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Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397 412

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Lithosphere mechanical behavior inferred from tidal gravity


anomalies: a comparison of Africa and South America
Marta S.M. Mantovania,*, Wladimir Shukowskya,
Silvio R.C. de Freitasb, Benjamim B. Brito Nevesc
a
b

IAG-USP, Rua do Matao, 1226-, 05508-090-Sao Paulo SP, Brazil


UFPr-CPGCG Centro Politecnico, 81531-990-Curitiba PR, Brazil
c
IG-USP, Rua do Lago, 562, 05508-080 - Sao Paulo SP, Brazil

Received 19 May 2004; received in revised form 5 November 2004; accepted 7 December 2004
Available online 12 January 2005
Editor: S. King

Abstract
Earlier studies have shown that the amplitude difference of the M2 gravity tidal component (TGA) between the measured
and calculated response for a viscoelastic Earth is significantly correlated to the effective elastic thickness (Te) of the
lithosphere. Using a regression equation obtained from a global distribution, data from TGA were integrated with those
obtained by other methods (gravitytopography coherence and thermo-mechanical analysis) providing a spatial coverage
sufficient to establish regional Te patterns for South America and Africa. A comparison and association between the Te
distributions for both continents indicates that for the African plate, the effective elastic thickness map clearly shows a
remarkable dichotomy of the Neoproterozoic rocks and reworked older rocks. But for the case of South American plate that
is moving faster than the African plate, lower Te values are observed only for areas where extensive tectonics with intense
volcanism has acted, suggesting that a colder mantle underlies this continental plate, while a hotter asthenosphere is observed
beneath the African plate. This is in part attributed to its relatively slow motion which prevented dissipating the earlier
developed high temperature.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: effective elastic thickness; tidal gravity anomaly; Gondwana; asthenosphere thermal state

1. Introduction

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 11 30914755; fax: +55 11


30915034.
E-mail address: marta@iag.usp.br (M.S.M. Mantovani).
0012-821X/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2004.12.007

The African continent is made up of 4 main


cratons of pre-Pan-African ageWest Africa, Congo,
Kaapvaal [1] and Tanzania [2]which have remained
stable for long periods of geological time. These

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M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

cratonic blocks are flanked by younger fold belts of


Neoproterozoic (Pan-African Cycle) and of Phanerozoic development. Successive periods of rifting
occurred after these structures have stabilized [3].
This wide range of geological structures is ideal to
study the behavior of the rigidity parameter with
time.
Recent studies on the lithosphere evolution are
focusing their attention on the flexural rigidity
parameter (D), or alternatively on the effective elastic
thickness (Te), as indicative of the mechanism of
isostatic compensation beneath the plate. These
parameters are controlled by geological time scale
relaxation and, therefore, are strongly dependent on
the temperature and deformation rate [4]. This
implies that the lithosphere is stronger for slower
deformation rates and weaker when exposed to
higher temperature or, in other words, Te varies
laterally as a function of the thermal gradient and of
its derivative with time.
The stress pattern of a plate can be regarded as a
bpredictor componentQ of its evolutionary thermal
state, since brittle failure under tension occurs at lower
stress difference than under compression [5]. The
brittle to ductile transition of rocks is a function of
temperature, and so is dependent on the local geotherm [6]. It is also a function of the composition, as
most of the strength of the lithosphere lies in its upper
part, which can be broadly approximated by the
rheological behavior of dry olivine [7]. The occurrence of thermal insulation under large continental
masses [8] and the presence of mantle plumes [9]
increase the mantle temperature, leading to a change
in the evolutionary development of the stress pattern.
In time, this will affect the lateral Te distribution of the
plate. Therefore, Te can provide information on the
thermal state and on the mechanical properties of the
lithosphere through time.
The combination of Te estimates derived from tidal
gravity anomalies and from isostatic response modeling was successfully applied to construct a continental
scale Te map for the South American Plate [10,11].
This method is here applied to the continental part of
the African plate. The resultant Te patterns for both
plates are then compared, and the similarities related
to the elastic parameter of the main tectonic units of
each continent are analyzed in the light of the Western
Gondwana breakup process.

2. Methodology
2.1. Te from isostatic and thermo-mechanical analysis
In the isostatic analysis, Te is determined by
comparing the observed amplitude of the Bouguer
anomaly with its expected value for a locally
compensated topography. Forsyth [12] introduced
the coherence function taking into account the statistically independent subsurface loading, and making use
of the relationship between the Bouguer gravity and
topography as a function of the wavelength. The wave
number at the transition between coherent and
incoherent topography and gravity is a measure of
flexural rigidity, and hence of lithosphere effective
elastic thickness Te.
Admittance analysis [13], which considers compensation only for surface loading, underestimates Te
when compared to the coherence analysis [12] which
places loads both on the surface and at the Moho.
Thermo-mechanical analysis takes into account additional parameters such as temperature, pressure,
mineralogy, xenoliths composition, age, and geometry
of geological structures, and may underestimate Te
where intraplate tectonic stresses exist. In addition,
where there is little power in the topography then any
spectral estimation technique will be biased to strong
values [14]. However, a recent study applied to
southern Africa shows that this bias can be taken into
account using a wavelet transform approach to the
analysis of gravity and topography data [15].
Assuming the lithosphere as an isotropic elastic
plate, Te data from coherence analyses are available,
for South America and Africa, over large areas (e.g.,
[1624]) or along extended profiles (e.g., [2530]).
Evaluations of Te that consider the lithosphere as a
broken elastic plate (e.g., [31]), and from thermomechanical analysis (e.g., [32]) are also available.
In general, the resultant topography of an extensional tectonic regime (e.g.: rifted areas, continental
sedimentary basins) and for large cratonic areas
allows one to perform 2D regional gravity surveys,
while in subduction areas and collisional tectonic
zones Te is preferentially obtained along profiles.
The spatial distribution of Te estimates determined
by isostatic response models or by thermo-mechanical
analysis is not uniform over continental areas. This is
so because in many situations it is not possible to

