Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40

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Quaternary International
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Paleomorphology of the northwestern of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (central T

Brazil): Stratigraphic and geochronological evidence of a pleistocene
alluvial fan system
Fabrício Antonio Lopes∗, Cláudio Eduardo Lana, Paulo de Tarso Amorim Castro,
Cristiano de Carvalho Lana
Departamento de Geologia, Escola de Minas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper presents data on the fragments of ancient sedimentary deposits placed around the Piedade and Casa
Quaternary Branca streams, important right bank tributaries of the Paraopeba River. From these data, it was possible to
OSL establish a picture regarding the paleomorphology and paleodrainage of the area. The methodological steps
Facies profile adopted consisted of the definition of sedimentary facies, as well as the establishment of their sedimentary
Alluvial fans
provenance (U/Pb method in detrital zircons) and deposition age (OSL in quartz). Through the facies analyses, it
Quadrilátero Ferrífero
Sedimentary provenance
was possible to show channel facies (Gt) associated with debris flows (Gmm) and sieve deposits (Gh). In the
sedimentary provenance stage, spectra of ages congruent with those found in literature for the Moeda and Cauê
Formations were identified, suggesting that the Moeda mountain range is a source area. We also analyzed data
on the sediments of the current bed, which indicate the same provenance, showing that the current courses
constitute an embedded analog of the paleochannels. The data herein obtained corroborate the hypothesis that
the eastern periphery of the Bonfim Complex was dominated by a system of alluvial fans between 9.5 ± 1 and
15.5 ± 1.6 ka before present, whose remnants are preserved on the current hilltops and mid slopes of the
basement landscape.

1. Introduction and regional setting
Due to their eroding, transporting and depositing efficiency, rivers
are considered to be the most important exogenous agents in relief
modeling (Leopold et al., 1964). From the earliest studies on river
geomorphology, climatic and/or tectonic variations are considered to
be the main regulating factors of the dynamics between a drainage
segment and its base level, and consequently, the distribution of river
deposits along the valley (Sommé, 1990; Magalhães Junior et al.,
2011). In this sense, for Jacobson et al. (2003), these deposits constitute
important records of the evolution of the landscape and are the target of
studies of geomorphological and stratigraphic connotation (Bridgland
and Westaway, 2008; Wang et al., 2010; Doğan, 2011; Viveen et al.,
2012; and Rossetti et al., 2014).
In the Quadrilátero Ferrífero region (Fig. 1a), there are several
studies that have discussed regional Cenozoic evolution from fluvial
deposits (Magalhães Júnior and Saadi, 1994; Magalhães Júnior et al.,
2011; Lana and Castro, 2010; Barros, 2013; Magalhães Júnior et al.,
2012; Barros and Magalhães Junior, 2013). Although the river drains a
large area of the western region, there are only a few studies pertaining
to the morphossedimentary evolution of the Paraopeba River Basin, for
example the works of Marques (1997), Moreira (1997), Carvalho
(2014) and Barros (2015). In addition, the Feijão Stream (Fig. 1b) was
destroyed by the rupture of a mining dam owned by Vale, in January
2019. This study is believed to contribute to the social and environ-
mental re-establishment of the region.
The area of this study comprises 460 km2 of the Paraopeba River
Basin. It is located in the central region of the state of Minas Gerais,
Brazil (Fig. 1a). In this region, the fluvial system is bounded to the east
by the western flank of the Moeda syncline band and to the north by the
Curral homoclinal, where the relief appears in high ridges and steep
cliffs (Fig. 2), often conditioned by the supracrustal rocks typical of the
Quadrilátero Ferrífero, as detailed in Alkmin and Marshak (1998).
As shown in Fig. 2, on the topographically lower and flat portions,
rounded-top hills and convex slopes, which are also known as the “sea
of hills”, can be found. On the tops and mid-slopes of these hills, se-
dimentary deposits appear on the surroundings of the Casa Branca and
Piedade streams, two important tributaries of the right bank of the

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: fabricioantoniolopes@gmail.com (F.A. Lopes).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.02.025
Received 26 March 2019; Received in revised form 14 February 2020; Accepted 15 February 2020
Available online 20 February 2020
1040-6182/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
F.A. Lopes, et al. Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40

Fig. 1. a) Geological sketch of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero region with the demarcation of the area investigated in this study (Modified of Farina et al., 2016). b)
Simplified geological map of the area with the positioning of the sedimentary deposits studied.

