Magmatism in the Asunción-Sapucai-Villarrica Graben ( Eastern Paraguay ) Revisited : Petrological , Geophysical , Geochemical , and Geodynamic Inferences

1 Mathematics and Geosciences Department, Trieste University, Via Weiss 8, 34127 Trieste, Italy 2 Geotrack International, 37 Melville Road, Brunswick West, Melbourne, VIC 3055, Australia 3 Geosciences Institute, University of São Paulo, Cidade Universitária, Rua do Lago 562, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil 4 Astronomical and Geophysical Institute (IAG) of the São Paulo University, Rua do Matão 1226, 05508-090 São Paulo, SP, Brazil


Introduction
presented a structural analysis of the"central segment of the "Asunción Rift", mainly based on the previous papers related to the Eastern Paraguay magmatism in general, and to the Asunción-Sapucai-Villarrica graben (ASV) in particular, and also counting on a large amount of field work data collected last years on the dyke-swarms cropping out in the area.However, some aspects, as e.g. the close association in space of potassic and sodic alkaline rocktypes with tholeiitic dykes and flows (both of high-and low-Ti types; cf.Bellieni et al. 1986a), have not been subject of a more detailed discussion by those authors.
This paper seeks to evaluate geological, petrological, geophysical and geochemical data on the magmatism from the western margin of the Paraná-Angola-Etendeka System (PAE), where tholeiitic flows and dykes (Early Cretaceous, both of high-Ti and low-Ti types; cf.Fig. 1A and Piccirillo and Melfi, 1988) are associated in time and space with a wide variety of alkaline rocktypes (both potassic and sodic) and carbonatites.The investigated alkaline and tholeiitic rocks from Eastern Paraguay span in age mainly from Early Cretaceous to Paleogene times.Therefore, they are germane to the magmatic and tectonic evolution of the PAE and of the Atlantic Ocean (cf.Fig 1 B and Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2007a,b).
Finally, it should be stressed that the present paper represents a synthetic review of the previous investigations done by a group of researchers from Italy and Brazil, coordinated by Comin-Chiaramonti and C.B. Gomes since 1981 and 1986, respectively.(Piccirillo and Melfi, 1988), where the arrows indicate the occurrences of the main dyke-swarms.The basaltic lavas are subdivided into broad high-and low-Ti groups, and late-stage rhyolites (yellow fields).EP: Eastern Paraguay.B. Main lineaments in the Paraná-Angola-Etendeka System (PAE), western Gondwana at ca. 110 Ma (modified after Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2011), corresponding to the main lineaments of the alkaline and alkaline-carbonatitic complex.Inset: vector diagram showing relationships among absolute plate motions, relative motions, and motion of the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR, after Fairhead and Wilson, 2005).

Eastern Paraguay: geological outlines and geophysical evidences
Eastern Paraguay shows a complex block-faulted structure between the southern Precambrian tip of the Amazonian Craton (Apa block) and the northern one of the Rio de la Plata Craton (Caacupú high; Fig. 2).This intercratonic area, including the westernmost fringe of the Paraná Basin (PB), represents an undeformed basin at the western Gondwana (Fig. 1), where the sedimentation, started in Cambrian times, was topped by Early Cretaceous tholeiitic basalts of the Serra Geral Formation (Zalán et al., 1990;Roger et al., 1995), and followed by younger sedimentation (Fig. 2).
Moreover, it should be also noted that Eastern Paraguay lies along the former western margin of the Gondwana, bounded by an anticlinal structure established since Early Paleozoic, the Asunción Arch, that separates the Paraná Basin (East) from the Gran Chaco Basin (West) (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997).PB shows a high-velocity upper-mantle lid with a maximum S-wave velocity of 4.7 km/s (Moho 37 km depth), with no resolved low-velocity zone to at least a depth of 200 km (Feng et al., 2007).Betweeen the two blocks, i.e.Apa and Caacupú of Fig. 2, Eastern Paraguay was subjected to NE-SW-trending crustal extension during Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, probably related to the western Gondwana break up (Fig. 1; Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997, 1999 andtherein references).NW-SE fault trends, paralleling the dominant orientation of Mesozoic alkaline and tholeiitic dykes, reflect this type of structure (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1992a, Riccomini et al., 2001).
The Bouguer gravity map (Fig. 3) consists of prevailing NW-trending gravity "highs" and "lows" that represent shallow to exposed basement and sedimentary basins, respectively (Photo Gravity Co., 1986): the boundaries between gravity highs and lows are generally marked by step gradients that reflect abrupt basement offsets along faults, or basement dip changes by crustal warping.Notably, the gravity lows and highs parallel the dominant NW attitude of the magnetic lineaments, with post-Paleozoic magmatism (both tholeiitic and alkaline) associated with gravity lows.In this context the ASV represents the most important geological structure of the region (see later).
