Parana Continental Flood Basalt Research Articles

Geochemistry of the Northern Paraná Continental Flood Basalt (PCFB) Province: implications for regional chemostratigraphy

The Parana Continental Flood Basalt (PCFB) province is one of the largest igneous provinces on Earth, but little is known about the architecture and geochemical characteristics of the lava flows. In this context, a set of borehole samples arranged in an NEE-SWW profile – more than 600 km long – located in the northern PCFB was used to define its chemostratigraphy. In this region, the outcrops are rare, and the volcanic piles are covered by hundreds of meters of sedimentary rocks from the Bauru Sub-Basin. This study aimed to explore the chemostratigraphic column from northern PCFB to improve the understanding of its internal architecture and to characterize the flood basalt sequences by using the petrography and elemental geochemistry of surface and borehole samples. The results showed the presence of the main four magma types, which were essentially distinguished by their P 2 O 5 , TiO 2 and Sr concentrations, as well as Zr/Y ratios, with excellent chemostratigraphy relations.

Mineralisation of amethyst-bearing geodes in Ametista do Sul (Brazil) from low-temperature sedimentary brines: evidence from monophase liquid inclusions and stable isotopes

Fluid inclusion studies in combination with hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur isotope data provide novel insights into the genesis of giant amethyst-bearing geodes in Early Cretaceous Parana continental flood basalts at Amestita do Sul, Brazil. Monophase liquid inclusions in colourless quartz, amethyst, calcite, barite and gypsum were analysed by microthermometry after stimulating bubble nucleation using single femtosecond laser pulses. The salinity of the fluid inclusions was determined from ice-melting temperatures and a combination of prograde and retrograde homogenisation temperatures via the density maximum of the aqueous solutions. Four mineralisation stages are distinguished. In stage I, celadonite, chalcedony and pyrite formed under reducing conditions in a thermally stable environment. Low δ34SV-CDT values of pyrite (−25 to −32 ‰) suggest biogenic sulphate reduction by organotrophic bacteria. During the subsequent stages II (amethyst, goethite and anhydrite), III (early subhedral calcite) and IV (barite, late subhedral calcite and gypsum), the oxidation state of the fluid changed towards more oxidising conditions and microbial sulphate reduction ceased. Three distinct modes of fluid salinities around 5.3, 3.4 and 0.3 wt% NaCl-equivalent characterise the mineralisation stages II, III and IV, respectively. The salinity of the stage I fluid is unknown due to lack of fluid inclusions. Variation in homogenisation temperatures and in δ18O values of amethyst show evidence of repeated pulses of ascending hydrothermal fluids of up to 80–90 °C infiltrating a basaltic host rock of less than 45 °C. Colourless quartz and amethyst formed at temperatures between 40 and 80 °C, while the different calcite generations and late gypsum precipitated at temperatures below 45 °C. Calculated oxygen isotope composition of the amethyst-precipitating fluid in combination with δD values of amethyst-hosted fluid inclusions (−59 to −51 ‰) show a significant 18O-shift from the meteoric water line. This 18O-shift, high salinities of the fluid inclusions with chloride-sulphate composition, and high δ34S values of anhydrite and barite (7.5 to 9.9 ‰) suggest that sedimentary brines from deeper parts of the Guarani aquifer system must have been responsible for the amethyst mineralisation.

Re–Os isotope and highly siderophile element systematics of the Paraná continental flood basalts (Brazil)