M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

perform large gravity surveys or a set of long gravity


profiles such that the study area contains a single
tectonic unit, which is a premise for the method, as
pointed out in [12] and [17]. Alternatively, Te can be
estimated from tidal gravity anomaly (TGA), as
shown in [11].

The strong linear dependence between Te and TGA


creates an alternative for estimating the effective
elastic thickness where no large gravity surveys exist
or for small tectonic units for which the coherence
method is not applicable, as pointed out in [17]. When
Eq. (1) is used to estimate Te from existing TGA data,
the uncertainty of the estimate is given by

2.2. Te from tidal gravity anomaly correlation


The periodic gravity variation with tides, driven by
mass redistribution, is a characteristic of the dynamic
response of the Earth to an external stimulation. The
attraction of the Moon and Sun causes most of the
Earths observed external tide potential, a superposition of various frequency components of the
oscillation modes. These are known as long period,
diurnal, semi-diurnal, and ter-diurnal waves, according to their oscillation period. The oscillations occur
in different environments, interacting with the atmosphere (atmosphere tides), with the oceans (ocean
tides), and with the different layers of the solid Earth:
lithosphere, mantle, and core (Earth tides). The
oceanic tides exert an additional gravitational effect
on the external solid layer of the Earth causing a
flexure of the lithosphere boundary, and a tilt of the
vertical component of gravity due both to the flexure
and to the modified mass distribution. These effects
are known as ocean loading. Among the various tidal
components, the semi-diurnal lunar wave (M2) can be
determined more precisely than other components
from observational data, and is thus preferred for the
present purpose over other components.
The tidal gravity anomaly (TGA) is a useful
measure of the discrepancy between the observed
and modeled tidal gravity, which carries information
on the Earths internal structure. It is defined as the inphase component of the vector difference between the
observed tidal gravity corrected for the ocean loading
and the tidal gravity model for a viscoelastic radially
symmetric Earth structure.
The high linear correlation (r=0.88) between the
tidal gravity anomalies and Te estimates by the
isostatic response method available at 36 locations
worldwide allowed for the establishment of a linear
regression model [11]:
TGA
Te 70:58F2:72 15:11F3:35
cos2 /

399

rTe

s
11:22TGA2 228:3r2TGA
TGA

7:39 7:72
cos2 /
cos4 /

2
The regression model (Eq. (1)) is shown by the solid
line in Fig. 1. The dashed lines delimit the F1
standard deviation interval for predicted Te values,
according to Eq. (2).
The regression analysis was based on worldwide
selected data, both from the point of view of tidal
quality data and reliability of the corresponding
coherence Te estimates [11].
This new tool is applied to the 50 tidal gravity
stations presently available on the South American
plate, and to 34 available for the African plate. The
corresponding Te estimates are presented in Tables 1
and 2.
Data from isostatic response analysis and from
tidal gravity anomaly are merged to compose a larger
Te data set and to compare their distribution in the two

Fig. 1. Correlation of M2 tidal gravity anomaly and the lithosphere


effective elastic thickness. Solid line is the regression model (Eq.
(1)). Dotted lines delimit F1 standard deviation for predicted Te
values, according to Eq. (2) (after [11]).

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M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

Table 1
Te from tidal gravity for Africa

Table 2
Te from tidal gravity for South America

Id

Lat

Lon

TGA

Te

Std

Id

Lat

Lon

TGA

Te

Std

3014
3451
3102
3806
3420
3901
3495
3801
3118
3030
3421
3031
3410
3399
3401
3010
3415
3505
3325
3807
3210
3005
3400
3312
3000
3321
3040
3020
3090
3112
3300
3311
3500
3601

9.0
2.6
33.5
32.4
2.1
22.3
17.8
26.0
22.8
2.6
1.5
3.3
4.4
18.8
12.7
15.6
4.2
15.1
12.4
33.9
26.3
24.1
13.5
12.6
29.9
6.2
6.8
2.0
29.2
36.8
18.1
14.4
26.0
18.9

38.7
29.8
5.1
20.8
28.6
17.1
31.1
28.0
5.5
36.9
30.2
38.6
18.6
7.3
8.0
32.5
15.1
39.3
1.5
18.9
12.8
32.6
2.1
12.2
31.3
5.0
39.2
45.4
13.5
3.0
16.0
17.0
32.6
47.6

