Long-distance lava correlation in the Paraná volcanic province along the Serra Geral cuesta, southeastern Brazil

The capability of determining the flow-by-flow stratigraphy and the long-distance correlation of lava flows in large continental volcanic provinces leads to a considerable advance in the understanding of processes related to generation and evolution of the lavas. The Paraná volcanic province is exposed along the Serra Geral cuesta of southern Brazil in a steeply inclined, 1,000-m-high section starting 40-m above sea level. Each of the 10–20 pahoehoe flows and rhyodacite flow units has a unique chemical composition. Integrated with field stratigraphy and gamma-spectrometric measurements, this leads to the establishment of the correct stratigraphic sequence in each of three different vertical sections. The number of flows integrating the three serras is 26 (“serra” is a mountain range in Portuguese). Each serra has basaltic andesites at the base, whereas rhyodacites are intercalated with basaltic andesites at the top. Three basaltic andesite flows and one rhyodacite flow unit are correlated between Serra Umbu and Serra Boa Vista (10 km). In the Serra Faxinal, a thick (170 m) sill at the base correlates with flow 13F, whereas a dike-sill in the Graxaim quarry (24 km distance) correlates with flow 3F. One basaltic andesite and two rhyodacite flow units correlate between Serra Faxinal and Serra Umbu (50 km). The results are most significant for the understanding of large tracts of continental volcanic provinces with use of common geochemical and gamma-spectrometric techniques.     

Basalt stratigraphy and silica gossans in Campo Grande and Serra de Maracaju,Mato Grosso do Sul,Paraná Volcanic Province

Thousands of silica gossans are exposed at the top of the Lower Cretaceous basalt hills in the Paraná volcanic province, strongly indicating the presence of calcite, amethyst and agate geode deposits along with native copper mineralization. The Embrapa silica gossan in the northwestern portion of the province (Campo Grande region) is an excellent example of such novel geological structure in the continental flood basalts. This silica gossan has a size of 450 × 350 m standing out as a treeless area in the densely wooded savanna and makes part of the stratigraphy of six basalt flows of Paranapanema intermediate-Ti chemical type. The base of the volcanic column is constituted by two Pitanga types and the overlying column is Paranapanema type. Every basalt flow has a silicified sand layer or breccia at the top and these are fed by abundant sand dikes. The Anel Viário Norte (AVN) flow is the most intensely altered by hydrothermal fluids producing voluminous secondary calcite infillings in the amygdales and fractures. In this region the basalts contain higher copper content than the average of the volcanic province. The studied silica gossans display negative anomalies in gamma spectrometry as a response to K, U and Th depletion during alteration. We propose a new exploration methodology by observing GoogleEarth images complemented with field studies and geochemistry to readily locate favorable areas for amethyst and agate geode deposits and native copper mineralization.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry of Al-phosphate and Al-borosilicate-bearing metaquartzites of the northern Serra do Espinhaço (State of Bahia, Brazil)

Summary The investigated Al-phosphate- and Al-borosilicate-bearing metaquartzite horizon belongs to the Middle Proterozoic Serra de Vereda member of the São Marcos Formation of the northern Espinhaço fold belt. Outcrops are located in the NNW–SSE trending hills of the Serra de Canas/Cana Brava (Northern Serra do Espinhaço, State of Bahia, NE Brazil) about 10km west of the town of Boquira. Sky blue lazulite and deep blue to lilac dumortierite are enriched in layers which sometimes show relic cross bedding. The occurrence of hematite patches and layers is typical. In rocks of type A, phosphorus contents range from 1.89wt.% to 10.73wt.% P₂O₅ and boron contents are mostly below 10ppm whereas in the rocks of type B phosphorus contents are below 1% and boron contents reach 2600ppm with a mean value of 1139ppm. REE distribution patterns of rocks are predominantly controlled by the amount of xenotime, monazite and zircon. Oxygen thermometry on quartz and hematite and the stability of kyanite, augelite, trolleite and berlinite allow to estimate the minimum metamorphic peak P-T conditions at 475°C and 3.8kbar i.e. within the stability field of scorzalite–lazulite and dumortierite. The association of Al-phosphates with hematite layers provides evidence for the deposition of the metaquartzite protolith in a seawater-fed sabkha-like sand flat fringing the Espinhaço rift. It is proposed that apatite, Al-phosphates and Al-borosilicates were chemically precipitated together with iron hydroxides from pore fluids. The antithetic behaviour of phosphorus and boron contents in the metaquartzites is the consequence of an influx of toxic boron-rich water that drastically affected algae populations and consequently reduced phosphorus precipitation.     

