-amplitude reflector, particu-
widths of up to 500 m. The northeast region of the BH typically larly across the BH. One could suggest that the high was subjected
consists of contourite deposits. to a major erosional event during break-up. The trace of this event

Figure 5. Seismic section (migrated) in the area of the northern Offshore Zambezi Depression. This is one of only few seismic reflection profiles that show a better data resolution in
this region. The seismic image clearly depicts a high-amplitude reflector that is considered to represent the boundary between magmatic rocks (basement) and sedimentary
successions (an arrow denotes its position). The basement is probably formed by the coast-parallel volcanic high (e.g. the coastal dykes mapped by Reeves, 2000) located onshore
near the Zambezi coast. See Figure 1b for the profile location.
6 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12

Profile 1. Regional cross-sections that were selected to exemplify the structures of the main geological setting and the seismic interpretation in the study area. In the upper panel
2D seismic (migrated) lines of a survey conducted between 1998 and 1999 are displayed. The record length was 9 s. The seismic acquisition has different parameters and
consequently a different resolution. The profiles cross several features that give evidence for the two stages of the break-up process postulated in this paper. In the lower panel the
appropriate seismo-stratigraphic interpretation is displayed as proposed in this study.

however, shows consistency of the reflector which terminates 2.1.4. Seismic expressions of volcanics
downlap in the transition between continental and oceanic crusts In the areas denoted as Offshore Zambezi Depression, seismic
in the east, north and southeast of the BH (Profiles 2, 3 and 4, reflectors characterized by high-amplitudes and low-frequencies
respectively). are distinctly observed below the BU (e.g. on Profile 1 over
At the Nemo High (NH) and the BH (Fig. 1) the BU is found at a distance of about 2 km between Shot Points 3200 and 4812). These
depths between 3.5e5.0 s and 4.0e6.0 s (TWT), respectively reflectors occur in horizontal arrangement between 5.5 se6.0 s TWT.
(e.g. Profile 5). Locally, they are bounded and fragmented by normal faults (Fig. 2).
The reflectors can easily be traced towards the north because they
2.1.3. Pre-rift strata maintain their characteristic seismic image (e.g. on Profiles 2 and 3
Between the basement and the rift-related sedimentary located 60 km north of Profile 1). The sequence commonly exhibits
successions layered successions (PRU) are occasionally identified, a thick interval of strong reflections with moderate to good conti-
mostly stratified with moderate reflector amplitudes, losing their nuity, although small local disruptions occur (Fig. 2). These reflectors
stratification towards the northeast within the Offshore Zambezi occur only in the deepest part of the Offshore Zambezi Depression
Depression, where obviously chaotic filling occurs. basin. They are limited by normal faults on both sides (Profiles 1 and
In the south-eastern part of the BH (within the rift-grabens) the 2). Towards the east, these reflectors are bounded by an adjacent
top of the pre-rift succession is truncated by the Rift-onset fault accurately at the BH slope. In the north of Profile 2 (e.g. north of
Unconformity (RU). The pre-rift unit occurs between the inter- Profile 3 within the depression), the reflectors gradually change to
preted Top Continental Basement (TCB) and the RU. It is manifested a hummocky morphology towards the northeast.
as a thick pile of tilted, moderate amplitude reflectors which are The top of the Continental Basement (TCB) is locally masked by
layered parallel to fault planes (about 850e920 ms TWT thick), but this sequence (e.g. Profiles 1 and 2). This is especially evident in the
change to a horizontal or sub-horizontal layering towards the south (e.g. Profile 5), where the poor imaging of the basement
southeast (see Profiles 1 and 4). probably indicates reduced signal penetration. This is due to an
In the north-eastern BH (see Profile 4), the pre-rift succession is increase in the frequency or thickness of the reflectors as compared
represented by a set of sub-horizontal reflectors that gradually to the northeast.
change into horizontal reflectors seawards and that are truncated The geographical distribution of those reflectors stretches over
by the BU or RU. Therefore, the TCB and the BU delimit the unit that an area that is approximately parallel to the Zambezi coast in the
progressively pinches out towards the oceanic domain. west and to the BH in the east, narrowing from latitude 20 300 S
 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12 7

Profile 2. Regional cross-sections that were selected to exemplify the structures of the main geological setting and the seismic interpretation in the study area. In the upper panel
2D seismic (migrated) lines of a survey conducted between 1998 and 2000 are displayed. The record length was 9 s. The seismic acquisition has different parameters and
consequently a different resolution. The profiles cross several features that give evidence for the two stages of the break-up process postulated in this paper. In the lower panel the
appropriate seismo-stratigraphic interpretation is displayed as proposed in this study.

