Bruno Rodrigues

Detrital zircon geochronology of the Carboniferous Baixo Alentejo Flysch Group (South Portugal); constraints on the provenance and geodynamic evolution of the South Portuguese Zone

U–Pb detrital zircon data from the Baixo Alentejo Flysch Group in the South Portuguese Zone show significant age differences between formations. The Visean Mértola Formation and Serpukhovian to early Bashkirian Mira Formation are dominated by zircons in the 316–388 Ma age range, whereas the late Bashkirian to late Moscovian Brejeira Formation is dominated by zircons with an age range of 498–687 Ma. Detrital zircons spanning an age range of 0.9–1.1 Ga are present in the Brejeira Formation but are absent in the Mértola and Mira formations. Detrital zircon ages of the Mértola and Mira formations indicate provenance from an extra-basinal source (Ossa–Morena Zone) with a minor intra-basinal contribution (South Portuguese Zone). The abundant presence of detrital zircon with age ranges of 500–750 and 0.9–1.1 Ga in the Brejeira Formation suggests a sediment source from the Avalon–Meguma terranes with limited recycling from the SW Portugal Domain. The different inferred source areas for the Baixo Alentejo Flysch Group formations are attributed to the presence of a forebulge that was formed in Mid-Visean times during the foreland phase of the South Portuguese Zone. The forebulge acted as a physical barrier separating sub-basins that accumulated the Mértola–Mira and Brejeira sediments respectively.

New evidence concerning the thermal history of Devonian and Carboniferous rocks in the South Portuguese Zone

The Late Palaeozoic rocks of southern Portugal have a complex thermal history. Vitrinite reflectance determinations from 90 samples confirm that the organic maturity of Late Palaeozoic rocks in SW Portugal is very high, mainly corresponding to meta-anthracite coal rank. The optic fabric of vitrinite in oriented coal samples from the Brejeira Formation suggests maturation under simple, non-tectonic, burial conditions with peak temperatures being attained prior to Variscan deformation. The lack of any increase in vitrinite reflectance with depth through c. 1 km of section in borehole AC-1 is not consistent with conductive heat transfer and is interpreted as the result of late synorogenic to post-orogenic advective heating. This heating episode generated temperatures sufficiently high to produce levels of maturity corresponding to meta-anthracite coal rank through much of the terrane now exposed, but not high enough to result in overprinting of the pre-deformation optic fabric of vitrinite in the thin coals. The slightly lower maturity of older, platform-facies rocks in the Aljezur–Bordeira area may reflect either deposition on a basement high followed by less burial than adjacent parts of the basin, or the area being the site of a sink for descending relatively cool fluids.

Superimposed thermal histories in the southern limit of the Ossa Morena Zone – Portugal

The Mississippian volcano-sedimentary complex in the Toca da Moura – Cabrela areas represents remnants of intra-volcanic marine sedimentary basins, formed during the collision between the Ossa Morena Zone with the South Portuguese Zone. These rock units are unconformably overlain by the Pennsylvanian intramontane coal-bearing Santa Susana Basin. Vitrinite reflectance determinations from rocks of these two basins indicate two episodes of thermal maturation. During the first episode, the Toca da Moura – Cabrela volcano-sedimentary complexes attained high maturation levels, equivalent to anthracite coal rank (3.0–3.5% R oran ), which pre-dates the middle Moscovian Santa Susana Basin. The Santa Susana Basin attained moderate maturation levels equivalent to bituminous coal rank (1.35–1.5% R oran ) recording a second episode of thermal maturation. Here, peak thermal conditions did not overprint the first maturation episode. The observed effects of magmatic intrusion on the thermal maturity and the lack of any increase in vitrinite reflectance with depth through c. 400 m of section in borehole SDJ-1 indicate high geothermal gradients during the first maturation episode. A contemporaneous magmatic event associated with the c. 335–320 Ma Cuba-Alvito Gabbros/Diorites of the Beja Massif was the possible cause for the high geothermal gradients postulated for the first maturation episode. Burial under a post-upper Moscovian sedimentary cover was the most likely process to account for the maturation levels determined for the Santa Susana Basin and for the second episode of thermal maturation.

Reply to Discussion on ‘Detrital zircon geochronology of the Carboniferous Baixo Alentejo Flysch Group (South Portugal); constraints on the provenance and geodynamic evolution of the South Portuguese Zone, Journal of the Geological Society, 172, 294–308

We would like to thank Pereira (2015) for his interest in our work and appreciate the opportunity to clarify some aspects of the Rodrigues et al . (2015) study. Here we dispute several fundamental assertions made in the discussion of our original paper.