Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

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Journal of African Earth Sciences

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The thermal history of the Karoo Moatize-Minjova Basin, Tete

Province, Mozambique: An integrated vitrinite reflectance and apatite
fission track thermochronology study
Paulo Fernandes a, *, Nathan Cogne
b, David M. Chew b, Bruno Rodrigues a,
c ~o Marques , Daud Jamal e, Lopo Vasconcelos e
Raul C.G.S. Jorge , Joa d

a ~o Marinha e Ambiental (CIMA), Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal

Universidade do Algarve, Centro de Investigaça
b
Department of Geology Trinity College Dublin, Museum Building, Dublin 2, Ireland
c
Centro de Geologia da Universidade de Lisboa (GeGUL), Faculdade de Ci^
encias, Departamento de Geologia, Edifício C6, Piso 4, Campo Grande, 1749-016
Lisboa, Portugal
d
Gondwana, Empreendimentos e Consultorias Lda., Rua B, n
233, Bairro da Coop, Caixa Postal 832 Maputo, Mozambique
e
Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Av. Moçambique km 1,5, Caixa Postal 257 Maputo, Mozambique

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

Article history: The Moatize-Minjova Basin is a Karoo-aged rift basin located in the Tete Province of central Mozambique
Received 16 December 2014 along the present-day Zambezi River valley. In this basin the Permian Moatize and Matinde formations
Received in revised form consist of interbedded carbonaceous mudstones and sandstones with coal seams. The thermal history
11 September 2015
has been determined using rock samples from two coal exploration boreholes (ca. 500 m depth) to
Accepted 12 September 2015
Available online 14 September 2015
constrain the burial and exhumation history of the basin. Organic maturation levels were determined
using vitrinite reflectance and spore fluorescence/colour. Ages and rates of tectonic uplift and denudation
have been assessed by apatite fission track analysis. The thermal history was modelled by inverse
Keywords:
Vitrinite reflectance
modelling of the fission track and vitrinite reflectance data. The Moatize Formation attained a coal rank
Apatite fission track of bituminous coals with low to medium volatiles (1.3e1.7%Rr). Organic maturation levels increase in a
Moatize-Minjova basin linear fashion downhole in the two boreholes, indicating that burial was the main process controlling
Karoo peak temperature maturation. Calculated palaeogeothermal gradients range from 59
C/km to 40
C/km.
Mozambique According to the models, peak burial temperatures were attained shortly (3e10 Ma) after deposition.
Apatite fission track ages [146 to 84 Ma (Cretaceous)] are younger than the stratigraphic age. Thermal
modelling indicates two episodes of cooling and exhumation: a first period of rapid cooling between 240
and 230 Ma (Middle e Upper Triassic boundary) implying 2500e3000 m of denudation; and a second
period, also of rapid cooling, from 6 Ma (late Miocene) onwards implying 1000e1500 m of denudation.
The first episode is related to the main compressional deformation event within the Cape Fold Belt in
South Africa, which transferred stress northwards on pre-existing transtensional fault systems within the
Karoo rift basins, causing tectonic inversion and uplift. During the Mesozoic and most of the Cenozoic the
basin is characterized by very slow cooling. The second period of fast cooling and denudation during the
Pliocene was likely related to the southward propagation of the East African Rift System into
Mozambique.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The geology of the northern and central provinces of

Mozambique broadly comprises Precambrian metamorphic and
* Corresponding author. igneous basement rocks, bordered to the east and south by the

),
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (P. Fernandes), [email protected] (N. Cogne Meso-Cenozoic Rovuma and Mozambique sedimentary basins
[email protected] (D.M. Chew), [email protected] (B. Rodrigues), [email protected] €chelt, 2004; Grantham et al.,
(Afonso, 1976; Afonso et al., 1998; La
(R.C.G.S. Jorge), [email protected] (J. Marques), daudjamal1@gmail.
com (D. Jamal), [email protected] (L. Vasconcelos).
2011) (Fig. 1). Located within the basement rocks are Karoo rift

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2015.09.009
1464-343X/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
56 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

€chelt,
Fig. 1. Simplified geological map of Mozambique highlighting the location of the Karoo basins and the Rovuma and Mozambique Meso-Cenozoic basins. Adapted from La
2004.

basins that developed during the Permian e Lower Jurassic Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic crustal blocks (Afonso, 1984;
(Hankel, 1994; Catuneanu et al., 2005). Basin development was Pinna et al., 1993; Meert, 2003; Jamal, 2005; GTK Consortium,
associated with old crustal sutures that were formed during the 2006; Norconsult Consortium, 2007; Grantham et al., 2008;
Pan-African or East-African Orogeny (620e530 Ma) by collision of Jacobs et al., 2008; Viola et al., 2008). The Karoo rift basins that
 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72 57