(w10 km south of Profile 5) and progressively widening north- Two reasons support the favoured interpretation that lava flows
eastward (e.g. it reaches a maximum width of 70 km on Profile are imaged by these particular seismic features. First of all, the
2). Concomitantly, the depth of the reflectors increases from 4.0 s rugged surface of this layer the strong reflectivity (high-amplitude),
to 7.5 s TWT in that direction. the wavelength and the geometries which suggest the presence of

Profile 3. Regional cross-sections that were selected to exemplify the structures of the main geological setting and the seismic interpretation in the study area. In the upper panel
2D seismic (migrated) lines of a survey conducted between 1998 and 1999 are displayed. The record length was 9 s. The seismic acquisition has different parameters and
consequently a different resolution. The profiles cross several features that give evidence for the two stages of the break-up process postulated in this paper. In the lower panel the
appropriate seismo-stratigraphic interpretation is displayed as proposed in this study.
8 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12

Profile 4. Regional cross-sections that were selected to exemplify the structures of the main geological setting and the seismic interpretation in the study area. In the upper panel
2D seismic (migrated) lines of a survey conducted between 1998 and 2000 are displayed. The record length was 9 s. The seismic acquisition has different parameters and
consequently a different resolution. The profiles cross several features that give evidence for the two stages of the break-up process postulated in this paper. In the lower panel the
appropriate seismo-stratigraphic interpretation is displayed as proposed in this study.

lava extrusions are strong indicators. Secondly, their occurrence is disappears in that direction. Mapping the basement geometry reveals
restricted to the area of the transitional domain (Profiles 1 and 2) a clear dip from the Pebane volcanic outcrops (Raillard, 1990 and Cox,
and thus overlies the deepest basement in the rift-valley of the 1992) in the north towards south. This inclination can be traced until
Offshore Zambezi Depression (Fig. 2). The reflection characteristics latitude S18 300 0000 in the Zambezi River mouth, suggesting that this
exhibit a strong similarity to the sill units described by Peron- was the southern limit of the high magmatic influence.
Pinvidic et al. (2010) in the deep Newfoundland Basin with its Outside the Offshore Zambezi Depression there are no compa-
high-amplitude reflections. These are restricted to the area of the rable features that may be associated with the lava flows.
transitional basement, and thus only overlie the deepest basement
parts. Peron-Pinvidic et al. (2010) consider the distribution of 2.1.5. Beira High rifting
various sill-related features as indication for the existence of Widespread syn-rift deposits are restricted to the rift-grabens
a centre of magmatic activity, which is characterized by strong, below a thick wedge of post-rift sediments (Fig. 3). They show
relatively continuous sill reflections. Moreover, local highs that are thicknesses of about 1.0 s (TWT). The deposits appear as both
possible loci of magma injection and common fluid venting are stratified and chaotic sequences with reflection amplitudes varying
features of the overlying sediments. from moderate to high.
It is evident that almost all the potential lava flows occur in one Generally, the rift-fill shows typical wedge-shape geometry and
stratigraphic level at the BU reflection (Profiles 1e3 and 5; Fig. 2). is between 860 ms to up to 1 s (TWT) thick. From a distinct
The distribution of the potential lava flow indicates a relationship unconformity separating two wedge-shaped syn-rift successions
with the rifting event. It is likely that the extrusion of the sub-aerial with different tilting, two rift phases are inferred. Age dating for the
lava flows was synchronous with the formation of a new ocean individual phases is difficult; however, the deepest part of the infill
floor during the opening of the Offshore Zambezi Depression. This may represent sediments from the first rift-phase that was active in
interpretation (see Fig. 2 and Profiles 1e3 and 5) is well supported the Early Jurassic (Cox, 1992). Conversely, the upper part of the rift-
by a pronounced positive gravity anomaly (Watts, 2001). This fill is likely to be related to the final rift phase preceding the break-
gravity signal indicates dense rocks such as e.g. volcanic extrusions up and sea-floor spreading in the Mozambique Basin at w155.3 Ma
and basalt successions, which provide significant density and (König and Jokat, 2010) (Figs. 3 and 4) or 1.1 Ma later constrained by
magnetization (Hinze, 1985). magnetic anomaly M25n (Leinweber and Jokat, 2012).
If this interpretation is correct, the distribution of the high- In contrast to the western and northern flanks, the eastern flank
amplitude reflectors suggesting occurrence of lava flows increase of the BH is strongly faulted (Fig. 4). Here, the BH is juxtaposed to
their amplitude from northeast to southwest, thus leaving behind the oceanic crust by prominent normal faults showing asymmetric
a new oceanic basin or highly thinned continental crust. Therefore, it half-graben morphology. The normal faults are listric, cutting and
can be concluded that also the size of area with lavas increases strongly tilting the pre-rift succession (Fig. 3). The base of the syn-
towards the north. Simultaneously, the thickness of the Jurassic rift unit is represented by the rift-onset unconformity (RU) with
sedimentary units progressively decreases until it completely high-amplitude reflections. This interpretation consequently
 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12 9