Finally, it should be noted that the present seismic activity (earthquakes with deep <70 km) indicates that the NW-trending fault systems continue up to present day, i.e. the Pilcomayo lineament: (inset of Fig. 3), that can be considered to be aligned with the Piquirí lineament and the Torres syncline (Fig. 1B).
In conclusion, the resulting structural pattern controlled the development of grabens or semigrabens as a response to NE-SW-directed extension and continued evolving into Cenozoic times (Comin-Chiaramonti andGomes, 1996, Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1999).According to Tommasi and Vauchez (2001), rift orientations seem to have been controlled by the pre-existing lithospheric mantle fabric, as indicated by deep geophysical data.
The thermal history, using apatite fission track analyses (AFTA), reveals that at least two main episodes have been identified in sedimentary and igneous/metamorphic samples ranging in age from Late Ordovician to Early Cretaceous (Green et al., 1991, Hegarty et al., 1996).AFTA data from ASV show evidence for rapid cooling beginning some time between 90 and 80 Ma, similar to the results found along Brazilian and Uruguayan coasts.A Tertiary heating/cooling episode is also suggested by AFTA data (60-10 Ma), supporting early work in the area.The time of the first event Depth of the earthquakes, h<70 km is significantly younger than any rifting activity related to the Paraná flood basalts and to the opening of the South Atlantic.Late Cretaceous cooling may have involved several kilometers of differential uplift and erosion, and would have played an important role in the control of the geomorphology and drainage patterns of the region, especially in the ASV system (Green et al., 1991, Hegarty et al., 1996).
In summary, from the field stratigraphic control and starting from Mesozoic times (Fig. 2), almost five main alkaline magmatic events have occurred in Eastern Paraguay, other than the Early Cretaceous tholeiitic magmatism (133-134 Ma;Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2007a).Three of them include rocks of sodic affinity, corresponding geographically to the provinces of Alto Paraguay (241.5±1.3Ma), Misiones (118.3±1.6 Ma) and Asunción (58.7±2.4Ma), whereas two involve rocks of potassic affinity associated with the Apa and Amambay provinces, both of similar age (138.9±0.7), and with the Central Province (ASV, 126.4±0.4Ma).
Geology and gravity results indicate that the ASV graben extends up to 100 km into the Chaco Basin (Figs. 2 and 3), and turns to a N80W trend between Paraguarí and Villarrica townships, in the area marked by a gravity low anomaly that increases eastwards (Figs. 3 and 4).Paleomagnetic data by Ernesto et al. (1996) revealed that the potassic Cretaceous rocks (75 samples) have reversal polarity remnants corresponding to a paleomagnetic pole at 62.3°E and 85.4°S, similar to that calculated for the Serral Geral Formation in the Paraná Basin.It is inferred that ASV K-alkaline rocks were emplaced while the tholeiitic magmatic activity was still taking place (Fig. 1).
It should be also noted that the Tertiary sodic rocks, carrying mantle xenoliths, mainly occur in an area characterized by relatively gravity highs (Fig. 3), whereas the potassic complexes and dykes occur in a gravity low belt characterized by block faulting (Figs. 3 and 4).Finally, at East of the city of Villarrica, a NS-trending fault system bounds the western side of the Ybytyruzú hills, close to several alkaline intrusions (Comin-Chiaramonti and Gomes, 1996).
A total of 527 samples from the ASV area, including 220 dykes, have been investigated in detail, being the data on field geology, age, orientation (dykes), petrography and mineral chemistry of the rocks available in Comin-Chiaramonti et al. (1992a, 1996a, b, c, d, 1997).In particular 55% of the dykes are preferentially oriented N20-60 W, as shown e.g. for the B-P and AB-T dykes (Fig. 5, III).

Classification, petrography and petrochemistry of the magmatic rocks
The fine-grained texture of the ASV rocks, including the intrusive variants, are plotted on the De La Roche (1986) chemical classification (Fig. 5), with an additional subdivision based on the K 2 O and Na 2 O wt% contents displayed on the Le Maitre's (1989) diagram (inset I).Judging from the data 4% of the dykes have tholeiitic affinity (sills, lava flows, and dykes, both high-and low-Ti variants, according to Bellieni et al., 1986a, b), and straddles the fields of the olivine tholeiitic basalts and andesibasalts, whereas 17% are sodic and 79% potassic in composition.The distribution of the potassic rocks shows that the variation of the dykes is consistent with that of the associated intrusive and volcanic rocks (inset I).Two main lineages are apparent for the potassic rock-types (Fig. 5 and inset II): 1) a silica undersatured lineage (B-P) ranging from basanite to phonolite and peralkaline phonolite, and 2) a silica-saturated lineage (AB-T) ranging from alkali basalt to trachyphonolite and trachyte (Gomes et al., 1989;Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1992a, 1993).
