Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

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Gondwana Research

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Neoproterozoic magmatic arc volcanism in the Borborema Province,

NE Brazil: possible flare-ups and lulls and implications for western
Gondwana assembly
Fabrício Andrade Caxito a,⁎,1, Camila Franco Basto b, Lauro Cézar Montefalco de Lira Santos c, Elton Luiz Dantas d,
Vladimir Cruz de Medeiros e, Tatiana Gonçalves Dias a, Vitor Barrote f, Steffen Hagemann g,
Ana Ramalho Alkmim h, Cristiano Lana h
a
Centro de Pesquisa Manoel Teixeira da Costa, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (CPMTC-IGC-UFMG), Campus Pampulha, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, CEP 31270-901,
Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
b
Geological Survey of Brazil, Av. Brasil 1731, CEP 30140-002, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
c
Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil
d
Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Asa Norte, CEP 70910-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil
e
Geological Survey of Brazil, R. Prof. Antônio Henrique de Melo, 2010, CEP 59078-580, Natal, RN, Brazil
f
Isotopia Laboratory, EAE, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia
g
Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australia, 35, Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
h
Laboratório de Geoquímica Isotópica, Departamento de Geologia, Escola de Minas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, MG 35400-000, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: New zircon U-Pb (SHRIMP and LA-ICPMS), elemental and Nd-Sr geochemistry data on rhyolitic metavolcanic and
Received 8 June 2020 metavolcaniclastic rocks of NE Brazil characterize widespread arc-related phenomena during the Neoproterozoic,
Received in revised form 13 October 2020 related to the Conceição-type or Stage I plutonic rocks. U-Pb zircon dating pinpoint the main phase of magmatic
Accepted 21 November 2020
activity at ca. 635-600 Ma in the 700-km long sigmoidal Piancó-Alto Brígida domain, but other important flare-
Available online 31 December 2020
ups might have taken place at ca. 670-690, 730-760, 810-820 and 860-880 Ma. A comprehensive compilation of
Handling Editor: T. Tsunogae detrital zircon data from metavolcanosedimentary successions of the entire Borborema Province (n=5532) con-
firms the occurrence of a quasi-continuum Neoproterozoic spectra punctuated by peaks at those same age inter-
Keywords: vals separated by minor lulls. Low Th/U rims of zircon crystals dated at ca. 577 Ma provide an estimate of the age
Continental arc magmatism of regional transpressional metamorphism. Samples of all age ranges are mostly calc-alkaline, magnesian and
West Gondwana peraluminous, with moderately to highly fractionated LREE enrichment, negative Nb-Ta anomalies akin to con-
Back-arc basin vergent settings, and plot mainly within the volcanic arc field in tectonic discrimination diagrams. Nd-Sr isotope
Wilson Cycle systematics indicate the involvement of juvenile Neoproterozoic melts from the mantle wedge, which upon
Introversion tectonics
mixing with Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement and contamination with the host metasedimentary rocks
yield Mesoproterozoic TDM mainly at 1.14-1.44 Ga, near-chondritic εNd(t) and 87Sr/86Sri 0.703-0.710. We put for-
ward a model involving a major continental back-arc zone related to the development of the Conceição magmatic
arc, akin to the modern-day Taupo volcanic zone of New Zealand, crosscutting NE Brazil and presumably continu-
ing 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 Goiás-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 São Francisco-Congo paleocontinent in a complete
Wilson Cycle.
© 2020 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Enduring magmatic arc systems evolve through protracted flare-up/

⁎ Corresponding author.
lull cycles, with 100-1000 times more magma added to continental arcs
E-mail address: caxito@ufmg.br (F.A. Caxito). during episodic flare-ups than during lulls (Paterson and Ducea, 2015).
1
Fellow of the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) Although this pattern is now well recognized for Phanerozoic arc

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2020.11.015
1342-937X/© 2020 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
systems (e.g. Kirsch et al., 2016), it is still unclear if Proterozoic mag-
matic arcs evolved in the same way, and the role of protractred arc sys-
tems in the evolution of supercontinents such as Gondwanaland.
In this respect, the Borborema Province (Almeida et al., 1981; Brito
Neves et al., 2000) of NE Brazil (Fig. 1) and its counterparts in NW
Africa (Caxito et al., 2020a and references therein) are key elements
for the understanding of Precambrian tectonic processes involved in
western Gondwana amalgamation, situated right in the confluence be-
tween the major cratonic components of the São Francisco-Congo,
West African and Saharan provinces. The Borborema Province was
structured during the Brasiliano/Pan-African Orogeny, with widespread
orogenic deformation, magmatism and metamorphism recorded in the
ca. 630-510 Ma time range (Brito Neves et al., 2000; Caxito et al., 2020a).
Despite the relatively large amount of recent publications regarding
the geology, geophysics and geodynamic evolution of this region (for a
comprehensive review see Caxito et al., 2020a), models for the tectonic
evolution of the province are contentious. An important recent advance
is the interpretation of a plethora of calc-alkaline and high-K calc-
alkaline plutons intruded in the central Borborema Province (Piancó-
Alto Brígida and Alto Pajeú domains of the Transversal Zone), also
known as Conceição-type plutons (or Stage I magmatism according to
the nomenclature proposed by Van Schmus et al., 2011), as representing
a Cryogenian-Ediacaran (ca. 650-610 Ma) continental magmatic arc, a
proposition made independently by Sial and Ferreira (2015) and Brito
Neves et al. (2016). This interpretation is however still under dispute
(Neves, 2018).
Another batholith known as Tamboril-Santa Quitéria is also
interpreted as a magmatic arc system developed at the province’s
western border. The Tamboril-Santa Quitéria Complex is much more
studied and interpreted as developed from subduction of the Goiás-
Pharusian oceanic crust to the west at 880-860 Ma (early juvenile or
transitional stage known as Lagoa Caiçara Arc) and ca. 650-610 Ma
(late continental arc stage; Fetter et al., 2003; Santos et al., 2008;
Ganade de Araujo et al., 2012a, 2012b, Ganade de Araujo et al.,
2014b). Recently, other calc-alkaline granitic to granodioritic plutons
in the same age range (630-600 Ma) in the southern zone of the
Borborema Province have also been proposed as developed within a
continental magmatic arc setting, such as the Betânia pluton of the
Riacho do Pontal belt (Perpétuo, 2017), the Major Isidoro pluton of
the PEAL domain (Silva et al., 2015) and both granodiorites (Oliveira
et al., 2015a, 2015b) and mafic-ultramafic rocks within the Macururé
domain (Pereira et al., 2020) of the Sergipano belt.
Thus, the infrastructure (i.e, the granitic and gabbroic plutons) of
continental arc systems developed in the Borborema Province in the
late Cryogenian-early Ediacaran is becoming progressively constrained.
On the other hand, the suprastructure of those arc systems (i.e., their
volcanosedimentary edifice) has not yet received proper attention. In
this paper, we present a comprehensive study of metavolcanic and
metavolcaniclastic rocks interleaved with turbiditic metagreywackes
of the Piancó-Alto Brígida (PAB) domain, through field, geochemical,
geochronological and isotopic data. The novel data sheds light on the
supracrustal structure of the Transversal Zone (central Borborema Prov-
ince) and suggests a direct link between the volcanic rocks and the plu-
tonic counterpart.
Altogether, the Conceição-type plutons and the volcanic and
volcaniclastic rocks forms a coherent infrastructure-suprastructure set
that characterizes a continental magmatic arc system developed during
the Neoproterozoic in the Borborema Province. This interpretation has
far-reaching consequences for evolutionary models of western Gond-
wana amalgamation, specifically adding to the ongoing debate if
whether the tectonic processes taking place in this portion of Gondwa-
naland in the Neoproterozoic were mostly intracontinental (e.g. Neves,
2003) or involved in Phanerozoic-style extroversion and introversion
plate tectonics (e.g. Caxito et al., 2020a). The results and interpretations
presented here also add to the understanding of Proterozoic arc systems
and how they have evolved through time.
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Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
2. Geological context
2.1. Regional subdivisions and geological framework
For descriptive purposes, the Borborema Province is commonly
subdivided in domains and sub-domains separated by late-stage
strike-slip shear zones (e.g. Van Schmus et al., 1995; Brito Neves et al.,
2000). Following Caxito et al. (2020a), we will use the term “domains”
instead of “terranes” which could led to the genetic interpretation of ac-
creted exotic blocks, which is not fully proved for all of the domains.
Following Van Schmus et al. (2011), the main shear zones can be
used to subdivide the Borborema Province into three major tectonic
zones or sub-provinces: the northern, transversal, and southern zones,
separated by the main E-W trending Patos and Pernambuco shear
zones (Fig. 1). The northern Borborema zone is subdivided into the
Médio Coreaú (MC), Ceará Central (CC), and Rio Grande do Norte
(RGN) domains, with the Orós-Jaguaribeano (OJ) and Seridó belt (Sr)
within the last two domains, respectively; the Transversal Zone is
subdivided into several sigmoidal domains named, from west to east:
São Pedro (SP) or São José do Caiano, Piancó–Alto Brígida (PAB) or
Salgueiro–Cachoeirinha, Alto Pajeú (AP), which includes the Riacho
Gravatá (RG) subdomain, Alto Moxotó (AM), and Rio Capibaribe (RC);
and the southern zone is divided in the Pernambuco-Alagoas (PEAL)
Domain, and the Rio Preto (RP), Riacho do Pontal (RdP) and Sergipano
(Se) belts.
The main shear zones of NE Brazil in fact continue into the NW
African domains. The Transbrasiliano Shear Zone that separates the
Médio Coreaú domain from the Ceará Central domain at the NW corner
of the province is part of a major transcontinental structure that con-
tinues both SW to central Brazil (Brasília Belt of the Tocantins Province)
and into NW Africa in a pre-Atlantic fit, composing the ca. 6000 km-long
Transbrasiliano–Kandi–4°50’/West Silet shear system (Cordani et al.,
2013; Caxito et al., 2020a). This shear system is interpreted by some au-
thors as marking the vicinities of one of the main collisional suture
zones of western Gondwana, formed due to closure of the Goiás-
Pharusian Ocean (Caby, 1989; Arthaud et al., 2008; Cordani et al.,
2013; Ganade de Araujo et al., 2014b; Santos et al., 2015). Correlations
of the other transcontinental shear zones are more contentious and nu-
merous propositions have been put forward (e.g. Brito Neves et al.,
2002; Dada, 2008; Van Schmus et al., 2008; Caxito et al., 2020a).
Despite of the proposed regional subdivisions, the geological frame-
work of the Borborema Province (Fig. 1) is composed of
i) Paleoproterozoic basement units (mainly 2.2-2.0 Ga, with restricted
occurrences as old as 2.3-2.4 Ga), with local Archaean nuclei as old as
ca. 3.7-3.5 Ga (Dantas et al., 2004; (Caxito et al., 2015)(Barros et al.,
2020); Pitarello et al., 2019; Ruiz et al., 2019); (Santos et al., 2019a)ii)
Paleo–Mesoproterozoic metavolcanosedimentary units, developed in
extensional (continental rift) settings, mainly in the Orós-Jaguaribeano
(1.8-1.7 Ga) domain (Sá et al., 1995). In the Transversal Zone, Paleo- and
Mesoproterozoic anorogenic magmatism (ca. 1.8-1.7 and 1.6-1.5 Ga)
are locally important in the Rio Capibaribe, Alto Moxotó and Alto
Pajeú domains (Accioly, 2001; Sá et al., 2002; Lages et al., 2019); iii)
Early Tonian magmatism and sedimentation (1000–920 Ma) compris-
ing the Cariris Velhos belt in the Alto Pajeú domain (and adjacent Riacho
Gravatá subdomain) of the Transversal Zone, a hallmark feature of the
Borborema Province, with sparse occurrences also in the southern
zone (Santos et al., 2010; (Santos et al., 2019b) Caxito et al., 2014c,
2020b); iv) components of complete plate tectonics cycles (rift-drift-
subduction-collision) during the Neoproterozoic (ca. 900-540 Ma; e.g.
Oliveira et al., 2010; Caxito et al., 2016, 2020a).
2.2. Neoproterozoic magmatism
Neoproterozoic magmatism of the Borborema Province can be
subdivided into five general stages, based on petro-structural,
litochemical, geochronological and isotopic data and in cross-cutting
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