developed by brittle reactivation of high-strain structures within basins, the Metangula Basin is another important Karoo basin
the Pan-African Zambezi Belt dominate now most of the upper and located in northern Mozambique in the Niassa Province (Figs. 1 and
middle Zambezi river valley in Mozambique (GTK Consortium, 2). It strikes NEeSW and extends into southern Tanzania, where it is
2006) (Fig. 1). Fault-related reactivation started in the Permian by known as the Selous Basin. The initiation of this basin was related to
the initiation of strike-slip faulting that formed extensional basins the development of the PermianeTriassic Malagasy rift system that
causing enhanced subsidence (Carvalho, 1977; La €chelt, 2004; GTK formed between Africa and Madagascar (Verniers et al., 1989;
Consortium, 2006). More recently NeS trending fault structures Wopfner, 1994, 2002) (Fig. 2).
related to the East African Rift System (EARS), especially the Malawi The Moatize-Minjova Basin predominantly trends NWeSE and
Rift were superimposed on the Precambrian and Phanerozoic su- is in fault-bounded contact to the NE and SW with Mesoproterozoic
tures (GTK Consortium, 2006). (Tete Suite) and Neoproterozoic (Guro Suite and Chacocoma
Thermal history analysis of sedimentary basins can be con- Granite) basement rocks (GTK Consortium, 2006) (Fig. 3a). The
strained by combining techniques that characterize the thermal stratigraphic succession of this basin consists of several formations
conditions during subsidence and burial (e.g. vitrinite reflectance, belonging to the Karoo Supergroup (KSG) (Real, 1966; Thonnard,
VR) with techniques that yield information on the cooling path 1971/1972; Afonso, 1975; Vasconcelos, 1995; Mugabe, 1999; GTK
during subsequent phases of tectonic uplift and denudation (e.g. Consortium, 2006). The KSG predominantly comprises Permo-
apatite fission track, AFT). In modern sedimentary basins that are at Triassic clastic rocks, whereas the Lower Jurassic volcano-
maximum burial temperatures (or in partly exhumed sedimentary sedimentary formations that characterize the Upper Karoo units
basins where peak temperatures occurred in the past), peak burial are not well represented in this basin (Vasconcelos, 1995).
temperatures can be assessed by measuring VR (Price, 1983). At the base of the stratigraphic succession of the Moatize-
Fission-track analysis of detrital apatite grains in sedimentary ba- Minjova Basin is the Vúzi Formation, formally known as the Till-
sins can yield information on the timing of maximum palae- ite Series (Real, 1966; GTK Consortium, 2006). This formation
otemperatures and subsequent basin cooling and exhumation consists of glacial diamictites (tillites) interbedded with sandstones
history, particularly when the AFT thermal history inherited from and thin siltstones-shale beds that rest unconformably on Pre-
the source region is removed by annealing at burial temperatures cambrian crystalline basement rocks. The Vúzi Formation has been
above 120
C. considered to be Late Carboniferous-Early Permian in age by lith-
Previous low-temperature thermochronology studies in north- ological correlation with the top part of the Dwyka Group of the
ern and central Mozambique have sampled both crystalline base- main Karoo Basin of South Africa (Real, 1966; GTK Consortium,
ment rocks and Mesozoic siliciclastic sequences to constrain the 2006). However, recent palynological dating of diamictite beds
break-up of Gondwana and the development of the Meso- correlated to the top of the Vúzi Formation intersected by two
Cenozoic Rovuma and Mozambique sedimentary basins shallow coal exploration boreholes (ETA 65 and ETA 72) located
(Daszinnies, 2006; Daszinnies et al., 2009; Emmel et al., 2011, 2014) along the Muara
dzi River (Fig. 3b), assigned a Kungurian-Roadian
and also characterised the thermal evolution of the Cenozoic to age (Lower-Middle Permian) (Lopes et al., 2014; Pereira et al.,
recent Malawi and Rukwa rifts (Van der Beek et al., 1998; 2014). This suggests that either the terminal Gondwana glacial
Daszinnies, 2006). In this work, we focus on the thermal history deposits in the Moatize-Minjova Basin may be younger than pre-
of Karoo age sedimentary rocks of the Moatize-Minjova Basin viously believed, or there are reworked coarse glacial sediments
(Figs. 1 and 2), by integrating vitrinite reflectance (VR) measure- interbedded within the coal-bearing strata of the younger Moatize
ments with AFT analysis. The main aims of this work are deter- Formation.
mining the peak burial temperatures and the timing of organic The glacial deposits of the Vúzi Formation are conformably
maturation and how it is related to the tectonic processes associ- overlain by the Moatize Formation, that consists of interbedded
ated with basin development. We also aim to reconstruct the carbonaceous shales, siltstones, sandstones and coal beds orga-
subsequent tectonic history of the basin (i.e. its cooling and exhu- nized into sedimentary cycles interpreted as fluvial and lacustrine
mation history) from the maximum burial temperatures to the sediments deposited under wet, temperate climatic conditions
present day. (Mugabe, 1999). In the Moatize region the Moatize Formation at-
tains a maximum thickness of 340 m (Real, 1966; Afonso, 1975; GTK
2. Geological background of the Moatize-Minjova Basin Consortium, 2006) and has six main coal seams known locally as
Carbonaceous Complexes, consisting of interbedded carbonaceous
The Moatize-Minjova Basin is located in central-west shales and coal beds of variable thickness. Currently, the Chipanga
Mozambique in the Tete Province (Fig. 1), and is currently the and Bananeiras Carbonaceous Complexes, positioned at the base
only Mozambican basin with active exploitation of coal. It is the and at the middle of the Moatize Formation respectively, are being
easternmost of the Karoo basins situated along the Zambezi River exploited. The Chipanga Complex is the thickest of these complexes
valley in Mozambique, extending broadly from the town of Tete to and comprises 36 m of interbedded coal beds and carbonaceous
the border with Malawi, where it continues into the Shire River shales and the accumulated thickness of the coal layers is ca. 20 m.
valley (Fig. 1). This basin is also known in the literature as the Plant macrofossils and palynomorphs suggest a Lower to Middle
Cahora Bassa Basin (Catuneanu et al., 2005) (Fig. 2). The Karoo Permian age for the top part of the Moatize Formation (Daber,
basins of the Zambezi river valley developed by fault-related 1984), which may be correlated with the Middle-Upper Ecca
reactivation of Pan-African high strain zones of the Zambezi Belt Group of the Main Karoo Basin in South Africa.
(Carvalho, 1977; La€chelt, 2004; GTK Consortium, 2006). This tec- The Moatize Formation is conformably overlain by a thick pile
tonic reactivation occurred under a transtensional stress regime (ca. 4 km) of predominantly siliciclastic rocks belonging to the
associated with the NWeSE sinistral Zambezi pre-transform fault Matinde and Ca
dzi formations (GTK Consortium, 2006). Both for-
system (Castaing, 1991; Daszinnies et al., 2009) (Fig. 2). The mations were deposited in fluvial environments that recorded the
transtensional stress created by the movement along these strike- transition from wet temperate conditions to hot arid climatic
slip faults formed graben to half graben-type basins, which were conditions. Due to the lack of reliable biostratigraphic markers, the
filled by thick piles of mostly siliciclastic terrestrial sedimentary Matinde Formation is lithologically correlated with the Middle-
rocks of Permo-Triassic age and Lower Jurassic volcano- Upper Ecca Group of the Main Karoo Basin of South Africa (Silva
sedimentary rocks. In addition to the Karoo Zambezi River valley et al., 1967), whereas the Ca
dzi Formation is correlated to the
58 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

Fig. 2. Permo-Triassic palaeogeographical reconstruction of central Gondwana showing the location of the principal Karoo basins of South-East Africa. The figure also depicts the
Zambezi pre-Transform Fault System (ZTFS) and its possible eastward links to the onshore Karoo rift basins, located along the Zambezi river valley (e.g. Moatize-Minjova Coal Basin),
and the today's location of the Zambezi Delta (ZD) on the continental platform. Adapted from Daszinnies et al., 2009 and Verniers et al., 1989.

