Jean-Paul Vicat

Les granitoı̈des de la couverture protérozoı̈que de la bordure nord du craton du Congo (Sud-Est du Cameroun et Sud-Ouest de la République centrafricaine), témoins d'une activité magmatique post-kibarienne à pré-panafricaine

Abstract Granitoid bodies dated from the Late Mesoproterozoic intrude the Palaeoproterozoic cover of the northern edge of the Congo craton. They line up a north–south left-lateral shear zone related to the Late Kibaran tectonics. They originated from crustal melting, may be due to the thermal anomalies, that were responsible of the large basaltic production during the pre-Pan-African extension of the Central Africa rift system.

Palæo- and Neoproterozoic granitoids and rhyolites from the West Congolian Belt (Gabon, Congo, Cabinda, north Angola): chemical composition and geotectonic implications

Various Palaeo- and Neoproterozoic granitoid bodies and related rhyolites are located in the West Congolian Belt. The Palaeoproterozoic granitoids, dated around 2 Ga, exhibit an Archaean-type tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite suite chemical signature and are related to the Eburnean tectnno-magmatic event. In contrast, Neoproterozoic granitoids and rhyolites, dated around 1 Ga, have chemical geotectonic signatures that range from orogenic to intraplate (Nb-negative anomaly, large ion lithophile element enrichment and high field strength element depletion). However, a late Kibaran orogenic event (1.35-1.00 Ga) is unknown in this area. The Neoproterozoic magmatism is interpreted as a consequence of the initiation of pre-Pan-African rifting, which implies the formation or the reactivation of major crustal strike-slip faults with asthenospheric upwelling and the generation of a thermal anomaly. This thermal anomaly could have been responsible for magmatic processes involving the lower crust, as encountered in post-orogenic environments.

Existence de karsts en roches cristallines silicatées non carbonatées en Afrique sahélienne et équatoriale, implications hydrogéologiques

Various cavities studied in western Niger and South Cameroon show the existence of important karstic phenomena into metagabbros and gneisses. These large-sized caves resulted from generalized dissolution of silicate formations in spite of their low solubility. Karstification is produced by deep hydrous transfer along lithological discontinuities and fracture net works. The existence of such caves has major implications in geomorphology, under either Sahelian and Equatorial climate, and in hydrogeology and water supply, particularly in the Sahel area

Existence de dykes doléritiques anciens à composition de tholéiites continentales au sein de la province alcaline de la ligne du Cameroun. Implication sur le contexte géodynamique

Abstract In the Adamawa Plateau (Northern Cameroon), doleritic dykes belong to a magmatic activity which predated the Cenozoic alkaline volcanism of the Cameroon Line. They have the chemical composition of continental tholeiites with Nb–Ta- and Ti-negative anomalies. This magmatism is interpreted as being derived from a sub-continental lithospheric source, which may have been contaminated during a former subduction event, linked to the Pan-African convergence. It is related to an early stage of continental break-up, which was contemporaneous or predated the Cretaceous tholeiitic magmatism of predominantly asthenospheric origin, which indicates a lithospheric thinning.