Unravelling a Proterozoic basin history through detrital zircon geochronology: The case of the Espinhaco Supergroup, Minas Gerais, Brazil

New U-Pb in situ zircon dating provides a new approach for the study of the Espinhaco Supergroup units exposed in the Sao Francisco Craton and Aracuai Orogen. Located in Southern Espinhaco, Minas Gerais, the following two basins were formed in intraplate conditions: (i) the Lower Espinhaco Basin is marked by a volcano-sedimentary sequence with alluvial, fluvial and eolian deposits that were formed from 1.68 Ga to 1.80 Ga; (ii) the overlying sequence, called the Upper Espinhaco Basin, is a rift-sag basin that presents basal diamond-bearing continental deposits (the Sopa-Brumadinho Formation) with a younger zircon peak at 1192 Ma, which is the maximum age for deposition of the upper units. The obtained U-Pb detrital zircon data of the studied units show age groupings related to the orogenic cycles of Jequie (Neoarchean) and Transamazonian (Paleoproterozoic), which are associated with the stability period from 1.8 Ga to 0.91 Ga in the Sao Franscico Craton, and record deposition during at least the three basinal cycles. The Stenian-Tonian ages of the Upper Espinhaco Basin units (906 Ma to 1192 Ma) suggest a direct link with the evolution of the Rodinia Supercontinent and represent a marker for Mesoproterozoic to Early Neoproterozoic evolution in the Sao Franscico Craton and adjacent areas. (C) 2011 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.