Fig. 1. – Simplified geological features of the Borborema Province of NE Brazil. From Caxito et al. (2016, 2020a). Domains and subdomains of the Borborema Province: RP – Rio Preto, RdP –
Riacho do Pontal, Se – Sergipano, PEAL - Pernambuco–Alagoas, RC - Rio Capibaribe, AM - Alto Moxotó, AP - Alto Pajeú, RG - Riacho Gravatá, PAB - Piancó-Alto Brígida, SP – São Pedro, CC -
Ceará Central, OJ – Orós-Jaguaribeano; RGN - Rio Grande do Norte, Sr - Seridó. PeSZ - Pernambuco Shear Zone; PaSZ - Patos Shear Zone; TBSZ - Transbrasiliano Shear Zone.

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F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
relations to the main deformation phases (Van Schmus et al., 2011). Fol-
lowing the nomenclature of Van Schmus et al. (2011) with slightly
modified age ranges (Caxito et al., 2020a), those can be defined as:
Stage I (pre-collisional, 640–620 Ma), Stage II (syn-collisional
leucogranites and two-mica granites, 625–590 Ma); Stage III (syn-colli-
sional to syn-transcurrent granitic to syenitic and locally shoshonitic
plutons, 590–575 Ma); Stage IV (late- and post-collisional plutons coe-
val to regional strike-slip deformation; 575–550 Ma); and Stage V (gen-
erally non-deformed plutons, except along younger shear zones;
550–530 Ma).
The Stage I pre-collisional plutons predate the development of the
main thrust foliation in the supracrustal belts. This corresponds to the
main age range of pre-collisional magmatism in the large Tamboril/
Santa Quitéria batholithic complex in the northwestern Borborema
Province (Fetter et al., 2003; Santos et al., 2008; Ganade de Araujo
et al., 2012b, 2014c) and to a plethora of smaller magmatic epidote-
bearing calc-akaline I-type plutons of the Conceição-type throughout
the PAB and Alto Pajeú domains of the Transversal Zone (Sial and
Ferreira, 2015; Brito Neves et al., 2016; Santos et al., 2020). The Betânia
granites of the internal Riacho do Pontal belt (Perpétuo, 2017), and pre-
collisional tonalites, granites, monzodiorites and granodiorites of the
Sergipano belt (Bueno et al., 2009; Oliveira et al., 2015a) and PEAL do-
main (Silva et al., 2015) are all dated in the same age range and also
interpreted as emplaced in continental arc settings. Recently, mafic-
ultramafic rocks of the Macururé domain of the Sergipano belt have
Fig. 2. Geological map of the Transversal Zone and adjacent areas (see Fig. 1 for location) with sampling sites marked with yellow stars. Original map compiled from different sources (see
text for data sources). TSZ = Trempe Shear Zone, BSZ = Boqueirão dos Cochos Shear Zone, SCSZ = Serra dos Caboclos Shear Zone, AISZ = Afogados da Ingazeira Shear Zone, SJN = Serra de
Jabitacá Nappe, CSZ = Congo Shear Zone.
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Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
also been dated at ca. 630 Ma and interpreted as part of a continental
arc setting (Pereira et al., 2020).
2.3. Transversal Zone and PAB domain
The Transversal Zone (Fig. 2) is composed of the sigmoidal São
Pedro, PAB, Alto Pajeú, Alto Moxotó and Rio Capibaribe domains. The
São Pedro, Alto Moxotó and Rio Capibaribe domains are dominated by
reworked Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement with local Proterozoic
metavolcanosedimentary belts, whereas the PAB domain is dominated
by a Neoproterozoic metavolcanosedimentary succession. The Alto
Pajeú domain is unique in the geology of the Borborema Province, com-
posed mainly of ca. 1000-920 Ma rocks (the Cariris Velhos belt; Santos
et al., 2010).
The PAB domain (Brito Neves, 1983; Brito Neves et al., 2018) (Fig. 2)
is composed of a Neoproterozoic low-grade metavolcaniclastic succes-
sion known as the Cachoeirinha Group, subdivided in the Serra dos
Olhos D’água (metaconglomerate) and Serra dos Garrotes (turbiditic
metagreywackes, felsic to intermediary volcanic and volcaniclastic
rocks) formations. Stratigraphic positioning is uncertain due to subse-
quent dextral-oriented transpressional deformation, and proposals to
locate the Serra dos Olhos D’água Formation both below and above
the Santana dos Garrotes Formation have been put forward (Bittar,
1999; Medeiros, 2004; Brito Neves et al., 2018).
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

The structural setting of the PAB domain is dominated by SE-verging
folds and thrusts with an associated NE-striking foliation with shallow
to moderate dips to the NW, and mylonitic structures such as S-C fabrics
and sheath folds near the basal thrusts. Those tangential-tectonic struc-
tures are partially to totally transposed near the late-stage subvertical
NE-SW trending strike-slip shear zones. These late-stage shear zones
are arranged in an anastomosing network forming kilometers-long
almond-shape domains. Inside these domains, greenschist to
amphibolite-facies metamorphic conditions occur variably (Bittar,
1999), suggesting some degree of vertical and oblique movement ex-
posing distinct crustal levels along the otherwise strike-slip shear zones.
To the east, the sigmoidal PAB domain is separated from the Alto
Pajeú domain through the Serra do Caboclo dextral strike-slip shear
zone. The Alto Pajeú domain hosts a ca. 700 km long sigmoidal belt of
early Tonian metaplutonic, metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks,
named Cariris Velhos belt (Brito Neves et al., 1995; Kozuch, 2003;

Fig. 3. a) Various metarhyolite intercalations (white layers) in turbiditic metagreywacke (dark layers) of the Santana dos Garrotes Formation, station PC417; b) Close-up of some of the
layers in (a); c) Porphyritic hypabissal felsic intrusion in metaturbidites, station PAB008V; d) Closeup of (c); e) Metatuff with quartz and K-feldspar crystals floating in a fine-grained white
matrix, station PC379; f), g) and h) photomicrographs under crossed polarizers of f) K-feldspar phenocryst with corrosion gulf in sample PAB005; g) square, partially corroded K-feldspar
crystal in sample PC313; h) square feldspar phenocrystals in fine-grained matrix in sample PAB008V (sample depicted in d).

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F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

Santos et al., 2010). Augen-gneisses are closely associated with pelitic
metasedimentary, metavolcanic and metavolcaniclastic rocks. U-Pb dat-
ing of both gneisses and metavolcanic rocks yielded ages between 1000
and 920 Ma (Brito Neves et al., 1995; Van Schmus et al., 1995; Kozuch,
2003; Medeiros, 2004; Santos et al., 2019), which according to Santos
et al. (2010) defines the time span for an orogenic event (for a discus-
sion of current models, see Caxito et al., 2020b). The Alto Pajeú domain
thrusts the Alto Moxotó domain to the east through the SE-verging
Serra de Jabitacá nappe system (Santos et al., 2017a, 2017b).
Both the PAB and Alto Pajeú domains are intruded by ca. 630-610 Ma
calc-alkaline granitic and granodioritic plutons of the Conceição-type or
Stage-I, interpreted as developed within a continental arc setting (Sial
and Ferreira, 2015; Brito Neves et al., 2016; Santos et al., 2019). Those
are typically mesocratic pre-collisional tonalitic and granodioritic intru-
sions with mafic enclaves.
3. Materials and Methods
Materials and Methods are described in the Supplementary Material.
3.1. Results
Field occurrence, petrography, geochemistry and geochronology re-
sults are presented below.
3.2. Field occurrence and petrography
Metavolcanic and metavolcaniclastic rocks of the Cachoeirinha
Group (Fig. 3A to 3H) occur as ca. 10-100 cm thick white layers concor-
dantly interleaved within rhythmic metagraywackes of the Santana dos
Garrotes Formation, normally in transitional contacts (Fig. 3A and 3B).

Fig. 4. Geochemical classification diagrams for the studied whole-rock metavolcanic and metavolcaniclastic samples. a) Total Alkalis/Silica (TAS) diagram (Le Maitre et al., 1989);
b) Aluminum Saturation Index diagram (Shand, 1947; Maniar and Piccoli, 1989); c) AFM diagram (Irvine and Baragar, 1971); c) modified alkali-lime index (MALI) and d) ferroan/
magnesian classification diagrams of Frost et al. (2001).

