Radiation Measurements 50 (2013) 172e180

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Radiation Measurements
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/radmeas

Zircon ssion track and UePb dating methods applied to So Paulo and Taubat
Basins located in the southeast Brazil
E.A.C. Curvo a, b, *, C.A. Tello S. b, A. Carter c, A.N.C. Dias b, C.J. Soares d, W.M. Nakasuga b, R.S. Resende b,
M.R. Gomes b, I. Alencar e, J.C. Hadler e
a

Instituto de Fsica, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, UFMT, 78060-900 Cuiab, MT, Brazil
Departamento de Fsica, Qumica e Biologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, 19060-900 Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil
School of Earth Sciences, Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK
d
Instituto de Geocincias e Cincias Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP, 13506-900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
e
Instituto de Fsica Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, UNICAMP, 13083-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil
b
c

h i g h l i g h t s
< Zircons from So Paulo and Taubat Basins were dated by FTM and UePb.
< The zircon ages were compared with ages from the Mantiqueira Mountain Range (source).
< Results suggest the Mantiqueira is the source of sediments for the So Paulo Basin.
< The Taubat Basin presents further sediment sources besides the Mantiqueira.

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 5 December 2011
Received in revised form
26 June 2012
Accepted 25 July 2012

Zircon samples from the Cenozoic So Paulo and Taubat Basins and Mantiqueira Mountain Range
(southeast Brazil) were concomitantly dated by zircon Fission Track Method (FTM) and in situ UePb
dating method. While FTM detrital-zircon data are ideally used to provide low-temperature information, UePb single detrital grain ages record the time of zircon formation in igneous or high grade
metamorphic environments. This methodology may be used to study the possible sources of the basins
sediments. The results suggest that the So Paulo Basin is composed of sediments from just one source,
the Mantiqueira Mountain Range. On the other hand, the Taubat Basin presents further sediment
sources besides the Mantiqueira Mountain Range.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Zircon
Fission-track
UePb
Basin
Source to sink study

1. Introduction
The zircon (ZrSiO4) is a common accessory mineral in various
igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. This mineral has
a tetragonal structure consisting of edge-sharing SiO4 tetrahedrons
and ZrO8 dodecahedrons (Robinson et al., 1971; Nasdala et al.,
2001) whose stoichiometric chemical composition is 67.22% of
ZrO2 and 32.78% of SiO2 (Newton et al., 2005). It naturally presents
a high uranium content of 300e6000 ppm (Wagner and Van Den

* Corresponding author. Instituto de Fsica, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso,

UFMT, 78060-900 Cuiab, MT, Brazil.
E-mail address: curvo@ufmt.br (E.A.C. Curvo).
1350-4487/$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2012.07.015

Haute, 1992). This mineral is extensively used in geochronology

due to its ubiquity and physical/chemical durability in Earths crust
(Finch and Hanchar, 2003). More recently, zircon has also been
studied as a material for nuclear waste immobilization (Farnan
et al., 2007).
The uranium ssion creates latent tracks, which are regions
damaged by the passage of ssion fragments through the bulk
material. These tracks have a diameter of 5e10 nm (Lang et al.,
2008; Li et al., 2010, 2011). After a convenient chemical etching,
these damaged regions are enlarged up to the point to be observed
via optical microscopy (Fleischer et al., 1964; Wagner and Van Den
Haute, 1992). The Fission Track Method (FTM) can be used to date
crystalline and amorphous minerals (Osrio et al., 2002, 2003;
Curvo et al., 2005, 2007; Tello et al., 2005, 2006) whose age is obtained by counting both the fossil (238U spontaneous ssion) and

E.A.C. Curvo et al. / Radiation Measurements 50 (2013) 172e180

Table 1
Samples location.
Basin

Sample

Height (m)

UTM
E

Zone

Taubat

TF-293
TF-294
TF-295
TF-296
TF-303
TF-304
TF-341
TF-342
TF-346

621
613
795
765
611
580
776
780
851

392971
389892
374081
341584
432724
433160
338932
338954
353963

7423053
7416445
7402629
7388886
7441901
7447974
7408820
7409363
7388035

23K
23K
23K
23K
23K
23K
23K
23K
23K

So Paulo

the induced (235U induced ssion) tracks using an optical microscope. The induced tracks are obtained through the irradiation of
the sample with thermal neutrons in the nuclear reactor, which
causes the ssion of the 235U isotope. When the spontaneous
ssion tracks are measured in the mineral itself and the
induced ssion tracks are measured using an external detector
attached to the mineral (muscovite mica, for instance), the method
is called External Detector Method (EDM; Wagner & Van Den
Haute, 1992).
The employment of FTM in zircon allows the determination of
both age and thermal events in regions of geological interest. Since
the zircon closure temperature is w240
C, which corresponds to
the temperatures at which the tracks were retained in geological
times, it is possible to determine ages close to the crystallization
ages of some minerals (Tagami, 2005; Murakami et al., 2006). This
method can also be used in oil research since for depths where the
apatite mineral (with closure temperature at w120
C) suffers total
annealing the zircon still can give information of the basin thermal
evolution where the well perforation is made (Yamada et al., 1998,
2003).
Fleischer et al. (1964) published the rst article describing
sample preparation and chemical etching in zircon crystals for
FTM: cleaved crystals were immersed in boiling phosphoric acid to
reveal tracks. One of the main difculties of the FTM in zircon is to
establish a convenient etching to reveal the tracks since the etching
depends on zircon crystalline structure and chemical composition.
Various studies have been carried out to obtain a standard etching.
The majority of laboratories etch the zircon with a strong base (1:1
eutectic mixture of KOH and NaOH), at temperatures and etching
times between 210 and 230
C and 6e30 h, respectively. In all cases
the etching is done in the prismatic surface of the mineral (C-axis)
(Garver, 2002).