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F.A. Lopes, et al. Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40

Fig. 2. Digital elevation model of the area under study with the position of the sedimentary deposits. Through the DEM it is possible to see that the deposits are
located in lowered regions where the gneisses of the crystalline basement emerge. To the West, in the topographically lower areas (700–775m), is the Paraopeba
River. To the East are the elevated areas of the Moeda syncline and, to the North, the Curral homoclinal.

Paraopeba River (Fig. 1b). The units that appear in the area can be
grouped into:
• The crystalline basement - As shown in Fig. 1b, it is represented by
the Alberto Flores and Souza Noschese's gneisses, with crystal-
lization ages between 2700 and 2900 Ma (Lana et al., 2013; Farina
et al., 2015).
• Rio das Velhas Supergroup - represented by rocks from the Quebra
Osso and Nova Lima Groups (Fig. 1b). The Quebra Osso Group is
formed by intrusive rocks and by basic to ultrabasic lava flows, such
as metaperiodates, metagabbros, and metabasalts. The Nova Lima
Group is formed by basic to ultrabasic igneous rocks on its base, and
by clastic and chemical metasediments on its top. The ages of the
Nova Lima Group were obtained as being 2761 and 2850 Ma
(Machado et al., 1992, 1996).
Geochronological data of Cabral et al. (2012) suggest a deposition
age of 2650 Ma. More recent data showed an age of 2791 Ma
(Martínez Dopico et al., 2017).
Aiming to understand the evolution of the regional landscape
stemming from the interpretation of the processes responsible for
generating the aforementioned sedimentary deposits, this work is based
on stratigraphic surveys, geochronological investigations, and sedi-
mentary provenance studies.
2. Materials and methods
The three points of study identified in Figs. 1b and 2 were chosen.
Each point encompasses a deposit of the current river course and an

• Minas Supergroup - represented by the Moeda and Batatal
Formations of the Caraça Group and the Cauê Formation of the
Itabira Group (Fig. 1b). The Moeda Formation is formed by meta-
conglomerate, phyllite and quartzite with deposition ages between
2580 and 2651 Ma (Machado et al., 1996; Hartmann et al., 2006;
Koglin et al., 2014). The Cauê Formation has silicate itabirites, do-
lomitic, amphibolytic and phyllite, and shale lenses.
ancient deposit fragment around it. This last is located at mid slope in
the valley.
The ancient deposits were subject to a facies profile survey, fol-
lowing the methods suggested in Compton (1985) and the codes and
models of facies presented in Miall (1978) and Walker (1984).
To determine the sedimentary source of the profiled deposits, three
analyses of their sedimentary provenance by the U–Pb method were
carried out. Three samples from the sediments collected in the current

