Curie Point Depth Estimates Beneath the Incipient Okavango Rift Zone, Northwest Botswana

We investigated the regional thermal structure of the crust beneath the Okavango Rift Zone (ORZ), surrounding cratons and orogenic mobile belts using the Curie Point Depth (CPD) estimates. Estimating the depth to the base of magnetic sources is important in understanding and constraining the thermal structure of the crust in zones of incipient continental rifting where no other data are available to image the crustal thermal structure. Our objective was to determine if there are any thermal perturbations within the lithosphere during rift initiation. The top and bottom of the magnetized crust were calculated using the two dimensional (2D) power-density spectra analysis and three dimensional (3D) inversions of the total field magnetic data of Botswana in overlapping square windows of 1degree x 1 degree. The calculated CPD estimates varied between ~8 km and ~24 km. The deepest CPD values (16-24 km) occur under the surrounding cratons and orogenic mobile belts whereas the shallowest CPD values were found within the ORZ. CPD values of 8 to 10 km occur in the northeastern part of ORZ; a site of more developed rift structures and where hot springs are known to occur. CPD values of 12 to 16 km were obtained in the southwestern part of the ORZ where rift structures are progressively less developed and where the rift terminates. The results suggests possible thermal anomaly beneath the incipient ORZ. Further geophysical studies as part of the PRIDE (Project for Rift Initiation Development and Evolution) project are needed to confirm this proposition.