173

The pioneering work that combined both FT and UePb analysis

in detrital zircons was made by Carter and Moss (1999). Because
each technique has limitations with regard to characterizing the
source, a more robust approach to detrital zircon dating would be
to combine both FT and UePb methods in a single study. While each
detrital zircon dating technique may provide unique source information, in any study, there invariably remain questions about each
methods limitations. For example, UePb ages are characterized by
a high resistance to thermal overprinting and may therefore not
represent an immediate terrane, instead deriving from more
geographically and temporally distal sources due to polycyclic
history. Similarly, it remains unclear whether a measured FT age
relates to source cooling and/or zircon formation. Detrital zircon
data derived from either the FT or UePb methods are thus inherently ambiguous, and their separate use may result in a biased or
misleading provenance interpretation. By adopting a dual zircon
dating approach, combining both FT and UePb analyses on the
same samples and/or grains, such limitations can be overcome, and
the optimum amount of provenance information that relates to the
age structure and thermal evolution of the immediate source
terranes can be extracted (Carter and Bristow, 2000).
In this work, six samples from the So Paulo Basin, three
samples from the Taubat Basin and one sample form the Mantiqueira Mountain Range (southeast Brazil) were concomitantly
dated by zircon FTM and in situ UePb dating method. While FTM
detrital-zircon data are ideally used to provide low-temperature
information, UePb single detrital grain ages record the time of
zircon formation in igneous or high grade metamorphic environments. The simultaneous use of both techniques may give information about uplift rates of igneous rocks and the source-to-sink
studies in case of detrital rocks.
2. Materials and methods
Table 1 shows the localization of samples collected in the
Cenozoic Taubat and So Paulo Basins. The Taubat Basin presents
a total area of w2400 km2, with maximum thickness between 800
and 900 m (Saad, 1990). The So Paulo Basin is smaller, presenting
a total area of w1000 km2 and maximum thickness of 310 m
(Borges and Porsani, 2002). Fig. 1 presents a map with the location
of the Taubat and So Paulo Basins. Samples were separated by
conventional techniques of crushing, magnetic, and heavy liquids
separation. Later, the grains were mounted in Teon PFA sheets,
grinded and polished. In the assembly process, the zircon grains are
selected with a sharp tip and a binocular magnifying glass and then
put in an aluminum sheet with the C-axis crystallography face

Fig. 1. Location map of Taubat and So Paulo Basins (altered from Chagas et al., 2009).

Sample

Grain #

LAeMCeICPeMS data

FTM data

Th/U

rS  107 cm2

U ppm

Isotope ratios
207

TF293

TF294

TF296

0.51
0.47
0.50
0.52
0.65
0.52
0.48
0.56
0.72
0.59
0.61
0.62
0.41
0.92
0.64
0.86
0.43
0.27
0.35
0.46
0.61
0.53
0.88
0.69
0.83
0.62
0.76
0.56
0.35
0.41
0.35
0.33
0.74
0.39
0.55
0.33
0.53
0.48
0.42
0.82
0.11
0.59
0.42
0.36
0.36
0.18
0.21
0.46
0.52
0.34
0.49
0.43
0.25

398
375
547
666
350
576
787
431
448
776
262
256
172
158
133
140
223
260
256
166
247
110
162
155
280
150
139
120
256
173
300
638
346
515
211
313
256
247
353
375
868
450
580
232
224
279
281
156
184
91
229
165
161

Pb/235U

0.786
0.797
0.909
1.199
0.768
0.800
0.646
0.780
0.776
0.881
0.962
0.877
0.780
0.692
0.803
0.645
0.851
1.384
0.743
0.766
0.823
0.856
0.829
0.763
0.659
0.825
0.841
0.781
0.810
0.912
0.784
0.860
0.932
1.008
0.985
0.857
0.882
1.042
1.118
0.978
1.238
1.020
0.857
1.248
1.288
1.152
1.162
1.181
1.247
1.200
1.156
1.378
1.207

1s

206

0.026
0.025
0.029
0.032
0.021
0.024
0.025
0.028
0.023
0.021
0.024
0.022
0.024
0.023
0.031
0.025
0.032
0.036
0.021
0.026
0.024
0.035
0.030
0.028
0.020
0.030
0.034
0.034
0.026
0.046
0.027
0.028
0.018
0.021
0.022
0.019
0.021
0.027
0.027
0.023
0.025
0.024
0.020
0.028
0.030
6.070
8.086
0.033
0.037
0.031
0.030
0.046
0.047

0.0924
0.0921
0.1077
0.1309
0.0915
0.0967
0.0743
0.0950
0.0958
0.1002
0.0971
0.0950
0.0939
0.0796
0.0915
0.0781
0.0957
0.1334
0.0948
0.0941
0.0933
0.0936
0.0930
0.0938
0.0784
0.0933
0.0964
0.0936
0.0953
0.1074
0.0921
0.0993
0.1059
0.1067
0.0990
0.0964
0.0983
0.1095
0.1227
0.1025
0.1239
0.1110
0.0973
0.1325
0.1374
0.1298
0.1324
0.1309
0.1321
0.1291
0.1405
0.1326
0.1370

Pb/238U

1s

207

0.0015
0.0015
0.0017
0.0021
0.0015
0.0016
0.0012
0.0016
0.0016
0.0016
0.0016
0.0015
0.0016
0.0014
0.0017
0.0014
0.0017
0.0021
0.0016
0.0016
0.0015
0.0017
0.0016
0.0017
0.0013
0.0017
0.0018
0.0018
0.0016
0.0022
0.0016
0.0017
0.0016
0.0017
0.0016
0.0015
0.0016
0.0018
0.0020
0.0016
0.0019
0.0018
0.0016
0.0017
0.0017
0.0055
0.0054
0.0022
0.0023
0.0021
0.0022
0.0024
0.0024