In conclusion, in a relatively narrow area represented by ASV graben (ca.35x200 km, cf.Fig. 3) tholeiitic rock-types (both high-titanium, H-Ti, and low-titanium, L-Ti, variants), K-alkaline and Na-alkaline rocks are widespread.In Tables 1 to 4 representative and average analyses of these rocks are reported.
Mass balance calculations and the remarkable differences in incompatibile element ratios between L-Ti and H-Ti tholeiites suggest that such differences cannot be explained by fractional crystallization, or by means of melting and zone refining processes of a homogeneous mantle source.A basalt genesis from chemically different lithospheric mantle materials is therefore proposed, expecially considering that mixing processes seem to have played a minor role (Bellieni et al., 1986a, b;Piccirillo et al., 1989).R2=6Ca+Mg+Al (De La Roche, 1986;cf. also Fig. 2 of Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1992a).Data source: Comin-Chiaramonti et al. (1996b).SG, field of Serra Geral tholeiites; ASV, field of Na-alkaline rocks; B-P and AB-T, lineages of the K-alkaline rocks (basanite to phonolitic suite and alkaline basalt to trachyphonolite/trachyte suite, respectively; white squares represent a lava flow and a theralite with carbonatitic affinity, respectively (see text).Insets: I, the same with subdivision into intrusive and volcanic rocks and dykes, plus Le Maitre (1989) classification, as in Fig. 2 of Comin-Chiaramonti et al. (1997).II, QAPF diagram (Streckeisen, 1979) for intrusive potassic suites from ASV, as from Fig. 3 of Comin-Chiaramonti et al. (1997).III, Azimutal frequence of the B-P and AB-T dykes (Gomes et al., 1989).The symbols represent selected compositions as in Tables 1 to 4.

Potassic suites
Based on Fig. 5 and Tables 2 and 3, these reporting representative analyses of different lithotypes), the potassic rocks are subdivided in B-P and AB-T lineages, a distinction also confirmed by crystal fractionation models (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1992a).Chemical analyses of the coexisting mineral phases are listed in Comin-Chiaramonti et al. (1992a).wt%)±magnetite or haematite.Glassy groundmass contains microlites of alkali feldspar, nepheline, clinopyroxene±Ti-andradite±magnetite.Haematite is found replacing magnetite or as a common groundmass constituent in peralkaline phonolites.
Notably, the equilibration temperatures of the mineral assemblages are very similar to those suggested for the B-P suite (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1990, 1992a, 1997).
The differentiation history of the potassic ASV magmas remained largely into the stability fields of the ferromagnesian phases (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1999), i.e. olivine+clinopyroxene, in the system Mg 2 SiO 4 -KAlSiO 4 (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1992a, 1997;cf. Edgar, 1980), suggesting that relatively high temperature subvolcanic conditions were prevalent.Moreover, the extreme differentiates from both B-P and AB-T suites approaches to the composition of peralkaline residua, pointing to an extensive subvolcanic crystallization of K-rich, aluminous phases likely phlogopite and leucite, at least for the B-P suite (Cundari and Ferguson, 1982).
According to Comin-Chiaramonti et al. ( 2001) and Wang et al. (2007), they were formed by decompression melting of amphibole and phlogopite.
The Paraguayan xenoliths are characterized by a large range of K 2 O contents (0.02 to 0.51 wt%).Some xenoliths have K 2 O abundances comparable or even higher than those reported for metasomatized mantle peridotites (cf.Roden et al., 1984), resembling in some case to amphibolemica-apatite bearing mantle-xenolith suites (cf.O' Reilly and Griffin, 1988).K 2 O contents and the abundance of blebs and glassy drops allow to group the Paraguay xenoliths into two main suites, i.e. a low-K suite (LK, K 2 O <0.15 wt%), and a high-K suite, the latter with abundant glassy drops and/or variable amounts of blebs and spongy clinopyroxenes (HK, K 2 O ≥0.2 wt%).Representative analyses are listed in Table 5 and complete sets of chemical analyses are in Demarchi et al. (1988).
