Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

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Journal of South American Earth Sciences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsames

Rift fault geometry and evolution in the Cretaceous Potiguar Basin (NE
Brazil) based on fault growth models
Alanny Christiny Costa de Melo a, David Lopes de Castro a, *,

rio Rego Bezerra a, Giovanni Bertotti b
Francisco Hila
~o em Geodina
^mica e Geofsica, Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Universita

rio,

s-Graduaa
Programa de Po
Lagoa Nova, 59.078-970, Natal, RN, Brasil
b
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Building 23, Stevinweg 1, PO-box 5048, 2628 CN Delft, 2600, GA, Delft,
Netherlands
a

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 13 February 2016
Received in revised form
23 June 2016
Accepted 3 July 2016
Available online 11 July 2016

We investigated the Cretaceous Potiguar Basin in the Equatorial margin of Brazil to understand how the
geometry of major faults evolved to form the basin internal architecture. Previous studies pointed out
that the rift is an asymmetrical half-graben elongated along the NE-SW direction. We used 2D seismic,
well logs and 3D gravity modeling to analyze faults that constitute the rift boundary and determine their
maximum displacement (Dmax) and length (L) ratio in the Potiguar Rift. We constrained the 3D gravity
modeling with well data and the interpretation of seismic sections. The difference of the fault
displacement and depth of the basement obtained in the gravity model is in the order of 10% compared
to seismic and well data. The fault-growth curves allowed us to divide the faulted rift border into four
main fault systems, which provide roughly similar Dmax/L ratios. Fault-growth curves suggest that a
regional uniform tectonic mechanism inuenced growth of these faults. These fault systems are
composed of minor faults that we dene as segments. The variation of the displacements along the fault
segments indicates that the fault systems were formed independently during rift initiation and were
linked by hard and soft linkages. The latter formed relay ramps. In the interconnection zones the Dmax/L
ratios are highest due to interference of fault segment motions. We divided the evolution of the Potiguar
Rift into ve stages based on these ratios and correlated them with the major tectonic stages of the
breakup between South America and Africa in the Early Cretaceous.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
3D gravity modeling
Fault growth
Rift evolution
Potiguar basin
South America-Africa breakup

1. Introduction
The relation between maximum fault displacement and length
(Dmax/L) has been widely studied to understand the geometry of
faults at different scales and the evolution of rift basins (e.g.
Watterson, 1986; Cartwright et al., 1995; McLeod et al., 2000).
These studies used methods such as eld observations (Dawers
et al., 1993), seismic reection (Pickering et al., 1997) and, more
recently, 3D gravity models (De Castro et al., 2008).
Previous studies on fault growth indicate that the rst fault
segments are substantially smaller than their nal fault length
(Walsh and Watterson, 1988; Cowie and Scholz, 1992). However,
faults do not tend to grow as individual segments for a very long

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: david@geologia.ufrn.br (D.L. de Castro).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2016.07.006
0895-9811/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

time. As they grow, they tend to interact and link with adjacent
faults and form single longer structures (Kim et al., 2000).
Several factors control the Dmax/L ratio, such as rock type, type of
faults, fault direction and dip, rupture, and reactivation (Kim and
Sanderson, 2005). Some differences in mechanical properties and
lithologic boundaries can create barriers that inhibit fault propagation. This fault displacement may be affected when faults go
through different lithological boundaries (Burgmann et al., 1994).
The ratios for strike-slip faults often are greater than for normal or
reverse faults (Kim et al., 2000).
In the Equatorial margin of South America, several studies have
already discussed rift evolution during the South America-Africa
breakup in the Jurassic/Cretaceous (Bertani et al., 1990; Matos,
1992, 2000; De Castro et al., 2012). However, the evolution and
growth of rift faults were not fully explained. In addition, the
development of fault segments and their linkage has been
addressed by a few studies in small basins (e.g., De Castro et al.,

A.C. Costa de Melo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

2008), but additional cases are needed for the understanding of the
rift evolution in the Equatorial margin and the subsequent opening
of the South Atlantic.
The main objectives of this research are (1) to unravel the tectonic evolution of the border faults of the Potiguar Basin during
rifting and (2) to assess the interactions between these faults and
their implications for the internal rift architecture. We choose the
Cretaceous Potiguar Basin in the Equatorial margin of Brazil as a
case study because it exhibits characteristics that allowed the
investigation of fault growth in an early rift stage. The aborted rift
forms a 5.5 km deep, 177 km long and 54 km wide half graben,
overlapped by a 500 m thick post-rift sequence (Bertani et al., 1990;
Matos, 1992). We determined the relation between maximum
displacement (Dmax) and length (L) of the border faults of the
Potiguar Basin using 2D seismic data, well logs, and 3D gravity
modeling. The interpretation of seismic data and well logs provided
information about the stratigraphy and structural features,
enabling the precise identication of fault segments and kinematics. The 3D gravity modeling provided an estimate of the
basement relief on a regional scale. The analysis of the fault growth
curves can contribute to the understanding of the early development of faults during crustal extension and rifting. This analysis can
shed light on the tectonic evolution of the Cretaceous Northeastern
Brazilian Rift System.
2. Geological setting
The onshore Potiguar Basin is part of a series of Cretaceous rift
basins in northeastern Brazil (Fig. 1A). The region encompasses the
^ncavo, Sergipe-Alagoas, Tucano, Jatob

