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Geology of the Omo-Turkana Basin of Eastern Africa

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Geology of the Omo-Turkana Basin of Eastern Africa GEOLOGY OF THE OMO-TURKANA BASIN OF EASTERN AFRICA: TECTONICS AND CLIMATE IN THE EVOLUTION OF A PLIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE SEQUENCE by Patrick Nduru Gathogo A dissertation submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geology Department of Geology and Geophysics The University of Utah May 2017 Copyright © Patrick Nduru Gathogo 2017 All Rights Reserved The University o f Utah Graduate School STATEMENT OF DISSERTATION APPROVAL The dissertation of Patrick Nduru Gathogo has been approved by the following supervisory committee members: Francis H. Brown , Chair 29 Oct. 2016 Date Approved Ronald L. Bruhn , Member 13 Nov. 2016 Date Approved Thure E. Cerling , Member 29 Oct. 2016 Date Approved Marjorie A. Chan , Member 27 Oct. 2016 Date Approved John M. Harris , Member 29 Oct. 2016 Date Approved and by Thure E. Cerling , Chair of the Department of Geology and Geophysics and by David B. Kieda, Dean of The Graduate School. ABSTRACT Many studies present climate change as the principal cause of the most prominent shifts in depositional environments in the Omo-Turkana Basin (eastern Africa) during the Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs. For example, some studies relate the development of major lake sequences to presumed high precipitation during Milankovich’s eccentricity maxima. The hypothesis of this dissertation is that major shifts in depositional facies in the basin took place only when tectonic activities allowed, including the development of at least four of the basin’s most prominent lake sequences at about 4.0 Ma, 3.5 Ma, 3.2 Ma, and 2.0 Ma. Corroborating field evidence includes pronounced changes in the basin’s depositional facies in association with tectonic-related features such as prominent syndepositional faulting and local to basin-wide basaltic volcanism about 4.0 Ma, 3.2–3.3 Ma, and 2.02–2.18 Ma. A distinction between climatic and tectonic influences on ancient habitats in the Omo-Turkana Basin is critical in paleontological and paleoanthropological studies because the sedimentary record of this basin and associated fossils and archeological artifacts are widely cited as among the best examples of the role of climate in the evolution of modern African mammals and humans at large. The hypothesis presented in this dissertation illustrates geographic location and tectonic-related physiography as significant factors in the Omo-Turkana Basin in addition to regional and global climate. This dissertation submits that substantial deposition of Pliocene and Pleistocene strata in the Omo-Turkana Basin was initiated and sustained primarily by rift tectonics. The Omo River, with headwaters in the Ethiopian volcanic highlands, is presented as the main supplier of both sediments and water in the basin since the Early Pliocene. The geologic record shows that the river has remained perennial, regularly draining outside the basin, even reaching the Indian Ocean, and at times flooding the basin to form expansive tectonic lakes. Precession- to eccentricity-scale astronomical forcing of climate seems to have played a subordinate role in modulating the sediment supply and the formation of extensive lakes except for second- to third-order fluctuations in lake levels—a rise by a few tens of meters possibly for a few thousand years. iv Dedicated to Christina W. Gathiga, Francis H. Brown, and Meave G. Leakey. …[T]he past history of our globe must be explained by what can be seen to be happening now… No powers are to be employed that are not natural to the globe, no action to be admitted except those of which we know the principle…(Hutton, 1788) TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. xii Chapters 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1 Study Area: Physical and Human Geography ..............................................................4 Previous Studies: Review of Geology and Paleontology .............................................6 Objectives ...................................................................................................................19 Methodology ..............................................................................................................20 2 FIELD OBSERVATIONS, DATA ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATIONS ........... 27 Lonyumun Member Time: ca. 4.3–3.97 Ma ............................................................. 34 Moiti Member Time: 3.97–3.60 Ma ......................................................................... 42 Lokochot Member Time: 3.60–3.44 Ma ................................................................... 45 Tulu Bor Member Time: 3.44–2.62 Ma .................................................................... 52 Burgi Member Time: 2.62–1.90 Ma ......................................................................... 61 KBS Member Time: 1.90–1.60 Ma .......................................................................... 69 Okote Member Time: 1.60–1.38 Ma ........................................................................ 77 Chari Member Time: 1.38 Ma to ~0.7 Ma ................................................................ 81 3 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................ 96 Onset of the Omo Group Sequence........................................................................... 97 Mammalian Fossil Record ...................................................................................... 101 Climatic Controls .................................................................................................... 104 Geographic Aspects ................................................................................................ 108 Rift Tectonics .......................................................................................................... 114 4 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. 119 Rift Tectonics and Deposition................................................................................. 120 Climate and Depositional Facies............................................................................. 101 Mammalian Fossil Record and Local Geology....................................................... 104 5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 124 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 126 viii LIST OF TABLES 1. A list of 40Ar/39Ar ages of the Omo Group units in the Omo-Turkana Basin. Dating was conducted on anorthoclase. See text for further explanation. ..................13 2. A list of Pliocene and Pleistocene magnetostratigraphic units along with age estimates of the boundaries from Horng et al. (2002), Kidane et al. (2007), and Gradstein et al. (2004). ............................................................................................... 15 3. A list of published mammalian genera (excluding orders Lagomorpha, and Rodentia) from Pliocene and Pleistocene strata in the Omo-Turkana Basin. .............16 4. A summary of characteristic geological features of the Omo Group sequence in the Omo-Turkana Basin. .............................................................................................29 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Map showing the location of the Lake Turkana drainage basin, which defines the Omo-Turkana depositional basin in eastern Africa. ......................................................2 2. Map showing major outcrops of Pliocene and Pleistocene sedimentary deposits along with volcanic rock units of similar age in the Omo-Turkana Basin. ...................8 3. Correlated units of the Pliocene to Pleistocene Omo and Turkana Groups in selected regions of the Omo-Turkana Basin. ...............................................................12 4. Summary diagram showing the timing of global eccentricity cycles (eccentricity) as well as pelagic lakes and tectonic episodes in the Omo-Turkana Basin. ................32 5. Map showing major faults and outcrop geology in the northern and western parts of the Omo-Turkana Basin...........................................................................................37 6. Map showing major faults and outcrop geology in the southwestern and southern parts of the Omo-Turkana Basin. .................................................................................38 7. Climatic proxy records for the Lonyumun Member time interval (ca. 4.3–3.97 Ma) based on marine deposits from the Mediterranean Sea. ..............................................41 8. Climatic proxy records for the Moiti Member time interval (3.97–3.60 Ma) based on marine deposits from the Mediterranean Sea..........................................................45 9. Climatic proxy records for the Lokochot Member time interval (3.60–3.44 Ma) based on marine deposits from
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