Gravity and magnetic joint modeling of the Potiguar Rift Basin (NE Brazil): Basement control during Neocomian extension and deformation

A 2.5D gravity and magnetic investigation was conducted along five transects across the Potiguar Basin in the Borborema Province, NE Brazil. The objective of the study is to model the internal architecture of this intracontinental rift basin, which represents the interaction between the heterogeneous Precambrian basement and the Neocomian extensional tectonics, which led to the South Atlantic opening.Joint modeling of the gravity and magnetic data was constrained by Euler deconvolution results, seismic data, well logs and geologic mapping. This integrated approach allowed to determine the rift architecture that is inserted in a complex tectonic and structural framework. Results from joint modeling show that a series of asymmetric half-grabens is oriented in the NE–SW direction and controlled by a system of normal faults with throw greater than 5.5 km. High-density and low-magnetized material constitutes the footwall and intrarift horsts. These supracrustal heterogeneities in association with preexisting shear zones probably guided the Mesozoic rifting process in NE Brazil. Their composition seems to be related to metamorphic rocks of the Proterozoic basement, as suggested by gravity and magnetic anomalies and the geology of the exposed basement. Our interpretation is supported by geophysical studies carried out in the Benue Trough, the counterpart of the Potiguar Basin in West Africa.

► A detailed gravity and magnetic investigation was conducted across an oil-bearing rift basin in NE Brazil.
► Results from joint inversion method improve our knowledge of the Potiguar basin internal architecture.
► Prior geological and geophysical information provide model response consistent with the expected geotectonic scenario.