Rio Negro-Juruena Research Articles

Detrital zircon and rutile of southern Mexico Cambrian–Ordovician sandstone: Their significance for sediment provenance and Rheic Ocean evolution

The Cambrian–Ordovician Tiñú Formation of southern Mexico is key for identifying sediment sources along the northern margin of Gondwana, enhancing our understanding of early Paleozoic paleogeography and linking it with age-equivalent units in terranes with Gondwanan affinity. This study integrates detrital zircon U–Pb ages, Hf isotope signatures, and heavy mineral chemical data. U–Pb detrital zircon ages indicate sources from Stenian–Tonian (900–1200 Ma) to Calymmian (1400–1600 Ma) ages. The Stenian to Tonian zircon population, with peak ages around 1.0 Ga and model ages ranging from 1.68 to 1.90 Ga, suggests a provenance from the metaigneous rocks of the Oaxacan and Guichicovi complexes. The presence of the Calymmian zircon population, tourmaline crystals, and rutile grains displaying lower crystallization temperatures compared to the high-temperature rutile from the Oaxacan Complex suggests additional sources. Hf isotope signatures from Calymmian-aged zircon grains, with model ages between 1.95 and 2.30 Ga, match well with the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Catarina Unit in the southern Chiapas Massif Complex. Further potential sources may include the basement of the Putumayo Province in Colombia and igneous rocks from the western Guiana Shield and the Rio Negro-Juruena Province. The Tiñú Formation provenance is comparable to coeval metasedimentary units across the northwestern margin of Gondwana found in Belize, the southern Chiapas Massif Complex, and Guatemala. The Tiñú Formation was likely deposited adjacent to the rifted margin of the Rheic Ocean. The results also emphasize combining U–Pb–Hf isotope analysis and trace elements in detrital zircon and rutile as effective provenance tracers.

Paleomagnetism of the Rio Perdido mafic dike swarm (1110 Ma) and the paleogeography of Amazonia and its role for supercontinents Rodinia and Gondwana

The Rio Apa Terrane (RAT) is situated at the south end of the Amazonian Craton (AC) separated from it by the aulacogen Tucavaca belt. It encompasses basement rocks that evolved mainly during the Paleoproterozoic. Its relationship to the AC during Proterozoic is yet undefined, although geologic, geochronologic and isotopic evidence suggest it was close to the Ventuari-Tapajós and Rio Negro-Juruena Provinces at Paleoproterozoic and linked to southwestern AC at ca. 1320 Ma. Aiming to elucidate the paleogeographic relation of the RAT to the AC during the Proterozoic, we performed a paleomagnetic study of the 1110 Ma Rio Perdido mafic dike swarm that crosscut the RAT. These dikes strike preferentially WNW-ESE and are mostly undeformed and unmetamorphosed. Magnetic experiments (hysteresis curves, isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) curves, thermomagnetic curves and first order reverse curves-FORCs) revealed pseudo-single domain (PSD) Ti-poor titanomagnetite as the main magnetic carrier in these dikes. Alternating field (AF) and thermal demagnetization were efficient in isolating southwestern and northeastern directions with low inclinations, whose mean direction (Dec = 51.8°, Inc = −0.8°, N = 14, α95 = 13.8°, k = 9.3) yielded the paleomagnetic pole (RP) at 34.8°S/197.3° (A95 = 10.9°). This pole passed a baked contact test and meets 6 out of 7 pole reliability criteria (R = 6). The Rio Perdido pole implies that RAT could be linked to the southwestern AC at 1110 Ma but rotated counterclockwise ∼ 110° related to its present position. The AC linked to RAT probably belonged to the 1100 Ma Umkondia megacontinent which later collided with Laurentia during the formation of Rodinia at ca. 1000–900 Ma. Also, paleomagnetic data suggest that the RAT and the southwestern AC (Paraguá Terrane) were linked to Ventuari-Tapajós and Rio Negro-Juruena provinces at ca. 1780 Ma and had a joint geological evolution during the Paleo- and Mesoproterozoic. Finally, during the amalgamation of West Gondwana, the RAT rotated clockwise to its present position.

Extensional exhumation of cratons: insights from the Early Cretaceous Rio Negro–Juruena belt (Amazonian Craton, Colombia)

Abstract. This study presents results from apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology to investigate the thermal history and exhumation dynamics of the Rio Negro–Juruena basement, situated within the western Guiana Shield of the Amazonian Craton. AFT dating and associated thermal history modeling in South America has largely been restricted to the plate's margins (e.g., Andean active margin, Brazilian passive margin, and others). Our paper reports on low-temperature thermochronological data from the internal part of the western Guiana Shield for the first time. This area is part of a vast cratonic lithosphere that is generally thought to be stable and little influenced by Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonics. Our data, however, show AFT central ages ranging from 79.1 ± 3.2 to 177.1 ± 14.8 Ma, with mean confined track lengths of ca. 12 µm. Contrary to what might be expected of stable cratonic shields, inverse thermal history modeling indicates a rapid basement cooling event in the early Cretaceous. This cooling is interpreted as a significant exhumation event of the basement that was likely driven by the coeval extensional tectonics associated with back-arc rifts in the Llanos and Putumayo–Oriente–Maranon basins. The extensional tectonics facilitated both basement uplift and subsidence of the adjoining basins, increasing erosional dynamics and consequent exhumation of the basement rocks. The tectonic setting shifted in the late Cretaceous from extensional to contractional, resulting in reduced subsidence of the basins and consequential diminishing cooling rates of the Guiana Shield basement. Throughout the Cenozoic, only gradual, slow subsidence occurred in the study area due to regional flexure linked to the Andean orogeny. Comparative analysis with low-temperature thermochronology data from other west Gondwana cratonic segments highlights that exhumation episodes are highly controlled by tectonic inheritance, lithospheric strength, and proximity to rift zones. This study underscores the complex interplay between tectonic events and the response of cratonic lithosphere over geological timescales and highlights extensional settings as an important geological context for craton exhumation.

