Tectonosedimentary evolution of the Resende and Volta Redonda basins (Cenozoic, Central Segment of the Continental Rift of Southeastern Brazil)

This paper reviews and integrates the knowledge about the tectonosedimentary evolution of the Resende and Volta Redonda basins (Central Segment of the Continental Rift of Southeastern Brazil), in particular the Paleogene tectonic phase. Three tectonic stages are associated to the evolution of these basins: Pre-Rift, related to the deposition of the Ribeirão dos Quatis Formation (braided fluvial); Rift I, main stage, related to the Resende Formation (braided fluvial deposits and alluvial fans associated with fault edges and intercalated basanitic volcanism); Rift II, related to the Pinheiral Formation (braided fluvial), responsible for filling the Paleogene depocenters. The post-rift sedimentation is characterized by the Neogene deposits of the Floriano Formation (meandering fluvial), as Neogene and Quaternary colluvial and alluvial deposits. The Paleogene depocenters consist of NE-SW-trending hemigrabens, with main edges to the north, in the Resende basin, and to the south, in the Volta Redonda basin. The NW-SE segmentation of the depocenters and stress propagation between the basins took place through important local and regional transfer zones. Regarding the neotectonic deformation, three brittle phases are identified: (1) Neogene transcurrent sinistral E-W-trending, responsible for the reactivation of rift faults and NE-SW segmentation of the depocenters; (2) Pleistocene-Holocene transcurrent dextral E-W-trending, responsible for the NW-SE segmentation of the depocenters and important modifications of the drainage networks; (3) Holocene NW-SE extension, responsible for the generation of important Holocene depocenters and reactivation of the rift structures.