Cratonic Basin Formation: A Case Study of the Parnaíba Basin of Brazil
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Cratonic basins are large, distinctive features of the continental crust. They are preferentially developed on thick continental lithosphere, are typically sub-circular in shape and subside over periods of hundreds of millions of years. They are also endowed with significant resources. However, in spite of their location in continental interiors and often well-known geology, the subsidence driving mechanism and tectonic setting of these basins remains controversial.
This volume presents both lithospheric and basin scale datasets acquired specifically to interrogate the tectonic process of cratonic basin formation. Focused on the Silurian to Triassic Parnaíba cratonic basin of Brazil, the papers discuss the results of a multidisciplinary basin analysis project comprising new geophysical, geological and geochemical data. This unique dataset enables the characterization of the lithospheric crust and mantle beneath the Parnaíba Basin, constrains the detailed evolution of the basin itself, and enables comparisons with cratonic basins globally. Several convergent themes emerge providing new and powerful constraints for models of the driving mechanisms of these enigmatic basins.
Re-evaluation of the Permian macrofossils from the Parnaíba Basin: biostratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical implications
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Published:January 01, 2018
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CiteCitation
Roberto Iannuzzi, Rodrigo Neregato, Juan C. Cisneros, Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Ronny Rößler, Rosemarie Rohn, Claudia Marsicano, Jörg Fröbisch, Thomas Fairchild, Roger M. H. Smith, Francine Kurzawe, Martha Richter, Max C. Langer, Tatiane M. V. Tavares, Christian F. Kammerer, Domingas M. Conceição, Jason D. Pardo, Guilherme A. Roesler, 2018. "Re-evaluation of the Permian macrofossils from the Parnaíba Basin: biostratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical implications", Cratonic Basin Formation: A Case Study of the Parnaíba Basin of Brazil, M. C. Daly, R. A. Fuck, J. Julià, D.I.M. MacDonald, A. B. Watts
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Abstract
Although Permian fossils have been known from the Parnaíba Basin for two centuries, and some faunal and flora elements are well known worldwide, research on the fossil assemblages from this basin has lagged relative to other, more accessible basins. In the last decade, however, there has been a significant increase in the study of fossils from the two Permian units of the basin: the Pedra de Fogo and Motuca formations. The goal of this contribution is to synthesize and update the existing data on the Permian macrofossils from these formations, and to use them to address biostratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical questions. The Pedra de Fogo and Motuca formations are likely to be Cisuralian in age. Contrary to previous reports, there is more than one stratigraphic interval that preserves petrified fossil plants. The possible marine influence proposed for the Pedra de Fogo Formation must be reassessed based on the strongly terrestrial character of its fossil assemblages. Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic conditions are inferred to be wetter than is typically predicted for this region of the globe based on climatic modelling. Despite sharing some taxa with the Euramerican and Gondwanan biogeographical provinces, the Parnaíba Basin was likely to have been part of a distinct biogeographical province, as indicated by the high degree of endemism displayed by its Permian floras and faunas.
- Actinopterygii
- basin analysis
- basins
- biogeography
- biostratigraphy
- Brazil
- Calamites
- Chondrichthyes
- Chordata
- Cordaitales
- Elasmobranchii
- Equisetales
- Filicopsida
- floral studies
- Gymnospermae
- Lycopsida
- Maranhao Brazil
- models
- Osteichthyes
- paleoclimatology
- paleoecology
- paleoenvironment
- paleogeography
- Paleozoic
- Parnaiba Basin
- Permian
- Piaui Brazil
- Plantae
- Pteridophyta
- Reptilia
- sedimentary basins
- South America
- Spermatophyta
- Sphenopsida
- terrestrial environment
- Tetrapoda
- Vertebrata
- Psaronius
- Pedra de Fogo Formation
- Motuca Formation
- Marattiopsida