Beaufort Group of the main Karoo Basin of South Africa. Recent exploration boreholes, DW123 and DW132, drilled in the Moatize-
palynological revision of the Matinde Formation based on the two Minjova Basin. The two boreholes are located ca. 30 km SE of the
boreholes studied in this work (DW123 and DW132) (Fig. 3b), has town of Moatize in the Muara
dzi River valley (Fig. 3b), are ca.
however indicated that this formation extends into the latest 3200 m from each other, and are close to the northern fault-
Permian, with the PermianeTriassic boundary identified at ca. 42 m bounded contact between the Mesoproterozoic Tete Gab-
depth in borehole DW132 (Pereira et al. 2015). With the exception broeAnorthosite Suite and the sedimentary rocks of the Moatize-
of a dolerite intrusion of variable thicknesses, the Lower Jurassic Minjova Basin (Fig. 3b).
volcano-sedimentary sequences encountered at the top of the KSG, The two boreholes consist of sandstones, carbonaceous shales
and correlated with the Stormberg Group volcanics of the Main and a few coal seams that are attributed to the Matinde Formation
Karoo Basin, are not well represented in the Moatize-Minjova Basin (Pereira et al. 2015) (Figs. 4 and 5). The boreholes exhibit two main
(Vasconcelos, 1995). lithological units. Borehole DW132 (Fig. 4) has a total depth (TD) of
512 m and from 290 m to TD, the core is dominated by sandstone
3. Materials beds. Within this interval between 400 and 430 m there is a
prominent 30 m thick unit of shale. Shales with two minor sand-
The samples analysed in this study were obtained from two coal stone levels dominate the second lithological unit, from 290 m
 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72 59

Fig. 3. a) General geological map of the Moatize-Minjova Coal Basin in the Tete region; b) detailed geological map showing the location of the studied boreholes (DW123 and
DW132). Maps adapted from Geological Map of Mozambique, sheet no. 1633, Tete, Geological Series 1/250000, Direcç~ao Nacional de Geologia, Maputo, 2006.
60 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

Fig. 4. Vitrinite reflectance profile of borehole DW132.

depth to the top of the borehole. The shales are normally carbo- VR measurements and qualitative spore fluorescence and spore
naceous with abundant centimetre-thick coal seams. In the core colour, were taken from 43 core samples (19 from borehole DW123
the beds show horizontal to sub-horizontal contacts. Sedimentary and 24 from borehole DW132) (Figs. 4 and 5). The samples collected
structures displayed by both sandstones and shales are indicative of were dark grey shales and black carbonaceous shales and they all
deposition in fluvial and lacustrine environments (Pereira et al. yielded sufficient and suitable vitrinite and spores for organic
2015). maturation studies. Although coal is the most suitable material for
With a TD of 489 m, borehole DW123 (Fig. 5) shows a similar measuring VR, coal was not evenly distributed through the bore-
stratigraphy to borehole DW132. The bottom bed corresponds to a hole sections. Moreover, most of the coal seams were already
6 m thick matrix-supported conglomerate that is overlain by a 45 m sampled for technical analysis to determine their physical and
thick package of sandstones that contains a shale horizon. Two chemical properties and were not available for sampling. Four
small (>2.5 m thick) dolerite sills intrude the lower part of the samples of medium-grained sandstones were sampled for AFT
borehole at ca. 470 and 485 m depth. From 415 m to 155 m the analysis. Two samples were collected per borehole with a depth
borehole is sandstone-dominated, while from 155 m to the top the difference of ca. 350 m in DW123 and ca. 500 m in DW132 (Figs. 4
borehole is predominantly shale. and 5). All samples yielded enough apatite for analysis.
The two boreholes were recently dated by palynomorphs. The
shales of the two boreholes yielded palynological assemblages 4. Methodology
characteristic of the latest Permian (Changsingian), and in partic-
ular the PermianeTriassic transition was identified in borehole 4.1. Vitrinite reflectance
DW132 at approximately 42 m depth, coinciding with the base of
the sandstone package located towards the top of the borehole. The recognition that macerals including vitrinite occur in
 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72 61

Fig. 5. Vitrinite reflectance profile of borehole DW123.

kerogen residues from sedimentary rocks other than coal, enables with a 20 mm mesh and then mounted in slides and polished using
VR to be used for the assessment of organic maturation and thermal a methodology adapted from that described by Hillier and Marshall
histories in sedimentary basins (e.g. Bostick, 1971, 1974). Due to the (1988). VR measurements were made in the University of the
regular change in reflectance properties of the vitrinite group Algarve, Portugal. The equipment and methodology are described
during coalification (organic maturation), it is the most important in detail by Fernandes et al. (2010, 2012, 2013), and briefly sum-
optical parameter used in the determination of the rank of coals marised here. Black and white (8-bit) digital images of vitrinite
and the maturation levels of rocks in sedimentary basins. This is particles were analysed using a graphical tool, named VITRINITE
due mainly to the irreversibility of chemical reactions that affect (Fernandes et al., 2010), which runs within the Mirone Suite and
vitrinite particles during organic maturation (Taylor et al., 1998; calibrates the scale of 256 grey levels with standards of known
Su
arez-Ruiz et al., 2012). Because all samples studied by means of reflectivity.
VR were from kerogen residues, several criteria were taken into
account for vitrinite identification following the guidelines rec-
4.2. Spore fluorescence and spore colour
ommended by the International Committee for Coal Petrology
(1971) and ISO Standards (2009). In this work random mean vitri-
Qualitative spore fluorescence and spore colour are two optical
nite reflectance (%Rr) was the optical parameter of VR chosen for
parameters of organic maturation, useful for evaluating maturation
maturation assessment.
levels of low-rank rocks until the end of the oil window (1.35e1.5%
Kerogen residues were extracted from core samples using
Rr) (Sua
rez-Ruiz et al., 2012). When correlated with the quantita-
standard cold hydrochloric (HCl) and hydrofluoric (HF) acid paly-
tive VR method, spore fluorescence and colour parameters can
nological techniques. The kerogen residues obtained were sieved
provide additional support for the organic maturation of the rocks.
62 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

