The Mount Somers Volcanic Group (MSVG) and Mandamus Igneous Complex (MIC) are the magmatic manifestations of the transition from convergence to extension at the Gondwana margin, which culminated in the separation of New Zealand from Australia and Antarctica. The MIC has been correlated both geochemically and temporally with the Central Marlborough Igneous Province (CMIP). The MSVG and CMIP are located in the Eastern Province of New Zealand. The MSVG is restricted to the Rakaia terrane, whereas the CMIP is restricted to the Pahau terrane. The Rakaia and Pahau terranes are thick accretionary complexes, which were strongly deformed as a result of prolonged subduction at the Gondwana margin. The Pahau terrane is the younger of the two and continued to be deposited and deformed until the abrupt cessation of subduction, which in the Marlborough sedimentary record occurred in the Motuan (100 - 105 Ma). Following the cessation of subduction, after an interval of 2-7 Ma of relative quiescence and subsidence of the Pahau terrane, the MSVG and MIC were erupted/emplaced. The production of MSVG and MIC magmas occurred simultaneously and the activity was of short-lived duration. SHRIMP geochronology yielded crystallisation ages of 97.0 ± 1.5 Ma to 98.0 ± 1.2 Ma from zircons separated from MSVG rhyolites. The SHRIMP ages are within error of the previously published Rb-Sr age for the MIC. The SHRIMP geochronology also confirmed the presence of inherited zircons which yielded ages consistent with their derivation from the Rakaia terrane. Ar-Ar geochronology confirmed the coeval nature of the MSVG and MIC magmatism, but yielded consistently younger ages (94.5 ± 3 Ma for the MSVG and 94.2 ± 1.7 Ma for the MIC). The systematic differences in ages obtained by SHRIMP and Ar-Ar are believed to be method-dependent. The MSVG comprises a calc-alkaline volcanic assemblage, which ranges in composition from basaltic-andesite lavas (SiO₂ = 54.5%) to high-silica rhyolites and ignimbrites (SiO₂ ≤ 78.1%). The MSVG had an original extent of at least 18 000 km². The magmas from the MSVG had high LILE/HFSE, high LILE/REE and moderately high LREE/HFSE which are characteristic of subduction derived magmas. Geochemical modelling suggests that the MSVG magmas were formed from partial melting of a subduction-modified mantle wedge, with high degrees of crustal assimilation. The assimilant had an isotopic composition similar to that of the Rakaia terrane, which is consistent with the geological setting of the MSVG. The MSVG has ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri from 0.7055 to 0.7100 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Ndi from 0.51254 to 0.51230 (ɛNd +0.5 to -4.2), which reflects varying degrees of contamination by Rakaia terrane. Radiogenic isotope modelling suggests that the MSVG end-members were derived from the same parent magma, which evolved through AFC processes from basaltic-andesite to rhyolite. The modelling strongly suggests that assimilation played a lesser role in the petrogenesis of the Malvern Hills magmas than in the petrogenesis of the other units. AFC modelling requires the degree of assimilation to increase as the magmas evolved. Oxygen isotope data are consistent with high degrees of crustal assimilation, and may indicate that the assimilant had higher ¹⁸O characteristics than the Rakaia terrane samples analysed. The MIC is an alkaline suite which ranges in composition from basalt and gabbro to syenite, trachyte and phono-tephrite. The MIC is interpreted to have formed from enriched asthenospheric mantle, with a composition similar to HIMU (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pbi ranges from 19.2 to 20.3). The samples range in isotopic composition from ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri = 0.7030 to 0.7036, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Ndi = 0.51275 to 0.51268 (ɛNd +4.6 to +3.3). The range in isotopic composition is due to varying degrees of contamination by Pahau terrane, which reaches a maximum of 25% but in most samples is < 10%. The MIC is contaminated to a much lesser extent than the MSVG which is interpreted to be related to the thinner nature of the Pahau crust in the mid-Cretaceous. The latest phases of activity in the MIC were subjected to lower degrees of contamination which is interpreted to reflect the passage of magmas through pre-existing pathways. The onset of MSVG and CMIP magmatism coincided with the initiation of major rift-related depositional basins, and the eruption of the MSVG is demonstrably associated with normal faulting. The tectonic trigger responsible for the sudden onset of magmatism and rifting in the Eastern Province terranes was the detachment of the previously subducting slab following the cessation of subduction due to the arrival of the Hikurangi Plateau at the margin and the subsequent stalling of the Pacific spreading centre. The capture of the Gondwana margin led to the propogation of extension into the margin by the divergent Pacific plate. The ensuing extension aided the detachment of the subducting slab beneath the Eastern Province terranes. The slab-detachment promoted decompression melting of the sub-lithospheric mantle wedge to produce the MSVG magmas and triggered the ascent of asthenospheric mantle through the slab window, which melted through decompression to produce the CMIP magmatism. The asthenospheric mantle tapped by the slab detachment episode was highly enriched relative to N-MORB and is akin to the similar age HIMU-OIB affinity melts documented from Antarctica and Australia. The short-lived duration of activity is typical of slab-detachment related magmatism which occurs as a passive response to plate reconfiguration. The similarity in geochemistry of the MIC with OIB-affinity igneous centres in Australia and Antarctica implies an enriched mantle domain of large geographical extent. The distribution of relatively small volumes of OIB magmatism is suggestive of a fossil plume component, which was tapped in response to lithospheric extension producing relatively short-lived HIMU magmatism. The same fossil plume component has previously been implicated in the formation of the Cenozoic West Antarctic Rift System and may be responsible for the late Cretaceous magmatism in the Chatham Islands and Tertiary volcanics of the South Island of New Zealand.

