Neoproterozoic magmatic arc volcanism in the Borborema Province, NE Brazil: possible flare-ups and lulls and implications for western Gondwana assembly

New zircon U-Pb (SHRIMP and LA-ICPMS), elemental and Nd-Sr geochemistry data on rhyolitic metavolcanic and metavolcaniclastic rocks of NE Brazil characterize widespread arc-related phenomena during the Neoproterozoic, related to the Conceicao-type or Stage I plutonic rocks. U-Pb zircon dating pinpoint the main phase of magmatic activity at ca. 635-600 Ma in the 700-km long sigmoidal Pianco-Alto Brigida domain, but other important flare-ups might have taken place at ca. 670-690, 730-760, 810-820 and 860-880 Ma. A comprehensive compilation of detrital zircon data from metavolcanosedimentary successions of the entire Borborema Province (n=5532) confirms the occurrence of a quasi-continuum Neoproterozoic spectra punctuated by peaks at those same age intervals separated by minor lulls. Low Th/U rims of zircon crystals dated at ca. 577 Ma provide an estimate of the age of regional transpressional metamorphism. Samples of all age ranges are mostly calc-alkaline, magnesian and peraluminous, with moderately to highly fractionated LREE enrichment, negative Nb-Ta anomalies akin to convergent settings, and plot mainly within the volcanic arc field in tectonic discrimination diagrams. Nd-Sr isotope systematics indicate the involvement of juvenile Neoproterozoic melts from the mantle wedge, which upon mixing with Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement and contamination with the host metasedimentary rocks yield Mesoproterozoic T-DM mainly at 1.14-1.44 Ga, near-chondritic epsilon Nd(t) and Sr-87/Sr-86(i) 0.703-0.710. We put forward a model involving a major continental back-arc zone related to the development of the Conceicao magmatic arc, akin to the modern-day Taupo volcanic zone of New Zealand, crosscutting NE Brazil and presumably continuing through the schist belts of Nigeria and Cameroon. The main magmatic flare ups might have been induced by extra-arc phenomena, such as collision of the West African paleocontinent with the northwestern Borborema edge due to closure of the exterior Goias-Pharusian Ocean, force-speeding subduction in the interior V-shaped oceanic basins that constituted the Transnordestino-Central African Ocean and generating clockwise windshield-wiper-like rotation of the blocks back towards the Sao Francisco-Congo paleocontinent in a complete Wilson Cycle. (C) 2020 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The new data on rhyolitic metavolcanic and metavolcaniclastic rocks in NE Brazil provide insights into widespread arc-related phenomena during the Neoproterozoic, with major magmatic activities occurring around 635-600 Ma. The rocks are mostly calc-alkaline, magnesian, and peraluminous, with specific geochemical signatures such as LREE enrichment.