1.21
0.58
0.10
0.07
0.59
1.57
0.07
0.58
0.61
0.81
1.02
0.21
1.48
1.07
0.28
0.13
0.63
1.94
1.97
0.50
1.88
0.51
1.38
0.37
0.18
0.14
0.73
1.13
0.00
0.60
0.73
0.56
1.79
0.18

87
76
68
64
76
98
64
78
78
51
47
62
91
86
71
68
76
102
102
78
24
55
91
72
61
68
78
46
65
82
80
76
27
62

7
6
7
7
6
8
6
7
7
6
6
6
7
7
6
6
6
8
8
7
9
7
7
6
7
6
6
7
7
8
7
6
9
6

6911
6975
7118
7119
7201
7202
7203
7250
7251
7252
7253
7254
7281
7303
7305
7306
7307
7308
7309
7310
7311
7312
7313
7314
7315
7316
7317
7319
7408
7409
7410
7411
7412
7450
7451
7500
7505
7506
7601
7805
7810
7812
7813
7814
7815
7816
7817
7818
7819
7895

14.73
10.65
9.94
10.71
10.51
10.55
8.81
4.65
10.39
12.62
7.90
3.45
5.17
23.56
25.45
29.67
20.46
20.77
15.61
16.62
6.53
22.12
5.06
22.40
3.17
1.50
12.97
23.10
16.43
11.99
6.76
3.73
14.82
0.19
2.18
16.49
17.77
17.79
20.29
34.57
37.32
31.67
27.47
31.55
24.73
41.12
54.82
45.83
36.40
31.67

61.15
61.40
84.05
85.23
66.93
71.50
70.86
74.10
75.54
81.69
72.49
76.56
52.68
46.73
49.24
53.82
54.62
42.87
56.13
49.26
37.14
51.41
42.77
43.65
59.83
48.50
38.48
46.96
71.57
76.84
79.84
73.24
74.94
78.50
79.87
68.13
63.19
63.16
70.04
58.41
59.08
63.89
58.78
68.68
65.49
71.42
68.33
67.48
64.20
55.93

0.44
0.03
0.20
1.23
0.69
1.59
1.08
0.16
0.89
0.55
0.72
0.13
0.03
0.38
0.32
1.51
0.08
1.18
0.22
0.68
0.37
0.14
1.15
0.53
0.47
1.31
0.56
0.14
0.41
0.21
0.68
1.02
0.47
0.80
0.21
0.53
0.38
0.38
0.90
1.31
0.20
0.04
0.84
0.96
0.34
0.85
0.52
0.62
0.66
0.95

74
66
69
43
78
37
46
63
81
55
78
68
65
57
58
100
67
89
61
78
72
68
45
54
74
88
76
68
73
69
77
83
74
79
69
75
73
73
83
99
71
64
47
89
73
92
38
43
83
88

6
6
6
7
6
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
8
6
7
6
6
6
6
7
7
6
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
8
7
7
7
8
7
8
11
9
8
8

Id is the station number; Lat and Lon are the coordinates of the
station; TGA is the M2 tidal gravity anomaly (micro Gal); Te is the
Effective Elastic Thickness (km) by Eq. (1); Std is the standard
deviation (km) by Eq. (2).

continents, positioned for 10 My after break-up, at


~130 Ma (Fig. 2).
Contouring was accomplished using the Kriging
interpolation method [33], applying an exponential
variogram model with range of 500 km based on the
spatial autocorrelation analysis of Te [11]. The
Kriging method by itself provides the uncertainty of
the interpolated Te values, as presented in Fig. 3.
The complementary comparison between the two
continental lithosphere fractions, the South American
and African, is indeed effective to strengthen the

Id is the station number; Lat and Lon are the coordinates of the
station; TGA is the M2 tidal gravity anomaly (micro Gal); Te is the
Effective Elastic Thickness (km) by Eq. (1); Std is the standard
deviation (km) by Eq. (2).

M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

401

Fig. 2. Effective elastic thickness of South America and Africa obtained by the Krigging interpolation method. Data from isostatic response
analysis and from tidal gravity anomaly are merged to compose a larger Te data set and to compare their distribution in the two continents,
positioned for 10 Ma after break-up. Distribution of data and estimated uncertainty of the interpolated Te values are shown in Fig. 3.

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M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

Fig. 3. Location of Te data and standard deviation of the interpolated Te values.

above assumptions and to emphasize the completely


different thermal history of these two segments,
partially, when were still connected (during the
Paleozoic), and even more after the continental drift.
The African portion underwent a more complex
history with more thermal events (slow-moving plate)
compared to the South American plate history.
Clearly, some areas have not remained stable since
break-up, and this reconstruction provides a means of
comparing post 130 Ma history.

3. Tectonic elements of the continental plates


To start any discussion related with the history of
any crustal segment one should begin from the
thermal history of that domain. To understand the
effective elastic thickness of South America and
Africa, one needs to understand the tectonic nature
of the different tectonic domains or units, their related
geophysical spatial pattern, the litho-structural composition, and its thermal history.