Based on the Spera's (1984) approach, Comin-Chiaramonti et al. (1991) suggested that the transportation of the xenoliths to the surface took place in a very short time, e.g. less than nine days (assuming a diameter of 45 cm, corresponding to the largest xenolith size, a density of 3.3 g/cm 3 and an origin of the hosting liquids from depth ~70-75 km, i.e. ~boundary between garnet and spinel peridotite).
Coherent variations of major element contents in both suites follow a dunite-lherzolite sequence trending to the mantle composition (Demarchi et al., 1988).The population is represented mainly by lherzolitic-harzburgitic (dunitic) compositions, mostly with a 0.55-0.63range of (SiO 2 +Al 2 O 3 )/(MgO+FeO t ) molar ratio.The residual character of the harzburgitic mantle xenoliths (believed to be consistent with melting and basalt-component removal) is also indicated by the decrease in the cpx/opx modal ratio with decreasing modal cpx, which fits the model variation trend induced by partial melting of lherzolite (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2001, cf. Rivalenti et al., 1996).
These mantle xenoliths provide an opportunity for a direct sampling of the subcontinental mantle in ASV.Studies on mantle xenoliths have pointed out that incompatible trace elements, radiogenic isotopes and major element chemistry are largely decoupled from the coherent variation that would be expected by progressive melt extraction from a peridotite at mantle conditions (Frey and Green, 1979).In particular, variable enrichments of incompatible elements are commonly observed in contradiction to the refractory composition of the majority of the xenoliths, thus requiring additional processes besides partial melting and fractionation.
Such processes have been generally called metasomatic by Frey and Hawkesworth (1987).Metasomatism of residual peridotites by volatile-charged fluids or small-volume melts carrying incompatible elements causes different types of enrichment.Metasomatically changed parent/daughter element ratios could develop isotopic inhomogeneities by radioactive in situ decay in a non-convective, lithospheric mantle.Thus, geochemical and isotopic data of mantle xenoliths provide valuable information about the nature and timing of differentiation, and possible metasomatism of mantle domains.
Equilibration temperatures for orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene pairs (Wells, 1977) and for olivinespinel pairs (Fabriès, 1979) range between 862 and 1075°C and between 748 and 968°C, respectively.Intracrystalline temperatures (Mercier, 1980;Mercier et al., 1984;Sen et al., 1993) for clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene pairs vary as average between 936 and 1033°C for the LK suite, and between 920 and 1120°C for the HK suite.The pressures are roughly in the range of 1.1-2.3GPa for both suites, with the higher values related to the more depleted xenoliths of the LK suite (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2001, 2009).
It can be observed that the highest temperature of the HK suite is substantially due to higher δ 18 O% in olivine than δ 18 O% in clinopyroxene: according to [73] the relatively low δ 18 O in the pyroxenes reflects metasomatism by a silicate melt from subducted altered oceanic crust.So the Paraguayan HK suite should be the best candidate to a subduction-linked environment.
The investigated ASV clinopyroxenes [74] have V(Cell) and V(M1) sites intermediate between those of plagioclase-and garnet-bearing mantle peridotites, i.e., in a range between 1.2 and 2.2 GPa.Thus, also the isotopic and crystallographic results fit the same inter and intracrystalline data.
On the whole, the ASV xenoliths define a geotherm (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2009) that, starting at about 830°C and 1.0 GPa, at the transition mantle-crust, intersects the hydrous peridotite solidus at about 1140°C and 2.1-2.2GPa in the spinel peridotite facies, near to the transition with the garnet peridotite facies, believed to be the source of the sodic alkaline magmatism.

Geochemistry
Incompatible Elements (IE), Large Ion Lithophile Element (LILE), and High Field Strength Element (HFSE) ratios, coupled with the Sr-Nd isotopic compositions, appear to indicate that the magmatic events present in ASV were generated from geochemically distinct (enriched vs. depleted) mantle sources (Antonini et al., 2005, and therein references).

Incompatible elements
The IE patterns (mantle normalized) for the various and different magmatic rock-groups are diagrammatically represented in Fig. 6.
The L-Ti and H-Ti ASV tholeiites are distinct in terms of their relatively low elemental abundances and high LILE/HFSE ratios.In particular, their marked Ta-Nb negative spikes are similar to those of the potassic alkaline magmas from ASV, but clearly different in comparison to the Cenozoic sodic alkaline rocks from the same area.