6
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

Fig. 5. Tectonic discrimination diagrams for the studied samples. a) and b) Nb, Y and Rb-based diagrams of Pearce et al. (1984); c) Th, Yb and Ta-based diagram of Gorton and Schandl
(2000); d) diagram proposed by Harris et al. (1986) using trace elements Rb, Hf and Ta; e) Nb/ZrN x Zr diagram of Thiéblemont and Tégyey (1994); f) Nb x SiO2 diagram (Pearce and
Gale, 1977); g) Rb/Zr x Nb diagram (Brown et al., 1984).

7
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
They vary from aphanitic to porphyritic with visible (under naked eye),
normally < 1 cm long K-feldspar and quartz phenocrysts floating in a
white fine-grained groundmass (Fig. 3D to 3H). In some outcrops,
there are several of those intercalations (Fig. 3A and 3B). Hypabissal
felsic intrusions also occur and they can be recognized in the field by
their larger thickness and sharper and discordant contacts with the
host rock (Fig. 3C).
In thin section, the metavolcaniclastic rocks exhibit centimetric
K-feldspar and quartz phenocrysts within a fine-grained quartz,
K-feldspar, metamorphic muscovite and minor plagioclase groundmass
(Fig. 3F to 3H). Those larger crystals often show evidence of corrosion
such as gulfs and resorption features (Fig. 3F). Most of the rocks can
be classified as crystal tuffs and related volcaniclastic terms.
3.3. Lithochemistry
The metavolcanic and metavolcaniclastic rocks are geochemically
classified as peraluminous (ASI = 1.01 to 2.28, mean 1.42)
metarhyolites (Fig. 4A and 4B). The SiO2 contents of these rocks range
from 72.61 to 78.21 wt%, similarly to “high-silica rhyolitic systems”
(Metz and Mahood, 1991). The samples follow the calc-alkaline trend
in the AFM diagram (Fig. 4C) and according to the Frost et al. (2001) dis-
crimination plots, most samples are characterized as calcic and magne-
sian (Fig. 4D), plotting within the “Cordilleran-type” field, which
includes I-, A- and S-type granites and comprises both magnesian and
high-silica (>70%) ferroan terms.
In the Nb versus Y tectonic discrimination diagram (Pearce et al.,
1984), all of the samples plot within the volcanic arc + syn-collisional
field (Fig. 5A), and they are further classified as volcanic arc samples
in the Rb versus (Y+Nb) diagram (Fig. 5B). In the tectonic discrimina-
tion diagram of Gorton and Schandl (2000), based on the concentra-
tions and ratios between Th, Ta and Yb (Fig. 5C), most of the samples
plot within the Active Continental Margin (ACM) field. The Th/Ta ratios
of the studied samples are mostly between 7.34 and 17.97 (14 out of 18
samples, with one sample showing a ratio of 1.2 and the other showing
higher ratios), similar to those of felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks of
active continental margins (Th/Ta between 6 and 20; while higher
values are characteristic of oceanic areas; Gorton and Schandl, 2000).
Only one sample (PC379B) shows values in the range of within-plate
rocks (Th/Ta = 1-6; Gorton and Schandl, 2000), due to the low Th con-
tent. Similarly, the LaN/NbN ratios of 1.1-6.5 (except for samples PC-419-
MV and PC379B which respectively show ratios of 11.8 and 0.4) are re-
markably within the range of arc magmas (1.3-6), while within-plate
magmas show much lower ratios (circa 0.8; Rudnick, 1995).
Fig. 6. a) Chondrite-normalized REE diagram (normalizing values from Sun and McDonough, 1989) and b) MORB-normalized incompatible elements spidergram (normalizing values after
Pearce and Parkinson, 1983; element ordering after Thompson et al., 1984).
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Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
In the Hf versus Rb/30 x Ta triangular diagram (Fig. 5D) of Harris
et al. (1986) most of the samples are classified as similar to volcanic
arc samples, and in the diagram proposed by Thiéblemont and Tégyey
(1994) using Nb/ZrN (normalized to the primordial mantle values of
Hofmann, 1988) versus Zr, samples plot mostly within the
subduction-related field, with minor scatter to the collisional calc-
alkaline field (Fig. 5E). In the diagram using Nb versus SiO2 (Pearce
and Gale, 1977) most samples are classified as similar to volcanic arc
rocks (Fig. 5F), and finally, in the Rb/Zr x Nb diagram of Brown et al.
(1984), the samples plot in the primitive arc field or in the normal con-
tinental arc field (Fig. 5G).
Chondrite-normalized REE (Rare Earth Element) patterns of the
studied samples (Fig. 6A) are relatively flat with slight to highly frac-
tionated LREE (La/YbN = 7-90). Eu anomalies vary largely from negative
(Eu/Eu* = ca. 0.6) to positive (Eu/Eu* = up to ca. 2), but 75% of the sam-
ples do not show significant Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.7-1.4). On
MORB-normalized incompatible element spidergrams, the studied
samples show enrichment in LILE (Large Ion Lithophile Elements) rela-
tive to HFSE (High Field Strength Elements), with an important Nb-Ta
trough and significantly negative P and Ti anomalies (Fig. 6B). The Ba
contents are variable (231-5928 ppm, average 1307 ppm), from 36 up
to 940 times MORB (6.3 ppm; Pearce & Parkinson, 1993).
3.4. U-Pb geochronology
3.4.1. SHRIMP
3.4.1.1. Sample PC379B. Sample PC379B (Fig. 3E) is from a ca. 20 cm-
thick crystal metatuff layer intercalated with metagreywacke of the
Santana dos Garrotes Formation (another ca. 20 cm thick metatuff
layer of the same outcrop, PC379A, was also analyzed for geochemistry;
see Supplementary Material for full results). The outcrop is located in a
land road some 15 km to the south of the town of Patos, Paraíba. The
crystal metatuff presents corroded K-feldspar and quartz crystals up to
0.5 mm long in a whitish fine-grained matrix composed of quartz,
K-feldspar and muscovite with minor plagioclase.
Recovered zircon crystals are stubby to slightly elongated, euhedral
and translucent, and sometimes they form inclusion-rich bipyramidal
prisms up to 250 μm long with up to 4:1 aspect ratio. In CL images
(Fig. 7A), all of the zircon crystals present inherited cores and thick
(>50 μm) rims characterized by typical igneous zoning. Both cores
and rims present overall high Th/U ratios (generally above 0.15) typical
of igneous zircon crystals. Spots in inherited cores yielded a variety
of 207Pb/206Pb dates at ca. 2.4 Ga, 2.2 Ga, 1.9-1.7 Ga (main peak),
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

Fig. 7. Cathodoluminescence images of selected zircon crystals with indication of analyzed spots, Concordia diagrams and probability density plots/histograms for samples a) PC379B and
b) PC39, both analyzed by SHRIMP. Quoted ages are 207Pb/206Pb dates for spots > 1.0 Ga and 206Pb/238U dates for spots < 1.0 Ga.

9
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

Fig. 8. Cathodoluminescence images of selected zircon crystals with indication of analyzed spots and Concordia diagrams and probability density plots/histograms for samples a) IP004 and
b) PAB008V, both analyzed by LA-ICPMS. Quoted ages are 207Pb/206Pb dates for spots > 1.0 Ga and 206Pb/238U dates for spots < 1.0 Ga.

10
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

Fig. 9. Cathodoluminescence images of selected zircon crystals with indication of analyzed spots and Concordia diagrams for samples a) PC313, b) PC417, c) PAB006 and d) PAB010, all of
them analyzed by LA-ICPMS. Quoted ages are 206Pb/238U dates.