Discussions of individual studies below intend to


show the available coherence analysis data, their
relative variation and consistency with each tectonic
province.

4. An outline of African tectonics


As it was done for South America [34], it is
possible to record and emphasize, primarily, the
dichotomy of Syn-Pan-African cratons (stable remnants of Earths early continental lithosphere), and
their circumscribing mobile belts. To Northeast and
North (Mauritanides, Atlas) and SW (Cape Fold Belt)
of this general context, narrow Permo-Triassic mobile
belts are present (Fig. 4).
In fact, a critical analysis suggests that the Congo
craton is the site of the highest effective elastic
thickness (over 60 kmFig. 4) [15]. Furthermore, the
easternmost portion of the Damara Pan-African Belt
[35] and Gariep/Saldania are clearly incorporated to
these maximum domains. Therefore, it is not excluded

M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

403

Fig. 4. Schematic representation of the main tectonic units in Africa (modified after [3] and [36]).

that the small thickness of the supra-crustal metamorphic covers (bschist beltsQ) of these mobile belts
and/or their allocthonous character (over imposing the
cratonic basement) provided for these high observed
Te signatures.
Another high effective elastic thickness (74 km)
portion is recorded in the southern part of the
West Africa craton, more precisely the LeoMan
Shield (mostly in Senegal) where Archean nuclei
and Paleoproterozoic rocks prevail. Additional little

spots of high Te (to NE and NW) should


correspond to fractions of the Paleoproterozoic
basement within the Pan-African mobile belts not
reworked (between 600 and 500 Ma), in central
Hoggar and South Nubia (KordofanKhartoum).
The last bluish set of high Te corresponds to the
southernmost portion of the Mozambique belt, the
so-called bMozambique ProvinceQ, a poorly known
area, where older (pre-Neoproterozoic) rock units
occur.

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M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

The other African areas show the regional


distribution of the Pan-African belts (NeoproterozoicCambrian), were superposed by several igneous
events (ring complexes and volcanic centers [36]
from the Upper Phanerozoic to the present. The
intraplate magmatism was less intense in the interior
of the cratonic nuclei and prevailingly present in
many extensional activities of the Pan-African belt
domains [3].
Over 600 ring complexes are known through
Africa and Arabia [36], of several ages, since
Neoproterozoic/Pan-African times (about 250 igneous

zones). During the Paleozoic (approximately 95


igneous zones) and especially during Mesozoic times
(over 230 igneous zones) these intraplate igneous
activities have continued, reaching the Cenozoic. It is
possible to say that over 80% of these activities
occurred within the Pan-African domains, many of
them taking advantage of previous tectonic discontinuities formed during that cycle. The bpurpleQ zones
(lower effective elastic thickness) clearly follow these
Phanerozoic magmatic zones (Fig. 5).
Additionally, continental rifting has been an
important tectonic process since Late Paleozoic times

Fig. 5. Distribution of ring complexes (Proterozoic to Tertiary) and their relationship to the Pan-African tectonic structure of Africa. The cratonic
domains are distinguished from the areas with tectono-thermal activities related to the Pan-African belts (Based on the scheme of Fig. 4). Dots
are the main igneous complexes (modified after [3639]).

M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

in Africa as a whole, and it has generated numerous


fault-bounded basins, according to a series of discontinuous and short-lived tectonic events. Seven
major events of tectonism have been identified from
the Permian up to Recent [3]. These extensional
events are reflecting (at the Earths surface) the
occurrence of deep-seated heat sources.
In this context it is important to consider the East
African rift system, where the modern (Cenozoic)
extensional structures (and associated volcanism) lie
within the Mozambique Belt (also called EAO=East
African Orogen) [37].

5. Analysis of results
5.1. Extensional tectonic regime structures
As emphasized above, the lower value of effective
elastic thickness (Teb30 km) in Fig. 2 correspond to
Pan-African basement zones where Permo-Triassic,
CretaceousEocene, and OligoceneRecent rifts
evolved (ex. East Africa rifts, Niger/Benue Through
Delta, etc.) and Phanerozoic volcanism (ex. Afar,
Cameroon Line, etc.) in different stages. Here, the
comparison of our map in Fig. 2 with Figs. 4 and 5 is
very interesting for the focusing of our discussions.
For the region of the Eastern African System of
Rifts, Te determinations are mainly given by many
authors focusing different objectives [9,15,17,24,
28,3941]. Inversion of the coherence for the Kenyan
rift yielded a best fitting elastic thickness of 25 km
(D=1.41023 N m): much of this area is covered with
extrusive volcanics from the rift and volcanic cones
(including Mt. Kenya, Elgon, and Kilimanjaro) which
act as surface loads on the lithosphere. The intrusive
volcanic rock assemblages were classified as highdensity loads (e.g. dykes within the Gregory rift) and
low-density loads (e.g. dykes of the Kavirondo rift)
and the topography of the dome was attributed
primarily to surface volcanic loading, while a low
density (hot region or partial molten mantle) was
associated to deep subsurface loads. Ebinger et al.
[17] analyzed 4 tectonic features or provinces: the
Afar Plateau (Te=2149 km; 3 sub-regions), the East
African Plateau (Te=2764 km; 10 sub-regions),
stable cratons (Te=6480 km; 3 sub-regions), and
magmatic areas (without rifts Te=43 km; 1 sub-

