Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

Geochronology and petrology of Cretaceous basaltic

magmatism in the Kwanza basin (western Angola), and
relationships with the Parana-Etendeka continental ood
basalt province
A. Marzoli a, b,*, L. Melluso c, V. Morra c, P.R. Renne b, I. Sgrosso c,
M. D'Antonio d, L. Duarte Morais e, E.A.A. Morais e, G. Ricci c
a
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita di Trieste, via Weiss 8, 34127, Trieste, Italy
b
Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, 94709 CA, USA
c
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita Federico II, Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134, Napoli, Italy
d
Dipartimento di Geosica e Vulcanologia, Universita Federico II, L.go S. Marcellino 10, 80138, Napoli, Italy
e
Dipartemento do Geologia, Universidade A. Neto, Luanda, Angola
Received 14 August 1998; received in revised form 21 March 1999; accepted 12 April 1999

Abstract

Early Cretaceous tholeiites of the Kwanza basin, western Angola, 300 km South of Luanda, are
evolved basalts to basaltic andesites, characterized by low TiO2 (<2 wt%) and incompatible element
contents. Their petrographical, major and trace element and Sr-isotopic (0.704480.70752) compositions
are similar to those of tholeiites of the Parana-Etendeka ood basalt province, particularly to those of
the southern sector. While inland analogues, i.e. northern Parana tholeiites are high-TiO2 basalts,
Kwanza tholeiites in western Angola, and ood tholeiites of the Campos marginal basin and Cabo Frio
dolerites in southeastern Brazil, dene a low-TiO2 (<2 wt%) basalt `belt' in the northernmost Parana-
Etendeka.
The main pulse of tholeiitic magmatism in the Kwanza basin (131.92 1.6 and 131.6 2 1.4 Ma,
40
Ar/39Ar plateau ages), is contemporaneous with ood volcanism in the Parana-Etendeka (133131
Ma), which therefore extends by c. 400 km more to the N-E than previously recognized. Slightly
younger Kwanza coast-parallel tholeiitic dykes have an age of 126.1 2 1.4 Ma, similar to those of other
coast-parallel dyke swarms in Brazil and Namibia, and are probably associated with the main rifting
stages.

* Corresponding author. Departement de Mineralogie, Section de Sciences de la Terre, Universite Geneve, 13 rue
De Maraichers, 1211 Geneve 4, Switzerland. Tel.: +41-22-7026630; fax: +41-22-3205732.
E-mail address: marzoli@terre.unige.ch (A. Marzoli)

0264-3707/99/$ - see front matter # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 2 6 4 - 3 7 0 7 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 1 4 - 9
342 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

A younger magmatic episode in central-western Angola is represented by Late Cretaceous sodic

alkaline and transitional volcanic rocks. They are intercalated in Late Cretaceous marine sediments, and
one alkaline basalt was dated at 912 2 Ma. Alkaline and transitional rocks have similar, OIB-like
incompatible element patterns with mantle normalized Nb/K and Nb/La > 1.0. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ranges
from 0.70297 to 0.70302 and from 0.70287 to 0.70495 for alkaline and transitional rocks, respectively.
Sodic alkaline and transitional rocks from the Kwanza basin dier in composition from most coeval
alkaline rocks of southeastern Brazil, which are of potassic type. # 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.