0.0614
0.0616
0.0637
0.0663
0.0612
0.0601
0.0647
0.0599
0.0593
0.0652
0.0702
0.0682
0.0601
0.0615
0.0630
0.0601
0.0646
0.0753
0.0596
0.0609
0.0638
0.0652
0.0650
0.0607
0.0613
0.0639
0.0637
0.0623
0.0636
0.0638
0.0602
0.0630
0.0640
0.0684
0.0716
0.0643
0.0644
0.0696
0.0661
0.0695
0.0723
0.0654
0.0638
0.0709
0.0678
0.0639
0.0640
0.0668
0.0657
0.0652
0.0631
0.0724
0.0637

Pb/206Pb

Ages (Ma)
NS

rI  106 cm2

NI

1s
0.0012
0.0014
0.0011
0.0010
0.0014
0.0012
0.0012
0.0013
0.0012
0.0011
0.0013
0.0013
0.0014
0.0017
0.0020
0.0019
0.0019
0.0013
0.0013
0.0016
0.0014
0.0022
0.0019
0.0018
0.0015
0.0019
0.0021
0.0022
0.0016
0.0026
0.0017
0.0016
0.0008
0.0009
0.0011
0.0010
0.0011
0.0013
0.0011
0.0011
0.0010
0.0011
0.0011
0.0019
0.0018
0.0136
0.0147
0.0013
0.0014
0.0013
0.0012
0.0020
0.0019

3.48
2.52
2.56
2.74
2.82
2.21
2.29
2.13
1.68
2.77
1.34
1.27
1.91
1.26
1.89
2.01
1.75
1.38
1.61
1.38
1.14
1.63
1.38
1.34
1.47
1.05
1.57
1.33
1.58
2.31
2.17
2.58
2.63
2.15
2.52
2.68
2.49
2.72
2.39
2.44
2.42
2.61
2.65
1.822
2.242
1.384
1.418
1.162
1.384
1.190
1.730
1.273
1.776

151
73
74
99
102
64
83
77
61
100
39
46
83
55
82
87
76
40
70
60
33
71
50
58
64
38
68
48
57
100
94
112
95
62
91
116
72
118
69
88
70
113
115
79
81
50
41
42
40
43
75
46
77

1.120
1.777
0.759
1.648
2.305
1.888
1.361
2.388
2.259
1.667
1.611
1.592
1.388
1.667
1.167
1.111
1.333
1.444
1.388
0.944
0.814
0.778
1.444
1.055
1.389
1.055
0.778
0.778
1.33
2.00
1.65
1.28
1.75
1.78
2.11
1.64
1.52
2.39
2.48
2.33
1.59
2.86
1.61
2.333
0.889
1.555
2.444
1.111
1.277
1.111
1.055
1.407
1.167

121
64
41
89
83
51
49
43
61
60
29
43
25
15
21
10
24
13
25
17
22
14
13
19
25
19
7
7
48
72
89
69
63
48
76
59
41
129
67
63
43
103
58
42
16
28
22
20
23
40
38
38
21

UePb in situ

FTM

Age

(2s)

% Conc

Age

(1s)

569
569
657
787
558
588
460
587
584
612
597
585
578
493
564
485
589
807
584
580
575
577
573
578
486
575
593
577
587
657
568
610
649
653
608
593
605
670
746
629
753
679
599
802
830
786
802
793
800
783
848
803
828

22
23
25
28
23
23
19
23
23
23
18
18
18
16
20
17
20
24
18
19
18
20
19
20
16
20
21
21
31
37
31
32
24
24
23
22
23
25
27
24
27
25
23
20
21
65
63
26
28
26
26
29
28

91
91
94
97
86
97
99
91
100
95
64
67
95
75
80
80
77
75
99
91
78
74
74
92
75
78
81
84
81
90
93
86
88
74
63
79
80
73
92
69
76
86
81
84
96
101
102
95
100
100
100
81
100

479
224
518
261
193
185
265
141
119
261
133
127
217
121
254
283
207
152
183
230
221
329
152
200
168
158
315
268
187
182
207
316
236
190
188
256
257
180
152
165
239
144
258
124
392
141
92
165
171
169
257
143
239

78
45
115
47
35
40
56
31
25
51
36
30
55
38
68
99
53
51
47
68
65
102
50
57
44
47
130
112
42
34
38
59
46
42
36
49
58
30
31
33
53
25
50
27
115
37
26
48
48
41
58
35
64

E.A.C. Curvo et al. / Radiation Measurements 50 (2013) 172e180

TF295

[1,4]
[1,10]
[3,1]
[3,2]
[3,7]
[3,9]
[5,7]
[7,3]
[7,7]
[8,7]
[1,2]
[1,8]
[1,9]
[2,2]
[3,3]
[3,5]
[3,10]
[4,5]
[4,6]
[4,7]
[4,9]
[4,10]
[5,5]
[5,6]
[5,9]
[5,10]
[6,5]
[7,2]
[1,3]
[1,7]
[2,8]
[2,9]
[3,4]
[4,4]
[5,8]
[6,1]
[7,3]
[8,2]
[8,5]
[8,6]
[8,7]
[10,4]
[10,7]
[1,6]
[1,7]
[2,2]
[2,8]
[2,9]
[3,8]
[3,9]
[4,6]
[6,2]
[7,4]

174

Table 2
Zircon UePb and FTM data for samples from Taubat Basin.