Global paleogeography exerts a first order control on both the deep and surficial components of the Earth system. Temporal and spatial constraints on the Mozambique Belt of Eastern Africa are needed to understand its crustal evolution and its role in assembly of Gondwana. This thesis provides detailed data on the timing, sources and nature of tectono-thermal events responsible for magmatism in the Mozambique Belt in southern Malawi. An integrated approach of petrography, geochemistry, radiogenic isotopes, and single zircon geochronology has been used to determine spatial and temporal constraints and to better constrain models of the assembly of East and West Gondwana, which occurred along the Mozambique Belt. In particular the thesis attempts to address key unresolved questions about the number and timing of accretionary pulses within the orogen. LA-ICP-MS single zircon U-Pb results show tectono-thermal events in four periods: Mesoproterozoic from 1128 ± 30 Ma to 1033 ± 20 Ma; Neoproterozoic (956 ± 12 Ma – 594 ± 65 Ma); Cambrian (530 ± 3 Ma – 515 ± 12 Ma); and Cretaceous (118 ± 2 Ma). Metamorphism is dated from a charnockitic gneiss that yielded a lower intercept age of 515 ± 18 Ma. The granitoids are intermediate to acidic with relative enrichment in LILEs and depletion in HFSEs with moderately negative anomalies in Th, Nb, P, Zr and Ti. REE spider plots show enrichment in LREEs and depleted HREEs with negative Eu anomalies. The meta-granites are largely metaluminous with a few peraluminous, I-type granites belonging to the calc-alkaline series. Radiogenic isotope data reveals slight differences with older, Mesoproterozoic rocks showing positive ɛNd and ɛHf values signifying derivation from depleted mantle material, whilst the younger rocks display negative epsilon values suggestive of crustal material recycling and mixing for their source and origins. Granitoids of southern Malawi display characteristics consistent with derivation in a continental Andean type arc with some aspects of the chemistry resembling tonalite-trondhjemite-granite (TTG) suites mapped in the Mozambique Belt in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Antarctica although the data are not sufficiently compelling to assign the Malawi rocks to classic TTGs.

Le clade des lignophytes comprend d'une part les progymnospermes (Dévonien-Carbonifère) à reproduction par spores, et d'autre part les plantes à graines ou spermatophytes (Dévonien-actuel) qui dominent la majorité des écosystèmes actuels. Dans le cadre de recherches sur l'évolution du port arborescent au Paléozoïque, nous nous sommes intéressés aux premiers arbres apparus dans ce clade. Les plus anciennes lignophytes arborescentes sont les progymnospermes Archaeopteridales qui apparaissent à la fin du Dévonien moyen (385 Ma) et s'éteignent autour de la limite Dévonien-Carbonifère. Après leur disparition, on connait au Carbonifère inférieur (Mississippien) une vingtaine de nouveaux taxons d'Europe et d'Amérique du nord considérés comme arborescents et attribuées aux progymnospermes Protopityales et aux spermatophytes. En raison de l'insuffisance de données, particulièrement sur leur mode de reproduction, les affinités de ces taxons sont incertaines et leur importance a souvent été sous-estimée. <br />Ce travail de thèse documente dans un premier temps des spécimens anatomiquement conservés d'âge Mississippien provenant de la Montagne Noire (France), du Sahara central (Algérie) et de quatre bassins de l'état du Queensland (Australie). Ces spécimens, dont certains représentent de nouveaux taxons, illustrent la diversité taxonomique des lignophytes arborescentes qui succèdent aux Archaeopteridales. Ils documentent pour la première fois avec certitude leur présence en Gondwana, et ce dès le Mississippien inférieur. Plus généralement, ces résultats plaident en faveur d'une transition progressive entre les Archaeopteridales du Dévonien et les nouvelles formes arborescentes du Mississippien. <br />Dans un second temps nous comparons la disparité morpho-anatomique des lignophytes arborescentes et non-arborescentes du Dévonien et du Mississippien. Les résultats mettent notamment en évidence une diversification importante de l'appareil végétatif chez les formes arborescentes du Mississippien ; ceci concerne en particulier l'anatomie du système vasculaire primaire et secondaire et le mode d'émission des organes latéraux. Enfin, une analyse phylogénétique basée sur un jeu de caractères essentiellement végétatifs a permis de tester les affinités de taxons mississippiens dont le mode de reproduction est inconnu. Les formes arborescentes attribuées a priori aux spermatophytes, se placent effectivement dans ce clade. Elles forment un groupe para- ou polyphylétique et présentent des affinités avec des spermatophytes non-arborescentes et avec les Cordaitales.