Basalts of the Paraná continental flood basalt (PCFB) province erupted through dominantly Proterozoic continental crust during the Cretaceous. In order to examine the mantle source(s) of this major flood basalt province, we studied Os, Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope systematics, and highly siderophile element (HSE) abundances in tholeiitic basalts that were carefully chosen to show the minimal effects of crustal contamination. These basalts define a precise Re–Os isochron with an age of 131.6±2.3Ma and an initial 187Os/188Os of 0.1295±0.0018 (γ187Os=+2.7±1.4). This initial Os isotopic composition is considerably more radiogenic than estimates of the contemporary Depleted Mantle (DM). The fact that the Re–Os data define a well constrained isochron with an age similar to 40Ar/39Ar age determinations, despite generally low Os concentrations, is consistent with closed-system behavior for the HSE. Neodymium, Sr, and Pb isotopic data suggest that the mantle source of the basalts had been variably hybridized by melts derived from enriched mantle components. To account for the combined Os, Nd, Sr, and Pb isotopic characteristics of these rocks, we propose that the primary melts formed from metasomatized asthenospheric mantle (represented by arc-mantle peridotite) that underwent mixing with two enriched components, EM-I and EM-II. The different enriched components are reflected in minor isotopic differences between basalts from southern and northern portions of the province.The Tristan da Cunha hotspot has been previously suggested to be the cause of the Parana continental flood basalt magmatism. However, present-day Tristan da Cunha lavas have much higher 187Os/188Os isotopic compositions than the source of the PCFB. These data, together with other isotopic and elemental data, preclude making a definitive linkage between the Tristan plume and the PCFB.

Paraná flood basalts: Rapid extrusion hypothesis confirmed by new 40Ar/39Ar results

The duration of volcanism in the Parana continental flood basalt (CFB) province, essential information to assess models of melt generation, eruption rates, continental breakup, and volcanism-driven extinction events, remains unresolved due to conflicting sets of 40Ar/39Ar geochronology data. Some results suggest that the Parana CFB volcanism began at 134.7 ± 1 Ma and lasted <1 m.y. Another set of results reveals an extrusion interval of 11 m.y., from ca. 140 Ma to ca. 129 Ma. To resolve this controversy, we reanalyzed three of the exact hand specimens that previously yielded the oldest and youngest ages in the protracted 11 m.y. range. Our new ages are statistically indistinguishable from each other and the previous 134.7 ± 1 Ma result and indicate a short eruption event. A rapid extrusion for the Parana CFB and the lack of a major cotemporal extinction event challenge proposed direct links between CFB volcanism and mass extinctions and refute petrological models that rely on a protracted extrusion of the Parana CFB.

Pahoehoe flows from the central Paraná Continental Flood Basalts

Inflated and compound pahoehoe flows have been identified within the central Parana Continental Flood Basalts based upon their morphology, surface features, and internal zonation. Pahoehoe flow features have been studied at five localities in the western portion of Parana State, Brazil: Ponte Queimada, Toledo, Rio Quiteria, Matelândia and Cascavel. We have interpreted the newly recognized flow features using concepts of Hawaiian pahoehoe formation and emplacement that have been previously applied to the Columbia River Basalt and Deccan Plateau. Surface features and/or internal structure typical from pahoehoe lavas are observed in all studied areas and features like inflation clefts, squeeze-ups, breakouts, and P-type lobes with two levels of pipe vesicles are indicative of inflation in these flows. The thinner, compound pahoehoe flows are predominantly composed of P-type lobes and probably emerged at the end of large inflated flows on shallow slopes. The presence of vesicular cores in the majority of compound lobes and the common occurrence of segregation structures suggests high water content in the pahoehoe lavas from the central PCFB. More volcanological studies are necessary to determinate the rheology of lavas and refine emplacement models.

Genesis of amethyst geodes in basaltic rocks of the Serra Geral Formation (Ametista do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil): a fluid inclusion, REE, oxygen, carbon, and Sr isotope study on basalt, quartz, and calcite