11
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
1.1-0.9 Ga and 675-650 Ma (Fig. 7A). Spots on the igneous zircon rims,
on the other hand, cluster in the Concordia diagram and yield a
Concordia age of 617 ± 7 Ma (MSWD = 0.34). This is interpreted as
the crystallization age of the crystal metatuff.
3.4.1.2. Sample PC39. This sample is from a meter-thick white tuff inter-
calated in metarhythmites in the PB-306 roadside some 20 km to the
east of Conceição, Paraíba. Recovered zircon crystals and crystal frag-
ments are euhedral to subhedral, stubby to slightly elongated,
translucid, sometimes inclusion-rich bipyramidal prisms and rectangles
up to 200 μm long with up to 3:1 aspect ratio. In CL images, the zircon
crystals commonly show igneous zoning, but cores and rims generally
present the same age despite color differences related to changes in
chemical composition (Fig. 7B). All of the analyzed spots present overall
high Th/U ratios (above 0.1) typical of igneous zircon crystals.
This sample shows a variety of inherited grains with 207Pb/206Pb
ages at ca. 2.7 Ga, 2.5-2.3 Ga, 2.0-1.8 Ga (main peak) and two inherited
Neoproterozoic crystals with 206Pb/238U ages at 848 ± 19 Ma and 812 ±
15 Ma (Fig. 7B). All of the other Neoproterozoic crystals cluster in the
Concordia diagram yielding a Concordia age of 685 ± 13 Ma (MSWD
= 1.01). This date is interpreted to be the closest estimate of the crystal-
lization age of the crystal metatuff.
3.4.2. LA-ICP-MS
3.4.2.1. Sample IP004. This sample is from a highly sheared porphyritic
metarhyolitic tuff with up to 1 cm-long elongated K-feldspar crystals
floating in a matrix of fine-grained quartz, white mica and feldspar, in
the PI-142 paved roadside some 30 km northeast of Paulistana, Piauí,
corresponding to the extreme southwestern tip of the PAB belt under
the influence of the Pernambuco Shear Zone dextral-sense shearing
(Fig. 2). Zircon crystals with varied morphology, color, and size aspect
ratios were recovered from this sample (Fig. 8A). Forty-one laser spots
were analyzed, and except for four crystals that yielded discordant re-
sults, all of the other spots are concordant within the 98.77-101.66 %
range. U-Pb dates vary from ca. 600 Ma to 2400 Ma (Fig. 8A). Th/U ratios
are overall high, but some zircon crystals show distinct CL-dark low Th/
U (<0.01) rims. Analysis of three spots in those rims yielded a Concordia
age of 577 ± 9 Ma (MSWD = 0.21; red ellipses in Fig. 8A), interpreted
as the age of metamorphism related to transpressional deformation. The
three youngest zircon crystals cluster in the Concordia yielding a
Concordia age of 603 ± 7 Ma (MSWD = 0.60), considered as a
Fig. 10. a) Nd isotope evolution diagram for the analysed samples with indication of fields for Cariris Velhos Tonian crust in blue and for the Borborema Province Archean/Paleoproterozoic
basement in pink (data compiled from Kozuch, 2003; Brito Neves et al., 1995; Santos et al., 2010; Van Schmus et al., 2011; Caxito et al., 2014b) for comparison; b) a plot of Nd isotope
characteristics of the studied samples in comparison to the fields of Conceição-type (red) and Itaporanga-type (yellow) plutons of the Transversal Zone (compiled from Sial and
Ferreira, 2015); c) Nd x Sr evolution diagram with similar fields as (b).
12
Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
maximum crystallization age of this rock. The four discordant spots
align in a Discordia (not shown) with a lower intercept at 520 ±
130 Ma and an upper intercept at 2168 ± 130 Ma (MSWD = 6.7).
3.4.2.2. Sample PAB008V. This sample is from a meter-thick concordant
layer of porphyritic metarhyolite (Fig. 3C and 3D) in the PB-306 road-
side some 30 km east of Conceição, Paraíba. This outcrop is crosscut by
a near-horizontal fault plane with normal displacement of approxi-
mately 1 meter (Fig. 3C). Another metavolcanic layer occurs in the
same outcrop (sample PAB008VP, for which lithogeochemistry data is
available in Table 1 of the Supplementary Material). Contacts with the
host metagreywacke of the Santana dos Garrotes Formation are sharp
and thus different from the other studied outcrops, suggesting that
those rocks represent hypabissal intrusions.
Similarly to sample IP004, this sample yielded zircon crystals with
varied morphology, color, and size aspect ratios (Fig. 8B). Sixty-three
laser spots were analyzed, out of which forty-three are concordant
within 10%. From the remainder of the crystals, some of the spots
align in Discordia lines pointing toward zero, and fourteen spots align
in a coherent Discordia (MSWD = 0.97) with upper intercept at 2361
± 10 Ma and lower intercept at 570 ± 14 Ma. The latter is identical
(within error) to the Concordia age obtained from low Th/U zircon
rims of sample IP004 (577± 9 Ma) and is herein considered as the age
of Brasiliano metamorphism of the metahypabissal rock. The inherited
zircon crystals from this sample are mainly Paleoproterozoic (1.7-2.3
Ga) with exception of one spot which yielded a 207Pb/206Pb age of
1129 ± 41 Ma (99.92 % concordance).
3.4.2.3. Sample PC313. This sample is from a metric white metavolcanic
intercalation in metarhythmites in a roadside cut in the BR-361 paved
road near Emas, Paraíba. Recovered zircon crystals are mostly fragments
smaller than 100 μm, the less broken of which show a stubby geometry
(ca. 2-1 aspect ratio) and mostly homogeneous features in CL images,
lacking any internal zoning (Fig. 9A). Forty-three spots were analyzed,
but twenty yielded highly discordant results with no clear alignment
in any coherent Discordia, pointing clearly to zero. Of the remaining
concordant spots, the four youngest cluster yielding a Concordia age
of 636 ± 6 Ma (MSWD = 2.2). This is considered as the crystallization
age of the sample. The other concordant spots represent inherited crys-
tals at ca. 660-700, 800-850, 900-1000 and 1800-2200 Ma.
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
3.4.2.4. Sample PC417. This sample is from an outcrop in a dry riverbed
near Cacimba de Areia village, 15 km to the southeast of Patos, Paraíba.
In this outcrop, various intercalations of white metavolcanic rocks occur
in the metarhythimes (Fig. 3A and 3B). Seventeen zircons were recov-
ered from a sample of one of those layers, out of which the seven youn-
gest cluster yielding a Concordia age of 632± 5 Ma (MSWD = 0.19)
(Fig. 9B), considered as the crystallization age of the metarhyolite. The
other crystals are inherited and crystallized at ca. 750 Ma, ca. 823 Ma,
ca. 997 Ma and a single grain at 1877 ± 11 Ma.
3.4.2.5. Sample PAB006. This sample is from a white metric-thick
metavolcanic intercalation in metarhythmites in a land road some
12 km to the southeast of Emas, Paraíba. Only four zircon crystals
were recovered from this sample. All of them are concordant within
10% (Fig. 9D). Three of them are Neoproterozoic, with 206Pb/238U ages
of 753 ± 16 Ma, 709 ± 18 Ma and 674 ± 18 Ma; the other shows slight
reverse discordance and is Paleoproterozoic (207Pb/206Pb age of 1906 ±
44 Ma). The two youngest crystals yielded a Concordia age of 691 ± 33
Ma, which although hard to state that is the crystallization age of the
sample due to the low number of crystals, is coherent with the age of
sample PC39 dated by SHRIMP (Fig. 7B).
3.4.2.6. Sample PAB010. This sample is from a white metavolcanic rock
intercalated in metarhythmites in a land road accessed to the south of
the PB-228 paved road some 50 km east of Patos, Paraíba. Zircon crystals
recovered from this sample are stubby bipyramidal prisms up to 150 μm
long with general aspect ratio of 2:1. In CL images, they show typical ig-
neous zoning and some show a darker rim which unfortunately is too
thin for spot placement (Fig. 9B). Three out of nine analyzed spots are
Fig. 11. K2O versus SiO2 plot showing distribution of the analyzed samples compared to possible modern-day analogues. Source: Ayalew and Ishiwatari (2011) and references therein.
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Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
discordant and thus are not considered here. From the other six, three
crystals are age-equivalent and yielded a Concordia age of 764 ±
18 Ma (MSWD = 2.4), considered as the maximum crystallization age
of the sample. The other three spots represent inherited crystals with
207
Pb/206Pb ages of 1955 ± 18 Ma, 924 ± 21 Ma and 818 ± 27 Ma.
3.5. Nd-Sr isotopes
The eighteen analyzed samples are characterized by Mesoprot-
erozoic TDM model-ages (Fig. 10A and 10B), with most samples ranging
between 1.0 and 1.4 Ga (see complete results in the Supplementary Ma-
terial). Only four samples show older TDM ranging between 1.8 and 2.5
Ga. The εNd(600 Ma) values are variable but generally close to the chon-
drite or slightly juvenile (-3.4 to 1.5), with only five samples at or
below -7.0. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (recalculated to 600 Ma) are mostly
between 0.703-0.710 (Fig. 10C), except for sample PC419MV (0.718).
4. Discussion
4.1. The Neoproterozoic magmatic arc suprastructure of the Borborema
Province
In the Nd-Sr isotope evolution diagrams of Fig. 10, the fields for the
Cariris Velhos crust and Borborema Province basement are drawn for
comparison with the analyzed rocks, as well as the fields for
Conceição-type and Itaporanga-type plutons of the Transversal Zone,
interpreted as generated in a continental arc setting (Sial and Ferreira,
2015; Brito Neves et al., 2016). Most of the analyzed samples plot within
the Conceição-type field with a minor amount plotting in the
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
Itaporanga-type field. In the Nd-Sr diagram of Fig. 10C, the minor subset
of samples that plot within the Itaporanga-type field can be explained
by stronger contamination with older crustal components and assimila-
tion of metasedimentary host rocks. In Fig. 10A, all of the samples plot
within the Cariris Velhos crust field, characterized by Mesoproterozoic
TDM model ages produced by mixing of a Tonian juvenile mantle source
with varying degrees of assimilation of Archean/Paleoproterozoic
basement (Santos et al., 2010; Van Schmus et al., 2011; Caxito et al.,
2014b, 2020b), with only one sample plotting within the Archean/
Paleoproterozoic basement field.
As the Borborema Province basement is mainly composed of Ar-
chean and Paleoproterozoic crust (3.7-2.0 Ga), the Mesoproterozoic
TDM model ages which characterize the dataset (thirteen samples in
the 1.0-1.4 Ga age range and four samples in the 1.8-2.5 Ga range) are
interpreted as resulting from variable mixing between a Cryogenian/
Ediacaran juvenile mantle wedge and variable amounts of Archean/
Paleoproterozoic basement; or, alternatively, from partial melting of
Cariris Velhos crust that bear similar characteristics. The last alternative
can be true for some of the volcanics which are genetically interlinked
with Conceição-type plutonic rocks within the Alto Pajeú domain,
where Cariris Velhos rocks occur. However, for the plutons and volca-
nics in the PAB domain, such as those studied in the present work, the
first alternative (juvenile mantle input from a mantle wedge mixed
with variable amounts of Archean-Paleoproterozoic crust) is preferable,
as early Tonian rocks correlative to the Cariris Velhos event (1000-920
Ma) have not yet been found in the basement of the PAB domain, char-
acterized by ca. 3.5-2.0 Ga rocks (Basto et al., 2019; Pitarello et al., 2019).
The geochemical data (Fig.s 4, 5 and 6) points to an expanded calc-
alkaline series composed of peraluminous magnesian and mainly calcic
to calc-alkalic rhyolites. All of the tectonic discrimination plots suggest
volcanic-arc related settings, such as in primitive to normal continental
arcs. The MORB-normalized trace element spidergrams (Fig. 6B) also re-
flect the signatures interpreted as typical of supra-subduction zone
Fig. 12. a) Probability density plot and histogram showing all spots analyzed in this work;
b) Probability density plot of a comprehensive compilation of detrital zircon U-Pb data
from the entire Borborema Province; c) Probability density plot showing spots analyzed
in this work that are younger than 900 Ma, except low Th/U spots younger than 590
Ma; d) Probability density plot with a similar compilation as (c) for the whole
Borborema Province. Data sources for the Borborema Province compilation: Van Schmus
et al. (2003, 2011), Neves et al. (2006, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019), Ganade de Araújo et al.
(2010, 2012b), Guimarães et al. (2012), Kalsbeek et al. (2013), Marulanda (2013),
Caxito et al. (2014c, 2016), Garcia et al. (2014), Silva Filho et al. (2014), Arthaud et al.
(2015), Cruz et al. (2014), Hollanda et al. (2015), Oliveira et al. (2015a, 2015b), Souza
et al. (2016), Alcântara et al. (2017), Santos et al. (2017), Lima et al. (2018), Basto et al.
(2019), Santos et al. (2019) and Barros et al. (2020).
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Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
rocks, such as the Nb-Ta and Ti negative anomalies, as is also the case
for the slightly LREE-enriched patterns with no important Eu anomalies.
The overall discrete Eu anomalies, along with the Sr (up to 16 times
MORB) and Ba (up to 940 times MORB) enrichment, rule out K-
feldspar and plagioclase fractionation as dominant rock-forming
processes.
Taken together, the elemental and isotope geochemical features are
coherent with a volcanic arc-related setting for the metavolcanic and
metavolcaniclastic rocks studied herein. The peraluminous character
of the samples probably comes from crustal contamination, including
both the Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement and the metasedimentary
host rocks. This would not be uncommon in continental back-arc re-
gions dominated by metavolcaniclastic turbidites traversed by silicic
magmas, as discussed below. Crustal contamination is disclosed both
by elemental and isotopic geochemistry features and by the large
amount of inherited zircon crystals. Other possibility for the highly
peraluminous character of some samples, as well as anomalous elemen-
tal and isotopic features, is that epiclastic content masks the original
magmatic signatures in metavolcanoclastic rocks, during evolution of
the explosive rhyolitic magmatism and reworking of the volcanic debris
in the adjacent sedimentary basins.
Thus, we interpret the Cachoeirinha Group as part of the suprastru-
cture of a Cryogenian/Ediacaran continental arc system developed
within the basement blocks composing the Borborema Province. The
corresponding infrastructure of this arc system would be represented
by the Conceição-type (Stage I) plutons of the Transversal Zone and
age-correlative plutons such as the Betânia granite of the Riacho do
Pontal domain (Perpétuo, 2017) further south and the main stage of
evolution of the Tamboril-Santa Quitéria magmatic arc further north
(Fetter et al., 2003; Ganade de Araujo et al., 2014b). In this scenario,
the metagreywackes of the Santana dos Garrotes Formation, presenting
youngest detrital zircons at ca. 650-630 Ma (Brito Neves and Campos
Neto, 2016; Brito Neves et al., 2018) would represent turbiditic systems
deposited in an arc-related basin with important provenance from the
Conceição arc system, while the volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks
dated in the Cryogenian-Ediacaran age range would represent the igne-
ous pulses that reached the surface as extrusions and were then
reworked along the turbiditic systems. In this context, hypabissal felsic
intrusions could represent feeder systems linking the plutonic and vol-
canic counterparts of the magmatic arc system.
4.2. Possible present-day analogues
Due to the predominance of rhyolitic rocks within the studied sam-
ples, the best modern analog would be the Taupo volcanic zone of
northern New Zealand, the most active rhyolitic zone on Earth (Smith
et al., 2005; Wilson and Charlier, 2009). The Taupo volcanic zone is de-
veloped within an assymmetrical continental back-arc setting related to
the development of the modern arc system of the North Island (Davey
et al., 1995; Seebeck et al., 2014) extending for ca. 2000 km as part of
the Lau-Havre-Taupo back-arc basin system associated with conver-
gence between the Pacific and Australian plates (Stern, 1985; Parson
and Wright, 1996).
Ayalew and Ishiwatari (2011) discussed the geochemical differences
between rhyolites originated in present-day continental rift, continental
arc and oceanic arc settings. Although both continental rift and conti-
nental arc rhyolites are enriched in K2O related to oceanic arc rhyolites,
there is a clear distinction of both types in a K2O versus SiO2 plot
(Fig. 11), and continental arc rhyolites are further separated from conti-
nental rift rhyolites through their low Nb content (as indicated by the
negative Nb anomalies in Fig. 6B). Comparing the samples in the present
study with the compositional field for rhyolites from those three distinct
present-day settings in the diagram of Fig. 11, most of them plot within
the Japanese continental arc rhyolites field, some overlapping with the
Izu-Bonin oceanic arc rhyolites field, and practically none within the
Ethiopian continental rift rhyolites field, providing further evidence
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