TF303

TF304

0.33
0.36
0.74
0.67
0.61
0.72
0.70
0.64
0.62
0.57
0.64
1.14
0.82
0.87
0.95
1.29
1.12
0.91
0.61
1.13
1.19
0.86
1.14
1.14
0.98
1.17
0.57
1.18
0.80

140
408
262
264
226
228
164
121
236
260
232
167
166
95
161
134
144
197
280
106
154
124
118
114
144
126
143
120
190

1.113
1.461
0.894
0.888
0.812
1.058
0.766
0.889
1.148
0.742
0.805
0.775
0.801
0.818
0.823
0.733
0.758
0.856
0.730
0.744
0.753
0.843
0.858
0.916
0.825
0.782
0.818
0.867
0.759

0.058
0.042
0.033
0.028
0.033
0.031
0.031
0.039
0.037
0.045
0.040
7.935
6.297
0.035
0.036
0.033
0.036
0.041
0.036
0.034
0.028
0.046
0.034
0.043
0.042
0.043
0.036
0.039
0.038

0.1283
0.1534
0.0968
0.0989
0.0982
0.1083
0.0974
0.0988
0.1044
0.0902
0.0964
0.0921
0.0945
0.0959
0.0966
0.0931
0.0943
0.0962
0.0953
0.0920
0.0950
0.0971
0.0963
0.0984
0.0954
0.0909
0.0993
0.0987
0.0977

0.0026
0.0025
0.0019
0.0017
0.0018
0.0018
0.0018
0.0020
0.0019
0.0020
0.0019
0.0054
0.0055
0.0018
0.0019
0.0018
0.0019
0.0019
0.0019
0.0018
0.0017
0.0020
0.0018
0.0020
0.0019
0.0019
0.0018
0.0019
0.0019

0.0627
0.0672
0.0674
0.0627
0.0608
0.0705
0.0563
0.0636
0.0793
0.0598
0.0593
0.0636
0.0604
0.0608
0.0628
0.0586
0.0591
0.0633
0.0566
0.0577
0.0571
0.0613
0.0629
0.0647
0.0604
0.0633
0.0629
0.0639
0.0572

0.0024
0.0017
0.0022
0.0017
0.0020
0.0017
0.0019
0.0020
0.0022
0.0027
0.0021
0.0125
0.0131
0.0024
0.0023
0.0021
0.0024
0.0025
0.0023
0.0020
0.0018
0.0031
0.0021
0.0025
0.0025
0.0025
0.0021
0.0026
0.0023

1.024
1.356
1.27
1.41
1.27
1.25
1.83
1.19
1.02
0.99
1.41
2.01
2.47
2.24
2.26
2.05
1.85
2.56
1.91
1.76
1.78
2.19
1.59
1.98
1.76
1.55
1.94
1.59
1.22

37
49
46
51
46
45
53
43
37
43
61
87
107
97
98
89
80
111
83
51
77
95
46
86
51
67
84
69
44

1.388
1.925
1.70
1.44
1.11
1.61
2.06
1.26
1.33
1.39
1.17
0.861
1.562
0.917
0.806
1.555
0.722
1.581
0.945
1.113
0.834
1.063
0.778
0.778
1.114
1.336
0.945
1.002
1.334

25
52
46
39
30
29
37
34
24
25
21
31
42
33
29
28
13
57
17
20
15
19
14
14
20
12
17
18
12

778
920
595
608
604
663
599
607
640
556
593
568
582
591
594
574
581
592
587
567
585
597
593
605
588
561
610
607
601

31
30
23
22
22
22
22
25
24
25
24
65
66
23
24
23
23
23
23
22
22
25
23
24
24
24
23
23
24

100
101
70
87
96
70
100
83
54
94
103
78
94
94
85
104
102
82
102
101
100
92
84
79
95
78
87
82
102

117
112
119
155
181
123
141
150
122
113
190
363
249
379
434
208
397
254
317
396
332
324
320
396
249
183
320
250
145

33
25
28
37
47
32
34
38
35
31
52
85
53
87
103
50
126
50
91
121
101
89
103
122
71
61
92
71
50

For UePb zircon analyses: (i) sample and standard are corrected after Pb and Hg blanks; (ii) 206Pb/207Pb and 206Pb/238U are corrected after common Pb presence; (iii) common Pb assuming 206Pb/238U concordant age; (iv)
U 1/137.88  Utotal; (v) standard GJ-1; Th/U 232Th/238U  0.992743; (vi) the isotope ratios errors in the table are calculated as 1 sigma and the 206Pb/238U concordant age with 2 sigma error; (vii) degree of
concordance (206Pb/238U age  100/207Pb/206U age). rS (rI), spontaneous (induced) track density; NS (NI), number of tracks counted to determine rS (rI); rI, induced track density of sample measured that was obtained in
a muscovite mica.
235

E.A.C. Curvo et al. / Radiation Measurements 50 (2013) 172e180

[7,7]
[10,2]
[1,2]
[2,10]
[3,9]
[4,4]
[4,10]
[5,9]
[6,10]
[9,9]
[10,10]
[1,2]
[1,5]
[1,6]
[1,10]
[2,1]
[2,9]
[3,6]
[3,8]
[4,1]
[4,8]
[4,9]
[5,10]
[6,9]
[6,10]
[7,3]
[7,8]
[7,9]
[10,8]

175

Sample

Grain #

LAeMCeICPeMS data

FTM data

Th/U

rS  107 cm2

U ppm

Isotope ratios
207

TF341

TF342

TF346

0.76
0.32
0.55
0.71
0.42
0.35
0.52
0.62
0.45
0.12
0.60
0.48
0.54
0.83
0.77
0.46
0.32
1.13
0.69
0.48
0.61
0.81
0.40
0.60
0.48
0.95
0.90
0.45
0.90
1.08
0.54
0.61
0.97
0.42
0.77
0.80
1.27
0.44
0.75
1.15
0.40
0.51
0.33
0.60
0.46
0.47
0.52
0.79
0.57
0.51
0.46
0.67
0.42

