From Rodinia to Gondwana: A review of the available evidence from South America

In this work we will examine the available evidence for the position of the cratonic masses that formed West Gondwana, in the Neoproterozoic, such as Amazonia, West Africa, Sao Francisco-Congo, Rio de La Plata and Kalahari. Some emphasis will be given to South America, and the smaller continental masses or microcontinents, that are usually forgotten in the exercise of global reconstruction, will also be considered. Among others, such tectonic units are the Central Goias massif, the Borborema/Trans-Saharan block, as well as the Luiz Alves, Parana and Pampia cratonic fragments. Taking into account the relevant paleomagnetic and geochronological data, it is necessary to consider a large time interval for the process of break up of Rodinia. Signals of extension and fracturing are as old as 1000-1100 Ma, when mafic dyke swarms are observed on the Sao Francisco-Congo craton, and final break out is reported as young as 750 Ma. On the other hand, the formation of intra-oceanic magmatic arcs within the large Goias Ocean occurred prior to 930 Ma ago. Moreover, for the make up of Gondwana, the first continental collisions are reported at ca. 800 Ma, and the most important accretion episodes are the ones between 650 and 500 Ma, corresponding to the Brasiliano/Pan-African Orogenic Cycle. Therefore, it is apparent that fragmentation of Rodinia is partially synchronous with agglutination of Gondwana.