Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Basement Orthogneisses of the Araguaia Belt, Brazil Candido a Veloso Moura University of New Hampshire, Durham
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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Winter 1992 Geochronology and geochemistry of the basement orthogneisses of the Araguaia Belt, Brazil Candido A Veloso Moura University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Moura, Candido A Veloso, "Geochronology and geochemistry of the basement orthogneisses of the Araguaia Belt, Brazil" (1992). Doctoral Dissertations. 1714. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/1714 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 000/521-0600 Order Number 9307S55 Geochronology and geochemistry of the basement orthogneisses of the Araguaia belt, Brazil Moura, Candido A. Veloso, Ph.D. University of New Hampshire, 1992 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Aitoor, MI 48106 GEOCHRONOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE BASEMENT ORTHOGNEISSES OF THE ARAGUAIA BELT, BRAZIL BY CANDIDO A. V. MOURA BS, Universidade Federal do Para, 1978 MS, Universidade Federal do Pard, 1982 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Earth Sciences December, 1992 This dissertation has been examined and approved. Dissertation director, Dt. Henri E. Gaudette Professor of Geochemistry University of New Hampshire /%*✓«_<— _____ Dr. Wallace A. Bothner, Professor of Geology University of New Hampshire 1' j L _ _________________________ Dr. Jo Laird, Associate Professor of Geology University of New Hampshire _ _ ^ _ Dr. William J. Olszewski, Research Scientist Massachusetts Institute of Technology • • - . ■ ■ _ f ' j. ■ - Dr. Roberto Dali’ Agnol, Professor Adjunto Universidade Federal do Pare (Brazil) Cbk-Q-y Date ^ THE NATURALIST CZAR* Once upon a time there was a naturalist czar that used to hunt men. When someone told him that butterflies were also hunted, he found this a barbarity. *loose translation from my high school recollection of the poem "O Czar naturalista", Carlos Drumond de Andrade. DEDICATION To my wife Denisy, who endures without losing her contagious happiness. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the following institutions and people for their contributions to this research. The Coordenagao de Aperfeigoamento de Pessoal de Nfvel Superior (CAPES) and the Universidade Federal do Par6 (UFPa.), supported my entire program with scholarships, field work, etc. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) provided two years of tuition waiver. The Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientffico e Tecnologico (CNPq) provided funding for the field trip of Dr. Henri Gaudette to Brazil. The Department of Earth Sciences of UNH gave institutional support during the course of this study. Sigma-Xi provided funding for chemical analysis of major and trace elements. Sm*Nd isotopic analyses were performed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with the support of Dr. Samuel Bowring. The REE analyses were performed at Boston College (BC), and I am grateful to Dr. Rudolf Hon and Pablo Vaquero for their guidance at the INAA laboratory of BC. Dr. Jean-Michel Lafon of UFPa., who performed some of the Rb-Sr isotopic analyses presented here, is also gratefully acknowledged. I am grateful to my advisor, Dr. Henri Gaudette, for his generosity with his time, guidance, and knowledge. Dr. William Olszewski's patience and dedication were fundamental to my knowledge of geochronology. The suggestions of Drs. Jo Laird, Wallace Bothner and Roberto Dall'Agnol helped to improve my dissertation. I am also grateful to my family by the support through these years, chiefly to my brother Claudio Moura who had to deal with the Brazilian bureaucracy on my behalf. Finally, to many others that contributed directly or indirectly to the completion of my program, and who are too numerous to name individually, I thank you all. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION............................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................... xii ABSTRACT................................................................................................................ xv SECTION PAGE I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 II. THE GEOLOGIC SETTING OF THE ARAGUAIA BELT......................................... 11 The Lithostratigraphic Units of the Araguaia belt and Part of the Gotes Median Massif ................................................................................ 11 Colm6ia Complex ................................................................................. 14 Rio do Coco Group ............................................................................... 17 Rio dos Mangues Complex ................................................................... 18 Monte Santo Suite ................................................................................ 19 Matanga Granite ................................................................................... 20 Porto Nacional Complex ...................................................................... 21 Cantao Gneiss ...................................................................................... 21 Baixo Araguaia Supergroup ................................................................ 23 The Estrondo Group ............................................. 25 The Tocantins Group ................................................................. 27 Metamorphosed Ultramafic rocks ....................................................... 28 Tucurui Group ....................................................................................... 29 Santa Luzia Suite................................................................................. 30 v i Rio das Barreiras Formation ................................................................ 31 Mafic and Uitramafic Rocks .................................................................. 32 Magmatism........................................................................................................... 32 Metamorphism ..................................................................................................... 36 Structure.............................................................................................................. 39 The Geology of the Rio Maria Region in the Eastern Amazonian Craton ................... 42 III. GEOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE BASEMENT GNEISSES OF THE ARAGUAIA BELT........................................................................................... 4 7 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 47 Geology ................................................................................................................ 50 The Lontra Dome Structure .................................................................. 52 The Grota Rica Dome Structure ........................................................... 57 The Cocalandia Dome Structure ........................................................... 62 The Coimeia Dome Structure ............................................................... 67 The Cantao Dome Structure ................................................................. 69 Geochemistry .......................... 75 Major Elements ........................................................................................ 78 Trace Elements.......................................................................................