Geochemistry and geochronology of the rapakivi granites and associated rocks in the midwest portion of the Serra da Providência composite batholith,SW of Amazonian craton,Rondônia,Brazil

The Serra da Providência batholith includes the type area of the homonymous suite, the oldest rapakivi magmatic assemblage in the SW of the Amazonian craton (1.60–1.53 Ga). In the midwest portion of this massif, besides wiborgites/pyterlites and granophyric syenogranites, a leucosyenogranite facies and porphyritic rhyolites constitute new rock varieties recently described in that area. UPb LA-MC-ICP-MS zircon ages of 1574 ± 9 Ma and 1604 ± 3 Ma, respectively, were obtained for these new varieties and confirm their link with the Serra da Providência magmatism, whereas the subvolcanic rocks are older than the main rock varieties and were formed in a precursor event. These granitic facies are metaluminous to peraluminous, alkali-calcic, A2-type, ferroan granites. Their FeOt/(FeOt + MgO) ratios vary from 0.83 to 0.98 and suggest that these rocks were crystallized from oxidized-to reduced-A-type magmas, where the leucosyenogranites and granophyric sienogranites tend to be formed under more reduced conditions. They show fractionated REE patterns with very pronounced to weak negative Eu anomalies. The presence of granophyric textures and miarolitic cavities in equigranular syenogranitic facies suggests that these rocks were formed at shallow crustal depths, lower than 3 km. Three samples of leucosyenogranite have silica contents higher than 75% and low K/Rb ratios (<150), similarly to the tin specialized granites described in the Amazonian craton. Two distinctive groups of mafic rocks were recognized in the study area: porphyritic and equigranular gabbronorites. They correspond to tholeiitic basalts, with #Mg varying from 37 to 41 in porphyritic gabbronorites and 51 to 65 in equigranular gabbronorites. The low to moderate #Mg suggests that these rocks were crystallized from more evolved basaltic magmas. The porphyritic gabbronorites are enriched in TiO₂, FeOt, K₂O, P₂O₅ and REE compared to the equigranular gabbronorites that are enriched in MgO and CaO. The porphyritic gabbronorites have significant negative Eu anomalies a feature not observed in the equigranular gabbronorites. Porphyritic gabbronorites geochemical characteristics are similar to calc-alkaline basalts, whereas equigranular gabbronorites are similar to continental basalts. Petrographic, geochemical, and geological data of the felsic facies and the presence of associated mafic rocks corroborate the bimodal and post-collisional character of this magmatism. The occurrence of porphyritic rhyolites associated with shallow level plutonic granites in the Serra da Providência batholith reinforces the similarities between the Rondonian granites and the classical Fennoscandian rapakivi granites.     

Geology,mineral chemistry and tourmaline B isotopes of the Córrego Bom Sucesso area,southern Serra do Espinhaço,Minas Gerais,Brazil: Implications for Au–Pd–Pt exploration in quartzitic terrain

The Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic metasiliciclastic rocks of the southern Serra do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais, Brazil, are host to historically important alluvial deposits of diamonds and gold. Detrital gold grains often comprise Au–Pd–Pt intermetallic compounds, with low Ag contents, which contain inclusions of tourmaline and titaniferous hematite (up to ~ 6 wt.% TiO₂). The latter minerals connect the alluvial mineralisation to the rutile–hematite–quartz veins and tourmalinisation observed in the quartzitic country rocks of the alluvial gravel. The quartzite (Sopa-Brumadinho Formation of lacustrine to fan-deltaic origin) is affected by pervasive B metasomatism with F-bearing tourmaline replacing the recrystallised quartz fabric. The tourmaline belongs to the alkali group, with Mg/(Mg + Fe) and X/(X + Na) ratios in the ranges from 0.5 to 0.7 and 0.18 to 0.29, respectively, where X represents vacancies in the X site. Boron-isotopic values of tourmaline vary from ~ 1 to − 10.4‰ δ¹¹B. The B-isotope range, in conjunction with the Na–Mg-rich tourmaline composition, and the widespread occurrence of tourmalinite in the Sopa-Brumadinho Formation suggest a derivation from non-marine evaporitic brines. Brines are capable of transporting otherwise immobile Ti and explain, under oxidising conditions, the fractionation of Ag from Pd to precipitate palladiferous gold with extremely high Pd/Ag ratios. Zirconium-in-rutile and Ti-in-quartz temperatures for a variety of hematite-rich veins suggest episodic vein emplacement over a temperature range from around 500 °C to ~ 350 °C. Cross-cutting relationships and episodic vein emplacement indicate a late-Brasiliano age.     