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river bed were also analyzed by the same technique, in order to verify
the possibility of a change of source area over time.
The zircon extraction technique makes use of jaw crusher, milling,
manual panning, hand-picking under a binocular microscope and
mounting on 25 mm epoxy (SpeciFix) mounts. Mounts were polished
and imaged under SEM-cathodoluminescence (CL) in a JEOL 6510
Scan-ning Electron Microscope hosted.
By means of a Thermo-Finingan Element II coupled to the CETAC 213
laser system (LA–SF–ICP-MS), 120 grains of each sample were ablated
for age determination. The acquisition consisted of 15-s measurements
for inert gas blank followed by 40 s of U, Th and Pb measurement. The
size of the hole during the laser ablation was 20 μm in diameter, yield of
6 J/cm³ and 10 Hz frequency.
The primary standard GJ-1 used was zircon at age 608 ± 1 Ma
(Jackson et al., 2004). For quality control, the Plesovice secondary
zircon was used, of 337 ± 1 Ma (Sláma et al., 2008). In all, 169
analyses were performed on the GJ-1 standard and they provided an
average of 206Pb/238U ratios of 604.7 ± 3 Ma. For the Plesovice sec-
ondary standard, that 112 analyses that were performed provided a
mean age of the 206Pb/238U ratios of 334.8 ± 4 Ma.
Data were reduced in Gliter 3.0 software. Zircon ages with dis-
cordance greater than 10% were discarded as were those with a U/Th
ratio of less than 0.1, for they were signaling metamorphism (Geraldes,
2010). The reliable ages were plotted in the concord diagram using the
IsoplotEx4 software (Ludwig, 2003).
The most representative facies of the three ancient deposits chosen
were also dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The
Samples were collected in metal tubes of 6 cm in diameter and 50 cm in
length inserted at a minimum depth of 0.5–1m, a surface strip of up to
40 cm was scraped in order to exclude the part that could be con-
taminated with materials of recent exposure to sunlight, bioturbation, Fig. 3. a) Transverse topographic profile indicating the position of the current
and pedogenic horizons. For they are gravel-rich facies, the tubes were Casa Branca stream and ancient deposit 1; b) Profile of facies and photograph of
the ancient deposit 1. The codes used are the same ones presented in Miall
introduced into places where the dimension of the grains was smaller,
(1978): Gt – Gravel, stratified; St – sand, stratified. Except for the facies Col.
mainly near the limit with the subjacent facies (Figs. 3–5).
The samples were dated by the laboratory of Datação, Comércio e
Prestação de Serviços Ltda, in São Paulo. The entire treatment took structures, the granulometric, textural and mineralogical (or petro-
place under low-intensity red light and involved extraction of material graphic) composition of the facies present in the ancient sedimentary
from the central part of the sample tubes and separation of the quartz deposits were described.
grains (88–180 μm) after treatment with H2O2 (20%), HF (20%), and
HCl (10%), in addition to drying and sieving. 3.1.1. Ancient deposit 1
For cumulative dose analysis, TL/OSL AutomatedSystems, Model The deposit 1 is on a slope around the Casa Branca Stream, at a
1100-series Daybreak Nuclear Instruments Inc., were used. Annual dose height of 760m (Fig. 3a). It consists of the St and Gt facies, which to-
measurements were taken using the Canberra Inspector Portable gether add up to 50 cm thick. Sediments are characterized by yellow
Spectroscopy Workstation (NaI–Tl). The equivalent dose was calculated and brown tones and the possible presence of oxides and hydroxides
by central age model and the Preheating used was 160 °C for 10 min. (goethite and iron nodules), especially in the Gt facies (Fig. 3b). To-
Fifteen aliquots were analyzed, in which several measurements are pographically, it is 12m above its current drainage channel (Fig. 3a).
made on ~7 mg of a single sample. This method enables error reduction Superimposed on basement saprolite, the St facies is composed mainly
in the measurements and identification of whether or not the grains of well-rounded quartz and hematite grains with incipient trough cross-
were completely emptied of their luminescence signal before the final stratification (Fig. 3b).
deposition (Roberts and Duller, 2004; Murray &Wintler, 2000; Wintler Between 20 and 50 cm, the Gt facies are formed by fragments of
and Murray, 2006). quartzite, containing quartz, fragments of granite and subordinate fer-
The objective of this stage was to verify the deposition age of the rous minerals. These are well-rounded, poorly selected and stratified
deposits previously mentioned, as well as to measure values for the gravels and boulders. Therefore, there is a coarsing upward between the
incision of drainage courses. The drainage incision is calculated from facies previously described (Fig. 3b).
the division between the altimetric amplitude (the height of the ancient Superimposed on the sediments of the St and Gt, there are the Col.
deposit minus the height of the current drainage) by the age of the facies, which are composed of a fine-grained rounded matrix whith
ancient deposit. It is important to mention that these rates represent an larger and angular framework grains. These grains, mainly of quartz
average of the period covered by the deposit age/terrace. In other and hematite, are organized in a chaotic way with vertically larger axes
words, there may have occurred faster or slower carving moments and (Fig. 3b).
even aggradation periods.
3.1.2. Ancient deposit 2
3. Results and discussions Seated at 20m above the present course of the Piedade stream, de-
posit 2 lies at a height of 800m, (Fig. 4a). In all, it is 1.82 m thick and its
3.1. Sedimentary facies survey faciological succession is constituted, from base to top, by the Gmm and
Gh facies. Up to about 1.37m are the sediments of the Gmm facies,
In the sedimentary facies survey, the patterns of sedimentary composed mainly of gravel and quartzite boulders, also containing