In this study all maturation methods are compared with each other measured and used as a proxy for the compositional dependence of
in order to confirm the maturation levels attained by the rocks and annealing (Carlson et al., 1999; Barbarand et al., 2003b; Ketcham
to check the internal consistency of the methods. et al., 2007).
The analysis of qualitative spore fluorescence colours was un- Apatite uranium concentration measurements were measured
dertaken in the University of the Algarve using an Olympus BX 51 using a Photon Machines Analyte Excite 193 nm ArF Excimer laser
microscope equipped with a metal halide lamp fluorescence unit X- ablation system coupled to a Thermo Scientific iCAP Qc ICPMS in
Cite Series 120Q and with a violet and Blue þ12 filter block that Trinity College Dublin. The analytical protocol employed is
yields a wavelength band of 390e490 nm. This system was allowed described in detail by Chew and Donelick (2012) and Cogne
et al.
to stabilize for 15 min prior to any observation of the fluorescence (2014).
of the samples. Suitable spore species with smooth and medium
thick exines, such as Laevigastosporites spp., were subjected to
5 min of excitation, after which their fluorescence colours was 5. Results
recorded. The terminology used for describing fluorescence colours
was blue (B), green (G), yellow (Y), dark yellow (DY), orange (O), 5.1. Organic maturation
dark orange (DO) and red (R).
Spore exine colour has long been suggested by palynologists as a All maturation results, both quantitative and qualitative, are
method to assess the thermal maturity of sedimentary rocks, presented in Table 1. These results are also plotted against the depth
because they observed that with increasing burial depth spore of the samples (Figs. 4 and 5) to produce VR profiles, and also to
colour change from light to dark and the change is progressive and illustrate how the other maturation parameters change with
irreversible (Correia, 1967, 1971; Staplin, 1969, 1977, 1982). In this increasing burial depth.
study spore colour was recorded using the Phillips Petroleum In borehole DW123 the VR values increase downhole ranging
Colour Standard version no. 2 (1984), which is an adaptation of from 1.3%Rr at 12 m depth to 1.69%Rr at ca. 480 m depth, with a
Staplin's Thermal Alteration Index (TAI) chart, because it includes clear linear correlation (r2 ¼ 0.97) (Fig. 5). In terms of hydrocarbon
more shades for the same colour index. The spore colour index for generation zones, the boundary between the base of the oil win-
the samples was given by the colour of the dominant and palest dow and the wet gas zone provided by the VR profile occurs at
spore observed and compared with the Phillips Petroleum Colour approximately 60 m depth and at 1.37%Rr. Samples above 160 m
Standard chart. The results of spore colour determination are pre- depth show positive fluorescence with dark orange colours indi-
sented together with VR measurements and spore fluorescence cating palaeotemperatures close to the onset of spore fluorescence
colours for each sample (Table 1) and in Fig. 6 are shown the main extinction. Samples from the depth interval between 160 and
features of spore colour and spore fluorescence of the two bore- 260 m depth, either show weak fluorescence with dark orange/red
holes studied. Spore colours were recorded for acamerate, azonate colours or show no fluorescence, whereas for samples below 260 m
trilete or monolete spores with a smooth exine of medium thick- depth no spore was observed to fluoresce. The horizon of fluores-
ness, such as Calamospora spp. and Laevigatosporites spp., which cence extinction in this borehole correlates with VR values between
occur throughout the section of both boreholes studied (Pereira 1.4 and 1.5%Rr. Spore colour increases from a TAI value of 3/3 þ at
et al. 2015). the top of the borehole to values of 4/4 at the bottom of the
borehole (Fig. 6). Values of 3 þ were recorded for spores at the
4.3. Apatite fission track horizon of fluorescence extinction. The maturation levels measured
correspond to bituminous coals with low to medium volatiles in
Fission tracks are radiation damage trails that form in non- terms of coal rank.
conductive materials (e.g. minerals and glasses) by the sponta- In this same borehole (DW123), with the exception of sample
neous fission of 238U. On geological timescales, fission tracks in M148 at 480.54 m (Table 1), the VR values measured from all the
apatite anneal instantaneously at temperatures above 120
C but samples greater than 400 m yielded anomalously high values, be-
remain stable at temperatures below 60
C, with the 60e120
C tween ca. 1.9%Rr e 2.3%Rr (Table 1), that do not lie on the VR vs
temperature window defined as the apatite Partial Annealing Zone depth profile illustrated in Fig. 5. These samples were not included
or PAZ (e.g. Gallagher et al., 1998). Other factors such as apatite on the VR profile as they were interpreted as the result of
composition (particularly Cl content) can influence the track conductive heating related to the two dolerite sills that were
annealing process (e.g. Green et al., 1986). In addition, the distri- intercepted in the borehole between 470 and 490 m depth.
bution of track lengths is critical in interpreting fully the fission The organic maturity levels recorded for borehole DW132 are
track age (e.g. Gallagher et al., 1998). very similar to borehole DW123. VR values measured range from
The apatite mineral separates in this study were embedded in 1.32%Rr at the top of the borehole (8 m depth) to 1.56%Rr at the
small epoxy resin disks (15 mm diameter  1.5 mm deep) and bottom of the borehole (467 m depth), with a clear linear VR vs
polished to expose internal apatite grain surfaces. Spontaneous depth relationship (r2 ¼ 0.98). Maturation levels as indicated by the
tracks were revealed by acid etching using 5.5 M HNO3 at 21
C for VR values at approximately 100 m straddle the base of the oil-
20 s. The grain mounting and etching procedures are very similar to window and the beginning of the wet gas zone. Samples above
the protocols described by Donelick et al. (2005). Fission track 200 m show positive fluorescence with dark orange colours
counting and length measurements were carried out using a Zeiss indicative of palaeotemperatures close to the onset of spore fluo-
AxioImager Z1m microscope equipped with an Autoscan auto- rescence extinction (Fig. 6). Between 200 and 290 m depth spores
mated stage system in Trinity College Dublin. At least 20 grains show either red fluorescence colours or no fluorescence (Fig. 6),
were counted per sample, while 100 horizontal confined tracks while below 290 m depth no spores fluoresce. The horizon of
were measured for the track length distribution (Gleadow et al., fluorescence extinction correlates with a VR of 1.4e1.46%Rr. Spore
1986; Gallagher et al., 1998). The orientation of the horizontal colour increases from a TAI value of 3/3 at the top of the borehole
confined tracks relative to the c-axis was also determined as both to a TAI value of 3þ/4 at the bottom of the borehole. A TAI value of
the annealing and etching of fission tracks in apatite are anisotropic 3þ/4 was recorded for spores at the horizon of fluorescence
(Donelick, 1991; Barbarand et al., 2003a; Ketcham et al., 2007). The extinction. VR values measured correspond to bituminous coals
long axes of the fission-track etch pits (termed Dpar) were also with low to medium volatiles in terms of coal rank.
 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72 63

