Structure of the crust beneath Cameroon, West Africa, from the joint inversion of Rayleigh wave group velocities and receiver functions

Geophysical Journal International

Volumn 183, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 1061-1076

  Tokam, Alain Pierre K ^a   Tabod, Charles T ^a   Nyblade, Andrew A ^b   Julià, Jordi ^b   Wiens, Douglas A ^c   Pasyanos, Michael E ^d  

^a UNIVERSITY OF YAOUNDÉ I   (Cameroon)

^b PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^d LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

Author keywords

Body waves; Cratons; Crustal structure; Inverse theory; Surface waves and free oscillations

Indexed keywords

AGE PROGRESSION; ATLANTIC OCEAN; BENUE TROUGH; BODY WAVES; BROAD BANDS; CAMEROON; COASTAL PLAIN; CONTINENT COLLISIONS; CRATONS; CRUSTAL STRUCTURE; CRUSTAL THICKNESS; EARLY CRETACEOUS; INVERSE THEORY; JOINT INVERSION; LINEAR CHAIN; MAGMATIC ACTIVITY; MOZAMBIQUE; RAYLEIGH; RECEIVER FUNCTIONS; SEISMIC STATION; SHEAR WAVE VELOCITY; SHEAR WAVE VELOCITY MODELS; UPPER CRUST; VELOCITY STRUCTURE; WAVE GROUP; WEST AFRICA;

LIGHT VELOCITY; RAYLEIGH WAVES; SEISMOLOGY; SHEAR WAVES; STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY; SURFACE WAVES; VOLCANOES; WAVE PROPAGATION;

SHEAR FLOW;

BROADBAND DATA; COMPUTER SIMULATION; CONTINENTAL COLLISION; CONTINENTAL MARGIN; CRATON; CRUSTAL STRUCTURE; CRUSTAL THICKNESS; CRUSTAL THINNING; GONDWANA; INVERSE ANALYSIS; NUMERICAL MODEL; ONE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING; RAYLEIGH WAVE; S-WAVE; SEISMIC VELOCITY; STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY; TECTONIC EVOLUTION; VELOCITY STRUCTURE; VOLCANIC LANDFORM; WAVE VELOCITY;

CAMEROON;

EID: 77958528560     PISSN: 0956540X     EISSN: 1365246X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04776.x     Document Type: Article

References (71)