405

region). The apparent thinning of the elastic plate


beneath the uplifted East African System of Rifts and
Afar Plateau validate the presence of a heat source
beneath the uplifted regions. In this particular area of
overcompensation, a continental breakup is under
progress, with an incipient process of ocean formation
by an extensional regime of over 6000 km in length
[17,28]. This feature is typical of a so-called weak
lithosphere. The extensional process is a result of
convective forces in the underlying asthenosphere
because, due to the low heat conductivity of the
continental block and to its nearly stability (slow
motion), the African Plate favored the accumulation
of heat along time by insulation process inducing
convection currents [8], as well as from deep plumes
as for e.g. those rising from the coremantle boundary
(CMB) beneath southern Africa that may connect to
the hot zones in the upper mantle beneath the EAR
system (e.g. [4246]).
Poudjom Djomani et al. [19] investigated the
relationship between different tectonic structures in
the West African region, as Cretaceous rifts (Benue),
Tertiary domal uplift (Adamawa volcanic uplift),
TertiaryRecent volcanoes (Cameroon Volcanic Line
or CVL), Tertiary sedimentary basins (Chad basins),
and cratonic region (Archean reworked Congolese
craton). The mentioned structures may be seen in
Fig. 4.
By the use of the coherence function analysis,
these authors obtained the minima lithosphere
strength (Te=1420 km) beneath the active rifted
and volcanic areas (Benue, CVL, and Adamawa) and
the maxima (Te ~40 km) corresponding to the
reworked unit in Congo. In the mentioned work of
Poudjom Djomani et al. (1995), only the northernmost
part of the Congo area has been analyzed.
5.2. Sedimentary basins
5.2.1. Africa
Although kinematic models of lithosphere extension account satisfactorily for the structure and
evolution of many sedimentary basins, there is little
agreement about the main aspects of the dynamical
problem [7]. Large, long-lived, and extensive continental sedimentary basins are generally associated
to large parts of cratons and three of these basins
(Chad, Iullmedden, and Congo) in Africa are

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M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

described by [18]. The three basins contain megasequences initiated in Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. The Chad basin, in particular, is located above
Early Cretaceous rifts which are connected at depth
to the Atlantic margin via the Benue Trough [3].
Coherence studies indicate that the lithosphere
underlying the Congo basin has a Te value in excess
of 100 km, whereas the Chad and Iullmedden overlie
substantially weaker lithosphere (Te=2030 km). The
contrasting value compared with that given in [19] is
related to the size of the analyzed area and a relative
low topography relief, for which spectral analysis
cannot be applied. A Te=84 km value for the Chad
basin reported for a coherence analysis of superimposed adjacent areas is rejected by these authors
due to the inclusion of mirrored wavebands which
may have caused an artificial value. Newman and
White [7] concluded that the lithosphere underlying
the Congo basin is strong, whereas the Chad and
Iullmedden basins as well as the respectively
adjacent Hoggar and Darfur Domes overlie substantially weaker lithosphere, suggesting that this vast
area has been previously weakened [47]. These areas
belong to an ancient basement that was reworked
during the Pan-African orogenic cycle; many rifts
and plutonicvolcanic centers are present in these
areas (Fig. 5).
Analyzing the isostatic anomalies, Newman and
White [7] suggested that uplifts may be related to
convective upwelling in the asthenosphere involving
lateral density contrasts; this implies the existence of
thermal anomalies in the mantle underneath.
5.2.2. South America
The larger intracratonic sedimentary basins of
South America were analyzed by [22], Te=1266
km, and by [23], Te=2458 km. The Parnaiba basin
covers an area of approximately 600 000 km2 of the
western part of Northeast Brazil; its maximum thickness comprises about 3500 m of Silurian to Cretaceous sediments, intruded by magmatic rocks of
Permo-Triassic to Juro-Cretaceous age. The lower
Te values for the Parnaiba basin correspond to the
smaller areas used for coherence inversion; looking to
the shape of coherence plots, the Te=58+4/6 km
value is preferred [23].
The Parana basin, located in central-south-eastern
South America covers an area of about 1,700,000