Cette thèse est consacrée à l'étude de l'évolution géodynamique de la chaîne panafricaine au NW de l'Angola, sur la marge occidentale du craton du Congo. Ce segment orogénique, conséquence de la convergence des cratons du São Francisco et du Congo à la fin du Néoprotérozoïque et début du Paléozoïque, peut être subdivisé en un domaine externe plissé et peu métamorphique et un domaine interne formé de roches magmatiques et métamorphiques. Les études structurales, pétrologiques, géochimiques et géochronologiques conduisent à distinguer deux unités principales dans le domaine interne : - l'unité supérieure de gneiss et micaschistes (P-Tmax : 8-12 kbar, 650-680°C) dont la déformation D1 est synchrone de la mise en place des nappes vers l'ENE; - l'unité inférieure dans la partie occidentale constituée de gneiss et migmatites (P-Tmax : 7-9 kbar, 700-750°C) affectés par une déformation polyphasée. L'étude géochronologique démontre l'existence de protolithes granitiques datés à ~2 Ga impliqués dans l'orogénèse pan africaine caractérisée par une histoire polyphasée entre 540 Ma pour le pic du métamorphisme syn-D1 et 480 Ma pour les dernières phases de recristallisation et d'exhumation des roches métamorphiques de haut grade. La synthèse des données permet ainsi de reconstruire précisément les deux chemins P-T-D-t de ces deux unités tectono-métamorphiques et de comparer ce segment panafricain à ceux présents de part et d'autre de l'Atlantique Sud. Ce travail témoigne de la complexité des processus géodynamiques de convergence amenant à l'assemblage du Gondwana impliquant à la fois de larges masses cratoniques et des microplaques intercalées entre ces masses.

The Mount Somers Volcanic Group (MSVG) and Mandamus Igneous Complex (MIC) are the magmatic manifestations of the transition from convergence to extension at the Gondwana margin, which culminated in the separation of New Zealand from Australia and Antarctica. The MIC has been correlated both geochemically and temporally with the Central Marlborough Igneous Province (CMIP). The MSVG and CMIP are located in the Eastern Province of New Zealand. The MSVG is restricted to the Rakaia terrane, whereas the CMIP is restricted to the Pahau terrane. The Rakaia and Pahau terranes are thick accretionary complexes, which were strongly deformed as a result of prolonged subduction at the Gondwana margin. The Pahau terrane is the younger of the two and continued to be deposited and deformed until the abrupt cessation of subduction, which in the Marlborough sedimentary record occurred in the Motuan (100 - 105 Ma). Following the cessation of subduction, after an interval of 2-7 Ma of relative quiescence and subsidence of the Pahau terrane, the MSVG and MIC were erupted/emplaced. The production of MSVG and MIC magmas occurred simultaneously and the activity was of short-lived duration. SHRIMP geochronology yielded crystallisation ages of 97.0 ± 1.5 Ma to 98.0 ± 1.2 Ma from zircons separated from MSVG rhyolites. The SHRIMP ages are within error of the previously published Rb-Sr age for the MIC. The SHRIMP geochronology also confirmed the presence of inherited zircons which yielded ages consistent with their derivation from the Rakaia terrane. Ar-Ar geochronology confirmed the coeval nature of the MSVG and MIC magmatism, but yielded consistently younger ages (94.5 ± 3 Ma for the MSVG and 94.2 ± 1.7 Ma for the MIC). The systematic differences in ages obtained by SHRIMP and Ar-Ar are believed to be method-dependent. The MSVG comprises a calc-alkaline volcanic assemblage, which ranges in composition from basaltic-andesite lavas (SiO₂ = 54.5%) to high-silica rhyolites and ignimbrites (SiO₂ ≤ 78.1%). The MSVG had an original extent of at least 18 000 km². The magmas from the MSVG had high LILE/HFSE, high LILE/REE and moderately high LREE/HFSE which are characteristic of subduction derived magmas. Geochemical modelling suggests that the MSVG magmas were formed from partial melting of a subduction-modified mantle wedge, with high degrees of crustal assimilation. The assimilant had an isotopic composition