Table 1
Organic maturation results and palaeotemperatures (
C) calculated using method described by Barker (1988) for the two boreholes of the Moatize-Minjova Coal Basin. All
samples are black carbonaceous mudstones or black/grey mudstones. Rr (%) e vitrinite reflectance values, SD e standard deviation, No. Grains e number of vitrinite particles
measured, Fluo. e spore fluorescence colours (DO e dark orange, R e red), and spore colour TAI e Thermal Alteration Index. (ed. e edited vitrinite reflectance values).

Sample (Ref.) Depth (m) %Rr SD No. grains Palaeotemp. (
C)* Fluo. TAI

Borehole DW132
M53 8.1 1.32 0.07 100 176.9 DO 3/3þ
M56 28.34 1.32 0.07 100 176.9 DO 3/3þ
M58 36.2 1.3 0.04 100 175.3 DO 3/3þ
M61 46.67 1.33 0.06 100 177.7 DO 3/3þ
M63 58.93 1.34 0.07 100 178.4 DO 3/3þ
M65 73.18 1.35 0.03 100 179.2 DO 3/3þ
M66 84.3 1.37 0.05 100 180.7 DO 3/3þ
M67 98 1.37 0.06 100 180.7 DO 3/3þ
M70 114.1 1.38 0.03 100 181.5 DO 3/3þ
M71 147.58 1.39 0.06 100 182.2 DO 3/3þ
M76 182.36 1.41 0.07 100 183.7 DO 3/3þ
M79 197.1 1.41 0.08 100 183.7 DO 3/3þ
M82 206.11 1.43 0.07 100 185.2 DO/R 3þ/4
M84 216.93 1.43 0.06 100 185.2 DO/R 3þ/4
M87 245.22 1.43 0.09 100 185.2 DO/R 3þ/4
M93 280.97 1.44 0.05 100 185.9 R 3þ/4
M95 305.63 1.46 0.07 100 187.4 e 3þ/4
M98 318.84 1.48 0.05 100 188.8 e 3þ/4
M99 324.37 1.49 0.04 100 189.5 e 3þ/4
M100 356.82 1.51 0.06 100 190.9 e 3þ/4
M101 395.67 1.52 0.04 100 191.5 e 3þ/4
M103 413.83 1.52 0.06 100 191.5 e 3þ/4
M107 458.9 1.55 0.06 100 193.6 e 3þ/4
M109 467 1.56 0.06 100 194.2 e 3þ/4
Borehole DW123
M113 12.37 1.3 0.05 100 175.3 DO 3/3þ
M115 19.07 1.31 0.05 100 176.1 DO 3/3þ
M116 25.34 1.31 0.06 100 176.1 DO 3/3þ
M117 36.92 1.34 0.02 100 178.4 DO 3/3þ
M118 43.2 1.35 0.04 100 179.2 DO 3/3þ
M119 62.8 1.37 0.07 100 180.7 DO 3/3þ
M121 72.38 1.38 0.09 100 181.5 DO 3/3þ
M124 87.84 1.4 0.07 100 183 DO 3/3þ
M128 104.07 1.42 0.06 100 184.5 DO 3/3þ
M129 128.52 1.44 0.04 100 185.9 DO 3/3þ
M131 153.63 1.46 0.08 100 187.4 DO 3þ
M132 166.17 1.47 0.07 100 188.1 DO/R 3þ
M134 194.89 1.48 0.07 100 188.8 DO/R 3þ
M135 264.94 1.52 0.05 100 191.5 e 3þ
M136 296.01 1.53 0.04 100 192.2 e 3þ
M139 307.55 1.54 0.05 100 192.9 e 3þ/4
M140 374.42 1.58 0.07 100 195.6 e 3þ/4
M141 396.83 1.64 0.03 100 199.4 e 3þ/4
M143 (ed.) 439.83 2 0.17 100 220.1 e 4
M144 (ed.) 463.11 1.92 0.15 100 215.8 e 4
M145 (ed.) 466.71 2.23 0.15 100 231.4 e 4
M146 (ed.) 469.15 1.99 0.18 100 219.6 e 4
M147 (ed.) 477.17 2.23 0.15 100 231.4 e 4
M148 480.54 1.69 0.09 100 202.6 e 4/4
M149 (ed.) 483.59 2.28 0.12 100 233.7 e 4
M150 (ed.) 485.2 2.18 0.25 100 229 e 4