86
153
136
133
156
192
158
70
75
286
233
139
191
100
131
272
225
917
661
410
755
1168
445
995
853
641
529
802
391
504
588
556
613
598
738
538
603
800
751
1056
259
82
344
131
127
129
203
100
161
172
229
135
107

Pb/235U

0.751
0.719
0.857
0.755
0.782
0.758
0.753
0.869
0.762
0.762
0.769
0.736
0.721
0.822
0.810
0.776
0.729
0.775
0.833
0.881
0.802
0.820
0.758
0.826
0.768
0.805
0.823
0.808
0.843
0.775
0.824
0.773
0.933
0.764
0.732
0.764
0.825
0.748
0.764
0.792
0.823
0.778
0.823
0.822
0.722
0.710
0.820
0.697
0.802
0.858
0.747
0.814
0.801

1s

206

0.033
0.027
0.032
0.029
0.021
0.028
0.029
0.048
0.045
0.023
0.024
0.031
0.025
0.039
0.033
0.023
0.023
0.026
0.024
0.031
0.024
0.027
0.036
0.028
0.027
0.032
0.036
0.030
0.046
0.033
0.036
0.047
0.041
0.034
0.031
0.036
0.040
0.030
0.031
0.033
0.027
0.047
0.024
0.037
0.033
0.033
0.029
0.039
0.033
0.035
0.026
0.035
0.040

0.0931
0.0951
0.0946
0.0918
0.0946
0.0911
0.0934
0.0955
0.0955
0.0931
0.0943
0.0949
0.0912
0.0963
0.0944
0.0948
0.0914
0.0932
0.0984
0.1012
0.0942
0.0971
0.0911
0.0952
0.0910
0.0967
0.0993
0.0949
0.0985
0.0927
0.0920
0.0991
0.1001
0.0910
0.0943
0.0944
0.0967
0.0924
0.0951
0.0926
0.0918
0.0916
0.0918
0.0972
0.0903
0.0920
0.0965
0.0930
0.0894
0.0939
0.0922
0.0959
0.0938

Pb/238U

1s

207

1s

0.0017
0.0017
0.0017
0.0016
0.0015
0.0016
0.0017
0.0020
0.0020
0.0015
0.0016
0.0017
0.0016
0.0019
0.0017
0.0016
0.0015
0.0016
0.0017
0.0018
0.0016
0.0017
0.0018
0.0017
0.0016
0.0018
0.0019
0.0017
0.0021
0.0018
0.0018
0.0022
0.0019
0.0018
0.0018
0.0019
0.0020
0.0017
0.0018
0.0018
0.0016
0.0020
0.0015
0.0019
0.0017
0.0018
0.0017
0.0019
0.0017
0.0017
0.0016
0.0018
0.0019

0.0588
0.0561
0.0660
0.0611
0.0598
0.0612
0.0598
0.0654
0.0578
0.0615
0.0610
0.0556
0.0597
0.0628
0.0629
0.0601
0.0585
0.0606
0.0629
0.0635
0.0611
0.0620
0.0602
0.0626
0.0610
0.0594
0.0622
0.0620
0.0614
0.0616
0.0638
0.0569
0.0664
0.0594
0.0575
0.0581
0.0619
0.0568
0.0589
0.0618
0.0661
0.0623
0.0633
0.0623
0.0586
0.0559
0.0613
0.0532
0.0642
0.0644
0.0600
0.0606
0.0602

0.0021
0.0017
0.0019
0.0019
0.0012
0.0018
0.0019
0.0030
0.0029
0.0014
0.0015
0.0019
0.0017
0.0024
0.0021
0.0014
0.0015
0.0016
0.0014
0.0018
0.0014
0.0016
0.0024
0.0017
0.0018
0.0019
0.0022
0.0018
0.0028
0.0022
0.0023
0.0029
0.0023
0.0022
0.0020
0.0023
0.0025
0.0019
0.0020
0.0021
0.0017
0.0032
0.0014
0.0023
0.0023
0.0022
0.0018
0.0025
0.0022
0.0021
0.0017
0.0021
0.0025

Pb/206Pb

1.04
1.05
1.45
1.05
1.14
1.57
1.22
0.99
1.38
0.91
1.05
0.97
1.36
1.22
1.41
0.97
0.83
1.64
1.41
1.74
1.66
1.38
1.71
1.08
1.34
1.48
1.18
1.02
1.61
1.36
1.25
1.52
1.36
1.57
1.25
1.48
1.57
1.43
1.01
1.13
1.01
1.08
1.33
1.48
1.08
1.22
0.80
1.33
1.36
1.16
0.86
1.22
1.33

Ages (Ma)
NS

45
38
63
38
33
68
44
36
60
33
38
35
49
53
51
42
30
71
51
63
72
60
74
39
58
64
51
37
70
59
54
66
59
68
54
64
68
62
44
49
44
47
48
64
39
44
29
48
49
42
31
44
48

rI  106 cm2
0.778
1.222
0.834
0.723
0.889
1.001
0.944
1.003
0.944
0.944
0.518
1.173
1.224
0.722
1.391
0.722
0.815
0.889
1.063
1.447
1.225
0.750
0.722
0.926
1.564
1.285
1.222
0.963
1.112
0.889
0.889
1.063
0.944
1.062
1.281
0.703
0.861
0.944
0.917
0.833
1.075
0.667
1.118
1.175
0.778
0.861
0.583
0.833
0.889
0.556
0.917
0.833
0.889

NI

7
22
15
13
8
18
17
18
17
17
14
21
11
13
25
13
22
16
19
26
22
27
13
25
14
23
22
26
20
16
16
19
17
19
23
19
31
17
33
15
29
24
30
21
21
31
21
15
16
10
33
15
16

