Duration: 21-24 September 2023

A four-day, three-night fieldtrip to the Northern Margin Zone of the Damara belt near Khorixas will focus on critical outcrops for reconstructing the Neoproterozoic climate and tectonic history of Namibia. On the first day we will drive from Windhoek to Xaragu (~5.5 hours), where we will camp for the duration of the trip (Camp Xaragu has running water and ablution facilities). We will spend the afternoon after arriving visiting slope sections of the Cryogenian–early Ediacaran stratigraphy around the camp. 

On day two we will drive 30 minutes west to the Vrede domes where we will examine evidence for Tonian rifting, large facies changes in the Tonian through Ediacaran stratigraphy (with both Cryogenian glacial successions) and multiple episodes of deformation associated with the intersection of the Kaoko and Damara belts. 

On day three we will drive an hour and 20 minutes east to Fransfontein where we will see the best evidence for movement of the Marinoan ice-grounding line, discuss the position of dated samples that constrain the nature and duration of the Marinoan Snowball Earth, and potential drivers for movement of the ice-grounding line. 

On the final day we will have an optional morning hike to exposures of the Mulden Group on Austerlitz Farm where we can observe evidence for the earliest tectonic disruption of the margin associated with the Kaoko and Damara belts and discuss existing detrital zircon data and various tectonic models. Groups needing to return to Windhoek will depart by mid-day.