Geochemical and structural characterization of the Cruzeiro do Sul Granodiorite: neoproterozoic post-collisional shoshonitic magmatism within transcurrent shear zone, Quitéria region, Southernmost Brazil

Abstract

The Cruzeiro do Sul Granodiorite is located in the Eastern portion of the Sul-rio-grandense shield. It forms one ENE-WSW elongate body of approximately 4 km² within a sinistral strike slip shear zone. The rocks were originally considered as part of the Arroio dos Ratos Complex, but they were recently mapped as a separate unit because igneous textures are widely preserved and they are intrusive in the gneissis complex rocks. The Cruzeiro do Sul Granodiorite is thus a porphyritic horblende-biotite granodiorite in a mafic-rich (M' ~ 20), medium-grained matrix. The magmatic foliation is marked by the shape alignment of feldspar megacrystals and mafic minerals. A solid-state, mylonitic structure is well-developed mainly near the contacts. Leucocratic veins are found both concordant and discordant to the main foliation, and they may give rise to a composite banding within high-strain zones, together with elongate mafic microgranular enclaves and synplutonic dykes of tonalitic to dioritic composition. The mylonitic foliation trends EW to ENE-WSW with medium to steep dip, and contains a shallow plunging stretching lineation, which indicates a transcurrent kinematic for this shear zone. Structural evidences, such as the parallelism and progressive evolution of mylonitic foliation relative to the magmatic one, as well as the elongated form of granodioritic bodies and the concordant character of planar structures with the ENE shear zone, are interpreted as an indication of syntectonic emplacement. Moreover, the absence of metamorphic foliation reworked by mylonitic shows that the Cruzeiro do Sul Granodiorite registers only one phase of deformation, which would have occurred during their emplacement. Thus, we have concluded that the Cruzeiro do Sul Granodiorite has no relation with the EW transversal event, and low dip angle responsible for the deformation of Arroio dos Ratos Complex, but is linked to the transcurrent event of Dorsal de Canguçu Shear Zone. The structural and compositional features of Cruzeiro do Sul Granodiorite magmatism are consistent with its post-collisional character, and the shoshonitic affinity is given by its high Sr contents, regular rare earth element chondrite-normalized patterns and the abundance of light rare earth regarding the heavy rare earth elements. Patterns of trace elements with enrichment in Ba and Rb, and impoverishment of High-Field Strength in relation to Large Ion Lithophile Elements is also an important feature of the rocks of shoshonitic affinity. Their medium- to high-K content, and metaluminous to slightly peraluminous characters are possibly indicative of some crustal contamination during their differentiation. The conditions of P and T, calculated with the geobarometer Alt-Hb and Plg-Hb thermobarometer were estimated at about 4.3 to 5.3 kbars and crystallization temperatures on the order of 720 to 760°C. The feldspar microstructures suggest deformation temperatures consistent with the amphibolite facies.