New insights into the Cretaceous evolution of the Western Amazonian paleodrainage system

The geological history of the Amazon River is a complex story driven by geodynamic processes operating in the South American plate. In spite of recent research, the pre-Neogene structure of Amazon paleodrainage is still underconstrained. A recent study has suggested that the western Amazonian paleodrainage system was reversed, cratonic in origin during the Cretaceous. However, the extent and duration of this system are not well-constrained. To add new constraints, we investigated the sources of Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in the Brazilian Acre and Peruvian Madre de Dios basins, based on major and trace element concentrations, Sm–Nd isotopic compositions, and U–Pb detrital zircon dating. The late Cretaceous samples of the Acre Basin have εNd(0) values between −21.2 and −8.4 and zircon grains derived from terranes situated in the easternmost part of the Amazonian Craton: Ventuari–Tapajos (2.0–1.82 Ga) and Rio Negro–Juruena (1.82–1.54 Ga). In contrast, the Madre de Dios Basin samples have εNd(0) values ranging from −15.2 to −7.1 and a wide range of U–Pb zircon age distributions. The samples from the northern part of the basin (MD234 and MD238) are dominated by zircon ages between 0.9 and 1.3 Ga (Grenville/Sunsás, 30 %–43 %) and 0.5 and 0.7 Ga (Brazilian/Pampean, 26 %–16 %) with felsic provenance. The oldest MD234 sample also shows a dominant contribution from Paleozoic zircon (20 %). On the other hand, the samples from the southern part of the Madre de Dios Basin (samples MD-2019-4A; MD-2019-10; MD-2019-13; MD-2019-11D and MD-2019-12A) have U–Pb age distributions dominated by zircon ages between 0.9 and 1.3 Ga (Grenville/Sunsás, 30 %–45 %) and 1.54 and 1.3 Ga (Rondonia–San Ignácio, 16 %–43 %), pointing to a cratonic origin for these sedimentary rocks. To elucidate the distinction in provenance between the samples from the northern and southern parts of the Madre de Dios Basin, we suggest that a structural barrier (the Madidi Arch (?)) was active during the late Cretaceous. In this scenario, the northern part of the Madre de Dios Basin had similar sedimentary sources as the nearby basins like Huallaga, Bagua, Ucayali, and Marañón, whereas, in the southern part of the basin, sedimentation was influenced by local sources. Together with previously published studies, these data indicate that the continent-wide cratonic drainage developed between the Cenomanian and Maastrichtian in response to the Purus Arch uplift was probably driven by a geodynamic process related to the post-rift opening of the Atlantic Equatorial Ocean.

Growing the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic margin of the SW Amazonia and the transition from an accretionary to a collisional system

Despite a general consensus of a petrogenetic link in Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic times between the Rio Apa Terrane (RAT) and the Ventuari-Tapajós and Rio Negro-Juruena provinces of the SW Amazonian Craton, their connection with the adjoining Paraguá Terrane is still tentative. Here, we test the connection between SW Amazonia, Rio Apa and Paraguá terranes by comparing an extensive dataset of new and published zircon U–Pb–Hf isotopic data. A locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) curve based on a near continuous zircon εHfT time series (∼1400 data) indicates that the Western domain of the RAT, the San Diablo domain (southern Paraguá Terrane), and the Ventuari-Tapajós Province are characterized by a crustal reworking array associated with the recycling of the Amazonian Archean crust. Change-point statistical analysis indicates the time of a switch from this reworking array to an episode of juvenile input into the magmatic sources at 1809–1805 Ma (95 % confidence), giving rise to the juvenile Eastern domain of the RAT, the Paraguá Terrane and the Rio Negro-Juruena Province. This secular zircon εHfT evolution is interpreted to represent a switch from advancing (crustal reworking) to retreating (juvenile input and crustal growth) episodes in the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic accretionary orogen of SW Amazonia. Similar temporal isotopic patterns are recorded in modern accretionary orogens such as the Andes. This data supports a petrogenetic link between the RAT, the Paraguá Terrane, and the SW Amazonian Craton. We postulate that the Mesoproterozoic Alto Guaporé orogeny (ca. 1470–1430 Ma, accretionary phase) eventually juxtaposed the high-pressure/medium-temperature (amphibolite facies) RAT and the high-temperature (granulite facies) Paraguá Terrane along the SW margin of Amazonia, establishing a paired metamorphic belt during Rodinia assembly. The newly formed RAT-Paraguá-Amazonia connection lasted until at least ca. 1110 Ma based on the expression of the Rincon del Tigre-Huanchaca large igneous province that crosscut the Amazonia-Paraguá and RAT. The timing of fragmentation and drift of the RAT and the Paraguá Terrane from the SW Amazonia is still unknown.