similar to that of the Rakaia terrane, which is consistent with the geological setting of the MSVG. The MSVG has ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri from 0.7055 to 0.7100 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Ndi from 0.51254 to 0.51230 (ɛNd +0.5 to -4.2), which reflects varying degrees of contamination by Rakaia terrane. Radiogenic isotope modelling suggests that the MSVG end-members were derived from the same parent magma, which evolved through AFC processes from basaltic-andesite to rhyolite. The modelling strongly suggests that assimilation played a lesser role in the petrogenesis of the Malvern Hills magmas than in the petrogenesis of the other units. AFC modelling requires the degree of assimilation to increase as the magmas evolved. Oxygen isotope data are consistent with high degrees of crustal assimilation, and may indicate that the assimilant had higher ¹⁸O characteristics than the Rakaia terrane samples analysed. The MIC is an alkaline suite which ranges in composition from basalt and gabbro to syenite, trachyte and phono-tephrite. The MIC is interpreted to have formed from enriched asthenospheric mantle, with a composition similar to HIMU (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pbi ranges from 19.2 to 20.3). The samples range in isotopic composition from ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sri = 0.7030 to 0.7036, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Ndi = 0.51275 to 0.51268 (ɛNd +4.6 to +3.3). The range in isotopic composition is due to varying degrees of contamination by Pahau terrane, which reaches a maximum of 25% but in most samples is < 10%. The MIC is contaminated to a much lesser extent than the MSVG which is interpreted to be related to the thinner nature of the Pahau crust in the mid-Cretaceous. The latest phases of activity in the MIC were subjected to lower degrees of contamination which is interpreted to reflect the passage of magmas through pre-existing pathways. The onset of MSVG and CMIP magmatism coincided with the initiation of major rift-related depositional basins, and the eruption of the MSVG is demonstrably associated with normal faulting. The tectonic trigger responsible for the sudden onset of magmatism and rifting in the Eastern Province terranes was the detachment of the previously subducting slab following the cessation of subduction due to the arrival of the Hikurangi Plateau at the margin and the subsequent stalling of the Pacific spreading centre. The capture of the Gondwana margin led to the propogation of extension into the margin by the divergent Pacific plate. The ensuing extension aided the detachment of the subducting slab beneath the Eastern Province terranes. The slab-detachment promoted decompression melting of the sub-lithospheric mantle wedge to produce the MSVG magmas and triggered the ascent of asthenospheric mantle through the slab window, which melted through decompression to produce the CMIP magmatism. The asthenospheric mantle tapped by the slab detachment episode was highly enriched relative to N-MORB and is akin to the similar age HIMU-OIB affinity melts documented from Antarctica and Australia. The short-lived duration of activity is typical of slab-detachment related magmatism which occurs as a passive response to plate reconfiguration. The similarity in geochemistry of the MIC with OIB-affinity igneous centres in Australia and Antarctica implies an enriched mantle domain of large geographical extent. The distribution of relatively small volumes of OIB magmatism is suggestive of a fossil plume component, which was tapped in response to lithospheric extension producing relatively short-lived HIMU magmatism. The same fossil plume component has previously been implicated in the formation of the Cenozoic West Antarctic Rift System and may be responsible for the late Cretaceous magmatism in the Chatham Islands and Tertiary volcanics of the South Island of New Zealand.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Bremen, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-125).

