Numerical modeling coupling the mantle convection, tectonic and sedimentary processes in the study of the Cenozoic stratigraphic evolution of northern South America sedimentary basins.

Abstract

This post-doctoral project aims at developing geodynamic forward numerical models tailored to test hypotheses and improve interpretations based on the stratigraphic record of three continuous cores from the Acre, Solimões, and Marajó basins in northern Brazil. The cores will be obtained by the Trans-Amazon Drilling Project (TADP), and the sedimentological and stratigraphic information will be integrated and give context to the analytical database obtained by the interdisciplinary team working in the TADP. The target stratigraphic sections include continental and minor shallow marine deposition from the Cretaceous to the Miocene and possibly Pliocene, recording the paleogeographic and environmental changes in the region caused by the evolution of the Andes and the fluvial sedimentary systems before the establishment of the modern drainage basin.The forward numerical models must integrate lithospheric and crustal geodynamic processes with Earth surface processes at the scale of the Andean-Amazon system, considering subduction, crustal and lithospheric deformation, thermal fluxes, mantle dynamics, topographic evolution, and sediment yield, transport, and deposition. The main goals are to analyze the sensibility of the tectonic-sedimentary system to different evolutionary scenarios and to compare the resulting patterns of evolution and infill of the studied sedimentary basins with the stratigraphic record of the TADP cores. Primary model outputs must be comparable to the datasets obtained from the cores, including (i) flexural and dynamic subsidence in space and time; (ii) sediment budgets, depositional patterns, and routing systems; and (iii) evolution of sedimentary provenance in different areas, considering Andean and Cratonic sources.The researcher will be responsible for developing the forward numerical models, assisting the drilling operations, taking part in the sedimentological description and interpretation of the cores in the repository facilities of the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis (US), and assisting the sampling of the cores for further analytical procedures.