15
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
that the studied volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks are more coherently
interpreted as developed within an ancient continental arc system. Al-
though K2O is considered as mobile in volcanic settings, 74% of the sam-
ples present Loss on Ignition values, a proxy for geochemical alteration,
below 1.5%, and the geochemical results were recalculated in an anhy-
drous base before plotting in geochemical diagrams. Thus, even consid-
ering K2O loss, the samples would still plot mostly within the
continental arc rhyolites field in the diagram of Fig. 11.
4.3. Zircon inheritance, age of the volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks and
provenance patterns of the Borborema Province
All of the samples dated present Neoproterozoic zircon crystals, but
although some of them provided robust results that allow pinpointing
the age of magmatism at ca. 616-635 Ma, 690 Ma and ca. 760 Ma, the
other samples show a high quantity of inherited and/or discordant crys-
tals, only allowing to indicate the maximum age of magmatism/deposi-
tion of volcaniclastic rocks.
It should be noted that zircon inheritance is a common characteristic
of felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks related to magmatic arcs. Exam-
ples of this kind are abundant: ca. 20 ka dacites from the continental
back-arc Taupo volcanic zone of New Zealand yielded a variety of
inherited zircon crystals up to ca. 1.66 Ga (Charlier et al., 2010; in effect,
samples in this work are dominated by inherited grains); Neogene vol-
canic rocks of the Tafresh area in the central part of Urumieh-Dokhtar
Magmatic Arc of Iran yielded Paleoproterozoic, Late Neoproterozoic–
Early Cambrian, Carboniferous, and Cretaceous inherited zircon crystals
(Chaharlang and Ghorbani, 2020); Neogene ignimbrites from central
Anatolia yielded up to 3.8 Ga inherited zircon crystals (Paquette and
Le Pennec, 2012); and ca. 27 ka old rhyodacite tephra and lava at Crater
Lake, Oregon yielded resorbed crystals (antecrysts) interpreted as gath-
ered from Late Pleistocene granodiorites and related plutonic rocks of
the same arc system (Bacon and Lowenstern, 2005). Even basaltic to an-
desitic volcanic and pyroclastic rocks from recent intra-oceanic arcs
such as the Luzon arc of Taiwan have been shown to be dominated by
a variety of inherited zircon crystals with up to Archean ages (2.5 Ga),
interpreted as derived from continental fragments that split off the Eur-
asian margin, accreted to the Philippine Sea plate and were later in-
volved in subduction. Consequently, magmas derived from the
depleted mantle wedge would evolve and pick up crystals from those
fragments during ascent (Shao et al., 2015).
Zircon inheritance in felsic magmas is not surprising, as classical
Zr saturation studies (e.g. Watson and Harrison, 1983) indicate
that zircon solubility for a normal peraluminous granite is around
100 ppm at 750°C, i.e., melts with higher Zr contents are incapable
of dissolving additional inherited crystals. Temperature and compo-
sition are the main controlling factors of this process, whereas pres-
sure and water content are relatively indifferent (Watson and
Harrison, 1983; Boehnke et al., 2013). Not coincidentally, then, sam-
ple PC379B, the only sample showing well-developed igneous zircon
rims developed around incompletely dissolved inherited cores,
shows the lower Zr content of the whole dataset (31 ppm), as
melts undersaturated in Zr achieve saturation only by consuming
zircon from the source. This sample could have been through similar
processes as samples from the Pleistocene Ongatiti ignimbrite of the
back-arc Taupo Volcanic Zone. Zircon crystals recovered from this ig-
nimbrite reveal resorbed zircon cores dated at 119-340 Ma surro-
unded by ubiquitous euhedral zoned magmatic rims with a peak
crystallisation age of 1.31 ± 0.03 Ma (Brown and Smith, 2004).
Fig. 13. Models for the tectonic evolution of the Borborema Province in the 880-620 Ma interval. In these models, the basement blocks that now compose the Borborema-Benino/Nigerian-
Transaharan Province would have been part of a Proterozoic lithospheric block called Central African Block or Paleocontinent (Cordani et al., 2013; D’agrella-Filho and Cordani, 2017;
Caxito et al., 2020a, 2020c) along with the São Francisco-Congo block and the blocks composing the enigmatic Saharan metacraton (inset on A). Hyperextension during Tonian (ca.
900-860 Ma) rifting would rip away the margins of the Central African Block creating the NOBO-BENI and AMCAPAY ribbon continents, which suffered decratonization due to loss of
the tectospheric mantle keel in the process. See text for further discussions.
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Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
The data gathered from inherited crystals can be used to estimate
the age patterns of the basement traversed by the melts in the continen-
tal magmatic arc edifice and provenance patterns of the host metased-
imentary rocks. Fig. 12A shows a probability density plot and
histogram of all spots (<±10% discordance) analysed in this work.
Peaks older than 900 Ma are roughly coincident with the Cariris Velhos
Belt (1000-920 Ma) and the Rhyacian orogenic rocks found throughout
the Borborema Province basement, with a few Orosirian and Archean
(up to ca. 2.7 Ga) grains. When compared to a comprehensive database
of scrutinized and filtered (i.e, using only spots with low errors, low
common-Pb and within 10% discordance) detrital zircon U-Pb data
available for the Borborema Province (n = 5532, Fig. 12B) the peaks
are roughly coincident, although there is an over-representation of the
Cariris Velhos-related peak in the Borborema Province dataset due to
the higher number of samples analysed in previous works within the
Alto Pajeú domain and to the widespread presence of Cariris Velhos-
derived grains in all belts of the Transversal and Southern zones.
Analysis of the spectra in fig.s 12A and 12B can yield valuable insight
on the composition and age of the Borborema Province basement, with
a clear dominance of the Rhyacian-Orosirian and Tonian (Cariris Velhos-
related) peaks, but also important Statherian and Calymmian minor
peaks (1.5-1.6 and 1.7-1.8 Ga), corresponding to the age range of
A-type intrusions of the Transversal Zone and metavolcanosedimentary
continental rift-related successions such as in the Orós-Jaguaribeano
belt (Fig. 1). In the Archean, the most important peak is at 2.5 Ga, but
there is also a peak at 2.7 Ga and sparse zircon grains as old as ca. 3.5 Ga.
Other remarkable feature of the spectra is the general lull in
Mesoproterozoic zircon source areas. Neves (2003) suggested that the
presence of detrital zircon grains covering the entire Proterozoic in the
Borborema Province could indicate either sources that were yet undis-
covered within the province’s basement or distal sources such as the
Amazonian Craton where igneous rocks covering the whole Proterozoic
age range are found. We suggest a third option, as the minor Mesoprot-
erozoic grains found in the metavolcanosedimentary belts could have
been derived from secondary sources through reworking of previous
sedimentary successions. These previous (older than 900 Ma) sedimen-
tary successions were deposited in distinct paleogeographical settings,
where the basement of the Borborema Province could have been lo-
cated closer to sources of Mesoproterozoic grains (e.g. the Kibaran,
Irumide, and Namaqua-Natal-Maud belts in the African counterpart of
the São Francisco-Congo paleocontinent and in the Kalahari paleocon-
tinent, respectively, Fig. 13A; see also paleocontinental reconstructions
in D’agrella-Filho and Cordani, 2017 and Caxito et al., 2020c), eliminat-
ing the need for an Amazonian-Borborema connection during the
Neoproterozoic.
Caxito et al. (2020a, 2020c) put forward the idea that a Greater São
Francisco-Congo paleocontinent (or “Central African Block”, according
to the nomenclature of Cordani et al., 2013a and D’Agrella-Filho and
Cordani, 2017) existed during the Proterozoic involving the São
Francisco-Congo and Saharan paleocontinental crusts (Fig. 13A). This
paleocontinent would also involve basement blocks that compose part
of the basement of the Borborema, Mantiqueira and Tocantins
provincesbordering the São Francisco-Congo craton. These basement
blocks are interpreted as ribbon continents and microcontinents de-
tached from the former Central African Paleocontinent margins through
hyperextension during Tonian rifting at ca. 900-860 Ma (Caxito et al.,
2020a, 2020c). This configuration would allow for zircon crystals cover-
ing the whole Paleoarchean-Mesoproterozoic range (Fig. 13A) to be
available to source the Neoproterozoic belts of the Borborema Province
through secondary reworking of older sedimentary successions within
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