Profile 5. Regional cross-sections that were selected to exemplify the structures of the main geological setting and the seismic interpretation in the study area. In the upper panel
2D seismic (migrated) lines of a survey conducted between 1982 and 1998 are displayed. The record length was 6 s. The seismic acquisition has different parameters and
consequently a different resolution. The profile crosses features that give evidence for the stage 1 of the break-up process postulated in this paper. In the lower panel the appropriate
seismo-stratigraphic interpretation is displayed as proposed in this study.

follows from the typical features of an angular erosional surface units have been interpreted as successions that are located
overlying unconformably the tilted pre-rift succession. between the packages of the pre-rift and post-rift successions,
In general, listric normal faults are observed along the entire (Fig. 3):
eastern flank of the BH. However, the area which is affected by
faulting is wider in the central-east; between 37100 E and 38 150 E. It (1) Inside the rift-grabens, the complete syn-rift succession
reaches a length of about 120 km, and becomes narrower north- thickens progressively and continuously towards the north
wards, only extending over 50 km (Fig. 4). Five major listric faults (from 600 ms TWT to 1.0 s TWT). This may be the expression of
(F1 to F5) could be traced all along the south-eastern BH (Fig. 3). different stress angles during the rift evolution in different
These faults define a 70 km long and 30 km wide half-graben system stages:
that runs more or less northeast-southwest. This graben system at a. Syn-rift I phase e the related sediments unconformably
the seaward slope of the BH (Fig. 4) is bounded in the southeast by overlie the pre-rift unit separated by the erosional rift-onset
the exhumed block, which is strongly eroded at that position. surface (RU). The internal geometry varies from chaotic to
Further north, where the BH gradually diminishes until its complete divergent layered signatures towards the north. However, it
disappearance between 19150 S and 19 280 S, the rift-grabens are is wedge-shaped everywhere. Its thickness increases east-
situated directly adjacent to the oceanic basin (e.g. Profile 2). wards to a maximum of 350 ms TWT.
The stratigraphy of the rift-graben infill suggests multiple rifting b. Syn-rift II phase e the related sediment represents the
phases: syn-rift I, syn-rift II, and a rift-sag phase. Accordingly, these thickest syn-rift unit with moderate to high-amplitude
10 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12

