Influence of Neoproterozoic tectonic fabric on the origin of the Potiguar Basin, northeastern Brazil and its links with West Africa based on gravity and magnetic data

Castro, David Lopes de; Bezerra, Francisco H.R.; Sousa, Maria O.L.; Fuck, Reinhardt A.

doi:10.1016/j.jog.2011.09.002

Cited by 114 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The Potiguar Basin, however, developed along a triple junction, which encompasses faults both parallel and oblique to the margin (Bertani et al, 1990). In addition, this basin has links with the Benue Basin in Nigeria in the counterpart African plate (De Castro et al, 2012). Conventional rifting processes cannot explain this basin and others along the margin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It follows that, despite the general knowledge of the transform margin evolution, several scientific gaps remain, which have important implications for the predrift misfit of the plates (Conceição et al, 1988;Unternehr et al, 1988;De Castro et al, 2012). First, most of the Precambrian fabric is NE-oriented at the margin (e.g., De Castro et al, 2012, but the equatorial margin trends mainly EW.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, most of the Precambrian fabric is NE-oriented at the margin (e.g., De Castro et al, 2012, but the equatorial margin trends mainly EW. Second, several rifts exhibit fault systems that are not explained by an orthogonal stretching perpendicular to the rift trend (Bonini et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We focus on recently published regional magnetic and gravity maps of the Potiguar Basin (De Castro et al, 2012), which show areas at the SW rift boundary, whose geophysical signatures suggest the presence of unidentified buried grabens. The geophysical and geological knowledge of this rift's internal geometry and boundaries were established by Bertani et al (1990), Matos (1992), and Borges (1993), and few changes have been added to the rift architecture proposed more than 20 years ago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a multidisciplinary geophysical survey, which included acquisition, processing, and inversion of magnetic, gravity, and geoelectrical data. In the present study, we investigated the architecture of these structures observed in the study by De Castro et al (2012) at the southern onshore termination of the Potiguar rift (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fault evolution in the Potiguar rift termination, equatorial margin of Brazil

Castro

Bezerra

2015

Solid Earth

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Abstract. The transform shearing between South American and African plates in the Cretaceous generated a series of sedimentary basins on both plate margins. In this study, we use gravity, aeromagnetic, and resistivity surveys to identify architecture of fault systems and to analyze the evolution of the eastern equatorial margin of Brazil. Our study area is the southern onshore termination of the Potiguar rift, which is an aborted NE-trending rift arm developed during the breakup of Pangea. The basin is located along the NNE margin of South America that faces the main transform zone that separates the North and the South Atlantic. The Potiguar rift is a Neocomian structure located at the intersection of the equatorial and western South Atlantic and is composed of a series of NE-trending horsts and grabens. This study reveals new grabens in the Potiguar rift and indicates that stretching in the southern rift termination created a WNW-trending, 10 km wide, and ∼ 40 km long right-lateral strike-slip fault zone. This zone encompasses at least eight depocenters, which are bounded by a left-stepping, en echelon system of NW-SE-to NS-striking normal faults. These depocenters form grabens up to 1200 m deep with a rhomb-shaped geometry, which are filled with rift sedimentary units and capped by postrift sedimentary sequences. The evolution of the rift termination is consistent with the right-lateral shearing of the equatorial margin in the Cretaceous and occurs not only at the rift termination but also as isolated structures away from the main rift. This study indicates that the strike-slip shearing between two plates propagated to the interior of one of these plates, where faults with similar orientation, kinematics, geometry, and timing of the major transform are observed. These faults also influence rift geometry.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fault evolution in the Potiguar rift termination, equatorial margin of Brazil

Castro

Bezerra

2015

Solid Earth

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Stress magnitude and orientation in the Potiguar Basin, Brazil: Implications on faulting style and reactivation

et al. 2013

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[1] We analyzed borehole breakout data and drilling-induced tensile fractures derived from resistivity image logs run at 10 oil wells to derive the orientation of the maximum horizontal stress S Hmax from the Potiguar Basin in the continental margin of Brazil. Stress magnitudes are derived from density logs for the vertical stress, mini-frac tests for the minimum horizontal stress S hmin , and rock strength laboratory analysis to estimate the S Hmax magnitudes. We compared these results with the stress regime and S Hmax orientation derived from nine earthquake series located in the crystalline basement, where seismicity is concentrated, and previous breakout data from the basin. In the basin, the S Hmax gradient is 20.0 MPa/km, and the S Hmax /S hmin ratio is 1.154, indicating a normal tectonic stress regime from 0.5 to 2.0 km, whereas the S Hmax gradient of 24.5 MPa/km and S Hmax /S hmin ratio of 1.396 indicate a transition from a normal to strike-slip stress regime at 2.5 to 4.0 km. The deeper stress regime in the basin is similar to that in the basement at 1-12 km depth. This transition of the tectonic stress regime is consistent with an incipient tectonic inversion in the basin. We note that the S Hmax orientation rotates from NW-SE in the western part of the Potiguar Basin to E-W in its central and eastern parts, roughly following the shoreline geometry, indicating that local features such as flexural stresses influence the local (scale < 100 km) stress pattern. We also conclude that the basement is critically stressed, but not the basin.

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Basement fault control on the extensional process of a basin: A case study from the Cambrian–Silurian of the Sichuan Basin, South‐west China

et al. 2022

Geological Journal

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The Sichuan Basin, located on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, is an intracontinental basin that developed in the Yangtze Block. The Cambrian–Silurian strata in this basin have enormous exploration potential in terms of natural gas, but their structural evolution during the Cambrian–Silurian remains controversial. Based on wells, seismic profiles, aeromagnetic data, and previous research results, this study investigated the structures related to the Leshan–Longnvsi palaeo‐uplift and the activity of the Cambrian–Silurian basement faults, revealing the activity of the extensional process during the Cambrian–Silurian. The results of this study were as follows: (1) the flattening of the bottom of the Permian strata in seismic profiles located in the Leshan–Longnvsi palaeo‐uplift revealed a large number of normal faults, grabens, and horsts in the Cambrian–Silurian strata, indicating that the Leshan–Longnvsi palaeo‐uplift was an extensional structure during the Cambrian–Silurian period; (2) balanced cross‐sections and strata isopach maps showed that all seven basement faults in the basin were normal faults during the Cambrian–Silurian; (3) Sichuan Basin was in an extensional setting during the Cambrian–Silurian; (4) seven basement faults controlled the extensional process during the Cambrian–Silurian in the Sichuan Basin.

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Influence of Neoproterozoic tectonic fabric on the origin of the Potiguar Basin, northeastern Brazil and its links with West Africa based on gravity and magnetic data

Cited by 114 publications

References 52 publications

Fault evolution in the Potiguar rift termination, equatorial margin of Brazil

Fault evolution in the Potiguar rift termination, equatorial margin of Brazil

Stress magnitude and orientation in the Potiguar Basin, Brazil: Implications on faulting style and reactivation

Basement fault control on the extensional process of a basin: A case study from the Cambrian–Silurian of the Sichuan Basin, South‐west China

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