Está demonstrado em plantas atuais que níveis atmosféricos de CO2 e frequência estomática estão inversamente correlacionados. A utilização de dados estomáticos na calibração das curvas de CO2 paleoatmosférico do Fanerozoico tem sido eficiente não apenas para o Cenozoico, mas também apresenta excelente correspondência desde o Eodevoniano. Cutículas de glossopterídeas provenientes das jazidas de carvão de Faxinal (RS) e Figueira (PR), incluídas em níveis estratigráficos distintos da Formação Rio Bonito (Sakmariano e Artinskiano respectivamente), viabilizaram análises para floras desenvolvidas sob a vigência de megaciclo icehouse. Cabe ressaltar que o uso de glossopterídeas, classificadas dentro do grupo extinto das Pteridospermophyta, esbarra na impossibilidade de se estabelecer um equivalente ecológico atual, dada a ausência de relações taxonômicas, estruturais e ecológicas com grupos viventes. Portanto, optou-se por uma abordagem proposta por outros autores como alternativa para diferentes grupos de pteridospermas, que consistiu em comparar entre si resultados de análises estomáticas na morfo-espécie Glossopteris communis Feistmantel procedente de distintos níveis associados a carvões na Bacia do Paraná. O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi estabelecer possíveis relações entre os padrões estomáticos calculados e flutuações nos teores de CO2 paleoatmosférico. A metodologia consistiu em resgatar mecanica e quimicamente as cutículas da rocha matriz, clareá-las em solução de Schulze e montá-las em lâminas de gelatina glicerinada para observação em microscopia de luz transmitida. A observação deu-se com auxílio de filtro de contraste por interferência diferencial e as contagens foram feitas com o auxílio de programa para análise de imagens. As técnicas de estudo compreenderam cálculos de densidade estomática (DE- número de estômatos por unidade de área da folha) e índice estomático (IE- percentual de estômatos sobre o total de células epidérmicas). Os resultados obtidos foram de DE média= 234,73 e IE médio= 15,7 para a jazida de Faxinal (Sakmariano) e de DE média= 284,14 e IE= 18,9 para a jazida de Figueira (Artinskiano). Esses valores enquadram-se dentro da curva global de CO2 atmosférico para o Fanerozoico (modelo GEOCARB). As frequências estomáticas mais baixas das folhas do Faxinal com relação àquelas de Figueira foram relacionadas a processo de reversão temporária da tendência global de baixos teores de CO2 atmosférico para a base do Permiano. Essa reversão é atribuída à provável influência de fatores paleoecológicos locais relativos à grande extensão das turfeiras na parte sul da bacia, responsável pela emissão em larga escala de gases-estufa. Além disso, a flora de Faxinal está preservada em uma camada de tonstein, registro de atividade vulcânica que poderia ter afetado os níveis de CO2. Por outro lado, as turfeiras de registro muito esparso ocorrentes no nordeste da bacia, em intervalo mais jovem, por sua pequena extensão e ausência de indícios de vulcanismo, não alteraram o padrão paleoatmosférico. Estudos focados no final do Paleozoico têm especial relevância porque, nesse intervalo vigoravam, nas diferentes paleolatitudes, condições ambientais análogas àquelas ocorrentes na atualidade, como a existência de calotas de gelo nos pólos e períodos de aquecimento global. / In extant plants stomatal frequency and the concentration of the atmospheric CO2 have been shown to correlate inversely. The use of stomatal data to calibrate phanerozoic paleoatmospheric CO2 curves has been considered a reliable technique not only for the Cenozoic estimates but also for results obtained since the Early Devonian. Glossopterid cuticles from Faxinal and Figueira coalfields (respectively in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná States) from distinct stratigraphic levels in the Rio Bonito Formation allowed stomatal counting for floras developed under icehouse megacycle. However, it is important to highlight that the efficiency of Glossopteris, classified in the extinct group of Pteridospermophyta, is restricted as paleo-CO2 proxy for the Paleozoic due to the difficulty of establishing a nearest living equivalent for it, given the lack of taxonomic, structural and ecological relationships with extant groups. Thus it was here adopted an alternative approach proposed by different authors analyzing other groups of pteridosperms, which consists in comparing results obtained from the morphospecies Glossopteris communis Feistmantel between two different coal levels in the Paraná Basin. The general aim of this study was to establish possible relations between the calculated stomatal patterns and the fluctuation in the paleoatmospheric CO2 levels. The methodology consisted in mechanically and chemically isolating the cuticles from the matrix rock, bleaching them with Schulze solution and then mounting glycerin jelly slides for observation in transmitted light microscopy. The microscopic observation was made using a differential interference contrast filter and the counting was carried out with the help of software for image analysis. The study techniques included the calculation of stomatal densities (SD- number of stomata per foliar area unit) and of stomatal indices (SI- a ratio of the number of the stomata to the total number of epidermal cells). The results were mean SD= 234.73 and mean SI= 15.7 in Faxinal coalfield (Sakmarian) and mean SD= 284.14 and SI= 18.9 in Figueira coalfield (Artinskian). These values agree with the curve of global atmospheric CO2 for the Phanerozoic (GEOCARB model). The lower stomatal frequencies detected at the climax of the coal interval (Faxinal coalfield, Sakmarian) when compared to the higher ones obtained in leaves from a younger interval (Figueira coalfield, Artinskian) could be attributed to temporarily high levels of atmospheric CO2. Therefore, the occurrence of an extensive peat generating event at the southern part of the basin and the consequent greenhouse gases emissions from this environment may have been enough to reverse regionally and temporarily the reduction trend in atmospheric CO2. Additionally, the Faxinal flora is preserved in a tonstein layer, which is a record of a volcanic activity that could also imply a rise in atmospheric CO2. During the Artinskian, the scarce generation of peat mires, as revealed by the occurrence of thin and discontinuous coal layers, and the lack of volcanism evidences would be insufficient to affect the general low CO2 trend. Studies focused in the Late Paleozoic are especially relevant because of the presently shared icehouse climate with glacial-interglacial cyclicity which includes times of global warming.