Fig. 14. Models for the tectonic evolution of the Borborema Province in the 620-530 Ma interval. In these models, Rodinia-derived lithospheric fragments such as the West African-São Luís-
Parnaíba and Amazonian paleocontinents (perhaps separated from an ancestral single block through a triple junction during Tonian extension, further generating the Clymene ocean)
collide with the Borborema Province ribbon continents due to closure of the external Goiás-Pharusian ocean. Early Ediacaran collision of the West African margin with the NOBO-BENI
ribbon continent caused clockwise rotation and speeded subduction in the Transnordestino-Central African ocean realm, generating the last and main flare-up of the Conceição magmatic
arc (FV) and ultimately the closure of the two branches of this internal V-shaped ocean. Late Ediacaran to Cambrian collision of the Amazonian paleocontinent caused far-field stresses with
Indochinese-like extrusion of the Borborema Province ribbon continents towards a NE “free” margin, that was not bounded by rigid lithospheric blocks but by decratonized ribbon con-
tinents that were severely reworked, metamorphosed and injected by plutons during the Brasiliano Orogeny. The final stages of western Gondwana amalgamation in the Cambrian were
accommodated through lateral-scape tectonics affecting these weakened lithospheric blocks. See text for further discussions.

the basement of the ribbon continents that compose this province.
According to the model of Caxito et al. (2020a) those ribbon continents
are named APAMCAPAY (Alto Pajeú/Alto Moxotó/Rio CApibaribe/
Pernambuco-Alagoas/Adamawa-Yadé) and NOBO-BENI (NOrthern
BOrborema/BEnino-NIgerian). This model is coherent with production
of the detrital zircon U-Pb age spectra of Fig. 12A and 12B, with the pre-
dominance of zircon crystals in the age ranges present in the igneous
basement rocks of the Borborema Province (mainly Rhyacian) and
only a minor amount of Mesoproterozoic crystals derived from
secondary reworked Proterozoic sedimentary rocks. The later were
probably sourced from other parts of the Central African Paleocontinent,
prior to detachment and individualization of the ribbon continents dur-
ing the Tonian (Fig. 13A and B).
4.4. Possible magmatic arc flare-ups in the Borborema Province
Excluding the controversial Cariris Velhos belt (see discussion in
Caxito et al., 2020b) Neoproterozoic magmatic arc activity in the

17
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
Borborema Province begins at ca. 880-800 Ma with the juvenile
magmatism of the Lagoa Caiçara Complex of the Ceará Central domain,
part of the large Tamboril-Santa Quitéria batholith (Ganade de Araujo
et al., 2014b). The main peak of continental arc (Andean-like) magmatic
activity in the Tamboril-Santa Quitéria batholith is, however,
constrained to 660-620 Ma (Fetter et al., 2003; Ganade de Araujo
et al., 2014b). Despite the apparent age gap between those two main pe-
riods of magmatism, the presence of detrital zircon crystals in the 800-
660 Ma age range in forearc deposits related to the Tamboril-Santa
Quitéria batholith and felsic volcanics dated at ca. 777 Ma (Fetter
et al., 2003) suggests that arc magmatism persisted throughout the
Neoproterozoic, although the plutonic sources have not yet been de-
scribed in detail. Could this Neoproterozoic registry of detrital/inherited
zircon grains reveal cryptic flare-up and lull episodes?
Fig.s 12C and 12D show the age spectra of Neoproterozoic (younger
than 900 Ma, except low Th/U rims and crystals younger than 590 Ma)
inherited and detrital zircon populations from this work and from the
Borborema Province compilation, respectively. The distributions mirror
each other and although covering all of the Neoproterozoic, at least five
distinct peaks can be recognized, which become progressively more
prominent as they get younger: ca. 880-860 Ma (7-11%), 820-810 Ma
(12-17%), 760-730 Ma (18-19%), 690-670 Ma (24-25%), and finally
630-600 Ma (30-37%). Calling those possible flare-ups FI, FII, FIII, FIV
and FV, respectively, the three main age ranges that have been
interpreted as the crystallization ages of the samples from this work
plot within the last three flares, at ca. 760 Ma (FIII, sample PAB-010),
685-690 Ma (FIV, samples PC-39 and PAB006) and 617-636 Ma (FV,
samples PC379B,IP004, PC313 and PC417).
Flare-up cycles usually last from 5 to 20 Ma (Ducea et al., 2015), such
as in West Antarctica (Jordan et al., 2020), in the Neo-Tethyan arc sys-
tem that extends for ca. 6,000 km from southern Tibet to Sumatra
(Zhang et al., 2019), and in the Central and Northern Andes (Paterson
and Ducea, 2015). However, they can vary widely reaching as much as
ca. 60 Ma such as in the Sierra Nevada batholith or achieving a quasi-
continuum (steady-state?) distribution for over 100 Ma such as in the
Southern Andes and in the Coast Mountains and Cascades (Paterson
and Ducea, 2015; Kirsch et al., 2016). Lulls vary from ca. 10 Ma to ca.
50 Ma (Ducea and Barton, 2007; DeCelles et al., 2009; Paterson and
Ducea, 2015; Zhang et al., 2019; Jordan et al., 2020). Continental arc evo-
lution in the Andean-Central American-Sierra Nevada-Coast Mountains
system, extending from Chile to Alaska, lasted for more than 400 Ma
and is still ongoing, punctuated by three to five flare-ups depending
on along- and across-strike asymmetries such as changes in subduction
angle and subduction of exotic features such as mid-ocean ridges
(Paterson and Ducea, 2015; Kirsch et al., 2016). Thus, a protracted evo-
lution from ca. 880 to ca. 600 Ma, probably punctuated by five flare-ups
(the exact number of flare-ups and lulls remains to be defined as novel
geochronological data is gathered), is a coherent assumption for the
magmatic arc systems developed in the Borborema Province during
the Neoproterozoic.
4.5. Possible causes of the flare-ups and implications for the tectonic evolu-
tion of the Borborema Province
Episodic flare-ups and lulls in magmatic arc systems are believed to
be controlled by complex and varied processes that can be i) external to
the arc, such as plate reorganizations and mantle-plume activities
(Ardila et al., 2019; Jordan et al., 2020), ii) related to features of the
subducted plate such as a discontinuous slab tear or ridge-trench
collision events (Decker et al., 2017), iii) related to temporal changes
in the subduction process such as flat slab subduction, steepening and
shallowing of slab dip (Zhang et al., 2019) and iv) intra-arc processes,
such as subduction erosion and back-arc shortening (Ducea and
Barton, 2007; DeCelles et al., 2009). Back-arc shortening, where the
lowermost continental lithosphere is shoved beneath the arc, is par-
ticularly interpreted to fuel episodic high-flux magmatism and
18
Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
generate dense melt residues, which upon sinking into the mantle
create space beneath the arc and restarts the flare-up/lull cycle
(DeCelles et al., 2009).
With those controls in mind, we suggest a simplified four-stage evo-
lutionary model for Neoproterozoic evolution of the Borborema Prov-
ince (Fig. 13 and 14). The model begins at ca. 880 Ma (Fig. 13A) in a
tectonic scenario involving continental fragments that were detached
through hyperextension of the northern São Francisco-Congo
paleocontinental margin during the Tonian taphrogeny at ca. 900 Ma
(e.g. Salgado et al., 2016; Caxito et al., 2016). This is similar to the
model involving two main microcontinents or ribbon continents in
the Borborema region proposed by Caxito et al. (2020a), namely
NOBO-BENI (Northern Borborema-Benino-Nigerian) and APAMCAPAY
(Alto Pajeú-Alto Moxotó-Rio Capibaribe-Adamawa Yadé). The differ-
ence is that here we consider the Alto Pajeú domain to be part of the
NOBO-BENI block, and not APAMCAPAY (which would then better be
renamed AMCAPAY). The main reasons for this are:
- The contact between the Alto Pajeú and Alto Moxotó domains is de-
fined by the southeast-verging Jabitacá nappe system (Santos et al.,
2017a, 2017b). This is coherent with continental collision between
the Alto Pajeú domain, which would represent part of the upper
plate in the southern edge of the NOBO-BENI block, and the Alto
Moxotó domain, which would represent the northern edge of the
lower plate in the AMCAPAY block. The contacts between the other
domains of the Transversal Zone are all defined by high-angle dip-
ping strike-slip shear zones, which could have been developed
along the other major shear zone systems of the Borborema Province
during the late-stage lateral escape phase (Caxito et al., 2016).
- Magnetotelluric data support the interpretation of conductors
dipping northwest in the contact zone of the Alto Pajeú and Alto
Moxotó domains (Padilha et al., 2017), suggesting a fossil
northwest-dipping suture zone in the area.
- The distribution of plutonic rocks of the Conceição-type, interpreted
as the infrastructure of the Cryogenian-Ediacaran magmatic arc,
which intrude both the Alto Pajeú and the PAB domains, but not
the Alto Moxotó domain, also suggesting that the later was located
in the lower plate in a northwest-dipping subduction setting.
- The distribution of possible ophiolites such as the Gurjão mafic-
ultramafic rocks(Lages et al., 2017) and eclogites dated at ca.
625 Ma (Floresta; Lages and Dantas, 2016) within the sole thrusts
of the Jabitacá nappe (Fig. 2) also suggest northwest-dipping sub-
duction below the Alto Pajeú domain.
- The distribution of detrital zircon grains in the metavolcanos-
edimentary belts of the Borborema Province. Ca. 1000-900 Ma grains
are found in the Seridó belt of the northern zone (Van Schmus et al.,
2003; Hollanda et al., 2015), which would suggest that the Alto
Pajeú domain rocks were readily available as a source for this area,
thus implicating in crustal continuity of the northern zone and the
Alto Pajeú and PAB domains during the Neoproterozoic. Early Tonian
(1000-920 Ma) rocks are also widespread in the PEAL and Sergipano
domains, which would make detrital zircon grains of this age also
readily available for sedimentary basins of the southern Borborema
domains.
In this initial setting (Fig. 13B), ocean ward subduction occurred in
the northwestern Borborema Province, generating the Lagoa Caiçara is-
land arc, which is part of a much larger system of juvenile Tonian-
Cryogenian arcs in the Goiás-Pharusian ocean including the early stages
of the Goiás arc further south (Pimentel and Fuck, 1992; Laux et al.,
2005) and the Tilemsi, Amalaoulaou, Silet and Saghro (Caby, 2003;
Berger et al., 2011; Walsh et al., 2012) arcs further north in the African
domains. The basement blocks which would later compose the
Borborema Province were separated from each other by two branches
of the newly born internal V-shaped Transnordestino-Central African
Ocean (Caxito et al., 2014a, 2020a). Towards the African counterparts,
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al. Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25

