f Fresh Geoscientific Data from the Natal Valley and Mozambique Ridge

Although the broad break-up sequence of Gondwana around southern Africa during the Jurassic and Cretaceous is understood, the refit of Africa and Antarctica remains unclear. This is due to uncertainty regarding the areas both onshore and offshore of SE Africa that are underlain by oceanic crust as well as the ages of that oceanic crust. An example is the enigmatic Mozambique Ridge that has been variously proposed to be either continental or oceanic in origin (or both). In order to help resolve these issues, during 2009 a marine geophysical survey was undertaken over the Natal Valley and the Mozambique Ridge. This cruise collected magnetic and gravity data, together with swath bathymetry and echo-sounder data. The results revealed that the magnetic anomalies of the southern Natal Valley are consistent with earlier work whereas the Northern Natal Valley is more complex than previously suspected. The Mozambique Ridge contains striped magnetic anomalies indicative of the ridge having been formed at a mid-ocean ridge.