Multi-elemental diagrams, normalized to a primordial mantle composition (Fig. 6), show a substantial overlap of B-P and AB-T compositions, negative Nb, Ta, P, Ti and Y spikes, and positive U, K and Sr anomalies.In general, B-P compositions are higher in Rb, K, Zr, Hf, Ti, Y, LREE and MREE than AB-T compositions.On the contrary, the Na rocks yielded La/Nb and La/Ta ratios close to unity, respectively, and Nb/K and Ta/K ratios greater than 1.0, respectively.Notably, the variations of incompatible elements of the AB-T compositions mimic to some extent those of the ASV H-Ti (and L-Ti) tholeiitic basalts, which approach the lower (Rb to Nd) and higher (Sm to Lu) elemental concentrations of that suite (Fig. 6).
In summary, substantial overlap in bulk-rock chemistry exists between the investigated B-P and AB-T rocks, both characterized by variable K/Na ratio, although the K types being dominant.REE and other incompatible elements show similar concentration levels and variation trends in the two suites.The mantle normalized incompatible element patterns of both ASV suites show strong affinities, including negative "Ta-Nb-Ti anomalies", with the Paraná tholeiites (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997).
On the whole, the geochemical features suggest that the enrichment processes were related to small-volume melts in a lithospheric mantle (Castorina et al., 1997;Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997, 2007a).Fig. 6.ASV representative compositions (data as in Tables 1 to 5): incompatible elements normalized to the primitive mantle (Sun and McDonough, 1989).Parent magmas -normalizations relative to the calculated parental magmas as proposed by Bellieni et al. (1986a, b), Piccirillo et al. (1988)

Mantle sources
The origin of the ASV magmas is closely related to, and probably constrained by, the geodynamic processes which promoted the generation of the adjacent and coeval magmatism in Brazil (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997).The origin and emplacement of ASV magmatism occurred before, during and after the opening of the South Atlantic and appears to be related to early stages of lithospheric extension, associated with an anomalously hot mantle (Piccirillo and Melfi, 1988;Hawkesworth et al., 1992;Turner et al., 1994).The K/Na and trace element variations and Sr-Nd isotope characteristics of the ASV suites support the view that the lithospheric mantle played an important role in their genesis as well as that of the Paraná flood basalts in Brazil (Piccirillo et al., 1989;Peate, 1992;Peate and Hawkesworth, 1996).
It should be noted that the most mafic tholeiitic and potassic ASV rock-types are relatively evolved compared with expected primary compositions (e.g.mg# >0.60-0.65,Ni >235 ppm), ankaratrite excepted.Possible ASV primary melts (e.g.mg# ∼0.74) in equilibrium with Fo 90-91 are expected to have fractionated olivine (Ol) and clinopyroxene (Cpx) at or near the mantle source and certainly during the ascent to the surface.Neglecting the effects of polythermal-polybaric fractionation on the chemistry of the fractionates, notional crystal fractions have been calculated to restore the selected ASV parental compositions to possible near-primary melts in equilibrium with their mantle sources (cf.Table 3 of Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997).
Mass balance calculations, starting from different garnet phlogopite peridotites (cf.Erlank et al., 1987; whole-rock and mineral compositions in Table 3 of Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997, andTable 10 of Bellieni et al., 1986b), indicate that the ASV primary melt compositions can be derived from high and relatively high melting degrees of anhydrous garnet or phlogopite-bearing peridotite, i.e. 12 and 30% for tholeiitic basalts (H-Ti and L-Ti, respectively) and 4-11% for the alkaline rocktypes (Table 3 of Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997).However, the presence of a relative K enrichment in the ASV potassic and tholeiitic rocks (Fig. 6) suggests that a K-bearing phase (e.g.phlogopite) did not represent a residual phase during partial melting.Phlogopite, instead, was probably a residual phase in the mantle source(s) of the ASV sodic rocks.Notably, the parent melts (Fig. 6) show high abundances of IE and high LREE/HREE ratios, which require mantle sources enriched in IE before or subcontemporaneously with melting process (cf.Menzies and Wass, 1983): Nd model ages approximately indicate that the IE enrichment in the source mantle of the ASV tholeiitic and potassic rocks probably occurred during Paleoproterozoic times (mean 2.03±0.08Ga), whereas those relative to the sodic rocks would be related to Late Neoproterozoic events (0.57±0.03Ga).On the other hand, the mantle xenoliths display Nd model ages of 444±11 Ma (cf.Tables 1 to  5).Concluding, the patterns of the mantle sources of the ASV potassic rocks (H-Ti and L-Ti tholeiites) are characterized by negative 'Ta-Nb-Ti' and positive Ba and Sm spikes.On the contrary, the patterns of the mantle sources of the ASV ankaratrites-melanephelinites show positive Ta-Nb and Zr, and negative K and Sm spikes.It seems, therefore, that the genesis of the ASV alkaline magmatism is dominated by a lithospheric mantle, characterized by small-scale heterogeneity, as also documented by the occurrence of bleb-like glass in spinel peridotite nodules from the ASV Na ultramafic rocks (Demarchi et al., 1988;Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1991).