1. Introduction

The Early Cretaceous (133131 Ma) Parana-Etendeka (PE) continental ood basalt province
(Fig. 1) covers an area of c. 1.5  106 km2 in South America and southern Africa (e.g.
Piccirillo et al., 1988). The volcanic and magmatic intrusive rocks of the PE province are
mainly tholeiitic basalts, with minor andesites and rhyolitic rocks. The southern PE tholeiites
are low in TiO2 (<2 wt%) and in incompatible elements. On the other hand, tholeiites from
northern Parana are rich in TiO2 (>2 wt%) and incompatible elements (Bellieni et al., 1984;
Piccirillo et al., 1988; Hawkesworth et al., 1992). Ponta Grossa Arch tholeiitic dykes are both
low- and high-TiO2 tholeiites, and were emplaced in a transitional region between the low- and
high-TiO2 ood tholeiites of southern and northern Parana (Piccirillo et al., 1990). Notably,
the younger tholeiites of the o-shore Campos basin (c. 124 Ma) and Cabo Frio dolerites (Rio
de Janeiro coast line, Fig. 1) are low in TiO2, in spite of the northern Parana inland analogues
(Mizusaki et al., 1992; Brotzu and Melluso, unpublished data).
Low-TiO2 ood basalts in southern Parana are associated with trace element depleted silicic
rocks (Palmas-type), whereas high-TiO2 basalts in the North are associated with incompatible
element enriched silicic volcanics (Chapeco-type). In general, the ood magmatism was
asymmetric with respect to the oceanic margin, with much less voluminous magmatism
occurring in Africa than in South America. In the African portion of the PE basalt province,
high-TiO2 basalts are rare (Erlank et al., 1984), and only sporadic occurrences of Chapeco-type
rhyolites have been described for southern Angola (Namibe basin; Alberti et al., 1992).
There is general consensus that most of the magmatic activity in the PE occurred over a
short period of time, at 133131 Ma (Renne et al., 1992, 1996a,b; Turner et al., 1994; Stewart
et al., 1996). On the basis of laser spot 40Ar/39Ar analysis on whole rock and plagioclases it
has been suggested that the magmatism in the PE progressed from NW to SE, and spans from
137 to 127 Ma (Hawkesworth et al., 1992; Turner et al., 1994; Stewart et al., 1996). On the
contrary, 40Ar/39Ar laser and furnace step-heating analysis on feldspars showed that the main
pulse of ood basalt volcanism in the southeastern portion of the PE in Namibia occurred at
13221 Ma (Renne et al., 1996a), while the Ponta Grossa NW-dykes in northern Parana, have
been intruded at 131130 Ma (Renne et al., 1996b). A late tholeiitic magmatic episode at 128
119 Ma, possibly associated with the major rifting stages (Chang et al., 1992), is represented by
coast-parallel dykes, e.g. Florianopolis, Ponta Grossa (NE dykes) and SantosRio de Janeiro
dykes as well as the ood basalts from Campos marginal basin in Brazil, and Horingbaai
 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356 343

Fig. 1. Sketch map of the Parana-Etendeka continental ood basalt province in a reconstruction at c. 125 Ma (after
Piccirillo et al., 1990). The gray eld shows the extension of Parana and Etendeka ood tholeiites, including those
presently investigated of the Sumbe area, in the Kwanza basin (=K), central Angola, and those of the Namibe
basin (=N), southern Angola. Dykes are represented by bold lines, while alkaline complexes are represented by
black diamonds. Abbreviations: CB=Campos basin and Cabo Frio; SR=Santos-Rio de Janeiro dyke swarms;
PGA=Ponta Grossa Arch dyke swarm; FL=Florianopolis dyke swarm; HO=Horingbaai dyke swarm;
MA=Moc amedes Arch. The Moc amedes Arch represents the western limit of pre-Cretaceous sediments, i.e. of the
uplifted area in central Angola.

dykes in Namibia (Erlank et al., 1984; Mizusaki et al., 1992; Renne et al., 1996a, b; Deckart et
al., 1998; Raposo et al., 1998; Renne, unpublished data).
There is poor geochemical and isotopic knowledge about the Cretaceous magmatism in
Angola present on the coastline South of Luanda. Silicic volcanic rocks corresponding to the
Chapeco rhyodacites from Brazil have been investigated from the Namibe basin, southern
Angola (Alberti et al., 1992). Although the presence of ood tholeiites has been described
previously (e.g. Pereira, 1969), such rocks have not yet been chemically analyzed and dated.
The aim of this paper is to present new petrographical, mineralogical, gechemical and
40
Ar/39Ar data on the tholeiitic and alkaline rocks from the Kwanza basin in central-western
Angola. These data indicate that the investigated tholeiitic and alkaline basaltic magmatism in
Angola belongs to the PE province, which therefore extends by c. 400 km more to the North-
East than previously recognized.
344 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

