Thermotectonic history of the southeastern Brazilian margin: Evidence from apatite fission track data of the offshore Santos Basin and continental basement

Abstract The Santos Basin is the largest offshore sedimentary basin in the southeastern Brazilian margin and originated by breakup of West Gondwana in the Early Cretaceous. We carried out a new thermochronological study by apatite fission track analysis from borehole samples of the Santos Basin and its continental basement to constrain the tectonic history of the southeastern Brazilian margin. Apatite fission track central ages of the basement and borehole samples vary from 21.0 ± 1.8 to 157.0 ± 35.0 Ma and from 6.5 ± 1.1 to 208.0 ± 11.0 Ma, respectively. From thermal modeling, the basement samples reached the maximum paleotemperatures during the final breakup of South America and Africa. The onshore basement and offshore basin record an early thermotectonic event during the Late Cretaceous linked to the uplift and denudation of the Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira. Maturation of the organic matter in the offshore basin is related with the progressive increase of the geothermal gradient due to burial. The thermal modeling indicates that the oil generation window started at 55–25 Ma. The basement samples experienced the final cooling during the Cenozoic, with an estimated amount of denudation linked to the sedimentary influx in the offshore basin. A rapid cooling during the Neogene becomes evident and it is linked to the reactivation along Precambrian shear zones and change of the Paraiba do Sul drainage system.