Expedition 17/1 of the German research vessel R/V MARIA S. MERIAN, carried out geophysical
surveys and experiments between November and December 2010 in the area
around Walvis Ridge, Southeast Atlantic Ocean. Among the data collected, a high-resolution
bathymetric dataset aquired on the northwestern slope of the ridge offers some important
preliminary insights into the tectonic evolution of the ridge and the adjoining lower
continental slopes and ocean basin. The NE-SW trending Walvis Ridge has a trapezoid
shape and is likely built up by thick sequences of plateau basalts, with top of basement
rocks inclined to the south. Sediments are almost absent on the NW side of the ridge, preserving
a fascinating mountainscape formed early in the tectonic history, most probably
on-land. This interpretation is supported by clear denudational features, like steep cliffs up
to 150 m high, and deeply incised valleys, defining paleo-drainages. Isolated, flat-topped
guyots seaward of the ocean-continent boundary attest to a later history of wave abrasion
and progressive subsidence of Walvis Ridge