2. Geology of the Kwanza basin

Tholeiitic and alkaline basaltic rocks were sampled in central Angola in the neighborhoods
of the town of Sumbe (formerly Novo Redondo), 300 km South of Luanda. As shown in Fig.
1, the Sumbe region was close to the Campos basin and Cabo Frio region of SE-Brazil prior
to the disruption of western Gondwanaland and the opening of the South Atlantic ocean, at
about 124 Ma (Chang et al., 1992). About 100 m thick tholeiitic basaltic lava ows and highly
altered silicic pyroclastic rocks of the Sumbe area rest directly above the gneissic-migmatitic
Precambrian basement. Tholeiitic dykes intruding the crystalline basement or, rarely, the
tholeiitic lava ows are mainly coast-parallel (De Carvalho, 1980). The magmatic rocks are
overlain by Cretaceous sediments.
The coastal area of Angola is formed by three sedimentary basins (from North to South:
Cabinda, not shown, Kwanza and Namibe; Fig. 1) representing a typical evolution of the
western Africa passive margin. The sedimentary succession of the Kwanza basin in central
Angola is made up by Early Cretaceous (Barremian) continental deposits lling grabens and
semigrabens, then followed by transitional sediments (Aptian evaporites) and then by marine
sediments (AptianCenomanian). Alkaline and transitional volcanic rocks may be found
interlayered in the Late Cretaceous sedimentary deposits.

3. Analytical techniques

Major and trace elements have been analyzed with X-ray uorescence at Trieste and Napoli
Universities, Italy, on pressed powder pellets (Franzini et al., 1975; Leoni and Saitta, 1976;
Melluso et al., 1997). Precision is better than 3% for major elements and generally better than
510% for trace elements. Microprobe analyses have been performed at CNR-CSQEA, Roma,
Italy, utilizing a Cameca SX50 and mixed WDS-EDS acquisition procedures. Samples for Sr
isotopic analyses were rstly dissolved in a HF, HNO3 and HCl mixture in teon vials,
followed by Sr collection by ion exchange columns. The isotopic compositions were measured
using a VG354 double collector mass spectrometer at Napoli University. Repeated analyses of
NBS 984 standard gave an average value of 0.71026(1). The reported uncertainties on the Sr
isotopic compositions are at 2s condence level.
Four basalt samples were dated by the 40Ar/39Ar furnace incremental heating technique at
the Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, USA, utilizing analytical procedures and
facilities described elsewhere (Renne et al., 1996b). Apparent ages were calculated assuming an
age of 27.84 Ma for the Fish Canyon sanidine (FCs) uence monitor. Even though the age of
FCs has been recently shown to be 28.02 Ma (Renne et al., 1998), i.e. about 1% older, we still
use the previous value, 27.84 Ma, in order to facilitate comparison with previous 40Ar/39Ar
studies on the Parana-Etendeka magmatism.

4. Petrography and mineral chemistry

The mac rocks of the Kwanza basin (Table 1) have been classied (Fig. 2), following De
 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356 345

Table 1
Major (wt%), trace element (ppm), Sr isotopic, and CIPW-normative compositions of Kwanza tholeiitic, transitional
and alkaline rocksa

Alkaline Basalts
Sample RD3 ow RD38 dyke RD16 ow RD2 ow RD1 ow
(Rock-type) (L.Bas.) (L.Bas.) (Alk. Pic.) (Bsn.) (Alk. Bas.)

SiO2 48.48 47.50 42.73 45.11 45.22

TiO2 2.81 2.68 1.70 2.85 3.19
Al2O3 13.63 14.22 6.11 13.03 15.80
Fe2O3t 13.44 18.19 14.65 13.30 13.84
MnO 0.17 0.22 0.20 0.19 0.17
MgO 5.41 5.18 24.23 8.28 5.30
CaO 11.61 6.69 8.81 12.67 11.74
Na2O 2.86 3.14 0.95 3.08 3.24
K2O 1.19 1.47 0.39 1.01 0.89
P2O5 0.40 0.71 0.23 0.49 0.62

Sc 32 26 27 33 25
V 327 332 199 330 397
Cr 230 50 2250 356 49
Ni 93 67 926 202 71
Zn 111 138 101 101 98
Rb 26 31 10 20 15
Sr 473 396 269 531 589
Y 29 46 15 27 22
Zr 219 238 132 209 203
Nb 43 27 30 49 55
Ba 557 748 183 316 403
La 35 43 24 34 33
Ce 70 81 46 76 71
Nd 40 47 23 36 35

Mg] 0.47 0.39 0.79 0.58 0.46

Q 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Ne 0.00 0.00 1.45 8.73 5.39
Hy 0.03 14.21 0.00 0.00 0.00
OI 9.96 12.27 48.01 13.32 11.54