UePb in situ

FTM

Age

(2s)

% Conc

Age

(1s)

574
586
582
566
583
562
576
588
588
574
581
584
563
593
581
584
564
574
605
621
580
597
562
586
562
595
611
585
606
571
567
609
615
561
581
582
595
570
586
571
566
565
566
598
557
567
594
573
552
578
569
590
578

22
21
21
21
19
21
21
25
25
20
20
22
20
23
22
20
20
24
24
26
24
25
26
24
24
26
27
25
29
26
26
31
27
25
26
27
28
25
26
25
20
25
19
23
22
22
21
24
21
22
20
23
24

103
102
72
88
98
87
97
75
103
87
91
100
95
84
83
96
103
92
86
86
90
89
92
84
88
102
90
87
93
87
77
100
75
96
101
99
89
100
101
86
70
83
79
87
101
99
91
105
74
77
94
94
95

210
136
273
229
202
246
203
158
230
153
317
132
175
265
161
211
161
288
211
190
214
289
368
184
136
182
152
168
229
241
221
227
227
234
154
327
285
238
175
214
150
255
189
199
218
223
217
250
240
327
148
230
235

88
39
84
78
83
71
62
49
68
49
105
39
61
87
43
71
48
86
61
49
57
74
118
51
43
49
42
47
63
73
67
64
67
66
42
93
69
70
44
67
39
70
48
55
64
57
66
79
74
120
40
73
72

E.A.C. Curvo et al. / Radiation Measurements 50 (2013) 172e180

TF342

[1,2]
[2,9]
[2,10]
[3,1]
[4,2]
[5,3]
[5,4]
[5,5]
[6,7]
[7,7]
[8,2]
[8,3]
[8,7]
[9,1]
[9,4]
[10,2]
[10,3]
[1,1]
[1,2]
[1,3]
[1,4]
[1,6]
[2,1]
[2,7]
[2,8]
[3,7]
[3,8]
[4,1]
[4,3]
[4,5]
[4,7]
[4,8]
[4,9]
[5,1]
[5,4]
[5,7]
[6,1]
[6,3]
[6,5]
[6,10]
[1,3]
[1,5]
[1,6]
[1,9]
[2,1]
[4,1]
[5,2]
[5,3]
[6,2]
[6,5]
[7,1]
[7,2]
[7,4]

176

Table 3
Zircon UePb and FTM data for samples from So Paulo Basin.

For UePb zircon analyses: (i) sample and standard are corrected after Pb and Hg blanks; (ii) 206Pb/207Pb and 206Pb/238U are corrected after common Pb presence; (iii) common Pb assuming 206Pb/238U concordant age; (iv)
235
U 1/137.88  Utotal; (v) standard GJ-1; Th/U 232Th/238U  0.992743; (vi) the isotope ratios errors in the table are calculated as 1 sigma and the 206Pb/238U concordant age with 2 sigma error; (vii) degree of
concordance (206Pb/238U age  100/207Pb/206U age). rS (rI), spontaneous (induced) track density; NS (NI), number of tracks counted to determine rS (rI); rI, induced track density of sample measured that was obtained in
a muscovite mica.

[7,5]
[7,7]
[7,9]
[8,1]
[8,3]
[8,6]
[9,1]
[9,7]
[10,2]
[10,4]
[10,5]

1.00
0.42
0.43
0.53
0.46
0.90
0.61
0.47
1.11
0.36
0.41

64
100
247
170
197
70
151
131
176
127
149

0.722
0.707
0.787
0.858
0.763
0.807
0.939
0.781
0.794
0.796
0.750

0.047
0.036
0.027
0.034
0.028
0.046
0.045
0.033
0.032
0.034
0.028

0.0936
0.0924
0.0923
0.0952
0.0949
0.0949
0.0915
0.0943
0.0918
0.0958
0.0941

0.0021
0.0018
0.0016
0.0018
0.0017
0.0020
0.0019
0.0018
0.0017
0.0018
0.0017

0.0598
0.0572
0.0623
0.0656
0.0568
0.0631
0.0727
0.0611
0.0613
0.0600
0.0590

0.0034
0.0025
0.0017
0.0021
0.0017
0.0030
0.0028
0.0021
0.0020
0.0021
0.0018

1.44
0.89
1.05
1.13
1.18
1.07
1.27
1.02
0.99
1.05
1.11

52
32
38
41
51
31
46
37
36
38
40

1.284
0.778
0.611
1.223
1.332
1.001
0.778
0.740
1.116
0.444
0.518

23
7
11
22
24
27
14
20
10
8
14

577
570
569
586
584
584
564
581
566
590
580

26
23
20
22
21
25
23
22
21
23
21

97
104
83
74
102
82
56
91
87
98
102

178
180
270
147
140
169
257
218
142
368
333

49
78
97
42
38
48
83
65
53
149
110

E.A.C. Curvo et al. / Radiation Measurements 50 (2013) 172e180

177

parallel to the sheet. The grains were incrusted in the Teon with
a thermal plate. After assembly, the mounting was grinded in three
stages: sandpaper 1200 (w10 mm) manually, sandpaper 2400
(w5 mm) manually for 2 min, and sandpaper 4000 (w3 mm) for
5 min using a polish machine at 60 rpm. The sample was then
polished with 1/4 mm diamond paste for 10 min at 60 rpm. Finally,
the zircon etching was made with 1:1 eutectic mixture of KOH and
NaOH at 225  2
C for 16 h.
The zircon ssion track (FT) densities were obtained using
a Leica DMRX microscope at the Departamento de Fsica, Qumica e
Biologia of UNESP e Presidente Prudente, Brazil. The irradiations
for FT analyses were made in the IEA-R1 nuclear reactor from IPEN/
CNEN in So Paulo state with a nominal neutron uence of
5  1014 neutrons/cm2. The ages were obtained using the absolute
neutron dosimetry developed by the Chronology Group at IFGW/
UNICAMP, Brazil (Bigazzi et al., 1993, 1995, 1999; Iunes et al., 2002,
2004). This method uses the absolute calibration and not the
z-calibration. The method proposed by Iunes et al. (2002, 2004)
was chosen because that way the FT ages do not rely on standard
ages obtained through other radioactive methods. The value of lF
utilized was of (8.37  0.17)  1017 a1 as in accordance with
Hadler et al. (1981, 2003) and Guedes et al. (2000, 2003a,b).
In order to facilitate the handling of the samples, all zircon
mountings used for FT determination (ca. 1 cm  1 cm) were
mounted in an epoxy, 2.5-cm-diameter circular mount, requiring
no further repetition for assembly, grinding and polishing. UePb
zircon dating was carried out with an ICP-MS Agilent 7500 at the
Geochronology Laboratory of the School of Earth Sciences, Birkbeck
University e London.
This work improved the methodology described in Carter and
Moss (1999). The ages found in both methods (detailed in the
Tables 2e4) were obtained in the same grains and, more specically, in the same areas of the grains. Initially, each sample was
mapped by optical microscopy and dated. Then the grains were
dated by the FT and the UePb methods. The etching applied in the
FT helped to indicate at which specic area of grain the laser spot
should be aimed. This area presented uniform FT distribution, i.e.,
the chemical etching indicates which areas of the grain are in fact
zircon (Dias et al., 2009). By using the chemical etching to guide the
laser positioning we believe that the mixture of mineral phases was
avoided, improving the degree of concordance obtained in the
UePb ages (Tables 2e4).
In order to obtain the MTF ages the homogeneous, heterogeneous and hybrid grains, previously characterized via material
science techniques (Dias et al., 2009, 2011; Tello et al., 2012), were
utilized.

3. Results
3.1. FTM and UePb
3.1.1. Mantiqueira Mountain Range
One hypothesis for the Mantiqueira Mountain Range formation
(obtained through the analysis of zircon (to be submitted for
publication) and apatite (Tello et al., 2005) ssion-track ages in the
region) is that it crossed the isotherm for track retention in zircon
(w240
C) nearly 400 Ma ago, then experienced a thermal event
w300 Ma and nally suffered a fast uplift w130 Ma. That is, this
mountain range would have been thermally active in the interval of
400e300 Ma, relatively stable in the time interval of 300e130 Ma,
and highly active around 130 Ma. The fast uplift in 130 Ma is well
sustained by apatite thermal histories in samples from this region
(Tello et al., 2005). These apatite thermal histories start in w70
C,
which indicates a fast uplift with little time for track retention

Sample

Grain #

Th/U

U ppm

0.60
1.44
1.45
1.50
1.32
1.05
1.45
1.24
1.40
1.07
1.35
0.86
1.29
1.41
1.47
1.65
1.12
1.70
1.31
1.53

1266
204
190
227
175
228
212
231
228
213
248
426
261
265
193
335
226
358
273
317

Pb/

235

0.904
0.796
0.922
0.834
0.867
0.819
0.772
0.793
0.838
0.815
0.851
0.806
0.802
0.799
0.761
0.870
0.829
0.841
0.814
0.803

1s

206

0.020
0.028
0.043
0.030
0.034
0.029
0.032
0.029
0.031
0.030
0.029
0.025
0.028
0.029
0.041
0.035
0.041
0.043
0.040
0.045

0.1028
0.0963
0.0993
0.0977
0.0974
0.0956
0.0931
0.0943
0.0947
0.0956
0.0973
0.0958
0.0971
0.0965
0.0928
0.0932
0.0959
0.1016
0.0943
0.0937

Pb/

238

1s

207

0.0016
0.0017
0.0020
0.0017
0.0018
0.0017
0.0017
0.0017
0.0017
0.0017
0.0017
0.0016
0.0017
0.0017
0.0019
0.0017
0.0019
0.0021
0.0019
0.0021

0.0626
0.0611
0.0628
0.0616
0.0629
0.0619
0.0597
0.0600
0.0655
0.0632
0.0657
0.0606
0.0597
0.0598
0.0574
0.0657
0.0624
0.0612
0.0634
0.0649

Pb/

206

Pb

NS

rI  106 cm2

NI

1s
0.0010
0.0017
0.0024
0.0018
0.0020
0.0017
0.0020
0.0018
0.0019
0.0019
0.0017
0.0015
0.0017
0.0017
0.0026
0.0021
0.0025
0.0026
0.0026
0.0030

0.94
1.57
1.19
1.08
1.61
2.05
1.30
1.59
1.13
1.34
1.64
1.59
1.31
1.45
1.66
1.57
1.50
1.50
1.48
1.82

46
51
46
45
53
43
37
43
61
87
107
97
98
89
80
111
83
51
77
44

0.611
0.722
1.042
0.518
0.944
1.062
0.815
0.778
0.555
0.944
1.226
1.173
0.722
0.583
0.917
0.806
1.393
1.002
1.068
1.176

11
13
28
14
17
19
22
14
10
17
22
21
13
21
33
29
25
18
19
21

UePb in situ

FTM

Age

(2s)

% Conc

Age

(1s)

631
593
610
601
599
589
574
581
583
588
599
590
598
594
572
574
591
624
581
577

24
25
28
25
26
25
25
24
25
25
25
24
25
25
27
25
27
29
27
29

91
92
87
91
85
88
97
96
74
82
75
94
101
100
103
72
86
96
81
75

243
339
181
326
268
303
251
320
318
223
211
215
285
387
284
304
171
236
220
245

87
109
48
105
78
85
70
100
115
66
56
58
93
106
67
75
44
68
62
66

For UePb zircon analyses: (i) sample and standard are corrected after Pb and Hg blanks; (ii) 206Pb/207Pb and 206Pb/238U are corrected after common Pb presence; (iii) common Pb assuming 206Pb/238U concordant age; (iv)
U 1/137.88  Utotal; (v) standard GJ-1; Th/U 232Th/238U  0.992743; (vi) the isotope ratios errors in the table are calculated as 1 sigma and the 206Pb/238U concordant age with 2 sigma error; (vii) degree of
concordance (206Pb/238U age  100/207Pb/206U age). rS (rI), spontaneous (induced) track density; NS (NI), number of tracks counted to determine rS (rI); rI, induced track density of sample measured that was obtained in
a muscovite mica. The sample was collected in the Mantiqueira Mountain Range (<600 m).