Está demonstrado em plantas atuais que níveis atmosféricos de CO2 e frequência estomática estão inversamente correlacionados. A utilização de dados estomáticos na calibração das curvas de CO2 paleoatmosférico do Fanerozoico tem sido eficiente não apenas para o Cenozoico, mas também apresenta excelente correspondência desde o Eodevoniano. Cutículas de glossopterídeas provenientes das jazidas de carvão de Faxinal (RS) e Figueira (PR), incluídas em níveis estratigráficos distintos da Formação Rio Bonito (Sakmariano e Artinskiano respectivamente), viabilizaram análises para floras desenvolvidas sob a vigência de megaciclo icehouse. Cabe ressaltar que o uso de glossopterídeas, classificadas dentro do grupo extinto das Pteridospermophyta, esbarra na impossibilidade de se estabelecer um equivalente ecológico atual, dada a ausência de relações taxonômicas, estruturais e ecológicas com grupos viventes. Portanto, optou-se por uma abordagem proposta por outros autores como alternativa para diferentes grupos de pteridospermas, que consistiu em comparar entre si resultados de análises estomáticas na morfo-espécie Glossopteris communis Feistmantel procedente de distintos níveis associados a carvões na Bacia do Paraná. O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi estabelecer possíveis relações entre os padrões estomáticos calculados e flutuações nos teores de CO2 paleoatmosférico. A metodologia consistiu em resgatar mecanica e quimicamente as cutículas da rocha matriz, clareá-las em solução de Schulze e montá-las em lâminas de gelatina glicerinada para observação em microscopia de luz transmitida. A observação deu-se com auxílio de filtro de contraste por interferência diferencial e as contagens foram feitas com o auxílio de programa para análise de imagens. As técnicas de estudo compreenderam cálculos de densidade estomática (DE- número de estômatos por unidade de área da folha) e índice estomático (IE- percentual de estômatos sobre o total de células epidérmicas). Os resultados obtidos foram de DE média= 234,73 e IE médio= 15,7 para a jazida de Faxinal (Sakmariano) e de DE média= 284,14 e IE= 18,9 para a jazida de Figueira (Artinskiano). Esses valores enquadram-se dentro da curva global de CO2 atmosférico para o Fanerozoico (modelo GEOCARB). As frequências estomáticas mais baixas das folhas do Faxinal com relação àquelas de Figueira foram relacionadas a processo de reversão temporária da tendência global de baixos teores de CO2 atmosférico para a base do Permiano. Essa reversão é atribuída à provável influência de fatores paleoecológicos locais relativos à grande extensão das turfeiras na parte sul da bacia, responsável pela emissão em larga escala de gases-estufa. Além disso, a flora de Faxinal está preservada em uma camada de tonstein, registro de atividade vulcânica que poderia ter afetado os níveis de CO2. Por outro lado, as turfeiras de registro muito esparso ocorrentes no nordeste da bacia, em intervalo mais jovem, por sua pequena extensão e ausência de indícios de vulcanismo, não alteraram o padrão paleoatmosférico. Estudos focados no final do Paleozoico têm especial relevância porque, nesse intervalo vigoravam, nas diferentes paleolatitudes, condições ambientais análogas àquelas ocorrentes na atualidade, como a existência de calotas de gelo nos pólos e períodos de aquecimento global. / In extant plants stomatal frequency and the concentration of the atmospheric CO2 have been shown to correlate inversely. The use of stomatal data to calibrate phanerozoic paleoatmospheric CO2 curves has been considered a reliable technique not only for the Cenozoic estimates but also for results obtained since the Early Devonian. Glossopterid cuticles from Faxinal and Figueira coalfields (respectively in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná States) from distinct stratigraphic levels in the Rio Bonito Formation allowed stomatal counting for floras developed under icehouse megacycle. However, it is important to highlight that the efficiency of Glossopteris, classified in the extinct group of Pteridospermophyta, is restricted as paleo-CO2 proxy for the Paleozoic due to the difficulty of establishing a nearest living equivalent for it, given the lack of taxonomic, structural and ecological relationships with extant groups. Thus it was here adopted an alternative approach proposed by different authors analyzing other groups of pteridosperms, which consists in comparing results obtained from the morphospecies Glossopteris communis Feistmantel between two different coal levels in the Paraná Basin. The general aim of this study was to establish possible relations between the calculated stomatal patterns and the fluctuation in the paleoatmospheric CO2 levels. The methodology consisted in mechanically and chemically isolating the cuticles from the matrix rock, bleaching them with Schulze solution and then mounting glycerin jelly slides for observation in transmitted light microscopy. The microscopic observation was made using a differential interference contrast filter and the counting was carried out with the help of software for image analysis. The study techniques included the calculation of stomatal densities (SD- number of stomata per foliar area unit) and of stomatal indices (SI- a ratio of the number of the stomata to the total number of epidermal cells). The results were mean SD= 234.73 and mean SI= 15.7 in Faxinal coalfield (Sakmarian) and mean SD= 284.14 and SI= 18.9 in Figueira coalfield (Artinskian). These values agree with the curve of global atmospheric CO2 for the Phanerozoic (GEOCARB model). The lower stomatal frequencies detected at the climax of the coal interval (Faxinal coalfield, Sakmarian) when compared to the higher ones obtained in leaves from a younger interval (Figueira coalfield, Artinskian) could be attributed to temporarily high levels of atmospheric CO2. Therefore, the occurrence of an extensive peat generating event at the southern part of the basin and the consequent greenhouse gases emissions from this environment may have been enough to reverse regionally and temporarily the reduction trend in atmospheric CO2. Additionally, the Faxinal flora is preserved in a tonstein layer, which is a record of a volcanic activity that could also imply a rise in atmospheric CO2. During the Artinskian, the scarce generation of peat mires, as revealed by the occurrence of thin and discontinuous coal layers, and the lack of volcanism evidences would be insufficient to affect the general low CO2 trend. Studies focused in the Late Paleozoic are especially relevant because of the presently shared icehouse climate with glacial-interglacial cyclicity which includes times of global warming.