Age (Ma) 95.2

87
Sr/88Sr 0.705253(1) 0.703134(1) 0.703115(1) 0.70312(1)
R0 0.70495 0.70298 0.70297 0.70302
a
Abbreviations: Bas.An.=basaltic andesite; Th.Bas.=tholeitic basalt; Tr.Bas=transitional basalt;
L.Bas.=Latibasalt; Alk.Pic.=alkali-picrite; Bsn=basanite; Alk.Bas.=alkaline basalt. Mg]=molar Mg/(Mg+Fe2+)
(FeO/Fe2O3=0.18). Initial Sr-isotopic compositions (R0) are calculated at 130 Ma for the tholeiites, and at 95 Ma
for transitional and alkaline rocks.
346 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

La Roche et al. (1980). The tholeiitic samples range from hypersthene to quartz tholeiitic
basalts and basaltic andesites. The alkaline rocks span from alkaline picrite (MgO=24 wt%;
CIPW normative nepheline, Ne=1.5%) to basanite and alkaline basalt (MgO=85 wt%;
Ne=8.75.4 %). The rocks with transitional anity (Bellieni et al., 1981) are olivine- and
hyperstene-normative and range from transitional basalt to latibasalt. The alkaline and
transitional rocks are distinctly sodic (Na2O/K2O=2.13.0).
The lava ows and dykes of the Kwanza basin show a large variety of textures and mineral
assemblages. Representative mineral compositions are given in Table 2. The tholeiites have
pseudophitic to intersertal textures, with plagioclase (An7361) and less abundant olivine (Fo58
49) associated with augite (Ca3738, Mg4041, Fe2124: RD39) and interstitial ilmenite and Ti-
magnetite. Few tholeiitic dykes are plagioclase porphyritic with a ne grained groundmass
(RD36). The most dierentiated basaltic andesite (RD19) is ne grained, with microlites of
plagioclase, augite and oxides.
The alkaline and transitional rocks have phenocrysts of salitic and augitic clinopyroxene and
of olivine. Plagioclase is present in few alkaline rocks (e.g. RD1), and is common in the
transitional basalts (An7879). Anorthoclase is present in some latibasalts. Alkaline dolerites
(olivine grains and plagioclase laths within pseudophitic salitic clinopyroxene, and interstitial
oxides) and aphyric samples are also found. The alkaline picrite (RD16) has large and

Fig. 2. R1R2 classication diagram (De La Roche et al., 1980; modied after Bellieni et al., 1981) of Kwanza mac
rocks. Symbols: q, tholeiites; *, transitional rocks; w, alkaline rocks. Abbreviations: Bsn=basanites;
AkB=alkaline basalts; TrB=transitional basalts; ThB=tholeiitic basalts; Haw=hawaiites; LB=latibasalts;
Band=basaltic andesites; And=andesites. SiO2 vs Na2O+K2O compositions of Kwanza rocks are shown in the
inset.
Table 2
Representative mineral analyses of the mac rocks of the Kwanza basina

A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

Pyroxenes Olivines Feldspars Spinels

Rock- RD39 RD39 RD16 RD16 RD16 RD16 RD3 RD3 RD3 RD39 RD39 RD16 RD16 RD39 RD39 RD16 RD16 RD3 RD3 RD3 RD3 RD3 RD16 RD3 RD3
type (Th.B. (Th B. (Tr.B. (Tr.B. (Tr.B. (Tr.B (L.Bas. (L.Bas. (L.Bas. (Th.B. (Th.B. (Tr.B. (Tr.B. (Th.B. (Th.B. (Tr.B. (Tr.B. (L.Bas. (L.Bas. L.Bas (L.Bas. (L. Bas. (Tr.B (L.Bas. (L.Bas.
(c) (r) (c) (r) (c) (r) (c) (r) (mic) (c) (r) (c) (r) (c) (r) (gm) (gm) (c) (c) (r) (gm) (gm) (in ol) (in ol) (gm)