Tectonic domains in the NW Amazonian Craton from geophysical and geological data

The Amazonian Craton is one of the largest cratonic areas in the world. In Colombia, a major portion of the Craton is covered by Paleozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary rocks and recent deposits. This, in addition to the difficulty of access and dense tropical rainforest, have made the geology of this area to remain relatively unexplored to this date. Most accepted models for the Proterozoic evolution of the Amazonian Craton indicate that it evolved via successive accretion of orogenic belts and crustal terranes around an ancient nucleus, and that tectonic provinces identified in the southern half of the craton, the Guaporé Shield, extend underneath the Amazon River Basin onto its northern exposure, the Guiana Shield. Nevertheless, recent geologic studies in the W Guiana Shield indicate that its evolution may have been different from the W Guaporé Shield, where these accretionary models were formulated. In this work, we used airborne gravity/magnetic geophysical datasets covering the NW portion of the Amazonian Craton, to better elucidate its structure and tectonic evolution. We apply a multiscale edge detection and 3D modeling to identify and delineate major crustal discontinuities and other geological features. Using this approach, we identified six primary geophysical lineaments that are interpreted as possible crustal boundaries. By combining our geophysical interpretation with all the geological, geochronologic and isotopic information available for the region, we propose the presence of the following tectonic domains: Ventuari-Tapajós, Rio Negro-Juruena (which we further subdivide into Atabapo and Vaupés Belts), Apaporis Graben, and Putumayo. Furthermore, a new U-Pb zircon crystallization age of 1227 ± 8/13 Ma obtained from volcanic rocks of the Piraparaná Formation indicates that extensional tectonics along the Apaporis Graben began at least in the late-Mesoproterozoic. This is significantly older than previously thought, and thus entirely transforms the tectonic significance of the Apaporis Graben structures. Our interpretation of structural limits is in excellent agreement with and provides a more accurate location for previously suggested boundaries, which were until now only loosely constrained by the sparse geological and geochronologic information available. This work provides the first regional reconstruction of crustal-scale features of NW South America, improving the understanding of the regional tectonic architecture of NW Amazonian Craton using geophysical methods.

Tectonic switches recorded in a Paleoproterozoic accretionary orogen in the Alta Floresta Mineral Province, southern Amazonian Craton

The Alta Floresta Mineral Province (AFMP), southern Amazonian Craton, experienced extensive magmatic activity from ca. 2.03 to 1.75 Ga in an uncertain geodynamic setting. New and pre-existing geological, petrographic, geochemical, and zircon geochronological data show that magmatic rocks in the eastern AFMP comprise three magmatic sequences: 2.03–1.93, 1.90–1.85, and 1.83–1.75 Ga. Earlier magmas had garnet-bearing sources, whereas younger ones were derived from shallow, garnet-free sources. We propose a new, four-stage geological framework, comprising five domains, and featuring an accretionary orogen with tectonic switching that alternates between flat subduction and slab-rollback. During flat subduction and crustal thickening in stages A (2.03–1.97 Ga) and C (1.90–1.81 Ga), calc-alkalic to alkali-calcic I-type magmatism was produced, whereas alkali-calcic to alkalic A-type magmatism, and localized I-type granites, were generated during slab-rollback and crustal extension in stages B (1.96–1.94 Ga) and D (1.83–1.75 Ga). The last stage is associated with precious- and base metal porphyry- and epithermal-style systems. We interpret the eastern AFMP as a remaining cratonic block of the eastward Tapajós Domain within the ca. 1.95–1.80 Ga Ventuari-Tapajós Province, and recording 1.85–1.74 Ga magmatism of the Western Amazonia Igneous Belt within the ca. 1.80–1.55 Ga Rio Negro-Juruena Province. Similarities between the AFMP and the Svecofennian orogen (Fennoscandian Shield) suggest that parts of the Columbia supercontinent margins might have operated in similar fashion to Andean-type accretionary orogens.

The NW Amazonian Craton in Guainía and Vaupés departments, Colombia: Transition between orogenic to anorogenic environments during the Paleo-Mesoproterozoic

In order to improve our understanding of the NW-Amazonian Craton evolution, we present new petrographic, geochemical and geochronological analyses of 27 samples from the geotectonic Rio Negro-Juruena Province in eastern Colombia (Guainía and Vaupés departments). New LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb ages suggest that the oldest known rocks in Colombia are metamorphic rocks (migmatitic gneisses) with ages between ~ 1850 and ~ 1800 Ma, and gneisses and granitoids with ages between ~ 1800–1720 Ma which form part of the Mitú Complex, interpreted as the result of Statherian collisional and orogenic events (Querari Orogeny). Detrital zircons in low-grade meta-sedimentary sequences of the Tunuí Group (sandstones, conglomeratic sandstones and mudstones), that crop out over almost the entire basement, indicate older than ~ 1770 Ma source rocks. Intrusions of different suites of granitic rocks with syn- to post-collisional affinities suggest a termination of the collisional events between ~ 1600–1500 Ma which had affected the whole region, occasionally metasomatically overprinting parts of the Tunuí meta-sedimentary sequence. The recognizable metamorphic and magmatic-processes finish with ~ 1400–1340 Ma anorogenic granites without signs of tectonic deformation, resembling anorogenic granites in the Western Amazonian Craton in Brazil and the Parguaza Batholith in Venezuela. This study allows us to conclude that the basement records the collision of a continental arc (Rio Negro-Juruena Province) against the NW-Amazonian Craton (Ventuari-Tapajos Province) and its subsequent transition to anorogenic conditions in a continental rift setting long before the actual stable craton conditions.