reflectors, diverging towards the hanging wall (i.e. wedge- (e.g. Fig. 5) along the northern Zambezi Coast, possibly fed from
shaped). Internally, the succession reveals bands of Mid-Jurassic post-rift magmatism (Marsh, 1987 and Lawver et al.,
coherent divergent reflectors with high amplitudes. Few 1991a). Cox (1992) suggests that this magmatism was a result of
small-scale unconformities may be interpreted, but for the reactivation of the Pebane shear zone. Accordingly, the flows
simplicity I disregarded a further sub-division into sub- were probably restricted to a relatively narrow rift zone created
units. They reach a maximum thickness of about 650 ms during the rifting and the first sea-floor spreading between the
TWT in the central rift-grabens. Zambezi Coast and Antarctica (including the BH).
(2) Rift-sag phase e Similar to the syn-rift infill, the expression of It may be speculated that further south of the Offshore Zambezi
this phase occurs only inside the rift-valleys terminating with Depression, a transition from continental-to-oceanic crust occurs
on-lap truncations against the pronounced anti-clockwise tilted (e.g. Profiles 1 and 2). The reflector characteristics show a gradual
block (uplifted block) (Figs. 3 and 4). It is thicker in the central change from high-amplitude to hummocky patterns towards the
part of the rift-grabens reaching about 370 ms TWT, consisting northeast, therefore suggesting some sort of transition in that area.
of trough infill (channel infill) with moderate to high-amplitude These indicators suggest a gradual formation of new oceanic crust
reflectors. Overall, the seismic image reflects a pattern of sub- from the northeast to the southwest, aligned with a zone of coast-
parallel to parallel reflections with high continuity. parallel dykes.
I suggest here that Rift I had undergone a strain relief that
resulted in high tension for break-up stage 1, that finally produced
2.1.6. Onset of oceanic crust (OC) a narrow rift zone with a V-shape depression valley (Offshore
The transition from continental to oceanic crust has been identi- Zambezi Depression). The western flank of the Beira High had tried
fied by the change of reflection patterns in that zone where the BU to open-up predominantly when the Antarctica Plate (with the
downlaps against the basement at about 6 s (TWT) in the southeast; Beira High) drifted dextrally more or less east-west until the Mid-
and at about 7 s (TWT) in the northeast of the BH. The top of the Jurassic. A change in motion to the south (e.g. Reeves and de Wit,
inferred oceanic basement is characterized by high-amplitude 2000 model) is the best explanation for a “rift jump” from the
reflectors and low frequency, which is typical for basaltic rocks. This Offshore Zambezi Depression in the northwest to the eastern edge of
reflection pattern can be continuously observed from the oceanic the BH in the southeast (break-up stage 2).
Mozambique Basin to the proposed location of the OC, including the
area where magnetic sea-floor spreading anomalies were identified 3.2. Break-up stage 2
(König and Jokat, 2010). The transition from continental to oceanic
occurs within 5e10 km wide. It is yet unclear whether the Offshore The fault geometry of the major half-grabens (e.g. Fig. 3; Profiles
Zambezi Depression is underlain by an oceanic crust inferring 1, 2 and 4) indicates extension in south-eastern direction. Accord-
a second OC. The 2D seismic lines at hand have short offset and/or ing to Kearey et al. (2009), the asymmetric morphology typifies
short recording length, and the imaging of the basement is poor. a slow spreading system. This agrees with the initial spreading rate
However, few seismic sections show a better resolution (Fig. 5) and of about 15 km/myrs for the sea-floor in the opening of the
the basement probably consists of the coastal-volcanic rocks (Reeves, Mozambique Channel (Simpson et al., 1979).
2000). A detailed delimitation of onset of oceanic crust (OC) beneath In the present paper at least two major rift phases can be clearly
the Offshore Zambezi Depression would require an investigation of the distinguished during which extensional deformation was accom-
magnetic spreading anomalies. In any case, from the presence of the modated along different parts of the BH, (1) The Rift-I phase
two rift phases it can be deduced that break-up and sea-floor predominantly affected the west-northwest BH by pronounced
spreading are diachronous within Rift I and Rift II segments. normal faults with small offsets. However, that phase only mildly
affected the south-eastern BH; (2) The Rift-II phase can be associated
3. Discussion with the period when Antarctica changed its drift direction towards
south. The Rift-sag phase, is interpreted as post-rift phase developed
The results presented in Section 2 (Fig. 4) indicate that the with minor extensions of the crust evidenced by gently dipping low-
northern coast of the Mozambique margin is a passive rifted angle detachment faults in the upper crust (Coward et al., 1987).
margin which developed in two different stages: The first stage is The top of the rift II phase discloses several erosional uncon-
associated with post-rift magmatism extending from an area with formities and rift infill episodes that suggest extensive stretching
coast-parallel volcanic outcrops (Pebane) to a narrow rift-failed and extensional tectonics that resulted in tilted blocks in the central
zone with underlying lava flows between the Zambezi Coast and eastern part of the Beira High (Fig. 3). Hence, it corresponds to the
the BH; (2) the second stage is merely rifting one, mainly magma- zone of a high tensional regime due to the resistance of the upper
poor, as described in Section 2.1.5 it is associated with highly crust against deformation and rifting. The main tectonic feature is
deformed structures formed by extensional tectonics along the a low-angle detachment at the eastern flank. The seismic image
southeast of the BH (and Antarctica). This reveals different stages of suggests that it is compensated in the lower crust or possibly even
rifting. Hence, the above arguments support a two stage model for in the upper mantle.
Gondwana break-up. The termination of rifting, the following break-up and the
formation of new oceanic crust are imaged by the change of the
3.1. Break-up stage 1 seismic properties to the east at the end of the adjacent faults
and/or down-lapping of the BU against the basement (Profile 1,
An important outcome of the 2D seismic mapping in this paper Fig. 3). In this area, magnetic data are essential to identify the onset
is the strong evidence for sub-aerial lava flows in the area of the of oceanic crust. The magnetic anomalies M26 proposed by König
Offshore Zambezi Depression. The location of the sub-aerial lava and Jokat (2010) and M25n (Leinweber and Jokat, 2012) fits with
flows, as well as the geometry, and lateral distribution suggests the outcome of this study. In that context, the magnetic anomaly
a close relationship between their origins, the initial break-up, and M26 constrains the onset of the break-up stage 2 and M25n indi-
early sea-floor spreading as occurring in a well defined area within cate the transition zone between the Beira High continental crust
the deep part of that basin. The nature of the lava flows may be and the oceanic basin. Both finally mark the onset of regular sea-
associated with the emplacement of the thick volcanic dykes floor spreading between 155.3 Ma and 154.2 Ma.
 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12 11