SiO2 51.50 51.25 49.46 46.00 50.40 45.68 51.45 50.75 48.40 36.34 35.20 40.30 40.37 49.23 52.43 52.06 52.71 55.95 48.90 48.91 65.39 60.59
TiO2 0.91 1.29 1.90 3.58 1.33 3.29 1.22 1.54 2.62 2.65 2.51 28.64
Al2O3 1.40 1.91 4.94 7.83 4.36 8.23 2.79 2.64 4.98 28.87 27.36 29.03 28.05 27.03 32.03 31.63 19.78 23.67 18.41 14.79 1.74
FeO 13.95 0.22 5.39 9.02 5.68 6.86 6.33 8.54 9.96 35.16 36.31 14.22 14.22 0.57 0.81 0.93 0.73 0.60 0.59 0.73 0.33 0.42 30.64 35.77 63.05
MnO 0.42 12.57 0.23 0.18 0.15 0.15 0.19 0.06 0.28 0.55 0.61 0.30 0.14 0.39 0.29 1.65
MgO 13.87 14.10 14.25 11.25 14.85 11.91 15.23 13.99 12.84 27.42 25.28 44.61 44.74 11.84 9.27 0.04
CaO 17.74 18.38 23.16 22.57 22.61 22.70 22.08 21.44 21.14 0.27 0.22 0.41 0.43 14.81 12.39 11.48 11.12 9.92 16.15 15.80 1.16 5.68
Na2O 0.35 0.31 0.31 0.42 0.40 0.34 0.30 0.32 0.46 2.93 4.34 4.09 4.69 5.69 2.48 2.60 6.12 7.40
Cr2O3 0.06 0.54 0.54 0.00 0.18 0.23 0.22 0.07 0.00 33.46 35.80 0.06
NiO 0.14 0.08 0.33 0.26
K2O 0.09 0.19 0.39 0.53 0.61 0.16 0.18 7.46 1.68
BaO 0.00 0.00 0.15 0.11 0.13 0.00 0.00 0.42 0.19
SrO 0.00 0.00 0.26 0.29 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Sum 100.20 100.10 100.18 100.84 99.95 99.38 99.81 99.45 100.68 99.88 97.70 100.17 100.16 96.50 97.52 98.39 98.22 99.93 100.31 99.86 100.66 99.63 98.43 95.18 97.39
Mg] 0.63 0.66 0.82 0.69 0.82 0.75 0.81 0.74 0.69 0.58 0.55 0.85 0.85
Ca 36.6 38.2 48.9 49.7 47.3 50.7 45.7 45.0 45.0

Fe 23.5 21.0 9.3 15.8 9.5 12.2 10.5 14.1 17.0
Mg 39.9 40.8 41.8 34.5 43.2 37.0 43.8 40.9 38.0
An 73.2 60.5 59.3 55.0 47.4 77.5 76.3 5.5 26.9
Ab 26.2 38.4 38.3 41.9 49.1 21.6 22.7 52.5 63.6
Or 0.5 1.1 2.4 3.1 3.5 0.9 1.0 42.0 9.5

a
Mg]=Mg/(Mg+Fe2+). Abbreviations: Th.B.=tholeitic basalt; Tr.B.=transitional basalt; L.Bas.=Latibasalt; c=core; r=rim; gm=ground-
mass; mic=microlite; in ol=inclusion in olivine.

347
348 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

sometimes rounded phenocrysts of olivine (Fo85), with chrome spinel inclusions (3335 wt%
Cr2O3), and very subordinate salitic clinopyroxene, with an oxide and clinopyroxene rich
groundmass. The transitional basalt RD17 is olivine-(2chromite) and clinopyroxene
porphyritic, with rare plagioclase phenocrysts, set in a ne-grained groundmass.

40
5. Ar/39Ar geochronology

Plagioclase separates of three tholeiites (one lava ow: RD34; and two dykes: RD25 and
RD36) and one alkaline basalt lava ow (RD1) of the Kwanza basin were dated using
40
Ar/39Ar incremental heating experiments. The lava ow, sampled towards the top of the lava
seuquence, and the dyke RD25 yielded plateaux dened by 87100% of cumulative released
39
Ar, and by 1322 contiguous steps (Fig. 3; the data table can be requested from the rst
author). The 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of the tholeiitic samples (RD25 and RD34) are 131.921.6
and 131.621.4 Ma (2s ), while the alkaline basalt (RD1) yielded a plateau age of 95 22 Ma.