Fig. 15. Schematic models for development of the Transversal Zone during the late Neoproterozoic/early Cambrian (corresponding to the stages in fig.s 14A and 14B). Fig. 15A shows a
geological model for the North Island in New Zealand (redrawn from Bland, 2006) as a present-day analogue. Fig. 15B shows the corresponding accretionary stage in the Transversal
Zone and Fig. 15C shows the collisional and strike-slip stages that followed.

19
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
the Cryogenian Mayo Kebbi juvenile arc of Cameroon and Chad devel-
oped in this time frame (Penaye et al., 2006).
At 650-620 Ma, development of the extensive continental arc plu-
tons of the Tamboril-Santa Quitéria Complex suggests a subduction po-
larity reversal, probably due to docking of the Lagoa Caiçara arc in the
NW NOBO-BENI margin (Fig. 13C). This caused the Goiás-Pharusian
oceanic lithosphere to subduct to SE (present coordinates) beneath
the accreted NOBO-BENI + Lagoa Caiçara margin, causing remelting of
older crust and development of the Andean-type Tamboril-Santa
Quitéria continental arc. Apparently, subduction of two different
branches of the internal Transnordestino-Central African oceanic
lithosphere beneath the southern NOBO-BENI and southern AMCAPAY
margins ensued at the same time period, generating the Conceição,
Betânia and Major Isidoro-Sergipano arcs (Fig. 14A). The subduction po-
larity reversal model for NW Borborema was proposed by Padilha et al.
(2014) based on the presence of conductors of opposed convergent dips
below the Tamboril/Santa Quitéria Complex and by the occurrence of
eclogitic relicts in both sides of this complex (the Forquilha eclogites
to the west and the Itataia eclogites to the east; Castro, 2004).
Granitic to granodioritic plutons in the same age range in the
Western Cameroon domain (Toteu et al., 2006; Bouyo Houketchang
et al., 2015, 2016) and in the Central African Republic (Guéra massif;
Shellnutt et al., 2019) are interpreted as also developed in contin-
ental magmatic arc settings due to northward dipping of the
Transnordestino-Central African oceanic lithosphere beneath NOBO-
BENI and the Saharan Metacraton continental lithosphere, with the
São Francisco-Congo paleocontinent as the lower plate, identical to
the models proposed for the Riacho do Pontal (Caxito et al., 2016) and
Sergipano (Oliveira et al., 2010) belts.
This scenario changed when the West African paleocontinent
collided with the NW NOBO-BENI margin at ca. 620-600 Ma
(Fig. 14A). This collisional event is marked by eclogitization in the
Forquilha zone (Ganade de Araujo et al., 2014a; Santos et al., 2015)
and widespread anatexis of the Tamboril-Santa Quitéria crust (Ganade
de Araújo et al., 2016).
Syn-collisional two-mica granite sheets of the Rajada Suite were
emplaced in the south-verging Casa Nova nappes of the Riacho do
Pontal belt at ca. 610 Ma (Caxito et al., 2016; Brito Neves et al., 2016),
indicating that the collisional phase of this belt started at around the
same moment. However, the Sergipano belt would only enter the colli-
sional phase later, at ca. 580 Ma (Oliveira et al., 2010), as would most of
the Transversal Zone as indicated by the U-Pb dates of metamorphic zir-
con rims and lower intercept ages of ca. 575 Ma obtained in this work
(Fig.s 8 and 9) and metamorphic monazite and syn-collisional granites
in the same age range in the Ipueirinha Group of the São Pedro domain
(Basto et al., 2019). This age discrepancy of the pre- and syn-collisional
stages between adjacent domains is discussed by Caxito et al. (2020a)
and possible causes are: i) rotational interaction between the involved
blocks in a zipper-like model; ii) paleogeography of the margins in-
volved in continental collision. For example, the Riacho do Pontal belt
external nappes were thrust upon a northwards-pointing (present-
day position) promontory of the São Francisco paleocontinent (Caxito
et al., 2016) whereas the Sergipano belt corresponds to a reentrant or
embayment of the northeastern paleocontinent margin; iii) models of
multiple collisions, such as the model presented by Ganade de Araujo
et al. (2014c). Most likely, a combination of all of those factors probably
along other factors contributed to the diachronism of events observed in
adjacent domains of the Borborema Province. In effect, in a curved-
surface planet, diachronism of closure of an oceanic basin in
thousands-of-km long collisional fronts will be the rule rather than
the exception. We add that the process of hyperextension, rifting and
drifting of microcontinents and ribbon continents from paleocon-
tinental margins produce typical V-shaped oceanic basins (e.g. Péron-
Pinvidic and Manatschal, 2010) which may remain closed, i.e., floored
by stretched continental crust, in the V point. This may have been the
case for the Rio Preto belt (Fig. 13B, C), which seems to represent an
20
Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
essentially aulacogenic structure (Caxito et al., 2012a, 2012b; Caxito
et al., 2014d; Caxito et al., 2017).
In our model, the main flare-up of the Conceição, Betânia and Major
Isidoro-Sergipano arcs (FI), at ca. 620-610 Ma, was caused by an exter-
nal process, i.e. the continental collision of the West African
paleocontinent in the NW NOBO-BENI margin due to closure of the
Goiás-Pharusian ocean. This pushed NOBO-BENI towards AMCAPAY
and both ribbon continents clockwise towards the northern São
Francisco-Congo margin, forcing or speeding subduction of the
Transnordestino-Central African oceanic lithospheric beneath the
southern AMCAPAY and NOBO-BENI continental margins (Fig. 14A).
Finally, with closure of the Clymene ocean (Trindade et al., 2006;
Tohver et al., 2010, 2012) and collision of the major Amazonian
paleocontinent with the West African-Borborema-Saharan-São
Francisco-Congo assemblage in the upper Ediacaran to Cambrian,
all of the former oceanic basins within the Borborema Province
were closed, deformed and metamorphosed, and the whole province
was injected by a multitude of syn-strike-slip to undeformed plutons
at the final stages of the Brasiliano/Pan-African Orogeny (Fig. 14B).
The Clymene ocean is testified by the Tonian/Cryogenian Quatipuru
(757 ± 49 Ma Sm-Nd whole-rock isochron, Paixão et al., 2008), Rio
do Coco (702 ± 24 Ma U-Pb zircon in actinolite-schist and 715 ±
26 Ma U-Pb zircon in serpentinite, Souza et al., 2020) and Serra do
Tapa (Barros and de Sousa Gorayeb, 2019) ophiolite complexes and
exhumed mantle (Hodel et al., 2019) in the Araguaia belt, and the
syn-collisional stage which inverted this and other marine basins
bordering the eastern and southern Amazonian paleocontinental
margins seem to have lasted at least until ca. 540–520 Ma (e.g.
McGee et al., 2012; Alves et al., 2019; Gorayeb et al., 2020), similar
to other Cambrian collisional events elsewhere in western Gond-
wana (e.g. Schmitt et al., 2004) that represent the last mountain
building expressions of the Brasiliano Orogeny.
Collision of the large Amazonian paleocontinent with the amal-
gamated West African-Borborema-Saharan-São Francisco-Congo
paleocontinent may have influenced the final structuring of the
Borborema Province, triggering the extensive development of late-
stage strike-slip shear zones that characterize this region. The net-
work of strike-slip shear zones developed because the ribbon conti-
nents that form the basement of the province would have lost their
cratonic keel during hyperextension of the Central African Block
margins, and thus their reworked lithosphere behaved as less com-
petent with respect to the rigid lithosphere of the surrounding
West African-São Luís and São Francisco–Congo cratons. This rheo-
logical contrast allowed the development of the thousands-of-km
long network of tranpressional and transtensional shear zones that
extends from NE Brazil through the Transaharan Orogen, as the
weakened and thinned crust of the Borborema Province basement
blocks escaped laterally towards the NE, just as in the present-day
Indochinese Peninsula (Tapponnier and Molnar, 1976; Tapponnier
et al., 1982;), squeezed outwards between the relatively more rigid
São Francisco-Congo and Amazonian cratons.
The North Island of New Zealand can serve as a present-day ana-
logue for the accretionary stage depicted in Fig.s 13C and 14A, as
shown in Fig. 15A and 15B. Development of the rhyolite-dominated
Taupo-Havre back arc basin is compared to the PAB continental
back-arc zone during the emplacement of the Conceição continental
arc plutons in the late Cryogenian/early Ediacaran. Finally, with oblique
collision of the Amazonian craton to the west of the Borborema Prov-
ince, collision of NOBO-BENI as the upper plate and AMCAPAY as the
lower plate through the Serra de Jabitacá nappe system ensued
(Fig. 15C), with the late-stage network of continental-scale strike-slip
zones that characterizes NE Brazil and NW Africa developed due to
squeezing of the reworked ribbon continents between the major
paleocontinental masses and NE-directed lateral scape, similar to the
present-day Indochinese region (Tapponnier and Molnar, 1976;
Tapponnier et al., 1982).
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
4.6. Arc development in the Borborema Province and implications for
introverted and extroverted models of western Gondwana amalgamation
The novel data presented here, along with the data available in the
literature on the magmatic arc rocks of the Borborema Province and
on the distribution of eclogites, ophiolites and other subduction-
related rocks (see review in Caxito et al., 2020a), suggests that the arc
complexes within the NW Borborema margin (the Lagoa Caiçara and
Tamboril-Santa Quitéria Complex) developed differently from those in
the blocks that would later compose the interior of the province (the
Conceição-Stage I arc and the Major Isidoro-Sergipano arc).
Those characteristics are coherent with a model where the NW
Borborema border faced a wide, Pacific-type ocean during the
Neoproterozoic (the Goiás-Pharusian Ocean), with development of ju-
venile island-arc rocks during the early Tonian (the Lagoa Caiçara Com-