A long-lived active margin revealed by zircon U–Pb–Hf data from the Rio Apa Terrane (Brazil): New insights into the Paleoproterozoic evolution of the Amazonian Craton

We present the first regional in-situ zircon U–Pb–Hf isotopic data from metaigneous and metasedimentary rocks from the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic Rio Apa Terrane (RAT), a crustal fragment outcropping in the central-western Brazil and north-eastern Paraguay. These new ages and Hf isotopic data delineate three magmatic events, which record the construction of the temporally and isotopically distinct Western and Eastern Terranes of the RAT. The Western Terrane comprises the 2100–1940 Ma Porto Murtinho Complex and the 1900–1840 Ma Amoguijá Belt, which both define a crustal reworking array in εHfT-time space evolving from a precursor source with Hf TDM age of ca. 2700 Ma. The 1800–1720 Ma Caracol Belt constitutes the Eastern Terrane and yields suprachondritic εHfT signatures up to +7.1, indicating significant juvenile input. The metasedimentary Amolar Group and Rio Naitaca Formation in the Western Terrane have maximum depositional ages of 1850–1800 Ma and subchondritic εHfT signatures down to −5.7, similar to the underlying basement of the Amoguijá Belt. In the Eastern Terrane, the Alto Tererê Formation has a maximum depositional age of 1750 Ma and mostly suprachondritic εHfT signatures, similar to magmatic rocks of the underlying Caracol Belt. Together, the new igneous and detrital zircon age and Hf isotopic data record a temporal and spatial transition from 2100 to 1840 Ma crustal reworking in the west to more juvenile magmatism at 1800–1720 Ma in the east. This transition is interpreted to reflect convergent margin magmatism associated with periods of subduction zone advance and retreat in an accretionary orogenic setting. Comparison of the εHfT-time signature of the RAT with the Amazonian Craton suggest penecontemporaneous development, with the Western and Eastern Terranes of the RAT being correlative with the Ventuari-Tapajós and Rio Negro-Juruena Province of the Amazonian Craton, respectively. Our new data also reveal that the εHfT signatures of the RAT are distinct from the Maz terrane, which refutes the MARA Block hypothesis.

A review of the geodynamic setting of the Volcanic Domain in the Juruena Magmatic Arc, southwestern Amazon Craton, Brazil, based on geochemical, U-Pb and Sm-Nd data

In SW Amazon Craton, along the boundary between the Ventuari-Tapajos (1.9 to 1.8 Ga) and the Rio Negro-Juruena (1.8 to 1.55 Ga) provinces, an association of volcanic rocks and related epizonal granitic plutons crop out as a volcanic belt with more than 600 km long. This set of rocks, here called the Volcanic Domain (VD), has been the target of several studies due to its metallogenic importance as well as to the understanding of the geodynamic evolution of the Southwestern Amazon Craton, and various geodynamic models are considered for this plutono-volcanism at about 1.8 Ga, including taphrogenesis, accretionary margin volcanic belt, and late- to post-orogenic extensional magmatism. In this work, based on whole rock geochemistry, and in U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotopic results we propose a geodynamic model that admit shifts in the tectonic regime through time and unifies the second and third interpretations above. We interpret the intermediate to acid, A-type, oxidized granitic and volcanic rocks from the Colider Group and the Paranaita Intrusive Suite as products of continental arc magmatism, whereas the acid, A-type reduced granitic and volcanic rocks resulted from late-stage extensional back-arc and forearc processes being respectively associated with the Teles-Pires Intrusive Suite and Roosevelt Group magmatism. The continental arc interpretation for the VD is supported by the following lines of evidence: (1) spatial arrangement of the VD in the shape of a volcanic belt; (2) the large volume of volcaniclastic deposits and related epizonal granitic intrusions; (3) variable chemical signatures ranging from subalkaline mafic compositions to high-K calc-alkaline, A-type oxidized granites, showing REE and trace element patterns similar to those of subcontinental lithospheric mantle sources enriched by subduction-zone fluids, and subordinate involvement of continental crust; (4) crystallization and Sm-Nd TDM model ages, respectively, ranging between 1820 and 1780 Ma, and from 2.40 to 1.84 Ga, with eNd(t) values of -3.9 to +2.5, yielding an overlap in U-Pb and Sm-Nd ages of rocks from the Juruena Magmatic Arc; (5) the occurrence of epithermal-porphyry Au systems in the Alta Floresta Gold Province with ages compatible with those of the VD magmatic period.

Paleo-Mesoproterozoic arc-accretion along the southwestern margin of the Amazonian craton: The Juruena accretionary orogen and possible implications for Columbia supercontinent