Reco
a, Araripe, Rio do Peixe,
Iguatu, Potiguar and many other small basins. They were generated
during the rst stages of the breakup between the South American
and African plates in the Early Cretaceous. These basins resulted
from NW-SE-oriented extensional regime, which later had a
counterclockwise rotation, changing its direction to E-W during the
nal stage of rifting (Chang et al., 1988; Matos, 1992). The offshore
part of the Potiguar Basin was formed in the last stages, when the
Equatorial margin started to form (Matos, 2000).

97

The Potiguar Basin (Fig. 1B) is located in the northern part of the
Borborema Province, which is a Precambrian shield composed of
Archean and Proterozoic inliers amalgamated during the Brasiliano
orogeny at 760e540 Ma (Almeida et al., 2000). During this period, a
widespread network of steeply dipping, continental scale, strikeslip ductile shear zones affected the entire Borborema Province,
which was also intruded by many syn-to late-kinematic granite
bodies. A considerable number of the NEeSW and EeW-striking
shear zones exhibit brittle reactivation associated with breakup
between South America and Africa in the Early Cretaceous, which
resulted in a series of aborted small cratonic basins of the NE Brazilian Rift System. The Potiguar Basin encompasses a NE-SW
elongated rift capped by two post-rift sedimentary units (Bertani
et al., 1990).
The Potiguar rift is composed of a system of horsts and grabens,
which are bounded by fault systems. We dene fault system as a
major fault zone composed of a set of smaller faults with the same
trend. In the Potiguar Basin six fault systems have already been
identied: Mulungu, Apodi, Areia Branca, Baixa Grande, Southern
Carnaubais and Northern Carnaubais (Fig. 1). These fault systems
are composed of several other minor faults that we dene as segments. We named the fault systems on the southern and eastern
rift borders informally by letters and we described them in detail in
the results section.
The fault systems exhibit different trends and bound different
major basement blocks. The main rift is limited to the west by the
Areia Branca and Mulungu fault systems, to the south and to the
east by the Apodi, Southern Carnaubais and Northern Carnaubais
fault systems, and to the north by the oceanic crust. The major
grabens are bounded by faults formed by the reactivation of Neoproterozoic shear zones (Matos, 1992; De Castro et al., 2012). The
Potiguar rift internal architecture consists of a set of asymmetric
grabens and half-grabens tilted to SE, which are separated by NESW-trending basement horsts. The onshore part of the basin en
, and Boa Vista grabens
compasses the Apodi, Umbuzeiro, Guamare
(Fig. 1B). These grabens trend NE-SW and are bounded to SE and
NW by faults with more than 5.0 km of throws (Bertani et al., 1990;
Matos, 1992). The main horsts of the Potiguar Basin are the Quixaba,

, PO: Potiguar, RE: Reco

^ ncavo, RP: Rio do Peixe, SA:
Fig. 1. (A) Schematic geological map of northeastern Brazil and its main Cretaceous rift basins (AR: Araripe, IG: Iguatu, JA: Jatoba
Sergipe-Alagoas), adapted from Matos (1992) and De Castro (2011). (B) Simplied geological map of the Potiguar Basin, showing the Potiguar Rift and the major border faults
(modied from Bertani et al., 1990; De Castro and Bezerra, 2015). Inset: The South American Continent.

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A.C. Costa de Melo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

Serra do Carmo, and Macau (Fig. 1B). They comprise uplifted

basement blocks. The basement platforms located to the west and
the east of the central rift are the Aracati and Touros horsts,
respectively (Bertani et al., 1990).
The Potiguar rift encompasses six listric fault systems. The
Southern and Northern Carnaubais fault systems are composed of
predominantly NEeSW-striking listric segments. These are the
main fault system of the Potiguar rift (Matos, 1992). The Apodi Fault
System is composed of segments offset by secondary transfer faults.
It shows a strong NW-SE to NE-SW inection, with ~4.5 km of
throw at the NW edge (Hoerlle et al., 2007; Rodrigues et al., 2014).
The Baixa Grande Fault System is located in the extreme S-SE
corner of the Potiguar rift and marks the boundary of the southern
limit of the Umbuzeiro Graben and part of the Apodi Graben
(Rodrigues et al., 2014). The Areia Branca Fault System represents a
hinge line that bounds the Potiguar Rift to the west. The Mulungu
Fault System is a southern extension of the Areia Branca Fault
System, whose NE-SW trending normal faults limit the Apodi
Graben to the W and NW (Fig. 1).
The Potiguar Basin exhibits three main stratigraphic sequences
(Pessoa Neto et al., 2007). The rst sequence was deposited in the
Early Cretaceous during the rifting period. This sequence is
composed of lacustrine deposits, uvial-deltaic and fan-deltaic
^ncia Formation. The limit between syn-rift and
units of the Pende
post-rift units is marked by an angular unconformity. The transitional sedimentary post-rift sequence was deposited during the
Aptian-Albian and is composed of uvial-deltaic sedimentary units
of the Alagamar Formation. The last depositional sequences
correspond to the drift stage, when a transgressive and regressive
marine sequence was deposited from the Albian to the recent.
These units correspond to river, platform, and deep slope facies of