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F.A. Lopes, et al.
Fig. 4. a) Transverse topographic profile indicating the position of the current
Piedade stream and ancient deposit 2; b) Profile of facies and photograph of the
ancient deposit 2. The codes used are the same ones presented in Miall (1978):
Gmm – Massive Gravel/matrix-supported; Gh – Clast-supported/imbrication.
Except for the facies Col.
quartz and hematite. The materials rounded and disordered in the
middle of a matrix formed by fine granules (Fig. 4b).
The Gh facies have well-rounded clasts and present incipient im-
brication to the NW, suggesting them to be paleocurrent in this sense
(Fig. 4b). The aforementioned facies occur between 1.37 and 1.82m and
are mainly composed of quartzite, granitoid and quartz grains. Subse-
quently, hematite, nodular ferruginous crust, and goethite are present.
Above these is the Col facies, whose description is analogous to that of
the previous point (Fig. 4b).
3.1.3. Ancient deposit 3
The ancient sedimentary deposit 3 is located in the Piedade stream,
at an altitude of 840m (Fig. 5a). It has a thickness exceeding 2.5m and,
topographically, it is 4m above its current trough (Fig. 5a). From base
to top, it consists of Gt and Gmm facies (Fig. 5b).
The Gt facies has mainly rounded, poorly selected and stratified
quartzite clasts; it has brown tonality and a thickness of 1.44 m. In the
rest of the profile, the Gmm facies is found, and as already explained in
the profile of the ancient deposit 2, it is composed by disorganized and
rounded quartzites clasts supported by a fine-grained matrix of reddish
tonality.
3.2. Paleoenvironmental meaning of the described sedimentary facies
3.2.1. Facies association A (ancient deposit 1)
It is composed of the St and Gt facies, which were associated with
3D dunes and fluvial channel filling. The geometry of the grains,
structures and presence of sandy channel facies (St) indicate a stream
with high energy flow. By means of these characteristics, the deposit
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Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40
Fig. 5. a) Transverse topographic profile indicating the position of the current
Piedade stream and ancient deposit 3; b) Profile of facies and photograph of the
ancient deposit 3. The codes used are the same ones presented in Miall (1978):
Gmm – Massive Gravel/matrix-supported; Gt – Gravel, stratified. Except for the
facies Col.
was attributed to the migration of a braided channel. The coarsening
upward is probably due to the increase in the capacity and competence
of paleodrainage, a wet period, capable of carrying larger clasts to distal
regions.
Based on the previous description for the Col facies, it can be in-
terpreted as a colluvial deposit. Aluvial and colluvial deposits are
treated in an individualized way in literature and, therefore, colluvial
facies are not contemplated in the models of Miall (1978) and Walker
(1984).
3.2.2. Facies association B (ancient deposit 2)
In this association, the Gmm facies is interpreted as a debris flow
deposit while the Gh facies was interpreted as a type of sieve deposit
and its imbrication in Northwestern direction suggests that the Moeda
syncline is a source area. The existence of disororganized clasts in a thin
matrix reveals the development of mud and debris flows carried from
regions with abrupt slopes. High speed and viscosity disrupted the
material selection process and the fine matrix density favored the larger
clasts.
The characteristics observed in the Gmm facies characterize poly-
mictic debris flows, typical of areas with a rugged topography whose
debris is produced during drier periods and mobilized during sporadic
torrential rains. The presence of imbrication in the Gh facies suggests
high energy events and deposition of residual material on a preexisting
sedimentary surface. Considering all the characteristics described, this
deposit is interpreted, therefore, as a fragment of a proximal or medial
alluvial fan. The interpretation of the Col facies in this deposit is ana-
logous to deposit 1.
F.A. Lopes, et al.
Fig. 6. Catodoluminescence images of some zircons found in the sediments of the facies of the ancient deposits and the current bed of the fluvial courses studied. Data
listed by spot numbers are available in the supplementary data file.
3.2.3. Facies association C (ancient deposit 3)
This association is defined by the succession of the Gt and Gmm
facies. The first one was interpreted as fluvial channel filling while the
second one as a debris flow. The geometry of the grains and the pattern
of stratification indicate that the Gt facies belonged to a major energy or
tributary channel, included in a proximal alluvial fan system, char-
acteristic of the existence of Gmm facies.
3.3. Sedimentary provenance (U–Pb)
The sedimentary provenance analysis of detrital zircon by the U–Pb
method was performed on the Gt facies of the ancient deposits 1 and 3
and the Gh facies of deposit 2, as well as on the analogous facies col-
lected from the current bed.
Based on the images obtained by cathodoluminescence, it was ob-
served that most of the grains are in the form of bipyramidal prisms,
commonly fragmented. Such grains vary from colorless to brown and
individually the size ranges from 50 to 500 μm. Most zircons have os-
cillatory zoning (Fig. 6).
3.3.1. Sediment source
Fig. 7 shows the concordia age diagrams of the ancient and current
deposits analyzed. In these analyses, only the concordant and sub-
concordant ages were considered. As explained in the methodological
section herein, discordant ratios were discarded. The proper func-
tioning of the technique used was confirmed for the ages of standard
GJ-1 zircons (Fig. 7) and, density probability diagrams were made
(Fig. 8).
Fig. 8 contains density probability diagrams compiled by Machado
et al. (1996), Hartmann et al. (2006), Koglin et al. (2014), Cabral et al.
(2012) and Martinez Dopico et al. (2017). The first three authors ob-
tained their ages from the quartzites of the Moeda Formation and the
last two based on samples of quartzite lenses from the Cauê Formation.
In the same diagram, the age spectra of the current bed deposits and
ancient deposit facies involved in this study are presented.
Similarities between the age spectra of the detrital zircons of the
current bed, the alluvial facies of the ancient deposits and the Moeda
Formation, more precisely that obtained by Machado et al. (1996),
suggest that this lithostratigraphic unit is the main rock source (Fig. 8).
However, analyzing the main peaks of the age spectra in Fig. 8, it is
also possible to state that the samples could have been originated from
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Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40
the Alberto Flores gneisses. In the current bed samples, for example, the
major peaks of points 1 and 2 (2668 Ma and 2693 Ma, respectively) are
within the age range of the FQ sample 44, 2679 ± 37 Ma, obtained in
the work of Farina et al. (2015). The same is true for subordinate peak
2686 Ma of point 3. At point 2, the subordinate peak (2861 Ma) is
congruent with the age of the FQ sample 40, 2854 ± 18 Ma, also
obtained by Farina et al. (2015).
On the one hand, this pattern also occurs with the main peaks of the
alluvial sediments of ancient deposits, always consistent with the age of
the FQ sample 44 of Farina et al. (2015). On the other hand, in point 3,
although the age of 2683 Ma suggests the provenance of the Alberto
Flores gnaisse (compared to the sample FQ 44), this lithotype does not
appear in this area, reinforcing the idea that the rock source of the
sediments is the Moeda Formation. In addition, the fragmented char-
acter of the zircon grains, visualized in the cathodoluminescence
images (Fig. 6), confirms its provenence from the supracrustal litho-
types. This zircon fragmentation occurred not only by the Proterozoic
abrasion force (when they were transported from a paleosurface to a
rift, which posteriorly gave origin to the rocks of the Minas Super-
group), but also in the Quaternary (when they were eroded from the
rocks of the Minas Supergroup, transported and deposited, forming the
deposits herein studied).
Similarities between some peaks of the age spectra suggest that the
Cauê Formation constitutes a secondary source of sediments, both for
deposits of the present bed and for the ancient deposits.
In relation to the sediments sampled in the current bed, in general, it
was possible to verify similarities between the youngest peaks found in
study sites 1, 2 and 3 with the also younger peaks of 2453 Ma found by
Martinez Dopico et al. (2017). According to Fig. 8, other congruences
between the peaks of the bed samples and those in literature are ver-
ified. As an example, it is possible to mention those of 2850 Ma,
2861 Ma and 2798 Ma (points 1, 2 and 3, respectively), the first two
corresponding to peak 2865 Ma and the last one congruent with peak
2791 Ma, both found in Cabral et al. (2012) and Martinez Dopico et al.
(2017).
With respect to ancient alluvial deposits, the 2833 Ma peak of the Gt
facies at study point 1 is believed to have had contributions from
quartzite lenses of the Cauê Formation as a function of its proximity to
the 2865 Ma peak of Cabral et al. (2012) and Martinez Dopico et al.
(2017). At study point 2, there is a close relationship between the
2850 Ma peaks of Gh and 2865 Ma facies in literature. The model
F.A. Lopes, et al. Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40

Fig. 7. Concordance diagram with the main ages obtained for the zircons present in the sediments of the ancient and current deposits of points 1, 2 and 3. The ages
obtained for the standard zircon Gj-1 suggest good functioning of the technique used.

character of the age spectrum of the Gt facies, from study point 3, did of the current river bed are sharper than those of the ancient alluvial
not allow to verify peaks correlated to the Cauê Formation (Fig. 8). deposits. This is possibly due to the greater dispersion of sediments
It can be observed that the similarities found between the age coming from the lithostratigraphic unit mentioned, caused by the pre-
spectrum of the Cauê Formation existing in literature and the samples sence iron ore mining upstream the respective deposits.

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F.A. Lopes, et al.
Fig. 8. Density probability diagrams showing the age spectra of the current bed
sediments and the old deposits of study points 1, 2 and 3. The vertical bars
indicate the magmatic events defined by Lana et al. (2013) and Farina et al.
(2015). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the
reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
The similarity between the age spectra of the current beds and the
facies of the ancient deposits suggest that the present fluvial courses
constitute an embedded analogue of the paleochannels. Thus, the feed,
in terms of the current and past sedimentary input, is the same.
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Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40
3.4. OSL ages and geomorphological implications
Sediments of the Gt, Gh and Gt facies of the ancient deposits1, 2 and
3 (respectively) were chosen to obtain their deposition ages by OSL.
The results obtained are organized in Table 1. In general, the con-
tracted laboratory indicated that the sediments were properly sampled
and sufficient quantities of quartz made it possible to obtain the ages.
In Fig. 9, the histograms and the radial plot of the data in Table 1
can be found. The letters a, b, and c correspond, respectively, to the
sediments of study points 1, 2, and 3. Unimodal histograms are evi-
denced, with low heterogeneity of the equivalent doses. When dating
Lake Mugo's sediments (Southeastern Australia), Lian and Roberts
(2006) determined a dispersion of 14%, considering it a value accepted
for well-bleached quartz. In this sense, the values calculated by the
laboratory in 17% (study point 1) and 12% (study points 2 and 3) were
regarded as satisfactory, discarding a possibility of partial bleaching.
According to Table 1 and based on the relationship between the
topography and the chronology of the deposits, the age of the sample
collected from the Gh facies, from study point 2, seems to belong to an
older fan pulse (Fig. 10).
The information obtained was integrated with those found in studies
performed in the Paraopeba River Basin and adjacent regions such as
shown in Marques (1997), Moreira (1997), Carvalho (2014), Barros
(2015) and Barros and Magalhães Júnior (2018). These authors bring
light to uplift, tilting, displacement of river levels and other char-
acteristics that prove the influence of neotectonics on the dynamics of
the drainage courses of the Paraopeba river basin.
The preservation of the alluvial fans fragments of study points 1, 2
and 3 is justified by their settlement in a block surrounded by joints and
faults. These structures would be the sites favored by the dissection,
preserving the adjacent sedimentary packages. This interpretation was
also highlighted by Moreira (1997) when studying river levels in the
lower course of the Paraopeba River.
Also, in this part of the basin, Moreira (1997) mentions the devel-
opment of alluvial fans. In this same region, Marques (1997) describes
similar deposits in a tributary of the Paraopeba River. The authors cited
above attribute the formation of these fans to tectonic uplifts.
In Table 2, the topographic and geochronological data used to cal-
culate the average fluvial incision to the study points 1, 2, and 3 can be
found. The incision rate of the Casa Branca Stream at point 1 was a
similar value to the one that was found in the Paraopeba river valley,
calculated from the ages of fluvial levels obtained by Barros (2015). The
fluvial incision of the study point 2, calculated in 1.29 mm a-1, showed
a lower value than the fluvial incision of the Ribeirão Carioca, calcu-
lated in 1.81 mm a-1, based on the data presented in Barros (2015).
These values, likely overestimated, are typical of active continental
margin where tectonic processes exercise the most significant control
over the spatial pattern of incision rates (Brocard et al., 2003; Martins
et al., 2009; Fuchs et al., 2014; Viveen et al., 2012; Seong et al., 2008).
In low-drainage segments of the Paraopeba river, the same river
basin within this study, Carvalho (2014) performed a study based on
the top and bottom ages of fluvial levels, and found incision rates of
25 mm a−1 for the Macacos creek and 6 mm a−1 for the Vermelho
river. Due to their location in the San Francisco craton, free of tectonic
readjustments, these values were considered to be high and attributed
to the underestimation of the ages obtained (Carvalho, 2014). Values
considered acceptable were identified in two segments of the Ouro
creek, 0.09 mm a−1 upstream and 0.9 mm a-1 downstream of knick-
points, thus being congruent with those found in study point 3
(Table 2).
4. Conclusions
• In describing, interpreting and comparing the sedimentary facies
found with those classified in Miall (1978) and modeled in Walker
(1984), it was possible to attribute the paleodrainage to a typically
F.A. Lopes, et al. Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40

Table 1
Concentrations of Thorium (Th), Uranium (U) and Potassium (K), annual dose, cumulative dose, and ages obtained.
Study Point/facies Th (ppm) U (ppm) K (%) Annual Dose (μGy/year) Cumulative Dose (Gy) Age (Ka)

Point 1/Gt 13.9 ± 0.5 5.8 ± 0.3 0.7 ± 0.1 3.400 ± 220 32.3 9.5 ± 1.0
Point 2/Gh 11.3 ± 0.4 4.2 ± 0.1 0.5 ± 0.7 2.670 ± 145 41.4 15.5 ± 1.6
Point 3/Gt 23.7 ± 0.8 3.2 ± 0.4 3.2 ± 0.4 7.450 ± 570 90.6 12.1 ± 1.5

Fig. 9. Frequency distribuition (histogram) of the equivalent doses obtained for 15 aliquots from samples with their radial plots, indicating the central age.

braided fluvial system. The presence of sieve deposit facies (Gh) and
debris flow (Gmm), of the ancient deposits 2 and 3 (respectively) on
the ridges of crystalline basement (Figs. 3–5), made possible a better
understanding of this system. Thus, it is plausible to affirm that until
at least 15,500 years before the present, the fluvial system studied
was dominated by alluvial fans. Moreover, the presence of quartzite
and itabirite in all deposits, as well as the SE-NW imbricated grains
observed in the Gh facies of point 2, indicate that the sediments
moved from the higher portions of the Moeda syncline to distal
regions, being reworked downstream by fluvial channels (Fig. 10).
• It was not possible to confirm that the ancient alluvial deposit of
study point 1 is a relict alluvial fan because of the absence of typical
alluvial fan facies. It is plausible however to suggest that it belongs
to a braided channel and, by the context of the area, to suggest that
this sedimentary package may comprise deposits of alluvial fans
developed beyond the reach of the debris flows associated with a
distal fluvial channel (Fig. 10).
• According to the interpretations performed during the analysis of
the sedimentary provenance, it is feasible to state that these
interpretations meet those pointed out by the stratigraphic analysis.
That is, the ancient deposits 2 and 3 are alluvial fans. The age
spectra of the detrital zircons, always with dominant peaks between
2650 Ma and 2700 Ma, proved similar to those obtained by
Machado et al. (1996), Hartmann et al. (2006) and Koglin et al.
(2014), confirm that the metasediments of the Moeda Formation
were the main sediment suppliers for the fan system. In addition,
similarities between the peaks of ages found with those of the Cauê
Formation, compiled by Cabral et al. (2012) and Martinez Dopico
et al. (2017), suggest that this lithostratigraphic unit is a secondary
source of the sediments analyzed.
• Geochronological and sedimentological studies performed to inter-
pret the deposits studied configure fragments of alluvial fans mor-
phologically uncharacterized by erosive processes. It is believed that
these processes occurred more severely in regions of old faults and
joints, preserving adjacent sedimentary deposits 1, 2 and 3.

38
F.A. Lopes, et al. Quaternary International 542 (2020) 30–40

Fig. 10. Pictorial cartoon of the morphosedimentary evolution of the region studied.

Table 2
Topographic data and middle fluvial incision calculated to study points 1, 2 and 3.
Study point Topographic height of deposit Topographic height of stream Altimetric amplitude Age (Ka) Fluvial incision (mm a−1)

1 760m 748m 12m 9.5 ± 1.0 1,26

2 800m 780m 20m 15.5 ± 1.6 1,29
3 840m 836m 4m 12.1 ± 1.5 0,33

Acknowledgements de Geociências, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, pp. 122.

Fabrício Antonio Lopes is thankful to CAPES for granting him a
Master's Degree within the period of this research, and to CNPq for
providing him with his current scholarship. The authors thank the
Microanalysis Laboratory of DEGEO/UFOP, member of the Microscopy
and Microanalyses Network of Minas Gerais - FAPEMIG, for the gen-
eration of SEM images. The authors are thankful to FAPEMIG for the
financial assistance, and to the Isotopic Geochemistry Laboratory of
DEGEO/UFOP, in particular to Ana Alkmin, for the analysis assistance.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.02.025.
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