The Acampamento Velho Formation,a Lower Cambrian Bimodal Volcanic Package: Geochemical and Stratigraphic Studies from the Cerro Do Bugio,Perau and Serra De Santa Bárbara (Caçapava Do Sul,Rio Grande Do Sul,RS - Brazil)

During the late stages of the Brasiliano orogenic cycle (Lower Cambrian), the Camaquã Basin was gradually filled by the alkaline-trending, bimodal volcanic rocks of the Acampamento Velho Alloformation. This volcanic package consists of two facies associations: the lower one composed of andesites and basaltic andesites, and the upper one of rhyolitic rocks. The rhyolitic association comprises alternating pyroclastic rocks (lapilli, tuffs and welded tuffs) in the middle section and flows at the top. Geochemical evidence, especially trace elements and REE, confirmed the stratigraphic succession proposed herein for the volcanic rocks, as well as their co-genetic relationships and the fractional crystallization of the felsic sequence. The Acampamento Velho Formation seems to have been generated in an extensional regime preceding the collision of the Rio de la Plata and Kalahari continental plates. This extensional regime probably occurred during subduction of the Adamastor oceanic plate beneath the Rio de la Plata plate in a retroarc setting.     

Analyzing the gravity response of the Serra Geral Basalts and its impacts for the gravity interpretation in the northern Paraná Basin

The intraplate Paraná Basin encompasses an area of 1,127,400 km² in the Brazilian territory and is characterized by the presence of thick basalt and intrusive units of the Serra Geral Formation. Around 70% of its surface is covered by flood basalts. The regional interpretation of the dataset, located in the northern portion of the basin, led to new insights regarding the structure of the basin and its relationship with the Proterozoic surroundings. A 3D model of the basalts, which at the center of the basin has a thickness around 2 km, was built in order to analyze its signal content and the effects in anomaly caused by the structure of the depocenter. The gravity effect of the basalt model on the Terrain Corrected Anomaly map was removed, using forward modeling, generating a new residual anomaly map giving a view of the depocenter anomaly without the interference of the basalts. The result suggests a SW-NE depocenter whose plan shape appears to be more irregular than previously thought and a basement structure divided into three clearly defined compartments separated by structural features, some defined in this work and others already known from previous studies. Following the workflow for regional gravity studies, the Moho gravity effect was also removed using three different crustal thickness models. The results of this step completely changed the low frequency framework of the dataset, addressing extensive highs spread from the central to the eastern portion of the survey area, not enhancing any anomalies related to known geological features mapped in prior geophysical studies.     

南秦岭Pb,Zn,Ag,Cu,Hg,Sb,菱铁矿成矿系列

以泥盆系占优势的南秦岭成矿带中存在有重要的Ｐｂ－Ｚｎ－Ａｇ，Ａｕ，Ｈｇ－Ｓｂ及Ｃｕ矿床。它们形成中晚古生带扬子地块北部被动大陆边缘的沉积盆地演化与造山期中，成矿系列显示出时间与空间的演化特征，构在了一个热水沉积成矿系列，成矿发生于一个热旋回中，各种矿化有相似的物源，每一种地质事件都有特定的金属富集及富集在型和大型矿床是该地区构造－岩浆变质变形作用的最终产物。     

等离子体质谱法测定岩石中的铌,钽,锆,铪,钍,铀

应用ＩＣＰ－ＭＳ法测定了岩石中的痕量Ｎｂ、Ｔａ、Ｚｒ、Ｈｆ、Ｔｈ、Ｕ，给出了检出限，并对酸溶和碱熔两种制样方法进行了对比实验。     

Quaternary： status, rank, definition, survival

The long controversy over the term ‘Quaternary‘ as a chronostratigraphic unit may be reaching an apotheosis, judging from recent papers (Pillans and Naish, 2004; Gibbard et al., 2005; and referencest herein). The debate is no longer centered on whether there should be a place in the geological time scale for a unit termed ‘Quaternary‘-despite its dubious past, it cannot be denied that a large body of earth-historical research is strongly identified with this term. The challenge now concerns an appropriate rank and definition of Quaternary with regard to other chronostratigraphic units. Several options have been proposed (Pillans and Naish, 2004), and Gibbard et al. (2005) encourage a debate on these before decision is reached. In this brief note, we describe an arrangement not previously considered that seems advantageous. It is instructive, however, to first review the Pleistocene Series and Neogene System, the two units that are directly affected by introduction of the Quaternary into the chronostratigraphic hierarchy.