The southwestern portion of the Amazonian craton, between the Ventuari-Tapajós province and the Andean chain, has been ascribed to a succession of orogenic events from 1.81 to 0.95 Ga, culminating with widespread anorogenic magmatism. Southwestward of the Serra do Cachimbo graben occurs the Juruena accretionary orogenic belt (ca. 1.81–1.51 Ga), previously included in the Rio Negro-Juruena and Rondonian/San Ignácio geocronological provinces or Rondônia-Juruena geologic province. The Juruena orogen proposed here includes the Jamari and Juruena tectonostratigraphic terranes, products of convergence which culminated in the soft collision of the Paraguá protocraton and the Tapajós-Parima arc system (Tapajós Province) ca. 1.69–1.63 Ga ago. Geophysical, geochemical, petrological and geochronological data and systematic geological mapping suggest that the convergent event resulted in a single orogenic system with two continental margin arcs, namely the Jamari and Juruena arcs. Modern geological and tectonic approaches, combined with aerogeophysics data, enable to interpreting this wide region of the Amazonian craton as a Paleoproterozoic orogen with well defined petrotectonic units and tectonoestructural framework. The Juruena orogen is an E-W trending belt, about 1100 km long and 350 km wide, inflecting to NW-SE, in Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Rondonia, Brazil. The general direction of the belt, its inflections and internal geometric and kinematic aspects of its macrostructures do not corroborate the general NW-SE trend of the originally proposed geocronological provinces.The Juruena accretionary orogen has been the site of repeated reactivation with renewed basin formation, magmatism and orogeny during the Mesoproterozoic and the early Neoproterozoic. U-Pb and whole-rock Sm-Nd ages, Ar-Ar and Rb-Sr mineral ages suggest that the older high grade tectonometamorphic events in the Juruena accretionary orogen took place between 1.69 and 1.63 Ga, defining the metamorphic peak of the Rio Negro-Juruena orogeny and the original structural architecture of the orogen. The main structures of the Rio Negro-Juruena orogeny were almost completely obliterated between 1.42 and 1.37 Ga, due to the superimposed Rondonian-San Ignácio orogeny. Later on, between 1.20 and 1.12 Ga, these structures were affected by a ductile event represented by the large Ji-Paraná transpressive shear system and by the Tarilândia transcurrent shear zone developed under low-T amphibolite facies conditions, both related to the Sunsás orogeny. The evolution of Jamari and Juruena terranes as a Paleoproterozoic/Mesoproterozoic orogen developed between 1.81 and 1.51 Ga and their thorough reworking in Mesoproterozoic times is instrumental to establishing the position of the Amazonian craton in the proposed Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Columbia (Nuna) supercontinent, as well as in the Rodinia reconstruction at the end of the Mesoproterozoic.

U-Pb zircon ages of rocks from the Amazonas Territory of Colombia and their bearing on the tectonic history of the NW sector of the Amazonian Craton

ABSTRACT: Here we report the results of several U-Pb zircon ages, made to generate an integrated history for the Rio Negro-Juruena tectonic province, for the northwestern part of the Amazonian Craton. This region comprises granitoid rocks, described as calc-alkaline syntectonic gneisses, granites and migmatites, affected by medium level amphibolite facies metamorphism. The new measurements, with the available Rb-Sr and K-Ar ages, indicate the formation of these rocks within a series of essentially juvenile magmatic arcs, that are closely related with subduction. Sm-Nd analyses indicate that all samples, regardless of their zircon ages, yielded TDM model ages roughly between 1.9 and 2.2 Ga, suggesting the absence of a much older source material. In the northeastern part (areas of Puerto Inírida and San Carlos), the Atabapo belt comprises rocks formed within a period of about 60 Ma, from 1800 to 1740 Ma. In the southwestern region, including the towns of Mitú and Iauaretê, the granitoids formed in the Vaupés belt between 1580 and 1520 Ma. Finally, the available K-Ar measurements indicate the onset of the Nickerie-K'Mudku intraplate heating event, with temperature above 300oC within the entire region at 1200 - 1300 Ma.

Contribution to the geology, geochemistry and petrography of mafic dykes from the central-east portion of Rondônia, SW Amazonian Craton

Dois tipos de diques máficos ocorrem na porção centro-leste de Rondônia, a sudoeste do Cráton Amazônico. Os enxames posicionam-se na interface entre duas províncias geocronológicas e terrenos tectônicos distintos (Província Rio Negro-Juruena e Sunsás-Aguapeí, individualizadas no Terreno Jamari e Terreno Nova Brasilândia, respectivamente), separados pelo gráben paleozoico de Pimenta Bueno. Eles são denominados diabásio I e diabásio II. Diabásio I orienta-se preferencialmente segundo WNW-ESE, subordinadamente segundo NW-SE, e cortam rochas proterozoicas das formações Migrantinópolis e Terra Boa, e da Suíte Intrusiva Serra da Providência. Diabásio II é mais abundante na região e orienta-se preferencialmente segundo N-S e NNE-SSW, e subordinadamente segundo WSW-ESE. Esse enxame intrude rochas paleozoicas das formações Pedra Redonda e Pimenta Bueno. As principais diferenças petrográficas consistem na presença de ortopiroxênio somente nas amostras do diabásio II, e em diferentes texturas, predominantemente equigranular no diabásio I, e frequentemente porfirítica e microporfirítica no diabásio II. Geoquimicamente, as rochas de ambos os tipos classificam-se como basaltos toleíticos. Diabásio I (mg# 0,35 – 0,71) é mais enriquecido em FeO, TiO2 , K2 O, P2 O5 e elementos incompatíveis em comparação ao diabásio II (mg# 0,40 – 0,60). A diferença em grau de enriquecimento de ambos os magmas e a nítida distinção entre razões de elementos incompatíveis indicam que diabásio I e diabásio II são provenientes de diferentes mantos parentais. A grande similaridade entre teores e razões de elementos incompatíveis dos diabásios I e metagabros do Grupo Nova Brasilândia (1,10 Ga) sugere que ambos os magmas originaram-se de fontes mantélicas semelhantes, devendose levar em conta, para futuras pesquisas, a possibilidade da proximidade das respectivas idades de intrusão. As características geológicas do enxame de diabásio II sugere idade mesozoica. Os dados geológicos e geoquímicos indicam ambiente intracratônico para ambos os enxames

