Paleofluids circulation associated with the Gerês late-orogenic granitic massif, northern Portugal

Albitization and quartz dissolution of granitic rocks from the Gerês massif occurred at depths shallower than 5 km, induced by the circulation of fluids along brittle structures, during the orogenic uplift and extensional tectonics which affected the Iberian Massif in the Early Permian. A second major event is attributed to late hydrothermal circulations of aqueous brines until a depth of about 3 km, presumably derived from interaction with sub-surface evaporites throughout Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. These late hydrothermal events probably reflect the rifting episodes and the rising of geothermal gradient, associated with the opening of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Biscay, respectively.