Lithospheric structure of central Brazil revealed by combined three-dimensional electromagnetic and seismic tomography: Relationship to intra-plate magmatism and seismicity

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ID: 321696
2026
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Abstract
Summary The origins of the diverse Mesozoic magmatism and present-day intraplate seismicity in central Brazil, part of the South American plate currently undergoing compression/shortening, have been the subjects of long-standing debate. Here, we investigate the structure of the lithosphere using a combined three-dimensional (3D) electrical resistivity and seismic P-wave velocity (Vp) tomography to understand the deformation patterns and the relationship to the distribution of magmatism and seismicity in the region. Magnetotelluric and geomagnetic depth sounding data and P-wave travel times from seismological arrays were inverted for the 3D resistivity and Vp variations in the ∼1500 × 1000 km2 area of study. The results reveal a basic structure consisting of an electrically resistive and seismically fast upper crust, a low-resistivity and low-wavespeed lower crust, a resistive and fast uppermost mantle and a basal low-resistivity and low-wavespeed asthenosphere. This layering is thinned in places and dissected by steep cross-cutting NE-SW and NW-SE shear-zones of low resistivity and slow wavespeeds yielding a fragmented lithosphere. Thick blocks of high resistivity and fast wavespeed bounded by the steep shear-zones correlate spatially with zones of gravity lows across the Neoproterozoic fold belts. The steep shear-zones correlate with the Middle Proterozoic and Mesozoic mafic dyke swarms (likely emplaced during the opening of Neoproterozoic and younger proto-Atlantic oceans) and Cretaceous-Eocene alkaline and alkaline-carbonatite magmatism, indicating that inherited structures controlled the lithospheric deformation and magmatism. They also correlate spatially with zones of high seismicity, suggesting that fluid migration plays a role in generating the ongoing seismicity.
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Authors Ved P. Maurya, Max A. Meju, Carlos Alberto Moreno Chaves, Sérgio L. Fontes, Antônio L. Padilha, Artur Benevides, Laís Nathalia Rodrigues, Emanuele F. La Terra
Journal geophysical journal international
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/gji/ggag280
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