Review of the lithostratigraphy of the Mesozoic basins of the Borborema Province, Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Several Phanerozoic sedimentary basins developed over the rocks of Borborema Province. The formation and opening of the Atlantic Ocean influenced tectonic events that reactivated large internal lineaments of the province (Transbrasiliano, Senador Pompeu, Patos, and Pernambuco). This event culminated with the production of several structures, including the grabens, where intra-continental sediments were deposited. This deformation played a fundamental role in the development of the continental margin basins that form the WNW-ESE and N-S segments of the Brazilian northeast. In this work we address the terrestrial portion of the Mesozoic basins of the Borborema Province and provide a lithostratigraphic review in addition to unpublished data of the interior basins and the Jatobá Basin. The descriptions of the marginal basins were subdivided by the following structural domains: dextral equatorial, orthogonal, and sinistral south branching. The Ceará and Potiguar basins are part of the equatorial margin. The orthogonal domain encompasses the Pernambuco and Paraíba basins and comprises the crustal block limited by the Pernambuco and Patos lineaments. Finally, the Sergipe-Alagoas basins are located in the sinistral branch. The intra-continental basins are equivalent to the failed rift arms, which are composed of aborted rifts and half-grabens of the interior basins of northeastern Brazil. The Recôncavo-Tucano-Jatobá rift system was aborted in the Lower Cretaceous and represents the North Tucano and Jatobá basins in Borborema. The interior basins are concentrated in the Transversal Zone. However, to the north of the Patos Lineament, important basins occur, such as Iguatu and Rio do Peixe. The basins of the orthogonal domain correspond to the final stretching rift in a late rupture in Aptian due to the rigidity of the basement. Due to the potential of oil exploration, the marginal basins are the ones that present the data available in the literature the most. Both marginal basins with lower oil potential (such as the Pernambuco and Paraíba basins) and the interior basins of the northeast, covering the Jatobá, need a more consistent lithostratigraphic update to consolidate and validate newly proposed units.