Fig. 3. 40Ar/39Ar apparent age spectra of plagioclase separates from Kwanza tholeiites (RD36, RD25, RD34) and
alkaline basalt (RD1). 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages are shown by arrows. Reported analytical uncertainties are meant at
2s level, and include errors in the irradiation parameter J.
 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356 349

The two tholeiites display a very homogenous Ca/K ratio, suggesting that the analyzed
material was composed by poorly zoned An-rich plagioclase. The high Ca/K ratio of RD25 (c.
90), reects in a slightly higher analytical uncertainty. The mineral separate of the alkaline lava
ow (RD1) has high and relatively variable Ca/K ratio, suggesting that the analyzed mineral
separate is composed by zoned plagioclase, which is consistent with petrographic observations.
Statistically valid isochrons could be dened on isotope correlation diagrams of 36Ar/40Ar vs
39
Ar/40Ar (Fig. 4) for the tholeiites (MSWD, mean standard weighted deviation=0.40 and 0.20
for RD25 and RD34, respectively). Isochron ages for these samples overlap, at 95% condence
level, with the plateau ages, and yield initial 40Ar/36Ar ratios indistinguishable (RD25) or
slightly higher (RD34) than the air ratio (295.5). The 36Ar/40Ar vs 39Ar/40Ar isotope

Fig. 4. 40Ar/39Ar vs 36Ar/39Ar correlation diagram of Kwanza tholeiitic (RD25 and RD34) and alkaline (RD1)
mac rocks. Reported uncertainties are at 2s level.
350 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

correlation for the alkaline basalt (RD1) denes an isochron with an MSWD of 0.61, and an
age (91.0 22.0 Ma; Fig. 4) which is slightly younger than the plateau age. Considering the
relatively high 40Ar/36Ar intercept (330) for RD1, which suggests presence of excess 40Ar, we
consider the isochron age to be more accurate.
Finally, the coast-parallel tholeiitic dyke RD36, yielded a plagioclase plateau age of
126.121.4 Ma, dened by 44% of cumulative released 39Ar and by seven contiguous steps
(Fig. 3). The saddle-shaped apparent age spectrum of RD36 is typical of basaltic dykes
intruding high-K basement rocks of much older age (Renne et al., 1996b; Deckart et al., 1998).
No statistically valid 36Ar/40Ar vs 39Ar/40Ar isochron could be obtained for this sample.

6. Major and trace elements

The tholeiitic rocks of the Kwanza basin are evolved basalts and basaltic andesites (Mg]],
molar Mg/(Mg+Fe2+)=0.540.31; Cr < 200 ppm; Ni < 100 ppm: Table 1). Consistent with

Fig. 5. Primordial mantle normalized (Wood et al., 1979) incompatible element compositions of alkaline and
transitional (a) and tholeiitic rocks (b) of the Kwanza basin (cf. Table 1). For comparison, we report also average
compositions of Cameroon Line continental alkaline basalts (Fitton and Dunlop, 1985); of SantosRio de Janeiro
potassic alkaline dykes (SE Brazil; Morbidelli et al., 1995); of SantosRio de Janeiro high-TiO2 tholeiitic dykes and
of low-TiO2 dolerites of Cabo Frio (SE-Brazil; Brotzu and Melluso, unpublished data); of Esmeralda and Gramado
low-TiO2 ood tholeiites from the southern Parana (Peate and Hawkesworth, 1996); and of N-MORB (Wood,
1979).
 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356 351

petrographic observations, the chemical evolution of the tholeiites is compatible with fractional
crystallization dominated by clinopyroxene and plagioclase. From the least to the most
dierentiated rocks (MgO=5.582.83 wt%) SiO2 increases from 49.1 to 54.6 wt% (cf. Fig. 2,
inset) and Fe2O3t increases from 10.7 to 14.0 wt%, while CaO decreases slightly, from 10.48 to
8.26 wt%. Al2O3 shows limited variation, with the highest values likely caused by cumulus
plagioclase (RD39, 19.16 wt%, RD36, 18.28 wt%). The tholeiites have low TiO2 (<2.0 wt%)
and incompatible element contents, also in the most dierentiated basaltic andesite. Therefore,
they correspond to the low-TiO2 basalts of the Parana basin (Bellieni et al., 1984; Peate and
Hawkesworth, 1996).
The most dierentiated basaltic andesite is generally characterized by the highest
incompatible element contents. Sr contents do not show large variation (280400 ppm, except
in the sample RD36, 635 ppm). The quite scattered Ba concentrations (230900 ppm) are
generally higher than in most PE basalts, and do not vary coherently with MgO. Similar to PE
basalts, Nb content is low (421 ppm), with a negative Nb anomaly on mantle-normalized
multi-element diagrams (Fig. 5).
The strongly variable incompatible element ratios of Kwanza tholeiites (e.g. Ba/Nb=20115,
La/Nb=1.185.64, K/Nb=5002000) may reect compositional dierences in parental
(primary?) magmas and possibly in source materials. The Kwanza tholeiites trace element
ratios are in general similar to those of the PE ood basalts, and are signicantly higher than
in average MORB or OIB (cf. Fig. 5; Sun and McDonough, 1989).

