Abstract

Following a period of deep erosion, the Sabaloka ring complex and associated volcanic rocks in central Sudan were emplaced in mid-Palaeozoic times including Butana area. The existence of sedimentary basins within this area of central Butana was previously unknown, however a 2-D Gravity modeling ran to uncover the concealed basementsediments contact through two profiles in addition to evaluate the structural relationships with adjacent basement occurrences. The regional-residual separation made graphically, to separate by referencing the maximum recorded depth to the basement at 37.5 m at Abu Deleig town (after Salvatore, 2001) and then model the residual component in of Bouguer anomaly to obtain the 2D density structural models.A density contrast of -400kg/m3 has been used to model the prismatic configuration of densities distribution. The study area was exposed to several phases of dragging and fraction, which allowed to the settlement of the recent sedimentary cover (i.e., Butana clays and Nubian Sandstone Formation). The Bouguer anomaly map shows a contact with high steep gradients of two closures around Abu Deleig town different in values from -61.5 mGal to -44.6 mGal, surmised to be a major normal fault controls the structure of Abu Deleig sub-basin. The outcome of the present study reveals that the Abu Deleig sub-basin is evidently linked to Blue Nile rift basin. The estimated sedimentary thickness ranges from ≥ 300 meters, probableto contain good quality groundwater aquifers, to 2.4km to the north of Abu Deleig may connects to Shendi basin.

Keywords: 2-D Gravity modeling, Abu Deleig sub-basin, Bouguer anomaly, Central Butana, Central African Shear Zone, Shendi basin.