5.2. Apatite fission track (Fig. 7, Table 2) indicating that the analysed grains are similar in
terms of their annealing characteristics to Durango apatite (mean
Borehole DW123 yielded AFT ages of 146.1 ± 11.2 Ma for the Dpar measured for the same etching protocol on Durango apatite is
shallow sample at a depth of 69 m and 102.6 ± 8.8 Ma for the 1.66 mm).
deeper sample at a depth of 408 m (Fig. 7). Borehole DW132 yielded
AFT ages of 137.9 ± 12.4 Ma for the shallow sample at a depth of 6. Interpretation
23 m and 84.0 ± 7.8 Ma for the deeper sample at a depth of 511 m (2
s; Table 2). All the single grain ages save one, are younger than the 6.1. Thermal modelling using vitrinite reflectance
deposition age suggesting post-depositional total annealing (Fig. 7).
The mean track lengths (MTLs) are short, and very similar in all The organic maturation results obtained from the two boreholes
samples, ranging between 11.7 or 11.8 ± 0.2 mm (1 Standard Error, indicate that there is a clear relationship between maturity and
Table 2), with a symmetrical distribution and standard deviations depth of the strata (Figs. 4 and 5). This suggests that heating during
of between 2.06 and 2.18 mm. These values indicate a fairly long burial was the main process controlling organic maturation. The
residence in the PAZ and a relatively recent onset of cooling to measured VR values, the estimated spore fluorescence and TAI
temperatures below ~60
C. Dpar values cluster around 1.7 mm values indicate that the strata in both boreholes straddle the late
64 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

Fig. 6. Main features of the optical parameters spore colour and spore fluorescence recorded in the two boreholes studied: a) sample M56 TAI 3/3þ (transmitted light); b) sample
M56 UV fluorescence light (DO); c) sample M93 TAI 3þ/4 (transmitted light); d) sample M93 UV fluorescence light (R); e) sample M141 TAI 3þ/4 (transmitted light); f) sample
M148 TAI 4/4 (transmitted light). Details regarding the organic maturation and depth in the boreholes of these samples are in Table 1.

oil-window and the beginning of the wet-gas generation zone. while the borehole intercepted two small dolerite sills near the
Palaeotemperatures were calculated using the empirical equa- base (Fig. 5). There is no evidence that borehole DW132 was ther-
tion of Barker (1988) [T(
C) ¼ 104ln(Rr) þ 148], where T(
C) is the mally affected by igneous intrusions and therefore the value of
maximum palaeotemperature attained by the rock and Rr the 40
C/km calculated for this borehole can be regarded as the
measured VR value. The calculated palaeotemperatures are shown regional geothermal gradient for the Moatize-Minjova Basin. This
in Table 1 and were used to estimate palaeogeothermal gradients value is somewhat higher than the typical value of 30
C/km for
for the Moatize-Minjova Basin (Fig. 8) and the amount of rock present-day stable continental lithosphere (Allen and Allen, 2013).
section eroded. The palaeogeothermal gradients calculated were ca. Higher geothermal gradients are however characteristic of exten-
58
C/km and 40
C/km for boreholes DW123 and DW132, sional continental rift-related basins [e.g. Upper Rhine Graben
respectively. As mentioned previously, anomalously high VR values (Robert, 1988)] such as the Moatize-Minjova Basin (Carvalho, 1977;
were measured in borehole DW123 for most samples greater than €chelt, 2004; GTK Consortium, 2006).
La
400 m depth and were interpreted as the result of conductive
heating associated with dolerite intrusions. This borehole was
6.2. Eroded cover estimates
drilled close to NWeSE trending dolerite intrusions that are hun-
dreds of meters long and tens of meters wide in extent (Fig. 3b),
In sedimentary basins where rocks have already attained
 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72 65

Fig. 7. Radial plots (Galbraith, 1990) for apatite fission track samples, showing each single grain ages. The colour scale indicates the Dpar value for each grain. Plots were generated
using RadialPlotter (Vermeesch, 2009).

Table 2
Fission track results.

Name Depth (m) Nsa 238

U/43Cab Area (cm2)c FT age (Ma) ±2s (Ma) No. grains P(c2) MTL (mm) SE (mm) SD (mm) No. tracks Dpar (mm)

DW123 (FT1) 69 1029 0.17419 4.01E-04 146.1 11.2 21 12 11.7 0.2 2.18 100 1.70
DW123 (FT2) 408 731 0.19473 4.14E-04 102.6 8.8 20 8 11.7 0.2 2.12 100 1.66
DW132 (FT3) 23 646 0.15717 3.59E-04 137.9 12.4 20 <5 11.8 0.2 2.06 100 1.66
DW132 (FT4) 511 560 0.19873 3.60E-04 84 7.8 20 10 11.7 0.2 2.09 100 1.70
a
Number of spontaneous tracks.
b
Sum of the single-grain 238U/43Ca ratios measured by ICP-MS and weighted by the counted area.
c
Counted area, SE e Standard Error, SD e Standard Deviation.

maximum temperatures, it is possible to estimate the eroded Minjova Basin (Cairncross, 2001; Catuneanu et al., 2005). For
sedimentary section that was necessary to account for the instance, Banks et al. (1995) reported an 8 km thick PermoeTriassic
measured VR. In the two studied boreholes, VR values of 1.3e1.32% sedimentary section preserved in the Karoo rift basins of the
Rr were measured for the shallowest samples (8 and 12 m depth) Luangwa Valley in Zambia.
yielding peak palaeotemperatures of ca. 175e177
C.
The method used to estimate eroded cover is after Bray et al. 6.3. Inverse modelling methodology
(1992). Applying this methodology to the two boreholes studied,
post-Upper Permian exhumation in the Moatize-Minjova Basin is Inverse modelling of AFT (track length and age) and vitrinite
estimated at a maximum of 4 km and a minimum of 2.7 km for data from the vertical profiles was undertaken to extract thermal
boreholes DW132 and DW123, respectively. Thick sedimentary history information. We used the QTQt software package of
sections are found in other extensional rift-related Karoo basins of Gallagher (2012). QTQt employs a Bayesian trans-dimensional
eastern Africa, which are genetically related to the Moatize- Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach (Sambridge et al.,
66 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

Fig. 8. Calculated palaeogeothermal gradients of the two boreholes studied.