, and Tibau
the Au, Quebradas, Jandara, Ubarana, Guamare
formations.
Three major tectonic stages mark the rift phase of the Potiguar
Basin (Matos, 1992). The Syn-rift I stage (Jurassic, ~150 Ma) comprises the early extensional deformation, with the deposition of
clastic sediments in the African-Brazilian Depression. Normal faults
of the Potiguar rift were not generated yet during this phase, but
the rst motions of the breakup between South America and Africa
started to take place, resulting in a swarm of NE-SW- to E-Wtrending basalt dikes. The Syn-rift II stage (early Cretaceous,
~145e130 Ma) was characterized by the development of a series of
rift basins controlled by normal faults, which formed several
asymmetric half-grabens in intra-continental rifts in the region
(Fig. 1B). In the Syn-rift III stage (early Cretaceous, ~130e125 Ma),
the extensional process started to concentrate deformation along
the future equatorial continental margin, causing change in rift
kinematics, from NW-SE-oriented extension to E-W-oriented
transtensional dextral movement (Matos, 2000). These processes
resulted in elongated grabens in the southern edge of the Potiguar
rift (De Castro and Bezerra, 2015).
Tectonic deformation in the post-rift phase of the Potiguar Basin
is associated with brittle reactivation of rift faults, such as the
Southern and Northern Carnaubais fault systems (NE-SW). The
reactivation of these faults affected the Cretaceous units and
Neogenic-Quaternary sedimentary deposits (Bezerra and VitaFinzi, 2000; Moura Lima et al., 2010).
3. Determination of fault geometry and throw using seismic
and well data
In this study, we used seismic reection data and well logs
provided by the Brazilian Oil Agency (ANP). The seismic data were
already processed and time migrated by the Brazilian oil company
(Petrobras). We selected eleven seismic sections orthogonal to the

border faults of the Potiguar rift and three exploratory wells to

constrain the gravity modeling (Fig. 2). We correlated the top
boundaries of the stratigraphic units with corresponding seismic
horizons based on stratigraphic data from the wells to assist the
seismic interpretation. We used time-to-depth curves and density
logs derived from the well logs to obtain depth models of the
Potiguar rift (Figs. 3 and 4). We ascribed for each stratigraphic unit
one average velocity and density (Table 1).
The seismic sections indicate a N dipping segment of the Apodi
Fault System in the southern limit of the Potiguar rift (Fig. 3).
Seismic section and well data crossing the Apodi Graben exhibit a
thick sedimentary package near the Apodi Fault System, indicating
that this fault has a strong normal component. The Apodi Fault
System attens around 2 s, which corresponds to a depth of
~4.5 km. The Southern and Northern Carnaubais fault systems are
characterized by a double system of listric normal faults, with steep
dips at the top that decrease with depth and become at around
2.5e3.0 s (Figs. 4 and 5). Most of the fault displacements occurred
during the rift phase. The throws of the fault systems reach values
of up to 5.2 km. The NE-SW trending Baixa Grande Fault System
dips to NW and occurs at the southern tip of the Apodi fault (Fig. 5).
The Baixa Grande Fault System affects the Umbuzeiro Graben and
interacts with the Southern Carnaubais Fault System, forming a
40ekm wide relay ramp.
Some seismic sections indicate that fault reactivations affect the
post-rift Au and Jandara formations, which correspond to the
upper transgressive sequence (Figs. 3 to 5). The normal faults were
reactivated as reverse faults, with few dozen meters of throw,
especially in the central part of the Umbuzeiro Graben (Fig. 5).
4. Gravity data and modeling
The gravity data set used in this study integrated 120,000
gravity onshore and offshore stations, which were compiled from
several independent geophysical surveys carried out by universities, public research agencies, and private companies (Fig. 2).
These data were already corrected for the non-geological effects in
the gravitational eld generating Bouguer gravity anomalies and
were interpolated on a regular 500em grid using the kriging
method. The residual component was separated from the regional
eld through a spectral lter with Gaussian distribution, with a
standard deviation of 0.02 cycles/m.
We used residual Bouguer gravity anomalies (Fig. 6) to model
the internal basin architecture. However, before starting the
modeling process, we removed a constant datum shift of 10 mGal
from the observed gravity data. Such an arbitrary shift was applied
to induce gravity anomalies to become negative within the rift
zone. Thus, we maintain the premise that negative gravity anomalies are related to low density sedimentary inll in contrast to
positive anomalies associated to denser basement rocks.
The residual anomalies range from
24.3 to 20.1 mGal (Fig. 6).
Inside the rift zone, gravity lows are related to main graben depocenters (Umbuzeiro, Boa Vista, and Apodi), whereas gravity highs
reveal the faulted rift boundaries and internal horsts (Quixaba and
Macau). The gravity lows trend mainly NE-SW, but their trend shifts
to NW-SE in the SW part of the rift. In addition, gravity lows, which
occur outside the rift area, are probably associated with supracrustal blocks (De Castro, 2011), composed of Neoproterozoic
metasedimentary sequences or granitic bodies (B and C in Fig. 6).
We adopted the inversion approach developed by Jachens and
Moring (1990) and De Castro (2005) to obtain the 3D gravity
model, which assumes a heterogeneous basement in the gravity
modeling. The gravitational effect of the basin was estimated and
subtracted from the basement gravity stations to obtain the next
approximation for the basement gravity anomalies. This process

A.C. Costa de Melo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

99

Fig. 2. Bouguer anomaly map of the Potiguar Basin with the location of gravity stations, seismic sections and wells used in the present study.

Fig. 3. Seismic section (A), seismic interpretation (B) and depth model (C) of the Prole 1 (location in Fig. 2).

was repeated until we had a result converged to a satisfactory

separation of basin and basement gravity. Using the Rao and Babu
(1990) algorithm, the basin internal architecture was computed as
an interface that separates two homogeneous media. In this
method, a quadratic function simulates the increase in density with
depth due to sedimentary compaction. We extracted the coefcients of the function from well logs (Fig. 2), whose average
density contrast between basin inll and basement rocks is 382 kg/

m3. The difference between the depth of the basement in 23

exploratory wells, described by Gaino et al. (2014), and our gravity
model varies from 0.547 to 0.002 m. It represents a condence of
89% obtained by the inverse method.
The 3D gravity model highlights the main structural features of
the Potiguar rift (Fig. 7). The rift boundaries are dened to the south
by the NW-SE-striking Apodi Fault System, to the east by the
Southern and Northern Carnaubais fault systems, and to the west

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A.C. Costa de Melo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

Fig. 4. Seismic section (A), seismic interpretation (B) and depth model (C) of the Prole 9 (location in Fig. 2).

Table 1
Velocities and densities of stratigraphic units of the Potiguar Basin.
Stratigraphic units Velocity (m/s) Density (kg/m3) Depth of unit top (m)
Well A Well B Well C
Jandara
Au
Alagamar
^ncia
Pende
Basement

4096
3094
5350
5480
5674

2370
2450
2500
2600
2750

e
220
600
1000
e

500
5300
1100
1400
e

110
540
1100
e
1200

by the Areia Branca Fault System, both of which trend NEeSW. The
Umbuzeiro and Apodi grabens represented the main depocenters,
reaching thickness greater than 5500 m, which are consistent with
seismic and well data. The main horsts, revealed by the 3D
modeling, are the Quixaba (340 m deep), and Boa Vista (800 m
deep).
5. Analysis of fault-growth curves
5.1. Growth of fault segments
The understanding of the degree to which fault segments
interact is important to understand the faults themselves, the
structures associated with them and the evolution of rift basins
(e.g. Segall and Pollard, 1980). As predicted by most models, fault
growth leads to an initial fault population of short, lowdisplacement faults that evolve into a set comprising a few large
faults (Cowie and Scholz, 1998; Gupta et al., 1998). The relation
between maximum displacement and fault length (Dmax/L) is an

important parameter for understanding the growth of fault segments and the evolution of major faults that limited the rift borders
(Cowie et al., 2000; McLeod et al., 2000; De Castro et al., 2008).
Curves of fault growth can be obtained measuring the Dmax along
the fault trace and dividing it by the fault length. The analysis of
Dmax/L curves is based on the premise that border faults of the rift
were formed by the growth and connection of individual faults.
The growing fault segments can unite in at least two different
ways: a hard link and a soft link (Kim and Sanderson, 2005). The
model of growth faults of merged segments assumes that the
highest increase of displacement prole occurs subsequent to
complete union of segments, named hard linkage. In this model,
when the linkage of individual segments is complete, the fault
segments are physically linked and start to proceed as a single fault.
The soft linked fault segments grow through interactions with
adjacent faults, which inhibit propagation, and thus, they acquire
high Dmax/L ratios. The curves of fault growth form steep
displacement gradients near their interacting tips at the point of
maximum displacement away from the center of both fault segments. The growth decreases from the center to the ends. The
growth rates for faults in rifts range from 2 to 5 mm/year in the
central portion of the fault to 0.5 mm/year to the next endings
(Gawthorpe et al., 1994).
5.2. Fault systems of the Potiguar Rift
Since the Potiguar rift is overlain by post-rift sedimentary sequences, we used seismic sections and structural maps described
by Matos (1992) and De Castro and Bezerra (2015) to locate the
major border faults in the 3D gravity model (Figs. 7 and 8). These

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101

Fig. 5. Seismic section (A) and seismic interpretation (B) of the Prole 5 (location in Fig. 2). Inset in (B) shows reverse-related faults affecting syn-rift sequences (C).

Fig. 6. Residual gravity anomaly map of the Potiguar Basin with rift faults mapped by Matos (1992). Gravity lows are associated with grabens within the rift zone (A) or supracrustal
blocks (B and C).

faults are the Apodi (A), Baixa Grande (B), and Southern and
Northern Carnaubais fault systems (C and D, respectively), which
form the boundaries of the Potiguar rift at its southern,

southeastern, and eastern edges, respectively (Fig. 8). Based on the

abovementioned structural maps, the faults have lengths that vary
from 85 to 100 km (A 85; B 40; C 95; D 100 km). On the

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A.C. Costa de Melo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

Fig. 7. Internal architecture of the Potiguar rift based on 3D gravity model.

segments (Dmax) from the 3D gravity model and seismic sections.

The difference between Dmax values derived from gravity model
along the seismic proles and those estimated from seismic data
varies from 7 to 11%. Thus, the uncertainty in the computed Dmax/L
curves was evaluated in ~10% for our 3D gravity model. The largest
discrepancies that occur in the Apodi Fault System are probably due
to greater structural complexity interfering in the gravity pattern.
In fact, the SW border of the Potiguar rift experienced strike-slip
deformation during the late stages of the rifting stage, generating
marginal graben-like structures (De Castro and Bezerra, 2015).
The maximum displacement curves as a function of the length
of the fault show an asymmetric distribution, separated in four
parts (Fig. 9). The Apodi Fault System (A) shows a maximum
displacement of 4.4 km, located in its central part (Apodi graben)
and two marginal areas with high displacements, which indicate
that the major fault is composed of at least two smaller fault segments. The maximum displacement of the Baixa Grande Fault
System (B) increases from the SW tip of the Apodi Fault System
northwards, reaching 2.5 km in the Umbuzeiro graben. In this

Fig. 8. 3D gravity model of the Potiguar rift, showing the location of maximum fault displacements (black dots) of the main border faults measured along transects (orange lines).
Fault systems: A e Apodi (red); B e Baixa Grande (blue); C e Southern Carnaubais (green); D e Northern Carnaubais (purple). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this
gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

southern rift border, the Apodi Fault System (A) strikes NW-SE and
the Baixa Grande Fault System (B) strikes NE-SW. The combination
of these two fault systems forms an extensional triangular wedge
(Matos, 1992; Hoerlle et al., 2007). The Apodi Fault System is cross
cut by secondary normal faults with small throws, which form a
collapse graben (Hoerlle et al., 2007).
At the eastern border of the Potiguar rift, NE-SW-striking fault
segments form the Southern Carnaubais (C) and Northern Carnaubais (D) fault systems, which bounds the Umbuzeiro and

grabens (Figs. 1 and 8). These listric normal faults dip to
Guamare
W-NW (Fig. 4). They are cut by another group of faults, identied as
E-W-striking transfer faults and NW-SE trending normal faults.
They correspond to previous transfer segments, which were reactivated as dextral transfer faults during the Syn-rift III (Matos,
1992).
5.3. Fault-growth curves from the Potiguar Rift
We selected 45 transects perpendicular to the fault strike to
elaborate the growth curves. These transects are spaced 5 km from
each other along the major boundary faults of the Potiguar rift
(Fig. 8) to measure the maximum displacements of the fault

study, we separated the Carnaubais Fault System, described by

Bertani et al. (1990), in two faults systems based on the Dmax/L
curves (C and D in Figs. 8 and 9). The highest displacements in the
Potiguar rift are concentrated along the Southern Carnaubais Fault
System (C), especially where the Baixa Grande and Southern Carnaubais fault systems interact, forming a relay ramp (Figs. 5 and 8).
To the north, the maximum displacements of the Northern Carnaubais Fault System (D) decrease to values less than 1.0 km (Fig. 9).
The great variation of fault displacement along the faults indicates complex interconnections of fault segments, typical of
faulted rift borders. The Dmax/L curves suggest that the fault systems (A, B, C and D) propagated toward one another and formed
linkage zones where displacements are increased (Fig. 8).
The Apodi Fault System (A) and the Baixa Grande Fault System
(B) exhibit a hard linkage between them. This occurs where faults
present mechanical interaction and, from the point of view of fault
displacement, behave as a single fault (Figs. 8 and 9). In the same
way, the geometry and length of the Southern (C) and Northern
Carnaubais (D) fault systems suggest that a hard linkage united
them (Fig. 8). On the other hand, the connection between the Baixa
Grande Fault System (B) and Southern Carnaubais Fault System (C)
is expressed by a 3e7 km wide relay ramp that dips to NE, towards

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103

Fig. 9. Dmax/L curves of the major Potiguar rift faults (A, B, C, and D in Fig. 8).

the Umbuzeiro Graben depocenter (Fig. 8). This relay ramp exhibits
maximum displacement of 5.1 km. It was generated by a normal
stress regime with the propagation of the Southern Carnaubais
Fault System toward Baixa Grande Fault System. Relay ramp represents a soft link that transfers the offset from one fault to the
other (Soliva and Benedicto, 2004). In that case the linkage is not
complete, the faults overlapped, but do not linkage completely. In
conclusion, the growth of Potiguar rift border faults occurred by
connecting four major different faults, which characterize the
progressive evolution of faults and formation of the half-grabens.
In addition, we calculate the ratios between maximum
displacement and lengths for each fault system. From systems A to
D, the Dmax/L ratios are 0.049, 0.063, 0.054, and 0.022, respectively.
These values are very similar to each other, showing a reliable result
for the entire rift and indicating that the regional tectonic mechanism evenly acted during the growth and interaction of fault segments throughout the region. However, the deformation was more
intense in the southern portion of the rift. The Dmax/L ratios of the
Potiguar border faults are similar to those of normal faults (Dmax/L
ratios of 10
2 to 10
1), in agreement with the theoretical curves
described by Kim and Sanderson (2005). It is noteworthy that the
high Dmax/L ratio of the Baixa Grande Fault System (B) probably
reects the structural interaction with the Southern Carnaubais
Fault System (C), forming a relay ramp. On the other hand, the low

Dmax/L ratio of the Northern Carnaubais Fault System (D) is due to

this fault system formed far away from the rift center, concentrated
to the south along the SE part of the Southern Carnaubais Fault
System.

6. Potiguar Rift evolution based on growth-fault models

The reconstruction of rift evolution can be derived from a
technique that we name retro-deformation of the maximum
displacement measurements. This method assumes a simple
approach, which involves the progressive reversal of fault
displacement and length, supposing a uniform displacement rate
during fault growth. Fig. 10 illustrates this technique, which
allowed us to divide the evolution of the rift faults into many stages
based on the Dmax/L curves for reconstructing 3D fault displacements. This 3D approach need the use of gravity data, calibrated by
seismic data, to constrain fault evolution.
We applied the method for four main fault systems that mark
the eastern and southern borders of the Potiguar Rift. We subtracted 500 m of vertical throw from each border fault system in
every step to reconstruct fault evolution. In each stage, the length of
the fault systems was also reduced to the area where the subtracted
displacement was greater than zero (Fig. 10). Thereafter, we
grouped fault evolution into ve stages (Fig. 11) and correlated each

Fig. 10. Schematic reconstruction of rift evolution based on a retro-deformation on the maximum displacement curves, assuming a uniform displacement rate. Each previous stage
is established by subtracting 1000 m from the posterior stage.

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A.C. Costa de Melo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

Fig. 11. Potiguar Rift evolution based on Dmax/L curves derived from 3D gravity model and seismic data. Each evolution stage was computed by subtracting 1.0 km from the
maximum displacements of the rift border faults of the later stage: A e Apodi Fault System, B e Baixa Grande Fault System, C e Southern Carnaubais Fault System, D e Northern
Carnaubais Fault System.

one of them with the major tectonic events previously identied in

the evolution of the Potiguar Basin. Despite the use of seismic data,
the application of gravity data to the fault systems does not allow a
precise chronology of each fault stage. However, this correlation
allowed us to estimate the chronological meaning of each stage
during fault growth.
The separation of South American and African continents
evolved from south to north in the eastern margin and from west to
east in the Equatorial margins (Matos, 2000). This period is marked
by NW-SE-oriented extension, which resulted in a series of rift
basins along the Equatorial margin of South America (Matos, 2000;
De Castro and Bezerra, 2015). In this early rifting stage, the Potiguar
Basin was located close to the St. Helena hotspot, which is also
associated with the aborted rift of the Benue Trough in the African

counterpart (Beasley et al., 2010; De Castro et al., 2012). This hotspot caused thermal uplift, leading to weakening and thinning of
the continental crust, followed by tensional faulting.
In this tectonic setting, the stage I of the fault-growth curves
(Fig. 11) represents the rst tectonic subsidence of the Potiguar
Basin during the main rift phase of the NE Brazilian Rift System
(Syn-rift II of Matos, 1992). These extensional deformations led to
the Pangea breakup between South America and Africa in the Early
Cretaceous (Matos, 1992). The Southern Carnaubais Fault System
started growing from the southeastern part towards the northern
part of the rift, reaching the Northern Carnaubais Fault System and
reactivating the NE-SW-striking Portalegre shear zone (Matos,
1992; De Castro et al., 2012) (Fig. 1). The Southern Carnaubais
Fault System (C in Fig. 8) reached a length of 10 km and an up to

A.C. Costa de Melo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

0.6 km of throw during this stage, which corresponds to the Berriasian and led to the formation of the Umbuzeiro graben. The
brittle reactivation of the Portalegre shear zone resulted in rapid
fault growth and the relative high Dmax/L ratio (Fig. 12). The initial

-Mirim magmatism
rift stage was accompanied by the Rio Ceara
(145 e 120 Ma), which occurs as dike swarms, in the southern
border of the Potiguar Basin (Matos, 1992; Pessoa Neto et al., 2007).
In stage II (Fig. 11), as the extension progressed, the Southern
Carnaubais Fault System (C) propagated laterally, which was
related with a decrease in the Dmax/L ratio from 0.061 to 0.033
(Fig. 11). NW-SE-oriented extension initiated the Apodi Fault System in the southernmost part of the Potiguar rift. During this rifting
phase, this structure (A in Figs. 11 and 12) reached a Dmax of 1.2 km
and length of 25 km.
The Apodi Fault System had a relatively rapid fault growth,
which was driven by its transfer nature. The formation of the NWSE-elongated Apodi graben evolved along the Apodi Fault System,
which cut across the NE-SW-oriented Precambrian fabric. According to Matos (1992), the Apodi Fault System is a complex system of
accommodation zones, which compensated differential extension
between the Apodi graben and the adjacent Umbuzeiro graben.
The Southern Carnaubais Fault System propagated to the NE
portion of the Potiguar Rift during stage III (Fig. 11). The Dmax and L
values of the Southern Carnaubais Fault System were 3.1 and 84 km,
respectively. The Apodi Fault System, which behaved as a normal
fault in the rst extension stage (Syn-rift II of Matos, 1992), began to
behave as a strike-slip, dextral fault and cutting across the Precambrian fabric (De Castro and Bezerra, 2015). The Apodi Fault
System reached the maximum displacement of 2.2 km and length
of 74 km during stage III. This low Dmax/L ratio (Fig. 12) reects the
lateral expansion of the fault length, forming new grabens at the
SW rift termination. On the other hand, the growth increase of the
Southern Carnaubais Fault System (C) and the initiation of two new
fault systems (B and D in Fig. 11) indicate an increment of extension
in the eastern part of the rift.
The stage IV was characterized by stretching and overall
increasing of the Dmax/L, especially of the Baixa Grande Fault System (B in Fig. 8) (1.5/40 km) and Northern Carnaubais Fault System
(D in Fig. 8) (1.2/69 km) (Fig. 12). These new fault systems started
growing independently from the Southern Carnaubais Fault System
(C in Fig. 8), expanding the Umbuzeiro Graben in both N and W

Graben (3 in Fig. 1). In
directions and starting to form the Guamare
the last phase of this stage, the three main faults systems linked and
formed a more than 310ekm long faulted rift border onshore. The
Baixa Grande and the Apodi fault systems showed a soft linkage as
well as the Southern and Northern Carnaubais fault systems. On the

Fig. 12. Five stages of Dmax/L evolution during fault segment growth in the Potiguar
rift: A e Apodi Fault System, B e Baixa Grande fault System, C e Southern Carnaubais
Fault System, D e Northern Carnaubais Fault System.

105

other hand, the zone between the Baixa Grande and Southern
Carnaubais fault systems was composed by a 40ekm long relay
ramp (Fig. 8).
At the end of stage IV as dened in our study, the Potiguar Basin
experienced an important change in the tectonic deformation in
the Barremian (Matos, 1992, 2000). The extensional movement
ceased onshore, left behind an aborted rift and faulting migrated
northwards to the incipient Brazilian equatorial margin with an EW-oriented strike-slip component. The steady rise of the Dmax/L
curves in this and in the next stage (Fig. 12) probably indicates that
the border fault systems stopped to propagate laterally, but their
vertical offsets continued to grow. The record of this phase in the
onshore Potiguar Basin is the elongated marginal grabens in the
western border of the Potiguar Rift (De Castro and Bezerra, 2015).
The SW rift termination exhibits an en echelon geometry and
35ekm long fault systems, which indicate changes in the rift geometry and kinematics from NW-SE to E-W with a strike-slip
component, during the Syn-Rift III described by Matos (1992). In
the offshore basin, the entire western part experienced slightly
oblique transtension with the opening of probably narrow NW-SEtrending elongated basins, whereas a deep and wide basin developed in the eastern part of the basin (Matos, 2000) (Fig. 11), the
Potiguar Rift stabilized and the fault systems attained their present
conguration.
The Apodi Fault System (A) is characterized by a NW-SE-strike,
which is orthogonal to the NE-SW-striking faults of the Potiguar
Rift and the Precambrian fabric of the basement. Its nal length is
85 km and the displacement increased to 4.2 km. The Baixa Grande
Fault System reached more than 40 km in length and it bounded
the Umbuzeiro and part of Apodi grabens. The Southern Carnaubais
Fault System (C) reached a length of approximately 94.5 km, and its
nal maximum displacement reached 5.1 km. It bounds the eastern
portion of the onshore Potiguar Rift, and it was responsible for the

