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Sedimentological interpretation of coastal ditch cuttings: implications for subsurface geology and provenance in Dahomey Basin, Nigeria

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Abstract

Understanding sediment provenance and subsurface geology of an area plays an important role in geological exploration and environmental studies. This research characterized subsurface geology and provenance of coastal sediments in some parts of the eastern Dahomey Basin, southwestern Nigeria. One hundred twenty-six ditch cuttings were retrieved from four boreholes drilled along the coastal–near-coast area of the basin. Samples were subjected to sedimentological descriptions, heavy mineral analysis and geochemical analysis (atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS)), using standard laboratory procedures. The presence of stable–ultra-stable heavy minerals and the paucity of unstable minerals characterized the analyzed samples. AAS showed that SiO2 was the dominant oxide in all the 42 representative samples analyzed, with concentration that generally exceeds 90 wt%, thereby complementing ZTR index to ascertain sediment maturity. Careful comparison of the sedimentological data and heavy mineral indices shows several non-correlatable depositional cycles in the wells, while five distinct sequences were revealed from bivariate geochemical plots. Dominance of plutonic provenance, with very minor contributions from metamorphic rocks, continental depositional environment and repeated cycles of long transportation and deposition were inferred. This study demonstrated the usability of ditch cuttings to predict provenance, paleoenvironment and transport history in terrains with paucity of outcrops, core data and fossil-deficient intervals.

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Acknowledgements

This manuscript benefitted from the professional and constructive criticisms of Wilfred Mode, Barbara Woronko and one other anonymous reviewer. Their comments on the earlier drafts of this manuscript improved the quality of this paper greatly. The authors appreciate the assistance of Oladeji Johnson and Bankole Olabode on heavy mineral analysis and data plotting, respectively. The ditch cuttings from Oroken, Ipoke and Obajare wells were generously provided by WATSAN, Ondo State, Nigeria; this gesture is acknowledged with thanks.

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  1. Applied Geology Department, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

    Peter Sunday Ola & Ekundayo Joseph Adepehin

  2. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Ekundayo Joseph Adepehin

  3. Sedimentology Research Group, Department of Earth Sciences, Wesley University, Ondo, Nigeria

    Ekundayo Joseph Adepehin

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  1. Peter Sunday Ola
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Correspondence to Ekundayo Joseph Adepehin.

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Ola, P.S., Adepehin, E.J. Sedimentological interpretation of coastal ditch cuttings: implications for subsurface geology and provenance in Dahomey Basin, Nigeria. Arab J Geosci 10, 65 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2821-z

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