Está demonstrado em plantas atuais que níveis atmosféricos de CO2 e frequência estomática estão inversamente correlacionados. A utilização de dados estomáticos na calibração das curvas de CO2 paleoatmosférico do Fanerozoico tem sido eficiente não apenas para o Cenozoico, mas também apresenta excelente correspondência desde o Eodevoniano. Cutículas de glossopterídeas provenientes das jazidas de carvão de Faxinal (RS) e Figueira (PR), incluídas em níveis estratigráficos distintos da Formação Rio Bonito (Sakmariano e Artinskiano respectivamente), viabilizaram análises para floras desenvolvidas sob a vigência de megaciclo icehouse. Cabe ressaltar que o uso de glossopterídeas, classificadas dentro do grupo extinto das Pteridospermophyta, esbarra na impossibilidade de se estabelecer um equivalente ecológico atual, dada a ausência de relações taxonômicas, estruturais e ecológicas com grupos viventes. Portanto, optou-se por uma abordagem proposta por outros autores como alternativa para diferentes grupos de pteridospermas, que consistiu em comparar entre si resultados de análises estomáticas na morfo-espécie Glossopteris communis Feistmantel procedente de distintos níveis associados a carvões na Bacia do Paraná. O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi estabelecer possíveis relações entre os padrões estomáticos calculados e flutuações nos teores de CO2 paleoatmosférico. A metodologia consistiu em resgatar mecanica e quimicamente as cutículas da rocha matriz, clareá-las em solução de Schulze e montá-las em lâminas de gelatina glicerinada para observação em microscopia de luz transmitida. A observação deu-se com auxílio de filtro de contraste por interferência diferencial e as contagens foram feitas com o auxílio de programa para análise de imagens. As técnicas de estudo compreenderam cálculos de densidade estomática (DE- número de estômatos por unidade de área da folha) e índice estomático (IE- percentual de estômatos sobre o total de células epidérmicas). Os resultados obtidos foram de DE média= 234,73 e IE médio= 15,7 para a jazida de Faxinal (Sakmariano) e de DE média= 284,14 e IE= 18,9 para a jazida de Figueira (Artinskiano). Esses valores enquadram-se dentro da curva global de CO2 atmosférico para o Fanerozoico (modelo GEOCARB). As frequências estomáticas mais baixas das folhas do Faxinal com relação àquelas de Figueira foram relacionadas a processo de reversão temporária da tendência global de baixos teores de CO2 atmosférico para a base do Permiano. Essa reversão é atribuída à provável influência de fatores paleoecológicos locais relativos à grande extensão das turfeiras na parte sul da bacia, responsável pela emissão em larga escala de gases-estufa. Além disso, a flora de Faxinal está preservada em uma camada de tonstein, registro de atividade vulcânica que poderia ter afetado os níveis de CO2. Por outro lado, as turfeiras de registro muito esparso ocorrentes no nordeste da bacia, em intervalo mais jovem, por sua pequena extensão e ausência de indícios de vulcanismo, não alteraram o padrão paleoatmosférico. Estudos focados no final do Paleozoico têm especial relevância porque, nesse intervalo vigoravam, nas diferentes paleolatitudes, condições ambientais análogas àquelas ocorrentes na atualidade, como a existência de calotas de gelo nos pólos e períodos de aquecimento global. / In extant plants stomatal frequency and the concentration of the atmospheric CO2 have been shown to correlate inversely. The use of stomatal data to calibrate phanerozoic paleoatmospheric CO2 curves has been considered a reliable technique not only for the Cenozoic estimates but also for results obtained since the Early Devonian. Glossopterid cuticles from Faxinal and Figueira coalfields (respectively in Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná States) from distinct stratigraphic levels in the Rio Bonito Formation allowed stomatal counting for floras developed under icehouse megacycle. However, it is important to highlight that the efficiency of Glossopteris, classified in the extinct group of Pteridospermophyta, is restricted as paleo-CO2 proxy for the Paleozoic due to the difficulty of establishing a nearest living equivalent for it, given the lack of taxonomic, structural and ecological relationships with extant groups. Thus it was here adopted an alternative approach proposed by different authors analyzing other groups of pteridosperms, which consists in comparing results obtained from the morphospecies Glossopteris communis