Paleozoic source to sink relationship around the northern Trans-Gondwana Mountain Belt (East Africa, Arabia)

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Matthias Hinderer; Professor Dr. Guido Meinhold
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2014 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 262133443

This project will test and if necessary correct the model of the Gondwana super-fan system for the Arabian Peninsula in the Palaeozoic. We will carry out a thorough provenance analysis on Palaeozoic sandstones on the Arabian Platform and in Ethiopia combining bulk-rock petrography, geochemistry, heavy mineral analysis, mineral chemistry, and U-Pb dating of zircons. The investigations follows a source to sink transect from Ethiopia to the Arabian Platform and connects potential source regions in East Africa with Palaeozoic siliciclastics in the north. The proposal is partly based on previous studies on the sedimentology of Palaeozoic siliciclastics as well as on the Arabian shield and in East Africa. Sedimentary provenance data from Ethiopia and the Arabian Peninsula will be compared with those from North Africa to see whether certain provenance patterns can be correlated in a larger scale across northern Gondwana. The provenance data are expected to give further insights into the Palaeozoic palaeotopography and erosion history of the Transgondwanan supermountain, one of the largest accretionary orogens on Earth. Tectonic, lithologic and climatic changes in the hinterland are likely reflected in the composition and hence in the provenance of the sediment. Potential source areas and transport ways will be discussed. Moreover, it is expected to identify temporal provenance changes as observed in central North Africa. Their causes will be discussed in regard of palaeotectonic activity and climatic changes in central Gondwana during Palaeozoic time. Of particular interest are the Gondwanan glaciations during the Hirnantian and the Late Carboniferous-Early Permian. In general, the age, provenance and composition of the Palaeozoic sandstones of the Arabian Peninsula has important implications for our understanding of the environmental and tectonic evolution of the interior of the supercontinent Gondwana during the Palaeozoic.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants