Abstract
The Araras Ridge tufa extends for over 30km along a c. 100m high fault scarp, probably representing one of the most extensive tufa deposits in South America. The deposit comprises massive crystalline calcite occurring both as in situ tufa deposited along the vertical face of the scarp or as extensive debris deposits resulting from erosional disaggregation of the scarp. Although minor active tufa precipitation can be observed in streams, the deposit is not active at present, except for volumetrically limited reprecipitation of calcite as subaerial stalactites or surface flowstone. 230Th dating confirms that the bulk of the deposit is considerably old, basal ages being beyond the dating limit of the method (>600kaB.P.) and most ages being older than 250kaB.P. Field and remote sensing observations demonstrate that the upper limit of the deposit parallels the fault scarp, being associated with the contact between the upper dolomitic and the lower limestone members of the Araras Formation. Carbonate beds are arranged in a regional scale synclinal structure that allows water infiltration and storage at the top of the more impure limestone, favouring discharge at the ascending limb of the syncline, close to the scarp. Genesis of the deposit thus probably involved a series of palaeo perched springs aligned along the top of the scarp. Current climatic and geomorphic conditions are not conductive to major tufa development, suggesting a distinct palaeoenvironment during former depositional phases.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 94-101 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Geomorphology |
Volume | 134 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2011 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Financial support was provided by CAPES and CNPq through a MSc and post doc scholarships respectively to DC and ASA; and NSF ESH Grant to RLE and HC. We acknowledge the help of José Guilherme Aires and Philippe Maillard. Local landowners provided kind access to their properties. Gabriela Rosário helped with figures.
Keywords
- Araras Formation
- Carbonate precipitation
- Palaeoclimate
- Quaternary
- Th dating method
- Tufa