One, two or no record of late neoproterozoic glaciation in South-East Cameroon?

• Published in: Journal of African earth sciences (1994) 2011, Vol.59 (1), p.111-124
• Main Authors: Caron, V., Mahieux, G., Ekomane, E., Moussango, P., Babinski, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cameroon; Carbon isotopes; Dolostone; Gaskiers; Hirnantian; Marinoan; Neoproterozoic
• ISSN: 1464-343X; 1879-1956
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2010.09.004

► Two glacial events recorded in South-East Cameroon. ► Example of Neoproterozoic non-glacial diamictite overlain by glacial cap-carbonate. ► Discovery of Gaskiers–Hirnantian ice-striated pavements on Neoproterozoic rocks. Severe climate changes culminating in at least three major glacial events have been recognized in the Neoproterozoic sedimentary record from many parts of the world. Supportive to the global nature of these climatic shifts, a considerable amount of data have been acquired from deposits exposed in Pan-African orogenic belts in southwestern and western Africa. By comparison, published data from the Pan-African belts in Central Africa are scarce. We report here evidence of possibly two glacial events recorded in the Mintom Formation that is located on the margin of the Pan-African orogenic Yaoundé belt in South-East Cameroon. In the absence of reliable radiometric data, only maximum and minimum age limits of 640 and 580 Ma, respectively, can at present be applied to the Mintom Formation. The formation consists of two lithostratigraphic ensembles, each subdivided in two members (i.e., in ascending stratigraphic order the Kol, Métou, Momibolé, and Atog Adjap Members). The basal ensemble exhibits a typical glacial to post-glacial succession. It includes diamictites comprising cobbles and boulders in a massive argillaceous siltstone matrix, and laminated siltstones followed by, in sharp contact, a 2 m-thick massive dolostone that yielded negative δ 13C values (