From Rheic ocean opening to Pangea breakup: a chronostratigraphic and isotopic database of key localities in Mexico

Abstract

This database includes a wealth of geochronologic, isotopic, and provenance data, published or in publication, which constitutes an effort to unravel the evolution of Mexican, pre-Cretaceous geological units that are key in reconstructing the history of the Rheic Ocean, from its opening to its closure, and the initial breakup of Pangea. The database is built on reference geological maps, that the authors compile from published works and that locally, contain novel cartographic data. Since the localities studied in this work contain successions that are different in age, P-T conditions, lithology, and geologic significance, and given that each stand-alone work (research, undergraduate and graduate theses, etc.) focused on resolving the central theme of the Rheic ocean evolution and Pangea amalgamation and breakup, we generate an open database that will be continuously updated, as soon as new data are available. Initially intended as a database to present the results of several present and previous grants obtained by the authors, and make them available to collaborators, this contribution evolved to be an open source for all the researchers that are interested in the Paleozoic–early Mesozoic Mexican tectonic evolution and the pre-Mesozoic basement characterization.