The Itaja foreland basin: a tectono-sedimentary record of the Ediacaran period, Southern Brazil
RIS ID
38453
Abstract
The Itajai Basin located in the southern border of the Luis Alves Microplate is considered as a peripheral foreland basin related to the Dom Feliciano Belt. It presents an excellent record of the Ediacaran period, and its upper parts display the best Brazilian example of Precambrian turbiditic deposits. The basal succession of Itajai Group is represented by sandstones and conglomerates (Bau Formation) deposited in alluvial and deltaic-fan systems. The marine upper sequences correspond to the Ribeiro Carvalho (channelized and non-channelized proximal silty-argillaceous rhythmic turbidites), Ribeiro Neisse (arkosic sandstones and siltites), and Ribeiro do Bode (distal silty turbidites) formations. The Apiuna Formation felsic volcanic rocks crosscut the sedimentary succession. The Cambrian Subida leucosyenogranite represents the last felsic magmatic activity to affect the Itajai Basin. The Brusque Group and the Florianopolis Batholith are proposed as source areas for the sediments of the upper sequence. For the lower continental units the source areas are the Santa Catarina, So Miguel and Camboriu complexes. The lack of any oceanic crust in the Itajai Basin suggests that the marine units were deposited in a restricted, internal sea. The sedimentation started around 600 Ma and ended before 560 Ma as indicated by the emplacement of rhyolitic domes. The Itajai Basin is temporally and tectonically correlated with the Camaqu Basin in Rio Grande do Sul and the Arroyo del Soldado/Piriapolis Basin in Uruguay. It also has several tectono-sedimentary characteristics in common with the African-equivalent Nama Basin. Copyright 2010 Springer-Verlag.
Publication Details
Basei, M. A. S., Drukas, C. O., Nutman, A. P., Wemmer, K., Dunyi, L., Santos, P. R., Passarelli, C. R., Campos Neto, M. C., Siga Jr, O. & Osako, L. (2011). The Itaja- foreland basin: a tectono-sedimentary record of the Ediacaran period, Southern Brazil. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 100 (2), 543-569.