4. Conclusions Coward, M.P., Dewey, J.F., Hancock, P.L., 1987. Continental Extensional Tectonics. In:
Geological Society Special Publication No. 28.
De Buyl, M., Flores, G., 1986. The Southern Mozambique Basin: the most promising
- A detailed interpretation of a 2D reflection seismic data set hydrocarbon province offshore East Africa. In: Halbouty, M.T. (Ed.), Future
across the Offshore Zambezi Depression reveals a pattern of low- Petroleum Provinces of the World. AAPG Memoir, vol. 40. Oklahoma, Tulsa,
frequency reflectors at the break-up stage. These may be pp. 399e425.
Duncan, R.A., Hooper, P.R., Rehacek, J., Marsh, J.S., Duncan, A.R., 1997. The timing and
interpreted as lava flows that previously were not observed in duration of the Karoo igneous event, Southern Gondwana. Journal of
that region. The negative consequence of the lava flows is the Geophysical Research 102 (B8), 18,127e18,138.
attenuation of the seismic signal penetrating into deeper Fitch, F.J., Miller, J.A., 1984. Dating Karoo igneous rocks by the conventional KeAr
and 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum methods. In: Erlank, A.J. (Ed.), Petrogenesis of the
strata. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the basement type in Volcanic Rocks of the Karoo Province. Geological Society of South Africa Special
that region. Considering the known facts it is suggested that Publication, vol. 13, pp. 247e266.
these lava flows are probably associated with an early rift event Garner, P., 1996. Continental flood Basalts indicates a pre-Mesozoic flood/post-Flood
boundary. CEN Technical Journal 10 (1).
between 182 and 170 Ma when Africa and Antarctica initially Hinze, W.J., 1985. The Utility of Regional Gravity and Magnetic Anomaly Maps.
separated (Rift I), representing an episodic emplacement of doi:10.1190/1.0931830346. Catalog No. 811E. Pages: 468.
magmatic material. Jokat, W., Boebel, T., König, M., Meyer, U., 2003. Timing and geometry of early
Gondwana breakup. Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (B9), 2428.
- The Beira High hosts several distinct sedimentary successions doi:10.1029/2002JB001802.
that can be attributed to different phases in the formation Kearey, P., Klepeis, K.A., Vine, F.J., 2009. Global Tectonics, third ed. WileyeBlackwell,
history of the continental margin; (1) pre-rift consisting of 482 pp.
Klausen, M.B., 2009. The Lebombo monocline and associated feeder dyke swarm:
stratified and chaotic filling, in the south-eastern Beira High
diagnostic of a successful and highly volcanic rifted margin? Tectonophysics
mostly predominate thick piles (w0.9 s TWT) of tilted blocks 468, 42e62.
parallel to fault planes; (2) syn-rift is subdivided into two rift König, M., Jokat, W., 2006. The Mesozoic breakup of the Weddell Sea. Journal of
segments identified only within the rift-grabens in the south- Geophysical Research 111 (B12), 102. doi:10.1029/2005JB004035.
König, M., Jokat, W., 2010. Advanced insights into magmatism and volcanism of the
eastern Beira High, the earlier rift infill is related to the Break- Mozambique Ridge and Mozambique Basin in the view of new potential field
up 1 and rift II to the Break-up 2 phase; extensional tectonics data. Geophysical Journal International 180 (Issue 1), 158e180. January 2010.
terminated with a sag deposition; and (3) in the post-rift period Lawver, L., Gahagan, L.M., Dalziel, I.W.D., 1991a. Continental Break-up and Tectonic
Evolution. Nato Advanced Study Institute, ‘Dynamic Modelling and Flow in The
