Seismic reflection, magnetic, and gravity profiles of the eastern Atlantic continental margin and adjacent deep-sea floor. I. Cape Francis (South Africa) to Congo Canyon (Republic of Zaire)

Abstract

One of the programs of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration (!DOE) is a four-year geophysical and geological study of the Eastern Atlantic Continental Margin and the adjacent deep·sea floor. It was designed to learn more of the date and manner by which Africa became separated from South America and the subsequent history and development of the African continental margin and adjoining deep-sea floor. The traverses also serve to outline large sedimentary basins that may be potential reservoirs of petroleum. Subsequent more detailed exploration and eventual exploitation of these basins may be conducted or controlled by the adjacent African nations under whose jurisdiction the areas belong. This report is a compilation of the geophysical traverses made from Cape Francis (South Africa) to the Congo Canyon (Republic of Zaire) during the first half of 1972.