In the Ametista do Sul area, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, amethyst-bearing geodes are hosted by a ~40- to 50-m-thick subhorizontal high-Ti basaltic lava flow of the Lower Cretaceous Parana Continental Flood Basalt Province. The typically spherical cap-shaped, sometimes vertically elongated geodes display an outer rim of celadonite followed inwards by agate and colorless and finally amethystine quartz. Calcite formed throughout the whole crystallization sequence, but most commonly as very late euhedral crystals, sometimes with gypsum, in the central cavity. Fluid inclusions in colorless quartz and amethyst are predominantly monophase and contain an aqueous liquid. Two-phase liquid–vapor inclusions are rare. Some with a consistent degree of fill homogenize into the liquid between 95 and 98 °C. Ice-melting temperatures in the absence of a vapor phase between –4 and +4 °C indicate low salinities. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of calcites are highly variable and show generally no systematic correlation with the paragenetic sequence. The oxygen isotope composition of calcites is very homogeneous (δ18OVSMOW=24.9±1.1‰, n=34) indicating crystallization temperatures of less than 100 °C. Carbon isotope values of calcites show a considerable variation ranging from –18.7 to –2.9‰ (VPDB). The 87Sr/86Sr ratio of calcites varies between 0.706 and 0.708 and is more radiogenic than that of the host basalt (~0.705). The most likely source of silica, calcium, carbon, and minor elements in the infill of the geodes is the highly reactive interstitial glass of the host basalts leached by gas-poor aqueous solutions of meteoric origin ascending from the locally artesian Botucatu aquifer system in the footwall of the volcanic sequence. The genesis of amethyst geodes in basalts at Ametista do Sul, Brazil, is thus considered as a two-stage process with an early magmatic protogeode formation and a late, low temperature infill of the cavity.

Chemical stratigraphy of the Paran� lavas (South America): classification of magma types and their spatial distribution

A new classification scheme has been developed to assign the lava flows of the Parana continental flood basalt province (South America) into geochemically distinct magma types, with six basaltic major and trace element abundances and/or ratios. By mapping out the spatial distribution of these magma types within the lava sequences, it has been possible to determine the internal stratigraphy of the lava pile on a regional scale. Previous studies on road profiles traversing the well-exposed coastal Serra Geral escarpment of southern Brazil are summarised together with results from some new sampled sections. More widespread stratigraphical investigations of the Parana lavas have been hampered by the lack of sufficient topographic relief and the cover of sedimentary rocks. However, access to drill-core chippings from nine boreholes in the central Parana region has provided a unique opportunity to investigate the stratigraphy of the otherwise inaccessible deeper levels of the lava pile and to map out stratigraphic variations in three dimensions. The borehole samples have indicated cated a stacking of units of different magma types all overlapping towards the north, which suggests that the main locus of magmatism moved northwards with time within the Parana basin. This migration could be related to the northward propagation of rifting during the initiation of the South Atlantic Ocean. Maps of the surface distribution of samples of each magma type show a pattern consistent with the stratigraphy inferred from the boreholes, although suggesting that the shift in magmatism may have been towards the northwest. On the basis of geochemical similarities between magma types and their inferred stratigraphical relationships, it is proposed that the Parana can be divided into two principal magmatic centres: (1) an older one in the south, comprising the Gramado, Esmeralda and Urubici magma types; and (2) a younger one, developed about 750 km to the north, formed by the Pitanga, Paranapanema and Ribeira magma types.

Origin of Deccan Trap lavas: evidence from combined trace element and Sr-, Nd- and Pb-isotope studies

Geochemical and isotope results are presented from a new study of the most southern basalts in the Deccan Trap, India. Three chemical formations are recognised, two of which can be correlated with the established stratigraphy in Mahabaleshwar and imply a regional southerly dip of 0.06° over a distance of 250 km. In detail Sr-isotope variations within the Ambenali and Mahabaleshwar Formations can be shown to reflect three distinct end-members which provide new constraints for petrogenetic models. Pb-isotope data for selected basalts exhibit a wide range with 206Pb/ 204Pb= 16.87–22.45, and a linear correlation on a Pb—Pb diagram. The least contaminated Ambenali basalts plot within the Pb-array, and interaction with mantle lithosphere involves a shift to less radiogenic Pb whereas contamination with crust is characterised by more radiogenic Pb. Unlike the Karoo and Parana continental flood basalt provinces only four flow units within the southern Deccan appear to contain a significant contribution from mantle lithosphere. The Mahabaleshwar and Ambenali Formation basalts exhibit a striking negative Pb—Sr isotope trend which is presently regarded as one of the features of interaction with shallow level lithospheric mantle. It further suggests that basalts from the Walvis Ridge, Kerguelen and Ninetyeast ridge all remobilised such shallow level material, and that the Deccan basalts which were not affected by crustal contamination reflect interaction between asthenospheric material similar to T-type MORB, but related to the Reunion hotspot, and continental mantle lithosphere of the Indian plate.