This work presents a qualitative interpretation of aeromagnetic and gravity signatures of the onshore Potiguar Basin structural framework, located in the northern portion of the Borborema Province. The Precambrian basement consists of the amalgamation of Archaean and Proterozoic crustal blocks, formed by several lithostratigraphic sequences of igneous and metamorphic rocks. These geological units are partially underlain by more than 6000 m thick Cretaceous sedimentary strata of the Potiguar Basin and deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age. The regional structural framework is controlled by reactivation of Neoproterozoic shear zones, which culminated to the South Atlantic opening in the Cretaceous. In this sense, the study of the Potiguar basin tectonic evolution in Mesozoic depends on the knowledge of the plot structural Precambrian and its relationship with the internal architecture of the basin. The integrated interpretation of geophysical data allowed the characterization of six distinct magnetic and gravity domains correlated to the main geotectonic blocks. The internal geometry of the main rift structure could be well delineated in the various geophysical maps. The rift internal architecture is in the regional geotectonic setting, whose structural framework preferentially trends to NE-SW direction. The depocenters and internal basement highs are strongly NE-SW oriented. It was also possible to identify discontinuities in magnetic and gravity lineaments, which provide new evidences for the basement structural control on the distribution of normal and transfer faults, which outline the rift architecture.
geophysical mapping; potential methods; Potiguar Basin
