The southern São Francisco Craton puzzle: Insights from aerogeophysical and geological data

Abstract

Accretionary orogens are considered as the result of the major crust production process, and terranes are accreted material representing distinctive assemblages regarding age and evolution. Scientific advances in the last years show that the southernmost São Francisco Craton includes Archean, Paleoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic areas. We used aerogeophysical data and field geology to understand the extension of individual pieces of this tectonic puzzle. We described five magnetometric lineaments. A–, B– and C–lineaments are related to dyke swarms of different ages. D– and E–lineaments represent regional-scale tectonic structures. In a tectonic perspective, we have identified the following terranes: (i) the Archean São Tiago crust (2.67 Ga), which is part of the São Francisco proto-craton; two Siderian juvenile arcs, represented by the (ii) Cassiterita (2.47 Ga) and the (iii) Resende Costa/Lagoa Dourada (2.36–2.35 Ga) orthogneisses; and two Rhyacian arcs, the (iv) juvenile Serrinha (2.22–2.20 Ga) and the continental Ritápolis (2.19–2.10 Ga) arcs. Tectonic terranes and five magnetic subdomains were identified on the basis of (i) association of shear zones/faults with quartz veins in the field; (ii) low– and high–intensity magnetic anomalies; (iii) sharp contrast in Euler solution intensities; and (iv) high–contrast in radioelement contents in the gammaspectrometric maps. Processing of aerogeophysical data permitted us to propose a new scenario on the evolution of the southern São Francisco Craton, and in particular of the Mineiro belt. The integration between aerogeophysical, new and compiled geologic information, provides a robust model for the understanding of individual tectonic pieces of the studied area.