2006; Gallagher et al., 2009). The approach requires a prior prob- temperature box (125 ± 125
C, 200 ± 200 Ma). A series of
ability distribution (a range for the model parameters). A drawn discrete time-temperature points are sampled from this to
initial model is generated from this distribution and the current construct a continuous thermal history and the data likelihood is
model is then perturbed to produce a proposed model. The algo- calculated for that model. To model the fission track data, we used
rithm then chooses whether or not to replace the current model by the individual track counts, measurements of confined length and
the proposed model or to generate a new proposed model by again angle to c-axis, the likelihood function of Gallagher (1995) and the
perturbing the current model. This process is repeated many times, annealing model of Ketcham et al. (2007). The kinetic model of
updating the current model as appropriate. The choice to replace Sweeney and Burnham (1990) was used to model the VR data. A
the current model with the proposed model is made in terms of the depositional constraint of 256 ± 4 Ma (Lopingian) and 20 ± 10
C
data fit (likelihood) but also the Bayesian approach adopted here was also employed. Only the post-depositional history was used to
naturally favours simpler models (Gallagher et al., 2009). The model both the VR and AFT data as the vitrinite and AFT data
output is an ensemble of models, which quantifies the probability indicate total annealing of all the analysed apatites. Both samples
of acceptable thermal history models. from a given well are modelled together following the vertical
In this study the prior is specified as one general time- profile sampling strategy adopted in Gallagher et al. (2005) and
 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72 67

implemented in QTQt. The present-day temperature for the shal- corresponding to about 2.5e3 km of denudation assuming a
lower sample from each borehole is set at 25 ± 5
C and a present- slightly reduced geothermal gradient of ca. 35
C/km. Regional
day offset between the top and bottom sample is set at 15 ± 5
C. All thermochronological studies based on AFT data from basement
models employed 200,000 iterations, which is sufficient to provide rocks located on the southern Malawi rift shoulders along the Shire
stable solutions (Gallagher, 2012). Valley (Daszinnies et al., 2008) indicate an Early Permian cooling
In the following section we consider the weighted mean model event, related to the initiation of the Karoo basins in the Zambezi
(termed the expected model), while credible intervals (the river valley region of Mozambique. This episode is not seen on our
Bayesian equivalent of confidence intervals) were calculated using data as the Moatize-Minjova Basin is subsiding at this time, while
the ensemble of thermal history solutions. These credible intervals the 240e230 Ma cooling episode identified in this study for the
then represent the range of the model parameters contained in the Karoo rocks (and linked to basin inversion) has not been recorded
posterior distribution at the specified level of probability (e.g. 95%). in the Precambrian basement rocks. Another possibility is that a
putative 240e230 Ma basement cooling episode cannot be detec-
6.4. Inverse modelling results ted with the AFT method because it cannot easily be temporally
distinguished from the Lower Permian exhumation.
The expected thermal histories models are depicted in Fig. 9 (for Further north of the area of study in the north Malawi Rift and
borehole DW123) and Fig. 10 (for borehole DW132) with associated Rukwa Rift, Van der Beek et al. (1998) modelled AFT data from
predicted AFT ages, MTLs and vitrinite values. The next section basement rocks located on the rift shoulders and determined a
describes the thermal histories for the coolest (i.e. shallowest) cooling episode from 250 to 200 Ma (Triassic). This cooling episode
sample from each borehole. has been linked with the formation of the “Gondwana Surface” of
The two boreholes yield very similar thermal histories. Imme- eastern and southern Africa; however Van der Beek et al. (1998)
diately following deposition a heating phase of 130e140
C proposed that sub-aerial exposure of this “surface” did not take
occurred with a duration of 3e10 Ma (depending on the borehole place before the Eocene (ca. 40 Ma). Our results are within the age
examined), which heated the samples to their maximum post- range of the 250e200 Ma cooling event of described by Van der
depositional temperature. Following heating the samples Beek et al. (1998) and the land surface originated by the
remained at relatively constant temperatures for 10 Ma which was 240e230 Ma cooling event identified in this work may also be
followed by a period of rapid cooling. The cooling episode starts at related to this “Gondwana Surface”.
ca. 240 Ma and ends at 230 Ma with a total magnitude of cooling of In the Main Karoo Basin of South Africa the deposition of the
85e90
C, at a rate of 8.5e9
C/Ma. stratigraphic units and, also, the major unconformity between the
By 230 Ma the shallowest sample in both boreholes had cooled sedimentary rocks of the Lower Triassic Beaufort Group and the
to 70
C. Following this there is a very slow cooling phase during the Upper Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Molteno Formation (which
entire Mesozoic and most of Cenozoic until ca. 6 Ma. The temper- corresponds to a depositional hiatus between 240 and 230 Ma) are
ature reached at 6 Ma is 60
C for borehole DW132 and 50
C for likely related to the main compressional events within the Cape
borehole DW123, so the Mesozoic e Early Cenozoic cooling rate is Fold Belt (Veevers et al., 1994; Le Roux, 1995; Catuneanu et al., 1998,
approximately 0.1e0.05
C/Ma. Finally from 6 Ma onwards a second 2005; Tankard et al., 2009). Mid-Triassic depositional hiatuses
rapid cooling phase of 25e35
C occurred with a cooling rate of encompassing the 240e230 Ma time interval were also identified
4e6
C/Ma. in the sedimentary record of several Karoo rift basins north of the
Main Karoo Basin of South Africa. In the Selous Basin in south
7. Discussion and conclusions Tanzania it corresponds to the depositional hiatus observed be-
tween the Lower Triassic Rufiji Formation and the Luhombero
The VR values measured in boreholes DW123 and DW132 from Formation of Landinian age (Hankel, 1987, 1994; Wopfner and
the Moatize-Minjova Basin correspond to a coal rank of bituminous Kaaya, 1991 [Fig. 2]). In the Duruma Basin in southern Kenya it
coals, with low to medium volatiles, and are of similar rank to those corresponds to the hiatus between the Lower Triassic Mariakani
reported by Vasconcelos (1995) and Vasconcelos and Achimo Formation and the Matolani Formation (Hankel, 1994 [Fig. 2]),
(2010) for the Moatize region (ca. 1.4%Rr). In terms of hydrocar- while in the Morondava Basin of Madagascar it corresponds to the
bon generative zones, both boreholes intersected the base of the hiatus between the Lower Permian Middle/Upper Sakamena For-
oil-window at 100e150 m depth, indicating that most of the mation and the Lower Isalo Formation (Hankel, 1994; Wescott and
borehole sections are at the beginning of the wet-gas generative Diggens, 1998; Pique
, 1999; Pique
et al., 1999; [Fig. 2]). Although the
zone. The linear increase of VR with depth observed in both bore- age of the sedimentary succession in the Metangula Basin in north
holes indicates an organic maturation process related to burial. Mozambique (Fig. 1) is poorly constrained, the mid-Triassic hiatus
Calculated palaeogeothermal gradients indicate a maximum may correspond to the unconformity between the Mount Lilonga
gradient of 58
C/km and a minimum of 40
C/km. The dolerite (KSa) and Fugue (KSb) formations consisting of medium to coarse-
intrusions intersected near the bottom of borehole DW123 had grained sandstones and grey to greenish mudstones, and the un-
localized thermal effects increasing the VR for most samples derlying Middle Karoo rocks (K5 to K6) consisting of interbedded
greater than 400 m depth. Using the palaeogeothermal gradients sandstones, siltstones and mudstones with occasionally coal beds
calculated from the VR values, between 2.7 and 4 km was eroded in (Verniers et al., 1989). According to Verniers et al. (1989), this un-
post-Upper Permian times. conformity corresponds to the boundary between two megacycles
AFT ages (ca. 146 to 84 Ma, Cretaceous) are younger than the of deposition in this basin and is interpreted as a period of signif-
stratigraphic age of the host rocks (Upper Permian) demonstrating icant tectonic activity associated with the rejuvenation of rift for-
that the samples have experienced palaeotemperatures over 120
C mation processes. This mid-Triassic hiatus corresponds also to the
during burial. Thermal modelling also indicates that maximum boundary between the fifth and sixth depositional sequences of the
burial temperatures and consequently the organic maturation rift Karoo basins proposed by Catuneanu et al. (2005), representing
levels assessed were attained shortly (between 3 and 10 Ma) after the last extensional pulse in the formation of these basins prior to
deposition. The models indicate that a first episode of rapid cooling the breakup of Gondwana.
occurred between 240 and 230 Ma in the Moatize-Minjova Basin, The cause of the 240e230 Ma cooling and uplift/denudation
corresponding to a total magnitude of cooling of 80e90
C event identified in the Moatize-Minjova Basin is thus probably
68 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