km2 and is filled by Ordovician to Cretaceous


sediments and Cretaceous volcanic rocks. Vidotti
[22] calculated the effective elastic thickness of this
lithosphere sector using the coherence analysis
technique [12]. As result of her analysis, [22]
concluded that this area is underlain by a bstrongQ
(rather rigid) lithosphere with bweakerQ (less rigid)
areas within. However, from Figs. 5.3 and 5.6 in
[22], the clear correlation observed between the size
of each analyzed sub-area and Te, supports [17]
argument for the underestimation of Te (when
analyzed areas are too small); therefore her maximum Te value obtained for the largest analyzed area
(Te=66+6/4 km) is the best estimate for the Parana
basin. The evolution of the geometry of the Chaco
foreland basin (Bolivia) using seismic reflection,
gravity, and well log data was examined by [30]; the
best fit between their computational results and
experimental data was obtained for an elastic thickness value ranging from 29 to 31 km.
A large volume of continental flood basalts (CFB)
erupted prior to the Gondwana break-up in the
Parana Chaco basin (308S to 108S). Eruptions
occurred for about 10 My, with a peak of intense
activity between 133 and 130 Ma. The large amount
of erupted lava is attributed to the presence of a plume
[4850], and therefore associated with a hot asthenosphere that partially melted the lithosphere to produce
the CFB. TGA (Te=4768 km) values are in agreement with those calculated by other techniques (such
as the coherence analysis).
The Amazonas basin is an elongated NE
structure that splits the Amazonian craton into two
large pieces. Although this basin was gravity
surveyed for petroleum exploration, its shape favors
a coherence analysis technique only along profiles.
Nunn and Aires [51] modeled 4 profiles crossing
the Medio Amazonas Basin obtaining a Te=1520
km up to a maximum value of 40 km; although
their flexure model considers the basin to be
completely filled by sediments of density 2.55 g/
cm3, gravity records indicate intrusions or partial
replacement of lower crust by mantle material.
Taking into account the inadequate assumption
(which ignores the intruded density material), they
concluded that Te was lower than expected and
suggested that more complex rheological models
should be applied.

M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

5.3. Large cratonic areas


5.3.1. Africa
Flexural rigidity in cratonic areas was investigated
by [17,21,24]. To estimate the effective elastic thickness of the continental lithosphere these authors used
the coherence technique [12].
A). For the major tectonic provinces of South
Africa (Kaapvaal, to the south, Limpopo belt at the
center, and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe to the north, which
together form the Kalahari craton, Fig. 4), values of
Te=72 km for the Archean Kaapvaal craton and
Te=38 (East) km to 48 (West) km for the Mesoproterozoic NamaquaNatal mobile belt were obtained by
[21]. Stark et al. [15] obtained similar values of Te
using the wavelet transform mapping method.
Doucore et al. [21] considered each tectonic
province as an independent coherent domain on the
basis of topographic features and isostatic response.
From geological and geophysical considerations, they
suggested that the contrast in flexural rigidity of the
Kaapvaal and Namaqua-Natal provinces can be
attributed to combined effects of compositional and
thickness differences of the lithosphere and to the
present asthenosphere heat flow variation. In [24] a
value of Te=64 km for the Kalahari craton was
obtained: a number between the two independent
domains of [21].
B). For the Congo craton a value of Te=101 km
was calculated [24] in agreement with the conclusions
for the Congo basin [7]. For Tanzania craton which is
underlain by hot asthenosphere [4246,52] Te=64F5
km. Unlike the other cratons, there is considerable
power in topography here.
As early mentioned in [17], it was shown that Te
estimates using the coherence technique must fulfill
the assumptions imposed by this method, one of
which is to analyze a large enough area covering the
structure.
5.3.2. South America
A). For South America, applying the coherence
method to a large regional gravity survey that covers
Uruguay and the southern portion of Rio Grande do
Sul State in Brazil, values for the Rio de La Plata
craton (RLPC) of Te=95 Km are reported [20]. For
latitudes between 358 and 258 and longitudes
(658, 508), the RLPC is clearly depicted by an

407

intense high (Te=88100 km). RbSr geochronology


from the RLPC of Uruguay was described by [53,54].
Ages measured in granitoids from western Uruguay
(Piedra Alta terrane) range from 1900 to 2200 Ma.
Low Sr initial ratios (N0.7022) are a common
characteristic of these rocks. These results confirm
the Paleoproterozoic ages obtained for different
lithologies [53]. This Early Precambrian age of this
lithospheric sector suggests that it has not been
significantly reworked (during late Proterozoic
cycles), and therefore it is cold and rigid in agreement
with the measured bhighQ TGA.
B). A study using the coherence technique along
profiles [25], evaluated TeN85 km for the western
Guyana shield and for the southwestern Central
Brazilian shield, that are parts of exposures of the
Amazonian craton. Ussami and Molina [55] obtained
TeN85 km for the eastern margin of the Amazonian
craton using the model of a lithosphere bbroken plateQ
and assuming as load for their model, the Araguaia
belt.
Only two tidal stations are available for the
Amazonian craton (AC), which limits the resolution
of its boundary outline. Estimated values (Te=7488
km) are similar to those of San Francisco craton
(SFC). The oldest ages of the Amazon craton are
reported within the Carajas area, ranging from 3.1 to
2.5 Ga [56]. Its geochronological pattern decreases in
age from NE to SW, and at least five provinces that
behaved as stable platforms at the end of MesoProterozoic are identified [56]. From the two available
tidal stations it is possible to devise the mentioned
NESW trend, although additional TGA stations in
the area are needed to clarify this feature. Due to the
lack of TGA stations, the AC tectonic boundary is not
clearly imaged.
C). Coherence determinations of Te for the San
Francisco craton (SFC) are not available in the
literature, up to now. Age provinces of the SFC
(3.452.0 Ga) are consistent with an Archean and
Early Proterozoic evolution for the continental crust.
The major tectonomagmatic events of SFC occurred
between 2.1 and 2.0 Ga, at the late stage of its
evolution and consolidation. Teixeira [57] identified
some episodes south of SFC that occurred at 2.82.7
Ga ago.
This is in agreement with an old and cold
lithosphere, which justifies the observed Te (76 to