Fig. 6. Ti/Zr vs Ti/Y diagram for Kwanza tholeiites. The elds of Parana low-TiO2 (Gramado and Esmeralda) and
high-TiO2 basalts (Paranapanema: Par.; Pitanga: Pit.; Urubici: Uru.; Peate and Hawkesworth, 1996), of Cabo Frio
dolerites (CFD; Brotzu and Melluso, unpublished data) and of SantosRio de Janeiro (SRio) tholeiitic dykes
(Piccirillo, unpublished data) are shown for comparison. The MgO vs TiO2 (wt%) variation of Kwanza tholeiites is
shown in the inset.
352 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

Ti/Y vs Ti/Zr ratios of most Kwanza tholeiites (Fig. 6) are similar to those of the low-TiO2
Gramado ood tholeiites from central and southern Parana (Peate et al., 1992). The dykes
RD39 and RD36 fall in the eld of low-TiO2 Esmeralda- and high-TiO2 Pitanga-type
(TiO2 > 3 wt%) PE tholeiites, respectively.
The alkaline and transitional rocks of the Kwanza basin have low SiO2 (4245 and 4648
wt%, respectively) and high MgO (245 wt%) and TiO2 contents (1.73.2 wt%). Some of these
rocks approach primary compositions (e.g. RD17, Table 1). Alkaline rocks have generally
higher Nb contents (3055 vs 2243 ppm, respectively) and lower K/Nb (109171 vs 191448)
and La/Nb ratios (0.600.80 vs 0.821.56) than transitional rocks. La and Ce contents of
alkaline, transitional and tholeiitic rocks are similar, while La/Y ratios of alkaline rocks (1.2
1.5) are slightly higher than those of transitional (0.81.5) and of tholeiitic basalts (0.31.0).
This is compatible with increasing melting degrees from alkaline to tholeiitic magmas.
The mantle normalized (Wood, 1979) diagrams of the Kwanza basin magmatic rocks (Fig.
5) show the OIB-like pattern for alkaline and transitional rocks (cf. Sun and McDonough,
1989), with a positive spike for Nb, and high Ti mantle-normalized abundance, whereas strong
negative Nb and Ti anomalies are present in the tholeiitic samples, with a positive spike for
Ba. This implies dierent source regions for tholeiitic and alkaline magmas.

7. Sr-isotope data

The initial (130 Ma) 87Sr/86Sr isotopic data (R0) of the Kwanza tholeiites range from
0.704480.70469 (basalts) to 0.70752 (basaltic andesite), overlapping with isotopic compositions
of the PE, particularly with those of the least crustally contaminated, low-TiO2 basalts of the
southern Parana (e.g. Petrini et al., 1987). Notably, the crustally uncontaminated low- and
high-TiO2 tholeiites of the northern Parana have higher R0 values than Kwanza tholeiitic
basalts (0.70510.705; Cordani et al., 1988). The increase of R0 from the Kwanza tholeiitic
basalts to the most evolved basaltic andesite, coupled with marked enrichments in SiO2, K2O,
Rb and Ba, suggests that dierentiation of the tholeiitic suite may have been associated with
contamination of 87Sr/86Sr rich granitic crustal material(s).
R0 (at 95 Ma) of the alkaline basalts ranges from 0.70297 to 0.70302. These values indicate
that such magmas derived from an isotopically depleted mantle source, similar to that of OIB
in the South Atlantic Ocean (e.g. St. Helena; Chaey et al., 1989) and of sodic alkaline
continental basalts in Africa (e.g. Cameroon Line: Fitton and Dunlop, 1985) and South
America (e.g. Asuncion nephelinites, Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997). Notably dierent are
most alkaline rocks of southeastern Brazil, including SantosRio alkaline dykes, which have
potassic anity and are characterized by R0 values clustering around 0.7050 (Morbidelli et al.,
1995; Brotzu et al., 1997).
The less evolved Kwanza transitional basalt (RD17, MgO=14.8%) has an R0 value of
0.70287 similar to those of the alkaline basalts, while more evolved transitional basalts (RD26
and RD38) have R0 values of 0.70486 and 0.70495, respectively. Therefore, it may be suggested
that the transitional basalts could have been generated by relatively higher degrees of melting
of a mantle source similar to that of the alkaline basalts. The most evolved transitional basalts
 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356 353

with higher R0 could have been contaminated by continental crust, or, less likely, could be the
product of a more 87Sr/86Sr rich mantle source.

