Avanavero mafic magmatism, a late Paleoproterozoic LIP in the Guiana Shield, Amazonian Craton: U-Pb ID-TIMS baddeleyite, geochemical and paleomagnetic evidence

The Avanavero Large Igneous Province (LIP) constitutes the most important Paleoproterozoic mafic magmatism event in the Guiana Shield, northern Amazonian Craton. It comprises voluminous dykes and sills, the latter intruded into regional sedimentary cover successions such as the Roraima Supergroup and Urupi Formation. Roughly contemporary mafic magmatism such as the Crepori Dolerite occurs in the southern part of the Amazonian Craton (Central Brazil Shield). This study reports new geochemical data for samples from the Avanavero Dolerite and the coeval Quarenta Ilhas Dolerite, as well as reassessing published information on roughly contemporaneous mafic dykes in the shield to address issues related with the tectonic significance of such an intraplate igneous event and paleogeographic reconstructions. The Avanavero magmatism is tholeiitic and is geochemically similar to E-MORB and subcontinental lithospheric mantle basalts. New U-Pb baddeleyite ages of 1795 +/- 2 Ma and 1793 +/- 1 Ma, respectively, from occurrences in both the Pakaraima and Urupi Blocks at the north and south portions of the Guiana Shield confirm that they belong to the Avanavero LIP. These two ages are within error of a U-Pb age of 1794 +/- 4 Ma for an Avanavero dyke in Guyana. Slightly younger published U-Pb ages range from about 1780-1787 Ma, including the Crepori Dolerite in Central Brazil Shield (southern Amazonian Craton). This may indicate that two pulses of magmatism could be associated with the Avanavero event. The paleomagnetic data favour a Laurentia/Baltica/Amazonia link at 1.79 Ga, and this large landmass may have constituted the core of the Columbia supercontinent during Late Proterozoic times. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.