408

M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

89 km). Regardless of its older age, relative to the Rio


de La Plata Craton, the SFC has a slightly lower
rigidity. This could be explained by accepted average
lithosphere thickness: thinner for Archean provinces
compared with Proterozoic provinces [58]. Clearly
associated to SFC, the Congo craton is distinguished
in the west side of the African continent.
5.4. Collisional tectonic structures
5.4.1. Africa
For the Cape Fold Belt, a Permo-Triassic collisional orogen, the southernmost structure of South
Africa, [24] obtained a value of Te=18 km. No Te
records were reported for the Mauritanides structure
of NW Africa.
For the African plate, the effective elastic thickness
map clearly shows the dichotomy of the pre-PanAfrican (older than Late Mesoproterozoic) and the
Pan-African (younger than 900 Ma) regions/mobile
belts (Neoproterozic rocks and older rocks reworked
in that period). But in the case of South America, less
than 5% is in red color while at least 95% are from
green to blue (70NTe/kmN100).
5.5. Subduction tectonic structures
5.5.1. South America
In the South American continent, subduction
structures are associated to the Andean Cordillera,
and Te determinations were obtained along several
profiles. Whitman [26] used the seismically constrained shape of the Moho in NW Argentina and
compared it to the gravity data to obtain the flexural
rigidity of the foreland lithosphere (10211022 N m);
he concluded that the corresponding Te (612 km)
was a factor 2 to 4 less than that estimated for the
Bolivian Altiplano [59]. Fan et al. [31] constrained
their study to the Peruvian Andes, and obtained a Te
varying from 25 to 55 km. Their model was based on
the flexural analysis of [59,60]. Watts et al. [27]
presented eight profiles between latitudes 10 and
28, in correspondence to the Nazca Plate subduction. In this segment, Te contour lines increase from
25 km near the shore to 100 km where the Brazilian
Shield outcrops; between Central Andes and the fold
thrust belt, Te varies from 50 to 75 km. Stewart and
Watts [25] analyzed 58 profiles between latitudes

108N and 358S. They used the bbroken plate modelQ,


and divided the area into northern and southern
Andes. Results are presented along each profile as
well as a Te contour map of western South America:
Te ranges from 25 km near the shore to N85 km in the
central Bolivian Range. Along the Andes, the highest
values are located between latitudes 08 and 108.
Contours cover part of the western portion of
continental shields where Te extrapolates 85 km.
Along most of the Andean cordillera (for latitudes
08 to 458), estimates of Te (6989 km) belong to the
higher group. This is not in agreement with estimates
of radiometric age, but does fit with the lithospheric
thickness. In fact, a high Te, which is associated with
the rigidity parameter D, is consistent with the
existence of deep seismicity.
Hypocenters of deep earthquakes in the South
American Cordillera indicate that the down going slab
may be divided into discrete segments. The segments
beneath northern and southern Peru and beneath
central Chile have shallow dips (about 108; [61].
Although slightly displaced, probably due to gridding
effects, these shallow segments are perceptible in Fig.
2 (a relatively lower Te).
The westward elongation of a high (7593 km),
confirmed by two tidal stations, reaches the southern
Andean Cordillera at latitude 428 to 338. Part of
this westward extent covers the Chilenia terrane
described by [62]. In the basement of the Central
Andean Chain, Chilenia, Cuyania, and Pie de Palo are
small Proterozoic exotic terranes that have probably
been sutured to Gondwana during the Paleozoic [63].
The Chilenian basement shows a PbPb age of
1069F36 Ma, and records a complex Precambrian
history [63]. This may explain the higher intensity of
the blue color within the Cordillera structure.
A different interpretation is given to the volcanic
province of the Patagonia microplate (Southern
South-America; centered at 708W, 458S). The
observed geometry for the Patagonia low (Te=3843
km) coincides with that estimated by seismic anisotropy of surface and body waves [64]. The evolution
of the Andes in this area began in the Middle to
Upper Jurassic with extrusion of voluminous acid
tuffs and lavas [65]. The origin of these volcanic
rocks seems to be related to crustal extension and
anatexis predating the opening of the Atlantic and the
Magellan marginal basin.

M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

Neogene volcanic activity, mainly in the western


and central Patagonian plateau, is attributed to the
interaction of upwelling sub-slab asthenosphere flowing around the trailing edge of the descending Nazca
Plate [66]. Compositional distribution of these lavas
and the modeled anomalous mantle potential temperature are explained by these authors as a bweak
plumeQ beneath the slab window [66].