U–Pb detrital zircon ages from the Aguapeí Group (Brazil): Implications for the geological evolution of the SW border of the Amazonian Craton

New U–Pb detrital zircon data of metasedimentary rocks of the Aguapeí Group, SW Amazonian Craton, are presented in this work. Three samples were analyzed by ICPMS laser ablation in order to estimate the age of the source areas of the sediments and the maximum depositional age of the basin. The samples show an Archean age of 2515Ma not yet reported in the region. Paleoproterozoic ages of 2015Ma, 1897Ma and 1812Ma were not reported in this area either, but are observed 1000–1200km to NE, in the Rio Negro-Juruena province. The group of ages ranging from 1655Ma to 1608Ma may represent zircons from the Lomas Maneches orogen, described in Bolivia. The group of zircons with ages of 1544Ma may be related to the Cachoeirinha (in Mato Grosso) or Serra da Providencia (in Rondonia) magmatic suite. The group of ages of ca 1485Ma, 1417Ma and 1411Ma may represent zircons from the adjacent Santa Helena orogen, in Mato Grosso state. Data presented in this work suggest that the maximum depositional age for the Aguapeí sediments is 1.26Ga, the youngest age among the detrital zircons analyzed. The U–Pb ages in zircon define important time constraint for the Aguapei Group sedimentary rocks deposition. In addition, the results here reported define new challenges in order to identify rocks not yet found in the region that may result in a more complete framework for SW Amazonian Craton crustal evolution.

Detrital-zircon record of major Middle Triassic–Early Cretaceous provenance shift, central Mexico: demise of Gondwanan continental fluvial systems and onset of back-arc volcanism and sedimentation

New stratigraphic and petrographic data and zircon U–Pb geochronology from sandstones and volcanic rocks in the states of Queretaro and Guanajuato in central Mexico indicate an important provenance change between Late Triassic and latest Jurassic–Early Cretaceous time. The Upper Triassic El Chilar Complex consists of pervasively deformed, deep-marine olistostromes, and debris-flow deposits of arkosic and subarkosic composition. Detrital-zircon populations range from latest Palaeoproterozoic (1.65 Ga) to Middle Triassic (240 Ma), all predating the depositional age of the strata. The detrital-zircon populations are similar to those previously reported from turbidites of the Potosi fan complex of north-central Mexico and interpreted as derived from Grenville and Pan-African (Maya block) basement and Permo-Triassic arc of continental Mexico directly to the east of the basin. A single sample with a dominant Proterozoic population at ∼1.65–1.30 Ga was likely derived either from the Rio Negro-Juruena province of the Amazonian craton or from a local source in the Huiznopala Gneiss, and indicates that El Chilar strata were likely deposited in the proximal part of a submarine-fan system separate from the Potosi fan.Uppermost Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous strata of the San Juan de la Rosa Formation unconformably overlie the El Chilar Complex and likewise consist of deep-marine olistostromes, slump deposits, debris-flow deposits, and proximal fan-channel fills, but are volcanogenic litharenites with abundant felsic and vitric volcanic lithic fragments. Detrital-zircon populations are dominated by Early Cretaceous grains (150–132 Ma) with no known sources in eastern Mexico. Abundant young grains indicate a maximum depositional age of ∼134 Ma (Valanginian–Hauterivian). The San Juan de la Rosa Formation is overlain by deepwater carbonates with interbedded siliciclastic beds of the Peña Azul Formation, which contains detrital-zircon ages as young as ∼130 Ma, indicating possible equivalence with similar strata of the Las Trancas Formation, with a maximum depositional age of ∼127 Ma and lying to the east in the Zimapan Basin, now part of the Sierra Madre Oriental fold and thrust belt. Decreasing content of volcaniclastic strata eastward indicates a volcanic source to the west. Upper Cretaceous marine strata in the Mineral de Pozos area to the northwest in the state of Guanajuato contain litharenites with a maximum depositional age near 92 Ma, and are thus part of a younger depositional system.Composition and detrital-zircon content of the Upper Triassic and Lower Cretaceous successions in central Mexico indicates an important shift from Gondwanan continental sediment sources in the Triassic to western volcanic sources, probably on the edge of the newly opened Arperos basin, by the end of the Jurassic. This important sediment-dispersal change records the break-up of Pangea and concomitant development of arc-related sedimentary basins on the western edge of Mexico.

Mesoproterozoic juvenile mafic–ultramafic magmatism in the SW Amazonian Craton (Rio Negro-Juruena province): SHRIMP U–Pb geochronology and Nd–Sr constraints of the Figueira Branca Suite