grabens. Finally, the
formation of the Umbuzeiro and Guamare
Northern Carnaubais Fault System (D) reached a nal length of
approximately 100 km, but its displacement did not exceed 2.2 km,
indicating that the basin experienced more modest subsidence
rates close to the continental margin. During the Aptian, the
extensional deformation jumped eastwards to the South Atlantic
and northwards to the Equatorial Atlantic, leaving an aborted
continental rift system in NE Brazil. An overall thermal subsidence
stage took place and the Potiguar rift was overlapped by post-rift
sedimentary sequences.
Reactivation of the main border fault systems attained the
Potiguar basin in the post-rift phase, which deformed the upper
marine transgressive sequences (Figs. 3 to 5). Subsequent change of
the continental stress eld on the South American platform provoked reactivation of some normal as reverse faults with few
dozens of meters of throw (Fig. 5C) especially in the central part of
the Umbuzeiro Graben (Fig. 5). Reverse faults are observed in
Iguatu and Rio do Peixe rift basins of the NE Brazilian Rifting System
(Fig. 1). They are evidence of late compressional inversion that
affected South American platform after the rift stage in the Cretaceous (Marques et al., 2014; Nogueira et al., 2015).
The Dmax/L ratios of each fault system show a steady rise, indicating a rapid fault growth at an early stage and remained slow as
displacement increased (Fig. 12). Exceptionally, the Southern Carnaubais Fault System (C) and the Apodi Fault System (A) presented
high Dmax/L ratios in their initial phases, probably related to premature soft linkages of smaller fault segments, which inhibit
propagation, and thus, maintaining high Dmax/L ratios. The prevalent growing pattern of the rift border faults suggests that the
preexisting basement fabric control did not inuence signicantly
the propagation of fault systems. The Southern Carnaubais and
Baixa Grande fault systems, which reactivate basement shear

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A.C. Costa de Melo et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 71 (2016) 96e107

zones, have roughly the same behavior of the Apodi Fault System,
which behaved as a transfer system that cut across the shear zones.
7. Conclusions
A 3D gravity model and seismic data were used to dene the
internal architecture of the Cretaceous Potiguar Rift, NE Brazil, and
to measure maximum displacement and length of the major rift
border faults. The results show the propagation of the normal fault
systems. They allowed us to examine fault-segment displacement,
length, geometry, spacing, overlapping, and relationship.
The Dmax/L curve analysis indicates the existence of several
stages of fault growth in the Potiguar Basin. The Potiguar Rift was
generated from four major fault systems: Apodi (A), Baixa Grande
(B), Southern Carnaubais (C) and Northern Carnaubais (D) that
grew up independently and linked by soft and hard linkages. The
rift process of the Potiguar Basin started from the Southern Carnaubais Fault System (C), when it reactivated the NE-SW-striking
Portalegre shear zone. Brittle reactivation of this shear zone probably led to a rapid fault growth as the Dmax/L curves show. As the
stress proceeded, the Apodi Fault System (A) started to nucleate as a
NW-SE-striking transfer, dextral fault, which bounded the southern
border of the rift. Subsequently, the new NE-SW-striking Baixa
Grande Fault System formed (B) and the Northern Carnaubais Fault
System (D) expanded the Umbuzeiro graben westwards and spread

graben), respectively. These
the Potiguar Rift to the north (Guamare
fault systems grew and linked one to another.
Fault systems A and B and C and D present hard linkage between
them. This occurs where faults present mechanical interaction and,
from the point of view of fault displacement, behave as a single
structure. Fault systems B and C form a relay ramp, which represent
a soft linkage. This occurs where fault segments interact but still
preserve some degree of independence. These various stages of
fault interaction and linkage are part of the evolution of rift basins.
The fault-growth curves also reveal that the fault displacement
is more pronounced in the linkage zones of the fault. The Dmax/L
ratio is especially high in the relay ramp between the Baixa Grande
and Southern Carnaubais fault systems. The lowest ratios occur in
the NE part of the Northern Carnaubais Fault System, indicating
that the tectonic stresses concentrated in the southern portion of
the Potiguar Rift, where the Umbuzeiro and Apodi grabens are up to
5 km deep. Our study indicates that the method used in the present
study to investigate fault growth divided in stages may be applicable to the rifts that culminated with the Pangea breakup, especially for a rift basin that is part of the rift systems in northeastern
Brazil.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank two anonymous reviewers and the Regional
Editor Reinhardt A. Fuck for their comments and suggestions,
which greatly improved our work. This research is part of the PVE/
CNPq Project N. 406261/2013-0, supported by the Brazilian
Research Council (CNPq). This project was also funded by the INCTET project (National Institute of Science and Technology of Tectonic
Studies, N. 573713/2008-1). The authors are grateful to the Brazilian
agency of oil and gas (ANP) for supplying geophysical data. The
authors also thank CNPq for their scholarship (ACCM) and research
grants (DLC, FHB, and GB).
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