Sr-Nd isotopes
The investigated rocks from ASV show a large distribution on the Sr-Nd isotopic compositions (Fig. 7), describing a trend similar to the "low Nd" array of Hart and Zindler (1989;cf. also "Paraguay array" of Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2007a).Due to the high Sr and Nd content of the most "primitive" alkaline rocks (and associated carbonatites) from Eastern Paraguay, Comin Chiaramonti et al. (1999) suggested that initial Sr-Nd isotopic ratios of such rock-types can be considered crustally uncontaminated and, as a result, representative of the isotopic composition of the mantle source(s).
The ASV potassic alkaline rocks have the highest initial (time integrated) Sr i and the lowest initial Nd i .Including the carbonatites of the BP-suite (Comin-Chiaramonti andGomes, 1996, 2005), the Sr i and Nd i range from 0.70645 to 0.70716 and from 0.51151 to 0.51179, (Tables 2 and 3).These values are quite distinct from those of the ASV Paleocene sodic rocks (ca.60 Ma), which plots within the depleted quadrant (Sr i =0.70364-0.70391,Nd i =0.51264-0.51273,cf.Table 4), towards the HIMU-DMM depleted mantle components (Fig. 7).Notably, Sr i and Nd i of the tholeiites, believed by Comin-Chiaramonti et al. (1997) to be uncontaminated, both H-and L-Ti, are intermediate between the potassic and sodic rocks: 0.70456-0.70576and 0.51225-0.51256,respectively (cf.Table 4): these values approach to the range of the Early Cretaceous uncontaminated tholeiites from the Paraná Basin (Piccirillo et al., 1989 and therein references), i.e.Sr i =0.70527±0.00051and Nd i =0.51264±0.00011).To be stressed that the genesis of these tholeiites requires lithospheric mantle components, as represented by K-alkaline (and carbonatitic) rocks from the ASV (Comin-Chiaramonti 2007a, b).(2001, 2007a, and therein references).DM, HIMU, EMI and EMII mantle components, terrigenous and pelagic sediments, TS and PS, respectively (Zindler and Hart, 1986); crystalline basement (Comin-Chiaramontin et al., 1997)  Considering the whole Paraná-Agola-Etendeka system (PAE), and that the ASV is located at the central westernmost side of the PAE (Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2007b, 2011 andtherein references), the different geochemical behaviour in the different PAE sectors implies also different sources.the T DM (Nd) model ages (Gastal et al., 2005;Comin-Chiaramonti and Gomes, 2005), it should be noted that 1) the H-Ti flood tholeiites and dyke swarms from the Paraná Basin, and the Early Cretaceous potassic rocks and carbonatites from Eastern Paraguay range mainly from 0.9 to 2.1 Ga, whereas in Angola and Namibia the Early Cretaceous K-alkaline rocks vary from 0.4 to 0.9 Ga; 2) the L-Ti tholeiites display a major T DM variation, from 0.7 to 2.4 Ga (mean 1.6±0.3)with an increase of the model ages from North to South; (3) Late Cretaceous alkaline rocks show model ages ranging from 0.6 to 1 Ga, similarly to the age span shown by the Triassic to Paleocene sodic alkaline rock-types lying along the Paraguay river (Comin-Chiaramonti, 2007a).
At any rate, the model ages seem indicate that some notional distinct "metasomatic events" may have occurred during Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic times as precursor to the alkaline and tholeiitic magmas in the PAE (Comin-Chiaramonti and Gomes, 2005).