1. Baudin, P., 1991. Le magmatisme mésozoïque à cénozoïque du fossé de la Bénoué (Nigeria). Géochronologie, pétrogenèse, cadre géodynamique, PhD thesis, Université Aix-Marseille III, France
2. Berteussen, K.A., 1977. Moho depth determinations based on spectral ratio analysis of NORSAR long-period P waves, Phys. Earth planet. Inter., 15, 13-27.
3. Black, R., Caby, R., Moussine-Pouchkine, A., Bertad, J.M, Boullier A.M., Fabre, J. & Lesquer, A., 1979. Evidence for late Precambrian plate tectonics in West Africa, Nature, 278, 223-227.
4. Blot, C., Crenn, Y. & Rechenmann, R., 1962. Elements apportes par la gravimetrie a la connaissance de la tectonique profonde du Senegal, C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 254, 1131-1133.
5. Boukeke D.B., 1994. Structures crustales d'Afrique Centrale déduites des anomalies gravimétriques et magnétiques: le domaine précambrien de la République Centrafricaine et du Sud Cameroun, PhD thesis, Univ. Paris XI, Orsay
6. Browne, J.D. & Fairhead, J.D., 1983. Gravity study of the Central African Rift System: a model of continental disruption, 1, The Ngaoundere and Abu Gabra Rifts, Tectonophysics, 94, 187-203.
7. Burke, K., 2001. Origin of the Cameroon line of volcano-capped swells, J. Geol., 109(3), 349-362.
8. Burke K., Dessauvagie, T.F.J. & Whiteman, A.J., 1971. The opening of the Gulf of Guinea and the geological history of the Benue Trough and Niger delta, Nature Phys. Sci., 233, 51-55.
9. Cassidy, J., 1992. Numerical experiments in broadband receiver function analysis, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 82, 1453- 1474.
10. Castaing, C., Feybesse, J.L., Thieblemont, D., Triboulet, C. & Chevremont, P., 1994. Palaeogeographical reconstructions of the Pan-African/Brasiliano orogen: closure of an oceanic domain or intracontinental convergence between major blocks?, Precambrian Res., 67, 327-344.
11. Christensen N. I., 1996. Poisson's ratio and crustal seismology. J. geophys. Res., 101, 3139-3156.
12. Christensen, N.I. & Mooney, W.D., 1995. Seismic velocity structure and composition of the continental crust: a global view, J. geophys. Res., 100(B7), 9761-9788.
13. Coulon, C., Vidal, P., Dupuy, C., Baudin, P., Popoff, M., Maluski, H. & Hermitte, D., 1996. The Mesozoic to early Cenozoic magmatism of the Benue Trough (Nigeria): geochemical evidence for the involvement of the St. Helena plume, J. Petrol., 37, 1341-1358.
14. Déruelle B., Ngounouno, I. & Demaiffe, D., 2007. The Cameroon Hot Line (CHL): a unique example of active alkaline intraplate structure in both oceanic and continental lithospheres, C. R. Geosci., 339, 589-600.
15. Déruelle B., Nkoumbou, C., Kambou, R., Lissom, J., Njongfang, E., Ghogomu, R.T. & Nono, A., 1991. The Cameroon Line: a review, in Magmatism in Extensional Structural Settings. The Phanerozoic African Plate, Vol. 79, pp. 274-327, eds Kampunzu, A.B. & Lubala, R.T., Springer-Verlag, Berlin
16. Dorbath C., Fairhead, J.D. & Stuart, G.W., 1986. A teleseismic delay time study across the Central African Shear Zone in the Adamawa region of Cameroon, Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc., 86, 751-766.
17. Dugda M.T., Nyblade, A.A., & Julia, J., 2009. S-wave velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath Kenya in comparison to Tanzania and Ethiopia: implications for the formation of the East African and Ethiopian Plateaus, South Afr. J. Geol., 112, 241-250.
18. Dziewonski A.M. & Anderson, D.L., 1981. Preliminary reference earth model, Phys. Earth planet. Int., 25, 297-356.
19. Dziewonski A., Bloch, S. & Landisman, N., 1969. A technique for the analysis of transient seismic signals, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 59, 427-444.
20. Ebinger C.J. & Sleep, N.H., 1998. Cenozoic magmatism throughout east Africa resulting from impact of a single plume, Nature, 395, 788-791.
21. Euler, G.G., Wiens, D.A., Shore, P., Koch, F.W., Tibi, R., Nyblade, A.A. & Reusch, A.M., 2008. Shear velocity structure of the Cameroon Volcanic line region from Rayleigh wave phase velocities, EOS, Trans. Am. geophys. Un., 89(53), AGU Fall Meeting Suppl., Abstract S21C-1843.
22. Fairhead, J.D. & Binks, R.M., 1991. Differential opening of the central and south-atlantic oceans and the opening of the West African Rift System, Tectonophysics, 187(1-3), 191-203.
23. Fairhead, J.D. & Okereke, C.S., 1987. A regional gravity study of the West African rift system in Nigeria and Cameroon and its tectonic interpretation, Tectonophysics, 143, 141-159.
24. Fitton, J.G., 1987. The Cameroon Line, West Africa: a comparison between oceanic and continental alkaline volcanism. Alkali igneous rocks, Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 30, 273-291.