6. Discussions and conclusions


For the African plate, the effective elastic thickness
map clearly shows the dichotomy of the pre-PanAfrican and the Pan-African mobile belts (Neoproterozic rocks and older rocks reworked in that period).
But in the case of South America, less than 5%
corresponds to Teb70, while at least 95% are within
the interval 70NTe/km N100.
Although Watts and Burov [14] do not relate the
seismogenic Ts layer to Te, they ponder that brittle
and ductile deformation fields are roughly equally
involved in the support of loads; and because in the
continents there may be more than one brittle-ductile
transition (BDT), the elastic portion of the lithosphere
is more complex than for the oceanic plates. According to Kuznir and Karner [67] Te correspond to the
strong portion of the lithosphere which can be thicker
than 100 km for complex continental sectors and up to
50 km for the oceanic lithosphere with more than one
BDT.
The high values of Te observed for the Andean
range can be clearly related to a BDT effect, the
juxtaposition of a continental plate underlain by a
cold and rigid oceanic plate of the subduction
process. In spite of the depth, the rigidity of the
underlain plate is supported by the seismic records,
which delineate the subduction path, and the
variation in the dip (declivity of the plate) is
reflected in the color nuances (the color intensity
in correspondence of the Nazca plate differs from the
northern and southern segments).
For Patagonia, there is a quite active tectonothermal history since the Neoproterozoic III and
especially during all the Paleozoic and Mesozoic
somehow associated to the evolution of Southern
Andes and to the formation of the Austral Atlantic
Ocean. This intense volcano-plutonic activity corre-

409

sponds to the lower values (reddish) of the effective


elastic thickness. The low Te value and its closest
relationship with Ts relate this sector to its thermal age
[65].
In correspondence to the Amazonian craton, to
the San Francisco craton (the nucleus and its
extension under the marginal belts) and to the
assemblage of the Luis Alves, Rio de La Plata,
and partially Pampia cratons (since their limits are
not distinguishable in this analysis scale and methodology) the highest effective elastic thickness
(between 70 and 100 km) with some local attenuation is observed.
Intermediate values are observed for the Guyana
Shield (north of the Amazon craton), probably due to
the partial connection of this area with the tectonothermal activity due to its interaction with the
Caribbean plate.
Comparing the color intensity of the South
America cratonic blocks with those in the African
plate, we may attribute a shallower root to the western
cratons of Gondwana compared to its central and
eastern cratons.
The Mesozoic magmatism is present and exposed
(Takutu graben and associated volcano plutonism),
but apparently is not considerable to explain the Te
observed values (between 60 and 70 km).
The Brasiliano age domains (Neo-Proterozoic), as
Tocantins, Borborema (including the portion covered
by the Parnaiba basin) and Mantiqueira, show
distinctive and coherent values (50 to 70 km; from
yellow to light red). To the south (Dom Feliciano
belt) and to the north (Espirito Santo granulitic belt)
are exceptional among the Brasiliano areas because
their Te values are not low (the observed colors
match those from the adjacent cratons). The explanation of scarce presence of supra-crustals (predominance of Neo-Proterozoic high-grade rocks) is yet
speculative, due to the inappropriate distribution of
measured Te.
It is convenient here to remark that the Phanerozoic
history of the Brasiliano dated domains were submitted only to a few, shallow and of little significance
events of magmatism. This fact distinguishes the
Brasiliano Domains from the above-discussed NeoProterozoic domains in Africa (Pan-African ages), and
that were benefited by a rigorous magmatic and
Phanerozoic extensive history.

410

M.S.M. Mantovani et al. / Earth and Planetary Science Letters 230 (2005) 397412

The low Te value observed for the Chaco Plain is


connected to the ParanaChaco sedimentary basin
structure [68] and is interpreted as being the site of the
thermal anomaly that produced the intense volcanism
just prior to the continental split [50].
Thus, the pre-drift between Africa and South
America is in general good (Fig. 2) showing excellent
location for the cratonic domains and the Pan-African/
Brasiliano mobile belts. For the last, it is also
observed the significant difference of behavior during
the Phanerozoic. While the Pan-African domains are
persistently red-colored (Teb60 km and even b20
km), the correlated Brasiliano domains show Te
values of 50 to 70 km. This confirms a history of
plate domains, plate, and asthenospheric conditions
completely different between the two continents.
Since the Paleozoic (when the two continents were
assembled and formed Gondwana), and especially
during the Pangea history (Permo-Triassic) and during
the continental break-up (Upper Triassic to the
present), these differences were already present,
supporting the existence of a contrasting asthenosphere beneath the two blocks. In other words, a
colder asthenosphere beneath the bfast-movingQ South
American plate compared to the hotter correspondent,
developed under the African plate due to its slow
motion which preserved the earlier developed high
temperature. This is in agreement with Nyblade and
Robinson [69] that attributed the mantle beneath the
African superswell to heat insulation by the supercontinent Pangea in the Late Paleozoic and Early
Mesozoic, providing possible explanation for why
deep mantle beneath the African superswell may have
elevated temperatures.

Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Dr. Scott King, Cindy
Ebinger, and another unknown reviewer for comments and corrections that highly improved the
original manuscript. ORB and ICET provided access
to the tidal gravity database. Figures, cited as
extracted from other authors were redrawn by A.
Rugenski. CNPq, FAPESP, and CAPES financially
supported this research, through exchange cooperation among institutions, travel expenses, and graduate scholarship.

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