Abstract The Figueira Branca Suite (FBS) comprises a layered mafic–ultramafic complex which together with mafic–felsic plugs makes up a string of NW-trending intrusive bodies that are emplaced into the Jauru domain (Rio Negro-Juruena province; 1.80–1.60 Ga). This domain comprises Orosirian calc-alkaline rocks and coeval metamorphic volcanic–sedimentary associations, intruded by voluminous granitoid plutons resulted from outboard Cachoeirinha (1587–1522 Ma) and Santa Helena (1485–1420 Ma) accretionary orogens that eventually created the Rondonian-San Ignacio province along the SW margin of the proto-Amazonian Craton. SHRIMP U–Pb age in zircon for one cumulatic gabbro from the FBS yielded a concordia intercept age of 1425.5 ± 8.0 Ma (MSWD = 1.11). Another gabbroic plug which crops out to the East gives a similar within error concordia intercept zircon age of 1415.9 ± 6.9 Ma (MSWD = 0.25), whereas a nearby monzogranite yields a concordia intercept zircon age of 1428.9 ± 2.8 Ma (MSWD = 1.30). All these results are crystallization ages and constrain an important intraplate magmatic event within the Orosirian continental crust at the time of outboard Santa Helena orogen. On the other hand, igneous titanite from another gabbro located to the West of the FBS yielded a weighted mean 207 Pb/ 206 Pb crystallization age of 1541 ± 23 Ma (MSWD = 0.74). Therefore this rock is not genetically associated with the FBS, as previously suggested by the field information. Additional Nd–Sr isotopic analyses of the FBS mafic–ultramafic rocks and coeval gabbro showed comparable ɛ Nd(1.42Ga) values (+3.0 to +4.7) and variable ɛ Sr(1.42Ga) ones (−39.1 to −8.1). These data plot in the depleted field quadrant of the Nd–Sr diagram, indicating a significant influence of the MORB end-member reservoir in the magma genesis. This interpretation is similarly supported by comparison of the Nd evolutionary path of the FBS with those that characterize the isotopic evolution of the Jauru crust and the Cachoeirinha and Santa Helena intrusive plutons. The bulk isotopic signature allows the genetic relationship among the Santa Helena Suite and the FBS and coeval rocks. The anorogenic character of the FBS is supported by the geologic framework of the Jauru domain, given that the emplacement took place under an extensional regime, associated with the recognized regional NW-trending structures. 40 Ar– 39 Ar analyses were carried out in mafic rocks that are assigned to the FBS. Biotite from a gabbronorite yielded an ideogram age of 1222 ± 5 Ma while a nearby troctolite yielded plateau biotite ages of 1275 ± 4 Ma and 1268 ± 4 Ma. These ages are minimum estimates of the regional cooling of the FBS. One gabbro of the Alto Jauru Group yields a 40 Ar– 39 Ar plateau age of 1781 ± 15 Ma, interpreted as the time of regional cooling that succeeded continental accretion and metamorphism at Orosirian times. Later on heterogenous crustal thickening and uplift took place from West to East, as response from the Cachoeirinha and Santa Helena orogen dynamics, which is marked by the 1539–1510 Ma and 1452–1322 Ma 40 Ar– 39 Ar age-patterns, respectively. The available apparent ages suggest that Cachoeirinha crust was subjected to a fast exhumation rate (ca. 50 m.y.), as estimated by the zircon–titanite–hornblende–biotite time-path, while the Santa Helena crust seems to display a lower exhumation rate. Particularly, the youngest 40 Ar– 39 Ar biotite age (1322 Ma) available for the Santa Helena crust signals the post-tectonic phase of the Rondonian-San Ignacio province.

The Rondonian-San Ignacio Province in the SW Amazonian Craton: An overview

Abstract The Rondonian-San Ignacio Province (1.56–1.30 Ga) is a composite orogen created through successive accretion of arcs, ocean basin closure and final oblique microcontinent–continent collision. The effects of the collision are well preserved mostly in the Paragua Terrane (Bolivia and Mato Grosso regions) and in the Alto Guapore Belt and the Rio Negro-Juruena Province (Rondonia region), considering that the province was affected by later collision-related deformation and metamorphism during the Sunsas Orogeny (1.25–1.00 Ga). The Rondonian-San Ignacio Province comprises: (1) the Jauru Terrane (1.78–1.42 Ga) that hosts Paleoproterozoic basement (1.78–1.72 Ga), and the Cachoeirinha (1.56–1.52 Ga) and the Santa Helena (1.48–1.42 Ga) accretionary orogens, both developed in an Andean-type magmatic arc; (2) the Paragua Terrane (1.74–1.32 Ga) that hosts pre-San Ignacio units (>1640 Ma: Chiquitania Gneiss Complex, San Ignacio Schist Group and Lomas Manechis Granulitic Complex) and the Pensamiento Granitoid Complex (1.37–1.34 Ga) developed in an Andean-type magmatic arc; (3) the Rio Alegre Terrane (1.51–1.38 Ga) that includes units generated in a mid-ocean ridge and an intra-oceanic magmatic arc environments; and (4) the Alto Guapore Belt (

Significance of Provenance Ages from the Chiapas Massif Complex (Southeastern Mexico): Redefining the Paleozoic Basement of the Maya Block and Its Evolution in a Peri-Gondwanan Realm

