Significado morfotectônico dos planaltos isolados da Bocaina / Morphotectonics of the isolated plateaus of Bocaina

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

The Bocaina Plateau is situated on the eastern flank of the Continental Rift of Southeastern Brasil (CRSB), in the highest portions of the Serra do Mar, reaching more than 2000 meters in altitude. This and the Campos do Jordão Plateau comprise the high blocks of crystalline massifs of Southeastern Brasil. The Bocaina presents a succession of NW-SE topographically decreasing low-relief plateaus (isolated plateaus), separated by deep valleys. The origin of the differences in altitude among these plateaus has been associated with (1) tectonic reactivation of ancient shear zones by normal faulting, (2) differential erosional dissection controlled by knickpoints, and (3) preservation of erosional surfaces of different ages. This study examines these hypotheses in order to establish the age, style and magnitude of the tectonic and denudational events that resulted in the current distribution of the isolated plateaus of Bocaina. Structural and geomorphological analyses have been carried out using a morphotectonic approach, aided by apatite fission track analysis and radiocarbon dating. Apatite fission track analysis is an important tool to obtain thermal histories and cooling ages, on scales of 106 to 108 years, and is commonly used to estimate denudation rates in basement blocks. Morphotectonic analysis was supported by digital terrain models and morphometric maps. The isolated plateaus are characterized by low hydraulic gradient, slope and relief. Tectonic conditioning in the accentuation of differences in altitude and individualization of the plateaus is evinced by clear correlation between brittle structures (faults and fractures), morphotectonic features (triangular facets, knickpoints, scarps, fluvial captures), distribution of main alluvial plains and drainage pattern. Dikes indicate distensional phases since continental break-up in the Early Cretaceous till the Paleogene. Stress regimes observed in Bocaina are compatible with the tectonic model for the CRSB during the Cenozoic. Tectonic and magmatic events in Southeastern Brazil played an important role in denudational processes as recorded by apatite fission track analysis in the Bocaina plateau. Corrected fission track ages for 15 samples range from 326±30 to 54±5 Ma, including a significant set greater than 200 Ma, the oldest such ages yet registered in the Serra do Mar. Ages decrease NW-SE from the continent coastwards, a trend also recognized in other passive continental margins. This pattern is perpendicular to the main structural grain of the Precambrian basement, suggesting important structural control. Contrasting ages within a single plateau and similar ages at different altitudes indicate complex regional tectono-thermal evolution, possibly related to the evolution of the CRSB. Fission track age distribution in the Bocaina plateau cannot be explained by the simple scarp-retreat model; faults must have accentuated differences in altitude among the isolated plateaus. Thermal histories show important cooling events related to continental break-up, Early Cretaceous alkaline magmatism and origin of the CRSB. The oldest fission track ages obtained in the Serra do Mar region (>200 Ma) were found in the highest portions of the Bocaina plateau, where the landscape system is very similar to that of the Campos do Jordão plateau. These areas have probably been an important, persistent source of sediments for the Paraná, Bauru and Santos basins, for a very long time.

ASSUNTO(S)

morphotectonics serra do mar traços de fissão em apatitas apatite fission trak analysis planalto da bocaina termocronologia morfotectônica bocaina plateau serra do mar ridge

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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