A 70 km long geoelectric section, formed by twenty-nine vertical electric soundings (VES), reveals the geoelectrical configuration of the drift sequence of Potiguar basin, NE Brazil. This tectono-stratigraphic unit preserves structural records of tectonic activities after the end of the northeastern Brazilian rifting process, since the Albian to present day, and encompasses the main hydrocarbon reservoirs in the onshore portion of the basin. The VES were carried out every 2.0 or 3.0 km along a geophysical cross section to the major axis of the rift architecture. The VES were performed with maximum apertures of the current electrodes, which allow us to investigate depth of 500 to 1000 m. The geological interpretative model was obtained by inversion of the soundings, constrained to a priori information derived from geological mapping, seismic reflection and well logging. The subsurface distribution of geoelectric resistivities reflects the strong structural conditioning of the drift sequence stratigraphic units. At the faulted border of the rift, a set of subvertical, normal faults causes a NW stepping increase in the thickness of the basin infill. While to southeast, the sedimentary cover of the marginal platform has a thickness relatively constant and is little affected by faulting. This model suggests that probable tectonic reactivation of brittle structures of the rift phase determines the structural setting of the drift tectono-sedimentary deposits in the onshore portion of Potiguar basin.
geoelectric section; drift sequence; tectonic reactivation; Potiguar basin
