New detrital petrographic and thermochronologic constraints on the Late Cretaceous–Neogene erosional history of the equatorial margin of Brazil: Implications for the surface evolution of a complex rift margin

Abstract The equatorial margin of Brazil is an example a rift with complex landscape, dominated by escarpment perpendicular to the continental margin, which testifies equally and post‐rift surface tectonic evolution. This has been focus long debate on driving mechanism for tectonics amount exhumation. study contributes this new petrographic thermochronologic data 152 samples from three basins, Pará‐Maranhão, Barreirinhas Ceará, offshore platform. Our detrital record goes back time at ca. 100 Ma ago outlines major evolutionary phases changing landscape: phase, erosion moderate escarpment, Late Cretaceous‐Palaeogene phase drainage reorganization significant vertical Oligocene‐to‐Recent river headwater migration. We estimate that along Brazil, over large onshore area, exhumation since Cretaceous totalled locally up 2–2.5 km late Oligocene did not exceed 1 km.