8. Conclusions
1. Tholeiites from the Kwanza basin are similar in age and composition to PE basalts. Kwanza
tholeiites represent the northeastern-most expression of the PE continental ood basalt
province.
2. Two geochronologically distinct magmatic episodes have been dened for the tholeiites of
the Kwanza basin. The earliest, most voluminous magmatic episode is represented by Early
Cretaceous tholeiitic lava ows and dykes generated at c. 132 Ma, which are found at the
base of the sedimentary succession, and have ages indistinguishable from the ood volcanic
rocks of the PE province (Renne et al., 1992, 1996a, b; Turner et al., 1994; Stewart et al.,
1996). These ages are consistent with a short duration of the ood volcanism throughout the
PE province and do not support proposed time-related NWSE migrations of the PE ood
volcanism (Turner et al., 1994).
A slightly later generation of tholeiitic magmatism is represented by coast-parallel dykes
intruded in the basement at 126 Ma (RD36). This late magmatic event is similar in age to
the coast-parallel dyke swarms of Florianopolis, SantosRio de Janeiro, and Horingbaai
along the South Atlantic continental margins and is possibly related to the main rifting
event and the opening of the South Atlantic (Erlank et al., 1984; Renne et al., 1996b;
Raposo et al., 1998).
3. The tholeiites of the Kwanza basin are of low-TiO2 type, similar to those prevailing in the
southern Parana and in the Etendeka and common in the Ponta Grossa Arch (Piccirillo et
al., 1988, 1990). Low-TiO2 basalts are generally rare, though not absent in the northern
Parana basin, including the SantosRio dyke swarms. The Kwanza tholeiites in Angola,
along with the o-shore Campos basin basalts (Mizusaki et al., 1992) and the Cabo Frio
dolerites on the Rio de Janeiro coast line in Brazil (Brotzu and Melluso, unpublished data),
indicate the existence of a low-TiO2 basalt `belt' in the northernmost PE province.
4. In general, Kwanza tholeiites have strongly heterogeneous chemical and isotopic
composition. They are markedly dierent from common oceanic basalts and are similar to
the low-TiO2 basalts described for the PE province, i.e. Gramado and Esmeralda basalts
(Peate et al., 1992). While most Kwanza tholeiites resemble some compositional
characteristics of Gramado-type basalts, e.g. low Ti/Y and Ti/Zr ratios and low Nb and Sr
concentrations (Peate et al., 1992), their higher Ba concentrations distinguish them from
Gramado basalts. Ti/Y vs Ti/Zr ratios allow to discriminate also between Kwanza and
Cabo Frio dolerites. In summary, we suggest that the Kwanza tholeiites were derived from a
heterogeneous mantle source, slightly dierent from that of the PE ood basalts (Piccirillo et
al., 1988, 1989; Hawkesworth et al., 1988; Turner and Hawkesworth, 1995).
5. Late Cretaceous (RD1, 95 Ma) sodic alkaline and the transitional magmatism in central
Angola is characterized by incompatible element patterns and low Sr isotopic ratios
generally similar to those of sodic basalts from South Atlantic islands (St. Helena) and of
continental sodic alkaline basalts from South America and Africa. Notably, most
354 A. Marzoli et al. / Journal of Geodynamics 28 (1999) 341356

Cretaceous alkaline magmatic complexes in Brazil, surrounding the Parana basin, have
instead potassic anity and have more radiogenic Sr isotopic compositions close to Bulk
Earth values.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank E.M. Piccirillo and A. De Min for helpful discussions and reviews of early
versions of the manuscript. Careful reviews by G. Feraud and R. Duncan are kindly
acknowledged and helped to substantially improve the manuscript. Technical support by T.
Becker (Berkeley), M. Serracino (Roma), A. Carandente (Napoli) and A. De Min (Trieste),
and nancial support by Italian (CNR, MURST) and by USA (NSF) agencies is kindly
acknowledged.

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