First occurrence of the Salvador Formation in the Jatobá Basin (Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil): Facies characterization and depositional systems

Abstract

Fan deltas, constituting proximal depositional systems adjacent to boundary faults, are common features associated with rift basins. The Cretaceous fan delta systems of the Salvador Formation, deposited during the rift phase of the Recôncavo-Tucano-Jatobá Basin, were first reported in the Recôncavo Basin and later discovered in the Tucano Basin. Because of the absence of any outcrops in the Jatobá Basin until now, these alluvial fans were interpreted solely through seismic analysis. We report the first revealed outcrops of the Salvador Formation in that basin and characterize their depositional systems as interlayered with the lacustrine Candeias Formation. Based on facies and architecture, the alluvial system can be subdivided into three associations: (1) proximal fan delta, characterized by meter-scale conglomerate bodies with a predominance of boulders and cobbles with thin sandstone layers; (2) distal fan delta, characterized by sheet-like pebble conglomerate and sandstone layers with flame and load structures; and (3) lacustrine, further subdivided into shallow lake facies reddish shales and mudstones with oolitic limestones and deep lake facies grey to green shales with pyrite. Paleocurrent measurements for the proximal fan association show paleoflow direction varying from SW to SE, which is expected for the rift phase alluvial system. The Recôncavo-Tucano-Jatobá rift system has two conglomeratic units, namely the Salvador and Marizal Formations, the former a syn-rift and the latter a post-rift unit. The absence of sedimentary clasts in the conglomerates, very low maturity, the presence of giant clasts, and a visible relationship between boundary faults in the outcrop, define the syn-rift Salvador Formation characteristics. Based on the facies and paleocurrent analyses, the Salvador Formation deposits in Jatobá Basin were interpreted as a deposition of a debris flow-dominated fan delta, indicating the lacustrine setting represented by the Candeias Formation.