plex; Ganade de Araujo et al., 2014b) which are chrono-correlated to
similar rocks in NW Africa (the Tilemsi, Amaulaoulaou and Silet arcs
of Mali and Argelia and the Saghro arc of Morrocco; Caby, 2003;
Berger et al., 2011; Walsh et al., 2012) and central Brazil (the early
Goiás arc; Pimentel and Fuck, 1992; Laux et al., 2005). A thousands-
km long system of ocean ward dipping subduction zones is envisaged
for the development of those early-stage juvenile arcs (see Caxito
et al., 2020a and references therein). Then, during the late Cryogenian
and early Ediacaran, those arc complexes would dock in the continental
margins of the São Francisco-Congo paleocontinent and the ribbon con-
tinents of the Borborema Province and NW Africa, causing a subduction
polarity reversal and the development of Andean-type continental arcs
that would cause remelting of the continental margin and accreted
Tonian arc systems. Those continental arc fragments are represented
by the Tamboril-Santa Quitéria Complex and related arc rocks in Togo
and Benin (Fetter et al., 2003; Ganade de Araújo et al., 2016), the
Kabyé massif of the Dahomeyides belt (Guillot et al., 2019), the
Tassendjanet and Kidal terranes (Iforas Arc) in the western portion of
the Tuareg Shield (Caby, 2003; Bosch et al., 2016) and the late stages
of the Silet arc dated at ca. 650-638 Ma (Béchiri-Benmerzoug et al.,
2011) in the Tuareg Shield. In central Brazil, those are represented by
the late stage continental arc plutons of the Goiás arc system (Laux
et al., 2005). Thus, the development of the West Gondwana Orogen
(Ganade de Araújo et al., 2014a) in this area is the archetypical “extro-
version” process, where the major external Pacific-type ocean that
once separated the paleocontinental margins is consumed causing arc
magmatism and accretion of terranes.
Juvenile island-arc rocks have not yet been found in the internal
portion of the Borborema Province, although ophiolitic (Caxito et al.,
2014a; Lages and Dantas, 2016) and eclogitic (Beurlen et al., 1992;
Lages and Dantas, 2016) remnants suggest the development of
Neoproterozoic oceans separating the basement blocks of the prov-
ince. Thus, those oceans are interpreted as internal oceans developed
through hyperextension and detachment of basement blocks as rib-
bon continents from a major paleocontinental mass (São Francisco-
Congo-Saharan or Central African block) during the early Tonian,
which would later go through a subduction phase followed by colli-
sion of the conjugated margins during the Ediacaran/Cambrian, simi-
larly to a Phanerozoic Wilson Cycle (Caxito et al., 2016). This is the
archetypical “introversion” process where continental margins that
were formerly conjugated rift, drift, and then collide again in the ap-
proximate same position. The early Tonian hyperextension processes
caused decratonization of the ribbon continents due to loss of the
tectospheric mantle keel, allowing for widespread deformation,
plutonism and metamorphism of basement rocks within the
Borborema Province during the Brasiliano Orogeny. Thus, western
Gondwana formed by a combination of both extroversion (in the ex-
ternal Goiás-Pharusian ocean) and introversion (in internal oceans
such as the Transnordestino-Central African ocean and in the northern
termination of the Adamastor ocean) plate tectonics processes during
the Neoproterozoic (Caxito et al., 2020a).
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Gondwana Research 92 (2021) 1–25
5. Conclusions
Based on the new petrographic, geochronological, geochemical and
isotopic data, the felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rock intercalations
within the Santana dos Garrotes Formation of the Piancó-Alto Brígida
domain are interpreted as the suprastructural counterparts of the
Conceição (Stage I) magmatic arc of the Transversal Zone of the
Borborema Province. The Conceição-type granodioritic to granitic plu-
tons represent the infrastructure of the continental magmatic arc and
intrude both the Piancó-Alto Brígida and the Alto Pajeú domains of
the Transversal Zone. The Nd-Sr characteristics of both the supracrustal
and infracrustal rocks are identical and present Mesoproterozoic TDM
generated by mixing of a juvenile early Ediacaran mantle wedge with
variable amounts of Archean-Paleoproterozoic basement and
metasedimentary host rocks of the active margin.
We suggest that the main subduction zone within the Transversal
Zone during the Ediacaran dipped NW below the NOBO-BENI block,
which includes the basement of the Alto Pajeú and PAB domains in its
southern margin. This interpretation is based on the distribution of
magmatic arc rocks within the PAB and Alto Pajeú domains, structural
relations between the Alto Pajéu and Alto Moxotó domains where the
former (upper plate) thrusts the later (lower plate) in the SE-verging
Serra de Jabitacá nappe system, as well as on magnetotelluric data
that suggests NW-dipping conductors below this exact same contact
and on the distribution of possible ophiolites (e.g. Gurjão) and Edia-
caran eclogites (e.g. Floresta or Serrote das Pedras Pretas) within the
sole thrusts of the Jabitacá nappe system. In this context, the Santana
dos Garrotes Formation would represent deposition within a continen-
tal back-arc basin, very similar to the present-day most active silicic vol-
canic province of the world, the Taupo volcanic zone of New Zealand.
An analysis of the whole spectra of zircon cores and inherited zircon
crystals in the studied metavolcanic and metavolcaniclastic rocks, in
comparison to a comprehensive dataset of detrital zircon data from
the metavolcanosedimentary belts of the Borborema Province (n =
5532), may suggest that arc systems in the Borborema Province evolved
through flare-ups at ca. 880-860 Ma (FI, 7-11%), 820-810 Ma (FII, 12-
17%), 760-730 Ma (FIII, 18-19%), 690-670 Ma (FIV, 24-25%), and finally
630-600 Ma (FV, 30-37%), intercalated with lull periods. Dating of zir-
con rims and lower intercept Discordia ages suggest transpressional de-
formation and metamorphism in the Transversal Zone around 575 Ma.
We put forward a model for the evolution of the Borborema Province
involving closure of two branches of the Transnordestino-Central
African ocean in an introverted process during the Neoproterozoic, gen-
erating the Conceição arc in the Transversal Zone and the Betânia-Major
Isidoro-Sergipano arc in the southern zone. Processes occurring in the
external, Pacific-type Goiás-Pharusian Ocean that bordered the western
Borborema and São Francisco-Congo paleocontinents during the
Neoproterozoic may have strongly influenced the opening of internal
oceanic basins and magmatic arc development within the province.
For example, collision of the West African paleocontinent with the
NW border of the NOBO-BENI (Northern Borborema-Benino/Nigerian)
block at ca. 620 Ma might have accelerated subduction of the
Transnordestino-Central African oceanic lithosphere through dextral-
sense rotation of the internal ribbon continents that formed the
Borborema Province, thus representing a typical flare-up (FV) gener-
ated by extra-arc processes.
Building of the western Gondwana paleocontinent during the
Neoproterozoic was, thus, achieved both through extroversion mecha-
nisms acting in the external Goiás-Pharusian Ocean, with development
of juvenile island-arcs during the early Tonian to early Cryogenian
followed by subduction polarity reversal and Andean-like continental
arc magmatism during the Ediacaran, and through introversion mecha-
nisms such as typical Wilson Cycles in the internal oceans developed
through hyperextension and detachment of basement blocks from a
former Central African Paleocontinent during the early Tonian, that
were later rejoined in the approximate same positions in the
F.A. Caxito, C.F. Basto, L.C.M.L. Santos et al.
Edicaran-Cambrian, such as the opening and closing of an accordion.
Those basement blocks or ribbon continents were decratonized due to
loss of the tectosphere keel during hyperextension and later squeezed
between the major paleocontinental pieces during the terminal Edia-
caran/Cambrian collisional processes.
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.gr.2020.11.015.
Credit author statement
Fabrício Caxito: Conceptualization; Field work and sample collec-
tion; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation;
Project administration; Writing – original draft, review & editing.
Camila F. Basto: Field work and sample collection; Data curation;
Formal analysis; Writing –review & editing.
Lauro Santos: Field work and sample collection; Data curation; For-
mal analysis; Writing – review & editing.
Elton Luiz Dantas: Data acquisition; Data curation; Formal analysis;
Writing – review & editing.
Vladimir Cruz Medeiros: Data acquisition; Data curation; Formal
analysis; Writing – review & editing.
Tatiana Gonçalves Dias: Data acquisition; Data curation; Formal
analysis; Writing – review & editing.
Vitor Barrote: Data acquisition; Data curation; Formal analysis; Writ-
ing – review & editing.
Steffen Hagemann: Supervision; Validation; Writing – review &
editing.
Ana Ramalho Alkmim: Data acquisition; Data curation; Formal anal-
ysis; Writing – review & editing.
Cristiano Lana: Data acquisition; Data curation; Formal analysis;
Writing – review & editing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
FAC, ELD and CL are recipients of Research Productivity grants from
CNPq, Brazil, and acknowledge the support received, especially through
grant number 303566/2019-1. The U-Pb analyses were performed using
a SHRIMP II probe at the John DeLaeter Centre of the Curtin University,
Perth, Western Australia, enabled by NCRIS via AuScope. We thank all of
the Centre crew, especially Neal McNaughton, which guided the sample
mounting and analysis process, and Allen Kennedy and Hao Gao, which
aided in the analysis. This is a contribution to Project Mobile
(geolifemobile.com), supported by Instituto Serrapilheira (Serra-1912-
31510). An original version of the paper was improved after comments
and suggestions by two anonymous reviewers.
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