This work integrates the available geological information and geochronology data for the Cretaceous-Recent magmatism in the South Atlantic, represented by onshore and offshore magmatic events, including the oceanic islands along the transform faults and near the midocean ridge. The analysis of the igneous rocks and their tectonic settings allows new insights into the evolution of the African and Brazilian continental margins during the South Atlantic opening. Following the abundant volcanism in the Early Cretaceous, the magmatic quiescence during the Aptian-Albian times is a common characteristic of almost all Brazilian and West African marginal basins. However, rocks ascribed to the Cabo Granite (104 Ma) are observed in NE Brazil. In West Africa, sparse Aptian-Albian ages are observed in a few coastal igneous centres. In the SE Brazilian margin, an east-west alkaline magmatic trend is observed from Poços de Caldas to Cabo Frio, comprising igneous intrusions dated from 87 to 64 Ma. Mafic dyke swarms trending NW also occur in the region extending from the Cabo Frio Province towards the Central Brazilian Craton. On the West African side, Early Cretaceous -Recent volcanism is observed in the Walvis Ridge (139 Ma), the St Helena Ridge (81 Ma) and the Cameroon Volcanic Line (Early Tertiary-Recent). Volcanic islands such as Ascencion (1.0-0.65 Ma), Tristão da Cunha (2.5-0.13 Ma) and the St Helena islands (12 Ma) most probably correspond to mantle plumes or hot spots presently located near the mid-Atlantic spreading centre. Within
The knowledge on the igneous and metamorphic rocks has, besides the importance in petrogenetic terms relatedwith the crustal evolution, great importance in the applied sector. This knowledge has been allowed and enlargedthe use of these materials in the civil construction and in the architecture along the human existence, as coatingmaterial or as raw material for ornamental, artistic and utilitarian elements. In this work we tried to present thestate of the art on ornamental stones, focusing on new technologies used for their characterization.
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