Fig. 9. Thermal history and associated predictions for borehole DW123. (a) Graph of the thermal history inferred from the inverse modelling. The black box is user-specified
temperatureetime constraints (deposition of the sediments). (b) Graph of observed (fill symbols) and predicted (open symbols) AFT ages and vitrinite reflectance versus depth.
(c) Predicted (dashed curves with credible intervals denoted by thin lines) and observed (histogram boxes) track length distributions.

related to a regional compressional deformation event developed ages ranging from 292 ± 5 to 215 ± 3 Ma (Ha €lbich et al., 1983;
during the Gondwanide Orogeny in the Cape Fold Belt (H€ albich, Ha€lbich, 1992). The effects of the Cape Fold Belt-related compres-
1992; Trouw and De Wit, 1999). In South Africa compressional sional deformation are not restricted to the Main Karoo Basin of
tectonic deformation events of the Cape Fold Belt were dated using South Africa and have been described as far afield as the Congo
40
Ar/39Ar of syn-deformational metamorphic micas that yielded Basin (Daly et al., 1991; Delvaux, 2001; Kadima et al., 2011) and in
 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72 69

Fig. 10. Thermal history and associated predictions for borehole DW132. (a) Graph of the thermal history inferred from the inverse modelling. The black box is user-specified
temperatureetime constraints (deposition of the sediments). (b) Graph of observed (fill symbols) and predicted (open symbols) AFT ages and vitrinite reflectance versus depth.
(c) Predicted (dashed curves with credible intervals denoted by thin lines) and observed (histogram boxes) track length distributions.

the Permian Karoo Namwele e Mkolomo Coal Basin of Tanzania and denudation of the Karoo basin fill. The propagation and local-
(Delvaux, 2001). Therefore, we suggest that the main compres- ization of deformation from far-field compressional stresses lead-
sional phase within the Cape Fold Belt transferred stress north- ing to basin inversion has been documented elsewhere in the world
wards on existing major strike-slip faults, whose earlier movement
et al., 2013 in Brazil and references therein).
(e.g. Cogne
history created the Karoo rift basins. The deformation is localized During the entire Mesozoic and most of the Cenozoic the
along strike-slip faults, causing tectonic inversion followed by uplift Moatize-Minjova Basin is characterized by very slow cooling rates.
70 P. Fernandes et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 112 (2015) 55e72

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tat de conservation des e
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The authors would like to thank ETA STAR Moçambique, S.A. and Correia, M., 1971. Diagenesis of sporopollenin and other comparable organic sub-
Gondwana Empreendimentos e Consultorias, Limitada, for access to stances: application to hydrocarbon research. In: Brooks, J., Grant, P.R., Muir, M.,
the boreholes and complementary information. The authors ex- van Gijzel, P., Shaw, G. (Eds.), Sporopollenin. Academic Press, New York,
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press their gratitude to the two reviewers, Benjamin Emmel (SIN- Daber, R., 1984. Plantas fo
sseis de Moçambique, 9. Cie ^nc. Tecnol., Maputo,
TEF, Trondheim, Norway) and John Hancox (Caracle Creek pp. 77e81.
International Consulting, South Africa), whose comments and Daly, M.C., Lawrence, S.R., Kimun'a, D., Binga, M., 1991. Late Palaeozoic deformation
in central Africa: a result of distant collision? Nature 350, 605e607.
suggestions greatly improved the final manuscript. A special thanks Daszinnies, M.C., 2006. The Phanerozoic Thermo-tectonic Evolution of Northern
is made to Gerson Guerreiro, a geology student from the University Mozambique Constrained by 40Ar/39Ar, Fission Track and (Th)/He Analyses.
Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique, for the valuable help in Ph.D. thesis. University of Bremen, p. 227.
Daszinnies, M.C., Emmel, B., Jacobs, J., Grantham, G., Thomas, R.J., 2008. Denudation
the drawing of the figures. Paulo Fernandes acknowledges the in southern Malawi and northern Mozambique: indications of the long-term
Fundaça~o para a Ci^
encia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, for the finan- tectonic segmentation of the East Africa during Gondwana break-up. In:
cial support provided during sabbatical leave. Garver, J.I., Montario, M.J. (Eds.), Proceedings from the 11th International Con-
ference on Thermochronometry, Anchorage, Alaska, pp. 52e53.
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