Geology: Difference between revisions

From MediaWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
Line 25: Line 25:
<div><ul>
<div><ul>


<li style="display: inline-block;"> [[File:Geology.png | 400px| left| thumb| Geology map of Africa at 1:5 million scale. Based on map described in Persits et al. 2002Furon and Lombard 1964.]] </li>
<li style="display: inline-block;"> [[File:Geology.png | 400px| left| thumb| Geology map of Africa at 1:5 million scale. Based on map described in Persits et al. 2002/Furon and Lombard 1964.]] </li>


<li style="display: inline-block;"> [[File:Geology_Key.png | 400px |right | thumb| Legend for geology map of Africa at 1:5 million scale. Based on map described in Persits et al. 2002/Furon and Lombard 1964.]] </li>
<li style="display: inline-block;"> [[File:Geology_Key.png | 400px |right | thumb| Legend for geology map of Africa at 1:5 million scale. Based on map described in Persits et al. 2002/Furon and Lombard 1964.]] </li>

Revision as of 17:15, 4 September 2018

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Additional resources >> Geology

Geology of Africa

A new geology map of Africa was developed for this Atlas. It is based on a 1:5 million scale map of geology, oil and gas fields and geologic provinces of Africa (Persits et al., 2002), which in turn was based on a map published in 1964 by UNESCO (Furon and Lombard 1964). This map was digitised by, and made available through, the USGS, and can be accessed via the USGS Energy Data Finder.

The geology map was modified by the British Geological Survey in order to highlight significant hydrogeological features. Some of the geological units in the original map were grouped together or subdivided; and some areas where unconsolidated sediments are mapped have been re-categorised to highlight important underlying bedrock aquifers (MacDonald et al., 2012).

The following are the key modifications that have been made:

Precambrian rocks In the original geology map, Precambrian rocks are undivided. In the revised map presented here, Precambrian rocks have been subdivided into three groups:

  1. metasedimentary
  2. orogenic/mobile belt – crystalline metamorphic and igneous rocks within linear, mostly Proterozoic, orogenic belts
  3. craton – Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic rocks which have not been affected by Proterozoic and younger orogenic events

Sedimentary rocks These rocks have, where relevant, been grouped by the major groundwater sedimentary basins to which they belong: for example, the Taoudeni, Chad and Iullemeden basins.

Unconsolidated sedimentary deposits These are distinguished in the new map where they cover a large area and/or where they overlie less permeable rocks. However, they are not generally shown where they have small outcrops (for example, alluvial outcrops in small river valleys) or where they overlie sedimentary basins of greater hydrogeological significance.

  • Geology map of Africa at 1:5 million scale. Based on map described in Persits et al. 2002/Furon and Lombard 1964.
  • Legend for geology map of Africa at 1:5 million scale. Based on map described in Persits et al. 2002/Furon and Lombard 1964.

If you reproduce any of the geology maps from this Atlas, please cite both the Africa Groundwater Atlas and Persits et al., 2002.

Citations

Furon R and Lombard J. 1964. Explanatory note: Geological Map of Africa (1/5,000,000) / Note explicative: carte geologique de l'Afrique (1/5,000,000). UNESCO and the Association for African Geological Surveys (ASGA). UNESCO, Paris, 1964.

Persits, F, Ahlbrandt, T, Tuttle, M, Charpentier, R, Brownfield, M, and Takahashi, K. 2002. | Map showing geology, oil and gas fields and geologic provinces of Africa, Ver 2.0. USGS Open File report 97-470 A.

MacDonald, A M, Bonsor, H C, Ó Dochartaigh, B É, and Taylor, R G. 2012. | Quantitative maps of groundwater resources in Africa. Environmental Research Letters 7(2). doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024009

Country geology maps

The new, modified geology map of Africa was used as the basis for producing a geology map for each country in Africa, which are shown on the country pages. For some countries, the country map was extracted from the Africa-wide map with no further modifications. For some other countries, further modifications have been made to represent more accurately the geology at a country scale. These modifications were made in collaboration with the co-authors of the relevant country pages, who are experts in the hydrogeology and geology of the respective countries.

If you reproduce any of the geology maps from this Atlas, please cite both the Africa Groundwater Atlas and Persits et al., 2002.

OneGeology: another source of geological information

Many countries across Africa (27 in total) are members of OneGeology, an international initiative to make worldwide geological data and maps available at a scale of at least 1:1 million. Further information can be found via the OneGeology website and data can be accessed via the OneGeology portal.


Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Additional resources >> Geology