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
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Journal geophysical journal international
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/gji/ggag280
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggag280
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