Feistmantel between two different coal levels in the Paraná Basin. The general aim of this study was to establish possible relations between the calculated stomatal patterns and the fluctuation in the paleoatmospheric CO2 levels. The methodology consisted in mechanically and chemically isolating the cuticles from the matrix rock, bleaching them with Schulze solution and then mounting glycerin jelly slides for observation in transmitted light microscopy. The microscopic observation was made using a differential interference contrast filter and the counting was carried out with the help of software for image analysis. The study techniques included the calculation of stomatal densities (SD- number of stomata per foliar area unit) and of stomatal indices (SI- a ratio of the number of the stomata to the total number of epidermal cells). The results were mean SD= 234.73 and mean SI= 15.7 in Faxinal coalfield (Sakmarian) and mean SD= 284.14 and SI= 18.9 in Figueira coalfield (Artinskian). These values agree with the curve of global atmospheric CO2 for the Phanerozoic (GEOCARB model). The lower stomatal frequencies detected at the climax of the coal interval (Faxinal coalfield, Sakmarian) when compared to the higher ones obtained in leaves from a younger interval (Figueira coalfield, Artinskian) could be attributed to temporarily high levels of atmospheric CO2. Therefore, the occurrence of an extensive peat generating event at the southern part of the basin and the consequent greenhouse gases emissions from this environment may have been enough to reverse regionally and temporarily the reduction trend in atmospheric CO2. Additionally, the Faxinal flora is preserved in a tonstein layer, which is a record of a volcanic activity that could also imply a rise in atmospheric CO2. During the Artinskian, the scarce generation of peat mires, as revealed by the occurrence of thin and discontinuous coal layers, and the lack of volcanism evidences would be insufficient to affect the general low CO2 trend. Studies focused in the Late Paleozoic are especially relevant because of the presently shared icehouse climate with glacial-interglacial cyclicity which includes times of global warming.

Doctor en Ciencias, Mención Geología / Modificaciones del relieve provocados por procesos geológicos de gran escala como el alzamiento de cordilleras tiene importantes efectos en las condiciones climáticas y generan cambios significativos del paisaje. De esta forma, variaciones en las condiciones de temperatura y precipitación de una región afectan directamente la distribución, diversidad y composición de la vegetación. En la actualidad la dirección de flujo de los ríos en el sur de Sudamérica es principalmente hacia el oriente, sin embargo, aún no es claro cuál fue la dirección de las corrientes y las zonas de proveniencia en el pasado. Cambios en las direcciones de paleocorrientes ocurridos durante el Cenozoico en la Cuenca de Magallanes, junto con cambios de ambientes, pasando de marinos a transicionales y finalmente a ambientes continentales, procesos que fueron identificados en el sector de Sierra Baguales, al norte del Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, podrían vincularse con el levantamiento de los Andes Patagónicos, proceso que a su vez podría asociarse a cambios paleoclimáticos y paleoecológicos que habrían sido provocados por el efecto de sombra de lluvia y apertura del paso Drake durante el Oligoceno, cambios paleogeográficos que a su vez coinciden con modificaciones de las zonas de aporte de sedimentos a la Cuenca de Magallanes y la posición relativa de Península Antártica. El presente estudio evalúa cual fue el efecto de los procesos tectónicos como el levantamiento de los Andes Patagónicos, apertura del Paso Drake y cambios en las zonas de proveniencia. Se discute el vínculo entre la evolución de la Cuenca de Magallanes y la posición de la Península Antártica. Estos procesos fueron evaluados a partir de la evolución espacio-temporal de las paleocorrientes y el establecimiento de las zonas que aportaron detritos a la Cuenca durante el Cenozoico en Sierra Baguales, adicionalmente, junto con la evolución tectónica y sedimentológica del sector, se analiza la respuesta de la vegetación en términos de diversidad y composición, comportamientos analizados bajo un contexto de cambio climático global durante el Cenozoico donde especialmente se discute la respuesta de la vegetación frente a procesos de enfriamiento como el ocurrido durante el Oligoceno.