The meaning of model ages can be supported by another point of view.Considering that 1) the isotopic overlapping of different igneous rocks (i.e.tholeiites, alkaline rocks and carbonatites) cannot be accidental and points to sampling of ancient reservoirs formed at different times from the same subcontinental upper mantle (Carlson et al., 1996); 2) whatever the implication, i.e. heterogeneity induced by recycled crust in the mantle (Menzies, 1990;Weaver, 1991), or occurrence of variably veined material in the subcontinental upper mantle, or both (Foley, 1992a, b), Pb isotope data indicate a mantle source of ca.1.8 Ga for the Paraná H-Ti tholeiites, and since much of the crust in southern Brazil appears to have been formed at ca. 2 Ga ago (Hawkesworth, 1986), it follows that magma genesis involved ancient lithospheric mantle reset at well defined isotopic ranges.A veined lithospheric mantle (amphibole/phlogopite-carbonate-lherzolite and amphibole-lherzolite+CO 2 -fluid type III and IV veins of Meen et al. (1989) of Proterozoic age may well account for the magmatism both of the PAE and ASV (Fig. 8).1997) and PAE tholeiites (Piccirillo and Melfi, 1988).It should be noted that the compositions of metasomites formed from a single metasomatizing melt vary with the evolution of the melt.Consequently, the veins will define a trend of shallow slope, and mixing curves between vein and matrix will define an array towards the matrix (cf. a and b regression lines In summary, the isotopic signature of the tholeiitic and K-Na-alkaline-magmatism from the PAE in general, and from ASV in particular, may reflect ancient heterogeneities preserved in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle.As matter of fact, all the data indicate that they represent a thermally-eroded metasomatic SCUM upper mantle) and/or delaminated lithospheric materials stored for long time, for example, towards the transition zone or deeper mantle in Archean-Proterozoic.

Geodynamic implications
General considerations to be made are largely based on the papers by Comin-Chiaramonti (1995, 2007a, b, c, d, 2011 and therein references).The geodynamic evolution of the ASV appears to be strictly linked to the evolution of the Western Gondwana (Fig. 1) that reflects the amalgamation processes which affected the region.The Western Gondwana geodynamic evolution at the Early Cretaceous requires an overall understanding of the pre-gondwanic situation, at least at the time of the Brasiliano cycle, both at the Atlantic and Pacific systems.The Brasiliano cycle was developed between about 890 to 480 Ma in a diachronic way, until the final arrangement of the framework basement of the South American Platform (Mantovani et al., 2005).The Gondwana amalgamation was achieved during Lower Ordovician: Unrug (1996) suggests a mosaic of lithospheric fragments linked by several (accretionary, collisional) Neo-Proterozoic mobile belts.After the amalgamation, the Gondwana supercontinent accumulated Paleozoic and Triassic-Jurassic sediments.Concomitantly, it was continuosly and laterally accreted to the western borders by means of successive orogenic belts, in the Lower Paleozoic and in the Permian-Triassic, until the Pangea formation (Cordani et al., 2000(Cordani et al., , 2005)).The main cratonic fragments, descending from ancestors of the Pangea, were revorked, like the Amazonic and Rio de La Plata cratons and smaller ancient crustal blocks at the actual Paraguay boundaries (Kröner and Cordani, 2003).In this picture, the magmatism was driven by the relative extensional regimes derived by the relative movements of the ancient blocks (Fig. 9), probably induced by counterlockwise and clockwise movements (North and South, respectively) hinged at the about 20° and 24° South latitude (Prezzi and Alonso, 2002).
The geodynamic evolution of the ASV, Paraguay and neighbouring countries is apparent by the present day earthquake distribution along with the paleomagnetic, geological and geochemical evidences.The earthquake mechanisms (Berrocal and Fernandes, 1996) highlight the distribution of the earthquakes with hypocenters >500 km and <70 km, respectively (Fig. 9): the distribution of the deep earthquakes coincides with the inferred Nazca plate subduction at the Paraguay latitude (Fig. 10), where the depth of the lithospheric earthquakes, together with the paleomagnetic results (Ernesto et al., 1996;Randal, 1998;Rapolini, 2005), delineates different rotational paths at latitude of about 18-24°S (i.e.Chaco-Pantanal Basin).These data indicate extensional subplate tectonics at the Andean system (Randal, 1998) coupled with the lineaments of lithospheric earthquakes versus the Atlantic system that parallel the Ponta Grossa Arch and the lineaments of Rio Paraguay and Rio Pilcomayo, also clearly related to extensional environments (Berrocal and Fernandes, 1996;Comin-Chiaramonti andGomes, 1996, 2005).