marine, transition and deltaic sequences were deposited from Earth and Planets’, Alaska, June 1991, Abstracts volume.
Cretaceous to Recent. Lawver, L., Royer, J.Y., Sandwell, D.T., Scotese, C.R., 1991b. Evolution of the Antarctic
- The Break-up Stage 2 is distinctly visible in the seismic data by continental margins. In: Thomson, M.R.A., Crame, J.A., Thomson, J.W. (Eds.),
Geological Evolution of Antarctica. Cambridge University Press, New York,
vast rift-grabens at the eastern edge of BH. These developed in pp. 533e540.
several stages, mostly with asymmetric geometry, a wider half- Leinweber, V., Jokat, W., 2012. The Jurassic history of the AfricaeAntarctica Corridor
graben bounded by gentle normal listric faults, dipping to the e new constraints from magnetic data on the conjugate continental margins.
Tectonophysics 530e531, 87e101. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2011.11.008.
southeast. The sediment infill is commonly defined by stratified Marks, K.M., Tikku, A.A., 2001. Cretaceous reconstructions of East Antarctica, Africa
divergent fill, wedge shaped, with a thickness up to 1 s TWT. and Madagascar. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 186, 479e495.
- The location of the onset of oceanic crust is inferred from the Marsh, J.S., 1987. Basalt geochemistry and tectonic discrimination within conti-
nental flood basalt provinces. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
change of seismic characters seaward of the BH, where the BU
32, 35e49.
intersects the oceanic basement in my interpretation. Martin, A.K., 2007. Gondwana Breakup via double-saloon-door rifting and sea-floor
- From the presence of: (1) a layered succession (pre-rift) below spreading in a backarc basin during subduction rollback. ScienceDirect. Tecto-
the BU and (2) rift-grabens at the eastern edge, it appears likely nophysics 445, 245e272.
Peron-Pinvidic, G., Shillington, D.J., Tucholke, B.E., 2010. Characterization of sills
that the Beira High is of continental origin. associated with the U reflection on the Newfoundland margin: evidence for
widespread early post-rift magmatism on a magma-poor rifted margin.
Geophysical Journal International 182 (1), 113e136.
Acknowledgements
Pfaffhuber, A., Monstad, S., Rudd, J., 2009. Airbone electromagnetic hydrocarbon
mapping. Exploration Geophysics 40, 1e9.
I would like to thank to: Eng. Arsénio Mabote and INP for funding Rabinowitz, P.D., Coffin, M.F., Falvey, D.A., 1983. The separation of Madagascar and
this project and providing the data. I am also grateful to BGR for their Africa. Science 220, 67e69.
Raillard, S., 1990. Les marges de l`Afrique de l`Est et les zones de fracture associees:
assistance in writing this paper, organizing the logistics and the Chaine Davie et Ridge du Mozambique-Champagne MD-60/MACA MO-11. PhD
data. There are not enough words to thank Dr. Dieter Franke, Dr. thesis, L’Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, pp. 1e272.
Christian Reichert and Dr. Axel Ehrhardt for critically reviewing the Reeves, C., 2000. The Geophysical mapping of Mesozoic dyke swarms in southern
Africa and their origin in the disruption of Gondwana. Journal of African Earth
manuscript. Your comments are highly appreciated. I would also like Sciences 30, 449e513.
to thank Mr. Martin Block for technical discussions, support, and Reeves, C., de Wit, M., 2000. Making ends meet in Gondwana: retracing the
guidelines; Dr. Ingo Heyde and Dr. Berd Schreckenberger for the transforms of the Indian Ocean and reconnecting continental shear zones. Terra