235

600
800

U-Pb

FTM

1000

Relative Probability

Ages (Ma)

Fig. 2. Age distribution obtained via FTM and UePb for the Mantiqueira Mountain
Range (sample TF-306).

400

between 120 and 70
C (the apatite track retention temperature, or

closure temperature, is w120
C).
In Fig. 2 (sample TF-306) it can be observed that mean age value
obtained through FTM in zircon is approximately 300 Ma and the
mean age obtained through UePb is approximately 600 Ma. That
indicates that this sample crossed the isotherm of 810
C w600 Ma
ago and the isotherm of 240
C w300 Ma ago. That means that the
sample would have experienced an uplift of w20 km in 300 Ma,
considering a geothermal gradient of 30
C/km. Therefore, the
Mantiqueira region clearly registered thermo-tectonic events
around 600, 300 and 120 Ma.

3.2. So Paulo Basin

So Paulo Basin

200

Fig. 3 presents the total age histogram obtained by adding the

data from samples TF-341, TF-342 and TF-346. As can be noted from
the ages, this basin received zircons which entered the recording
zone 600 Ma ago. From a global standpoint this basin has zircon
grains with ages in the interval of 100e400 Ma. This distribution is
usual in a sedimentary basin, since several sources may have
contributed with the sedimentary material or since the sources

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
0

Fig. 3. Age distribution obtained via FTM and UePb for the So Paulo Basin (samples
TF-341, TF-342 and TF-346).

Frequency

E.A.C. Curvo et al. / Radiation Measurements 50 (2013) 172e180

[5,4]
[5,6]
[6,1]
[6,3]
[6,5]
[6,9]
[7,1]
[7,2]
[7,4]
[8,1]
[8,4]
[8,5]
[8,7]
[9,3]
[9,7]
[10,2]
[10,3]
[10,5]
[10,7]
[10,9]

rS  107 cm2

Isotope ratios
207

TF306

178

Table 4
Zircon UePb and FTM data for samples from Serra da Mantiqueira Mountain Range.

E.A.C. Curvo et al. / Radiation Measurements 50 (2013) 172e180

45

Acknowledgments

Taubat Basin

U-Pb

40

FTM
35

Relative Probability

Frequency

179

30
25
20
15

The authors are grateful to Brazilian foundations FAPESP (Fundao de Amparo Pesquisa do Estado de So Paulo), FUNDUNESP
(Fundao para o Desenvolvimento da UNESP), CAPES (Coordenao de Aperfeioamento de Pessoal de Nvel Superior) and
CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientco e Tecnolgico) which nancially supported this work and to the IPEN/
CNEN e So Paulo for providing the neutron irradiations.

References

10
5
0
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Ages (Ma)
Fig. 4. Age distribution obtained via FTM and UePb for the Taubat Basin (samples
TF-293, TF-294, TF-295, TF-296, TF-303 and TF-304).

may have suffered different tectonic events which reset the

geochronological clock. For example, in Fig. 3 there is a peak
between 150 and 200 Ma, which may indicate a high tectonic
activity in this region some millions of years before the South
Atlantic opening. The most probable source of material for the So
Paulo Basin (Mantiqueira Mountain Range) presents these ages
both via zircon and apatite ssion-track analysis.
An interesting result can be observed when comparing the ages
obtained for sample TF-306 (Mantiqueira Mountain Range, Fig. 2)
with the ages obtained for the So Paulo Basin (Fig. 3). It can be seen
that the ages obtained in the basin are also present in the source,
which can indicate that the Mantiqueira Mountain Range is indeed
one sedimentary source for this basin.

3.3. Taubat Basin

The total age distribution obtained for this basin is shown in
Fig. 4 (samples TF-293, TF-294, TF-295, TF-296, TF-303 and TF-304).
The age distribution is similar to the distribution obtained for the
So Paulo Basin. That is, one of the sediment sources for the Taubat
Basin could be the Mantiqueira Mountain Range. Nevertheless,
there is a population of ages around 800 Ma which is not present in
the So Paulo Basin. That suggests that the Taubat Basin had
additional sources of sediments besides the Mantiqueira Mountain
Range. Other possible sources of sediment for this basin are: Jundia
Plateau (FTM zircon ages of w400 Ma) and Gois Massif (igneous
episodes at 1250 and 790 Ma, UePb zircon ages; Ferreira et al.,
2010).

4. Conclusions
The combination of high-temperature UePb zircon dating and
intermediate- to low- temperature FT zircon dating provides
a powerful tool for unraveling the origin of the rocks and morphotectonic events in the geological evolution of the South American Plate. By analyzing samples from the So Paulo Basin, Taubat
Basin and Mantiqueira Mountain Range via the FTM and UePb
methods, both applied to zircon, we could conclude that the
Mantiqueira Mountain Range contributed with material for these
basins. Also, we conclude that the Mantiqueira Mountain Range
would have uplifted approximately 20 km in 300 Ma, considering
a paleo-geothermal gradient of 30
C/km.

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