25. Fitton, J.G. & Dunlop H.M., 1985. The Cameroon Line, West Africa, and its bearing on the origin of oceanic and continental alkali basalt, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 72, 23-38.
26. Forsyth, D.W., & Li, A., 2005. Array analysis of two-dimensional variations in surface wave phase velocity and azimuthal anisotropy in the presence of multipathing, in Seismic Earth: Array Analysis of Broadband Seismograms, pp. 81-97, eds. Levander, A. and Nolet, G., American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC
27. Fuchs, K., Altherr, B., Muller, B. & Prodehl, C., 1997. Structure and dynamic processes in the lithosphere of the Afro-Arabian rift system, Tectonophysics, 278, 1-352.
28. Gibb, R.A., Thomas, M.D., Lapointe, P. & Mukhopadhay, M., 1983. Geophysics of proposed Proterozoic sutures in Canada, Precambrian Res., 19, 349-384.
29. Guiraud, R. & Maurin, C.J., 1992. Early cretaceous rifts of Western and Central Africa, Tectonophysics, 213, 153-168.
30. Hedberg, J.D., 1968. A geological analysis of the Cameroon trend, PhD thesis, University of Princeton
31. Julià J., 2007. Constraining velocity and density contrasts across the crust: mantle boundary with receiver function amplitudes, Geophys. J. Int., 171, 286-301.
32. Julià, J., Ammon, C.J. & Herrmann, R.B., 2003. Lithospheric structure of the Arabian Shield from the joint inversion of receiver functions and surface wave group velocities, Tectonophysics, 371, 1-21.
33. Julià, J., Ammon, C.J., Herrmann, R.B. & Correig, A.M., 2000. Joint inversion of receiver function and surface wave dispersion observations, Geophys. J. Int., 143, 99-112.
34. Julià, J., Ammon, C.J. & Nyblade, A.A., 2005. Evidence for mafic lower crust in Tanzania, East Africa, from joint inversion of receiver functions and Rayleigh wave dispersion velocities, Geophys. J. Int., 162, 555-562.
35. Julià, J., Assumpção, M. & Rocha, M.P., 2008. Deep crustal structure of the Paranã Basin from receiver functions and Rayleigh-wave dispersion: evidence for a fragmented cratonic root, J. geophys. Res., 113, B08318, doi:.
36. Kamguia J., Manguelle-Dicoum, E., Tabod, C.T. & Tadjou, J.M., 2005. Geological models deduced from gravity data in the Garoua basin, Cameroon, J. geophys. Eng., 2, 147-152.
37. Kamguia J., Nouayou, R., Tabod, C.T., Tadjou, J.M., Manguelle-Dicoum, E. & Kande, H.L., 2008. Geophysical signature of geological units inferred from the analysis of geoid maps in Cameroon and its surroundings, J. Afr. Earth Sci., 52, 1-8.
38. Kgaswane, E.M, Nyblade, A.A., Julià, J., Dirks, P.H.G.M., Durrheim R.J. & Pasyanos, M.E., 2009. Shear wave velocity structure of the lower crust in southern Africa: evidence for compositional heterogeneity within Archaean and Proterozoic terrains, J. geophys. Res., 114, B12304, doi:.
39. King, S.D. & Ritsema, J., 2000. African hot spot volcanism: small-scale convection in the upper mantle beneath cratons, Science, 290, 1137-1140.
40. Langston, C.A., 1979. Structure under Mount Rainier, Washington, inferred from teleseismic body waves, J. geophys. Res., 84, 4749-4762.
41. Lee, D.C., Halliday, A., Fitton, J.G. & Poli, G., 1994. Isotopic variations with distance and time in the Volcanic Islands of the Cameroon line: evidence for a mantle plume origin, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 123(1-4), 119-138.
42. Ligorría, J.P. & Ammon, C.J., 1999. Iterative deconvolution and receiver function estimation, Bull. seism. Soc. Am., 89, 1395-1400.
43. Louis P., 1978. Gravimetrie et geologie en Afrique occidentale et centrale, Mem. Bur. Rech. Geol. Min., 91, 53-61.
44. Mathur, S.P., 1974. Crustal structure in southwestern Australia from seismic and gravity data, Tectonophysics, 24, 151-182.
45. Maurizot P., Abossolo, A., Feybesse, A., Johan, J.L. & Lecomte, P., 1986. Etude et prospection miniere du Sud-Ouest Cameroun. Synthese des travaux de 1978 a 1985, Rapport B.R.G.M, 85, CMR 066, Janvier 1986, 274 P.
46. Ngako, V., Njonfang, E, Tongwa, A.F., Affaton, P., & Nnange, J.M., 2006. The north-south paleozoic to quaternary trend of alkaline magmatism from Niger-Nigeria to Cameroon: complex interaction between hotspots and Precambrian faults, J. Afr. Earth Sci., 45, 241-256.
47. Nkoumbou C., Deruelle, B. & Velde, D., 1995. Petrology of Mt. Etinde nephelinite series, J. Petrol., 36, 373-395.
48. Nnange, J.M., Ngako, V., Fairhead, J.D. & Ebinger, C. J., 2000. Depths to density discontinuities beneath the Adamawa Plateau region, Central Africa, from spectral analysis of new and existing gravity data, J. Afr. Earth Sci., 30(4), 887-901.
49. Nsifa, N.E., 2006. Magmatisme et Evolution géodynamique de l'Archéen au Protérozoïque de la bordure nord-ouest du Craton du Congo (Complexe du Ntem) au Sud-Ouest Cameroun, Thèse de Doctorat d'Etat, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Yaounde 1.