Nova 12, 272e280.
discussions about magnetic and gravity information; Prof. Dr. Jutta Reeves, C.V., Sahu, B.K., De Wit, M., 2002. A re-examination of the paleo-position of
Wisseman (Leibniz University of Hannover) for the support and Africa’s eastern neighbours in Gondwana. Journal of African Earth Sciences 34,
encouragement; the Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI) for the 101e108.
Reichert, C., Neben, S., Adam, J., Aslanian, D., Roest, W., Mahanjane, E., James, E.,
magnetic lineation data. Further, I would like to thank Laura Bargeloh, H., Behrens, T., Martin, B., Ehrhardt, A., Heyde, I., Jokat, W., Kallaus, G.,
Mahanjane for helping in the final edition of this paper. Finally, Klingelhöfer, F., Moulin, M., Kewitsch, P., Schrader, U., Schreckenberger, B., and
I thank the reviewers for their critical comments. Sievers, J., 2008. Cruise Report, BGR07. R/V Marion Dufresne Cruises MD 163 &
MD 164. Project Mobamasis. Tech. rep. Hannover, Bundesanstalt für Geo-
wissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR).
References Riley, T.R., Knight, K.B., 2001. Review Age of pre-break-up Gondwana magmatism.
Antarctic Science 13 (2), 99e110. Antarctic Science Printed in the United
Bergh, H.W., 1977. Mesozoic sea-floor off Dronnig Maud Land, Antarctica. Nature Kingdom.
269, 686e687. Salman, G., Abdula, I., 1995. Development of the Mozambique and Ruvuma sedi-
Courtillot, V., Jaupart, C., Manighetti, I., Tapponnier, P., Besse, J., 1999. On causal links mentary basins, offshore Mozambique. Sedimentary Geology 96 (1995), 7e41.
between flood basalts and continental breakup. Earth and Planetary Science Elsevier Science B.V. SSDI 0037-0738(94)00125-1.
Letters 166, 177e195. Segev, A., 2002. Flood basalts, continental breakup and the dispersal of Gondwana:
Cox, K.G., 1992. Karoo igneous activity and the early stages of the break-up of evidence for periodic migration of upwelling mantle flows (plumes). EGU Ste-
Gondwanaland. In: Storey, B.C., Alabaster, T., Pankhurst, R.J. (Eds.), Magmatism phan Mueller Special Publication Series 2, 171e191.
and the Causes of Continental Break-up. Geological Society, London, Special Segoufin, J., 1978. Anomalies magnétiques mésozoïques dans le bassin de
Publications, vol. 68, pp. 137e148. Mozambique. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences 287, 109e112.
12 E.S. Mahanjane / Marine and Petroleum Geology 36 (2012) 1e12

Segoufin, J., Patriat, P., 1980. Existence d’anomalies mesozoiques dans le bassin Steinbruch, F., 2010. Geology and geomorphology of the Urema Graben with
de Somalie. Implications pour les relations Afrique-Antarctique- emphasis on the evolution of Lake Urema. Journal of African Earth Sciences 58
Madagascar. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences Paris 291 (1980), (2010), 272e284.
pp. 85e88. Watkeys, M.K., 2002. Development of the Lebombo rifted volcanic margin of SE Africa.
Simpson, E.S.W., Sclater, J.G., Parsons, B., Norton, I., Meinke, L., 1979. Mesozoic Special paper. In: Menzies, M.A., Baker, J., Ebinger, C., Klemper, S. (Eds.), Magmatic
magnetic lineations in the Mozambique Basin. Earth and Planetary Science Rifted Margins. Geological Society of America Special Paper, vol. 362, pp. 27e46.
Letters 43 (1919), 260e264. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Watts, A.B., 2001. Gravity anomalies, flexure and crustal structure at the
Amsterdam. Mozambique rifted margin. Marine and Petroleum Geology 18, 445e455.