ABSTRACT Prehnite is the first mineral discovered by Europeans in South Africa during the late 18th century, and the first mineral named after a person, Hendrik von Prehn, who allegedly discovered the mineral specimens. The acquisition of these specimens, their type-locality, and the processes in naming prehnite involved some of the leading scientists at that time. Various names had been proposed for prehnite including rochonite, emeraud du Cap, chrysolite, oisanite, prase, chrysoprase, shorle vert du Cap, until final acceptance in 1793 as prehnite. The district of Cradock in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa is entrenched in the literature as the location of von Prehn’s specimens, yet no documentary evidence exists to support this claim. In contrast, several other prehnite occurrences are known from further inland, hosted in similar geological environments to those in the Cradock district, and it is concluded that the type-specimens came from one of these hinterland locations, within the Karoo Basin of South Africa.
The oldest recorded earthquake in South Africa is widely accepted (in several seismic catalogues) to have occurred on 07 April 1620. This earthquake was regarded as having a Modified Mercalli Scale intensity of II-IV, corresponding to a Richter Scale Magnitude of ~4. An examination of the original sources on which the record of this earthquake rests, reveals that it was based on a description of 'two startling thunderclaps like cannon shots while ship was becalmed near Robben Island' by Augustin de Beaulieu, who was the head of a fleet of three ships which put in Table Bay in March-April 1620. A full excerpt of Beaulieu's account reveals that the thunderclaps took place in a short period of calm during an extended period of stormy weather, and that the observations were made on board ship, so that no seismic ground vibration was felt. The Western Cape has a much lower incidence of lightning than the interior of South Africa, and the fact that the thunderclaps were not accompanied by lightning is not unusual. Thus the simplest explanation of the thunderclaps is that they were the result of atmospheric phenomena, and not a result of seismic activity, as interpreted by J.N. Theron in 1974. The events of 07 April 1620 should thus be removed from the catalogues of historical seismicity in South Africa, making the slight shock felt in Cape Town in 1690, with a Modified Mercalli Scale intensity of III, the oldest recorded seismic tremor in the history of South Africa.
Research Article| December 01, 2006 Pangaean megalineaments: geophysical indications for the existence of Laurentian counterparts of the 6000 km Trans-Saharan Tibesti Lineament, and implications for lithospheric tectonics and mineral deposits Sharad Master Sharad Master Economic Geology Research Institute, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, P. Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa, e-mail: masters@geosciences.wits.ac.za Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar South African Journal of Geology (2006) 109 (4): 503–514. https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.109.4.503 Article history first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Sharad Master; Pangaean megalineaments: geophysical indications for the existence of Laurentian counterparts of the 6000 km Trans-Saharan Tibesti Lineament, and implications for lithospheric tectonics and mineral deposits. South African Journal of Geology 2006;; 109 (4): 503–514. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gssajg.109.4.503 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietySouth African Journal of Geology Search Advanced Search Abstract A major 6000-km long west-northwest to east-southeast-trending Trans-Saharan lineament, extending from Kenya to Morocco, referred to as the Tibesti Lineament, has been described by Guiraud et al.(2000). This lineament shows up on satellite images, air-photo mosaics and terrain elevation models, as swarms of parallel faults. It corresponds to a major discontinuity of surface wave velocities in the mantle, suggesting that it deeply affects the lithosphere. The highest heat flow measurements in the West African shield are found adjacent to the Tibesti Lineament in the northern Hoggar uplift. Geophysical, geological, and geomorphological evidence suggests that the Tibesti lineament may have continued into North America (Laurentia), which collided with northwest Africa during the Appalachian-Mauritanide orogeny, coinciding with the late Palaeozoic assembly of the supercontinent Pangaea. The contiguous Laurentian lineaments which may be extensions of the Tibesti Lineament, are the here newly recognised Chesterfield Inlet Lineament and the Cabot Strait Lineament, both of which are situated in Canada. These lineaments are defined as linear pattern breaks in processed aeromagnetic anomaly maps of Canada. Some portions of them also can be detected in refraction and reflection seismic survey data (e.g., under Hudon Bay), and to a lesser extent, in the Bouguer gravity anomaly map of Canada. The lineaments have present-day (neotectonic) surface expressions in the form of inlets, submarine channels, straight river segments, and strings of linear lakes, extending over 3700 km, from Nunavut Province northwest of Hudson Bay, across Quebec and Newfoundland, and to the Cabot Strait separating Newfoundland from Nova Scotia. The highest heat flow in the Canadian Maritimes is found in the Cabot Strait. The Tibesti-Cabot-Strait-Chesterfield Inlet lineaments reflect deep-seated fracturing of the North African and North American lithosphere, involving both the crust and rigid upper mantle. These lineaments cut right across the grain of numerous orogenic belts dating from the Palaeoproterozoic, Late Mesoproterozoic, and Palaeozoic. By analogy with other large transcontinental lineaments which contain ore deposits, these newly identified megalineaments may be prospective for economic mineral deposits, such as hydrothermal gold and base metal mineralization, and diamondiferous kimberlites. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.
This paper serves to document a thermal spring, called Gaet'ale, that was reactivated in 2005, during the majorseismo-volcanic crisis in the Danakil Depression of the Afar region of northern Ethiopia. Many dead birds surrounding the spring attest to deadly gas emanations (almost certainly CO2) coming from this spring, reminiscent of those from other volcanic lakes, and the Pamukkale springs in Turkey. Gae'tale currently features among the tourist attractions of the Dallol region of the northern Afar, but it may pose a potentially dangerous, and even deadly, hazard for tourists and their guides. Some suggestions are made to help mitigate the risks, and to allow for sustainable geotourism in this environmentally sensitive region. These include ensuring that tour operators in the area are made aware of the hazards, and are communicating these to their tourist clients (who should also be aware of these hazards through websites, tour guidebooks and open-access scientific journals), and avoiding the areas closest to the lake, and periodic testing, with lit flames, for the presence of excess CO2 in the area, with plans for quick and safe evacuation if needed. Guidelines for proper conduct are given for geotourists who are planning to visit the region, to ensure their health and safety in the vicinity of the thermal springs.
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