50. Nyblade, A.A. & Pollack, H.N., 1992. A gravity model for the lithosphere in western Kenya and northeastern Tanzania, Tectonophysics, 212, 257-267.
51. Nzenti, J.P., Barbey, P., Macaudière, J., & Soba, D., 1988. Origin and evolution of the late Precambrian high-grade Yaoundé gneisses (Cameroon), Precambrian Res., 38, 91-109.
52. Pasyanos, M.E., 2005. A variable resolution surface wave dispersion study of Eurasia, North Africa, and surrounding regions, J. geophys. Res., 110, B12301, doi:.
53. Pasyanos, M.E. & Nyblade, A.A., 2007. A top to bottom lithospheric study of Africa and Arabia, Tectonophysics, 444(1-4), 27-44. doi:.
54. Penaye, J., Toteu, S.F., Michard, A., Van Schmus, W.R. & Nzenti, J. P., 1993. U-Pb and Sm-Nd preliminary geochronologic data on the Yaoundé serie, Cameroon: reinterpretation of granulitic rock as the suture of the collision in the « Centrafricain » belt, Compte Rendu Académie des Sci., 317, 789-794.
55. Plomerova, J., Babuska, V., Dorbath, L., Dorbath, R. & Lillie, R.J., 1993. Deep lithospheric structure across the Central African Shear Zone in Cameroon, Geophys. J. Int., 115, 381-390.
56. Poidevin, J.L. 1983. La tectonique pan-africaine à la bordure nord du craton congolais: l'orogenèse des Oubanguides, in 12th colloque on the African Geology. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium. Abstract, p. 75.
57. Poudjom, D.Y.H., Nnange, J.M., Diament, M., Ebinger, C.J. & Fairhead, J.D., 1995. Effective elastic thickness and crustal thickness variation in West Central Africa inferred from gravity data, J. geophys. Res., 100(B11), 22 047-22 070.
58. Princivalle F., Salviulo, G., Marzoli, A. & Piccirillo, E.M., 2000. Clinopyroxene of spinel-peridotite mantle xenoliths from Lake Nji (Cameroon Volcanic Line, W Africa): crystal chemistry and petrological implications, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol., 139, 503-508.
59. Ritsema, J. & Allen, R.M., 2003. The elusive mantle plume, Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 207, 1-12.
60. Shang C.K., Satir, M., Siebel, W., Nsifa, E.N., Taubald, H., Liegeois, J.P. & Tchoua, F.M., 2004. TTG magmatism in the Congo craton: a view from major and trace element geochemistry, Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd systematics: case of the Sangmelima region, Ntem complex, southern Cameroon, J. Afr. Earth Sci., 40, 61-79.
61. Stuart, G.W., Fairhead, J.D., Dorbath, L. & Dorbath, C., 1985. A seismic refraction study of the crustal structure associated with the Adamawa plateau and Garoua rift, Cameroon, West Africa, Geophys. J. R. astr. Soc., 81, 1-12.
62. Subrahmanyam, C., 1978. On the relation of gravity anomalies to geotectonics of the Precambrian terrains of the south Indian shield, J. geol. Soc. India, 19, 251-263.
63. Tabod, C.T., 1991. Seismological studies of the Cameroon Volcanic line, in West Africa, Ph.D. thesis, University of Leeds
64. Tabod, C.T., Fairhead, J.D., Stuart, G.W., Ateba, B. & Ntepe, N., 1992. Seismicity of the Cameroon Volcanic Line, 1982-1990, Tectonophysics, 212, 303-320.
65. Tadjou J.M., Nouayou, R., Kamguia, J., Kande, H.L. & Manguelle-Dicoum, E., 2009. Gravity analysis of the boundary between the Congo craton and the Pan-African belt of Cameroon, Austrian J. Earth Sci., 102, 71-79.
66. Tchameni, R., Mezger, K., Nsifa, N.E. & Pouclet, A., 2000. Neoarchaean crustal evolution in the Congo Craton: evidence from K rich granitoids of the Ntem Complex, southern Cameroon, J. Afr. Earth Sci., 30(1), 133-147.
67. Tchameni R., Mezger, K., Nsifa, N.E. & Pouclet, A., 2001. Crustal origin of early proterozoic syenites in the Congo Craton (Ntem Complex), south Cameroon, Lithos, 57, 23-42.
68. Tokam, K.A.P., 2010. Crustal structure beneath Cameroon (West Africa) deduced from the joint inversion of Rayleigh wave group velocities and receiver functions, Ph.D. thesis, University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon
69. Toteu, S.F., Penaye, J. & Poudjom Djomani, Y., 2004. Geodynamic evolution of the Pan-African Belt in Central Africa with special reference to Cameroon, Can. J. Earth Sci., 41, 73-85. doi:
70. Vicat, J.P., Leger, J.M., Nsifa, E., Piguet, P., Nzenti, J.P., Tchameni, R. & Pouclet, A., 1996. Distinction au sein du craton congolais du Sud-Ouest du Cameroun, de deux épisodes doléritiques initiant les cycles orogéniques éburnéen (Paléoprotérozoïque) et Pan-Africain (Néoprotérozoïque), Compte Rendu de l'Académie des Sci., série IIa, 323, 575-582.
71. Wellmann, P., 1978. Gravity evidence for abrupt changes in the mean crustal density at the junction of Australian crustal blocks. Aust. Bur. Miner. Resour. Geol. Geophys. Bull., 3, 153-162.