Also crucial to the the genesis of the ASV magma types is the link with the whole PAE system and with the geodynamic processes responsible for the opening of the South Atlantic.According to Nürberg and Müller (1991), the sea-floor spreading in the South Atlantic at ASV latitude started at about 125-127 Ma (Chron M4), but at north of the Walvis-Rio Grande ridge (Fig. 1B) the onset of the oceanic crust would be younger, e.g.113 Ma (cf.Chang et al., 1988).In this context, the Early Cretaceous alkaline (and alkaline-carbonatite) complexes from ASV (and PAE) are subcoeval with respect to the main flood tholeiites of the Paraná Basin and, therefore, occurred during the early stages of rifting, before the main continental separation.Also crucial to the the genesis of the ASV magmas types is the link with the whole PAE system and with the geodynamic processes that promoted the opening of the South Atlantic.According to [110] the sea-floor spreading in the South Atlantic at ASV latitude started at about 125-127 Ma (Chron M4), but north of the Walvis-Rio Grande ridges (cf.Fig. 1B) the onset of the oceanic crust would be younger, e.g.113 Ma [111].In this context the Early Cretaceous alkaline (and alkalinecarbonatite) complexes from ASV (and PAE) are subcoeval with respect to the main flood tholeiites of the Paraná Basin and, therefore, occurred during the early stages of rifting, before the main continental separation.
The origin of alkaline-carbonatitic magmatism in terms of plate tectonics is currently debated [31,41].Notably, the different westward angular velocity of the lithospheric fragments in the South American plate, as defined by the "second order plate boundaries" , e.g. the Pylcomaio lineament [112], as well as the different rotational trends at S19-24° Latitude, may favour the decompression and melting at different times of variously metasomatized (wet spot) portion of the lithospheric mantle with variable isotopic signatures [19,79].Small-scale metasomatism is suggested by the different suites of mantle xenoliths and significant H-O-C and F are also expected in the mantle source from the occurrence of the related carbonatites.The latter imply a lowering of the solidus, and along with an extensional tectonic, favour the melting of the mantle and magma ascent.This scenario also accounts for the presence of Late Cretaceous to Tertiary sodic magmatism in the PAE and in the Eastern Paraguay, where rifting structures are apparent (cf.Figs. 2 and 4).
Distinct magmatic events are widespread in the Asunción-Sapucai-Villarrica graben, the major extensional structure in Eastern Paraguay, i.e.Early Cretaceous tholeiites and K-alkalinecarbonatitic complexes and dykes, along with Tertiary sodic magmatism.It is expected that beneath a rifted continental area, as ASV, the lithospheric mantle may have been thinned and subjected to high heat flow.This allowed the geotherm to intersect the peridotite solidus in the presence of H 2 O-CO 2 rich fluids.Under these conditions, asthenospheric-derived melts may form, dissolving most of the "volatile" phases and, by percolating through a porous and deformed rock matrix, invaded the base of the lithosphere and favoured metasomatic processes at different levels in the peridotitic lithosphere with the formation of amphibole and/or phlogopite ("veined mantle" of [92]).Notably, the different tholeiitic (high-and low-Ti), K-alkaline suites (B-P and Ab-T) and sodic magmatism with HK and LK xenoliths are consistent with variously depleted lithosperic mantle at different times, pervasively and locally invaded by metasomatizing fluids and/or melts [112].Thereafter , the newly formed veins ("enriched component") and peridotitic matrix ("depleted component") untervent different isotopic compositions with time, depending on their parent/daughter ratio (cf, Fig. 8), testifying to heterogeneous mantle sources beneath ASV.

Fig. 1 .
Fig. 1. A. Sketch map of the Paraná-Angola-Etendeka system (Piccirillo and Melfi, 1988), where the arrows indicate the occurrences of the main dyke-swarms.The basaltic lavas are subdivided into broad high-and low-Ti groups, and late-stage rhyolites (yellow fields).EP: Eastern Paraguay.B. Main lineaments in the Paraná-Angola-Etendeka System (PAE), western Gondwana at ca. 110 Ma (modified after Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 2011), corresponding to the main lineaments of the alkaline and alkaline-carbonatitic complex.Inset: vector diagram showing relationships among absolute plate motions, relative motions, and motion of the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR, after Fairhead and Wilson, 2005).

Fig. 8 .
Fig.8.Calculated subcontinental upper mantle (SCUM) isotopic composition at 2.0 Ga ago, projected to 130 Ma(Meen et al., 1989), modified after Fig.10ofComin-Chiaramonti et al. (2011).Parental melts with various Rb/Sr and Sm/Nd ratios are assumed for K , Na (potassic and sodic rocks from ASV, respectively: Comin-Chiaramonti et al., 1997) and PAE tholeiites(Piccirillo and Melfi, 1988).It should be noted that the compositions of metasomites formed from a single metasomatizing melt vary with the evolution of the melt.Consequently, the veins will define a trend of shallow slope, and mixing curves between vein and matrix will define an array towards the matrix (cf. a and b regression lines).Model depleted mantle (DMM): Rb=0, Sr=0.133,Sm=0.314,Nd=0.628; present day Bulk Earth: