Petrochronology as a tool for quantifying orogenic processes in Western Gondwana: an example from the Southern Brasília Orogen

• Grant number: 25/25532-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: March 01, 2026
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Regiane Andrade Fumes
• Grantee: Emily Amanda Salvioni
• Supervisor: Bruno Vieira Ribeiro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas (IGCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Curtin University, Australia
• Associated to the scholarship: 25/00202-0 - PETROCHRONOLOGY AND QUANTIFICATION OF THE MELTING OF GRANULITES ROCKS FORM THE ANÁPOLIS - ITAUÇU COMPLEX, SOUTHERN BRAZILIAN BELT, BP.MS

Abstract

Petrochronology is the branch of Earth Sciences that relates time to specific rock formation processes and their physical conditions, employing different isotopic geochronology systems linked to the quantification of pressure and temperature conditions. The correlation between the ages of each key mineral and the pressure (P), temperature (T) and time (t) trajectory is extremely important for an integrated understanding of the metamorphic evolution of ancient orogens, thus highlighting the temporal evolution and duration of orogenic processes. This overseas research internship abroad project aims to quantify the duration and rates of collision, heating, cooling, burial, and exhumation processes in a Neoproterozoic orogeny of Western Gondwana, recorded in high-pressure paragranulites. The study correlates Lu-Hf, titanite U-Pb, and zircon U-Pb-Hf geochronology with thermodynamic modeling to establish the P-T-t trajectory using paragranulites from the Anápolis-Itauçu Complex, South Brasília Orogen. Geochronological information is still scarce in the Anápolis-Itaçu Complex, especially for Lu-Hf system in garnet and U-Pb in titanite. The results obtained will be compared with data from other orogenic belts in Western Gondwana to determine their tectonometamorphic evolution.