Medium- to high-grade metasedimentary rocks are exposed as isolated domains in mostly metaigneous crystalline rocks of the Chiapas Massif Complex (CMC), which forms the basement of the southern Maya Block, southeastern Mexico. Laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U-Pb isotope analyses on inherited detrital zircon cores show two principal age distributions: (a) Group I, with its highest peak at 500–650 Ma and smaller peaks at ∼380–400 Ma, 1.0–1.2 Ga, 1.5–2.0 Ga, and 2.6–3.1 Ga, and (b) Group II, with its highest peak at 1.0–1.2 Ga, a minor peak at 1.5–1.6 Ga (or ∼1.0-Ga zircon cores only), and a lack of 500–650-Ma zircons. The cores are commonly surrounded by metamorphic or anatectic overgrowths, and some zircon ages were reset by a tectonothermal event at ∼250 Ma. The age distribution of zircon cores from Group I metasediments are similar to detrital zircon ages in Carboniferous-Permian sediments (Santa Rosa Formation) in southeastern Chiapas, which were shed mostly from continental crust dominated by Pan-African–Brasiliano orogenic cycles. Group II metasediments have different sources, principally from Grenville orogens, such as the Oaxacan Complex, and early mid-Proterozoic sources, such as the Rio Negro–Juruena Province of western Amazonia. The lowest stratigraphic unit in the CMC (the Jocote Unit) is intruded by lower Ordovician S-type granite and contains only 1.5–1.6-Ga and older detrital zircons. The protoliths of the CMC can be correlated with Paleozoic strata across the southern Maya Block, and they show parallels with the geologic history and provenance patterns of protoliths from the Acatlán Complex (Mixteca Terrane) of central southern Mexico. The geologic history of the CMC and the Maya Block can be interpreted in terms of tectonothermal events accompanying accretion of the CMC and polarity reversal during formation of the western Pangea margin.

Geologia e geoquímica do Batólito Rapakivi Rio Branco, SW do Craton Amazônico - MT

The Rio Branco Rapakivi Batholith belongs to the Cachoeirinha Tectonic Domain, part of the Rio Negro-Juruena Geochronological Province located on the southwestern portion of the Amazonian Craton in Mato Grosso, Central Brasil. A systematic geological mapping on a 1:100.000 scale, coupled with petrographic and geochemical studies allowed to redefine this batholithic unit, to recognize faciological variations and to characterize the geochemical features of this rapakivi magmatism. The batholith is constituted by two major plutonic suites, the first forming a basic suite of fine-grained, equigranular, meso- to melanocratic gray to black lithotypes, with usually discontinuous porphyritic varieties located near the margins of the intrusion. The second one is characterized by acid to intermediate rocks constituted by porphyritic granites, in part granophyric, with rapakivi textures. They have K-feldspar phenocrysts of up to 4cm. Three distinct petrographic facies are recognized in this suite: 1. equigranular to pegmatitic monzogranites; 2. red rapakivi leuco-monzogranites; 3. dark red rapakivi monzogranites to quartz-monzonites. Rocks present SiO2 contents from 67% to 73%, show peraluminous to metaluminous compositions and define a high-K calc-alkaline to shoshonitic magmatism in an I- and A-type, post-orogenic to anorogenic intraplate environment. The magmatic processes are associated with the end of the collisional event that consolidated and stabilized the SW part of the Amazonian Craton.

U–Pb and Sm–Nd evidence for 1.76–1.77 Ga magmatism in the Moriru region, Mato Grosso, Brazil: implications for province boundaries in the SW Amazon Craton

Abstract The Moriru region, situated in the SW Amazon Craton, Mato Grosso, Brazil, is composed of two main domains: (1) an area of undeformed bimodal volcanic rocks and (2) an area of deformed granitic–gneissic–migmatite rocks that also include a small occurrence of slightly deformed rhyolite. The undeformed domain is composed of felsic to mafic flows and volcanoclastic sediments; the felsic flows are essentially explosive deposits classified as ignimbrites, however flows lava occurs interlayed. The compositions of ignimbrites and associated felsic lava are rhyodacite to dacite. The mafic volcanics are phaneritic, fine-grained, and are often strongly hydrothermally altered. Unaltered samples have tholeiitic to transitional compositions and have within-plate petrologic and geochemical characteristics. The felsic volcanics are enriched in light REE, show a negative Eu anomaly, and are depleted in heavy REE. The trace elements indicate a post-collisional environment. U–Pb data on single zircon grains from the volcanic sequence yield ages between 1770±6 Ma and 1778±6 Ma. eNd( t ) values range from −1.4 to +1.5 ( t =1.75 Ga), and the T DM model ages range from 2.02 to 2.16 Ga. Rocks from the deformed domain are calc-alkaline to transitional and have metaluminous to peraluminous compositions. The metaluminous granites are hornblende-monzogranites and the peraluminous rocks are biotite-granites and granodiorite. Both groups plot in post-tectonic fields of trace element diagrams. U–Pb data on single zircon grains from the deformed granite–gneiss–migmatite domain range from 1662±13 Ma to 1803±6 Ma, but most cluster about a mean of 1763 Ma (1759±3 Ma to 1767±2 Ma). eNd( t ) values ( t =1.75 Ga) vary from −3.4 to +3.0, and the T DM model ages range from 1.94 to 2.28 Ga. The approximately 1775 Ma volcano-plutonic rocks in the area probably resulted from partial melting of slightly older continental lithosphere and may have formed during an extensional event about 1.78–1.76 Ga. The plutonic rocks seem to have a similar source and may be intrusive into the volcanic sequence, despite their more deformed nature. These ages are similar to those proposed for older parts of the 1.80–1.55 Ga Rio Negro-Juruena province and younger than 1.9–1.8 Ga, as proposed for the Ventuari-Tapajos province. Sm–Nd isotopic data are consistent with formation of these rocks from ca. 1.9–2.2 Ga continental lithosphere. It is not yet necessary to relocate the proposed boundary between the Rio Negro-Juruena and Ventuari-Tapajos provinces, since provinces should be defined by the ages of the main accretionary assemblages and not the ages of younger intrusive suites. More studies are needed to refine these province boundaries.