--> ABSTRACT: Parana Basin, by Pedro V. Zalan, S. Wolff, J. C. J. Conceicao, I. S. Vieira, M. A. Astolfi, V. T. Appi, O. Zanotto, E. V. S. Neto, and J. R. Cerqueira; #91038 (2010)

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Parana Basin

Pedro V. Zalan, S. Wolff, J. C. J. Conceicao, I. S. Vieira, M. A. Astolfi, V. T. Appi, O. Zanotto, E. V. S. Neto, J. R. Cerqueira

The Parana basin is a large intracratonic basin in South America, developed entirely on continental crust and filled with sedimentary and volcanic rocks ranging in age from Silurian to Cretaceous. It occupies the southern portion of Brazil (1,100,000 km2 or 425,000 mi2) and the eastern half of Paraguay (100,000 km2 or 39,000 mi2); its extension into Argentina and Uruguay is known as the Chaco-Parana basin. Five major depositional sequences (Silurian, Devonian, Permo-Carboniferous, Triassic, Juro-Cretaceous) constitute the stratigraphic framework of the basin. The first four are predominantly siliciclastic in nature, and the fifth contains the most voluminous basaltic lava flows of the planet. Maximum thicknesses are in the order of 6,000 m (19,646 ft). The sequences are separated by basin wide unconformities related in the Paleozoic to Andean orogenic events and in the Mesozoic to the continental breakup and sea-floor spreading between South America and Africa.

The structural framework of the Parana basin consists of a remarkable pattern of criss-crossing linear features (faults, fault zones, arches) clustered into three major groups (N45°-65°W, N50°-70°E, E-W). The northwest- and northeast-trending faults are long-lived tectonic elements inherited from the Precambrian basement whose recurrent activity throughout the Phanerozoic strongly influenced sedimentation, facies distribution, and development of structures in the basin.

Thermomechanical analyses indicate three main phases of subsidence (Silurian-Devonian, late Carboniferous-Permian, Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous) and low geothermal gradients until the beginning of the Late Jurassic. Permian oil-prone source rocks attained maturation due to extra heat originated from Juro-Cretaceous igneous intrusions. The third phase of subsidence also coincided with strong tectonic reactivation and creation of a third structural trend (east-west).

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91038©1987 AAPG Annual Convention, Los Angeles, California, June 7-10, 1987.