Ferricretes in fluvial archives of a tropical iron province: Records of the Late Quaternary landscape dynamics in the Brazilian Atlantic Plateau

Abstract

The occurrence of iron‐rich rocks in some areas makes possible the formation of duricrusts in positions from the relief tops to the slopes and valley bottoms, as is the case of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF—‘Iron Quadrangle’) in the Brazilian Atlantic Plateau. This study aimed to analyse these materials in the Late Pleistocene fluvial archives of the QF to contribute to the understanding of the complex processes involved in the evolution of surface coverage in tropical regions. The results showed an essential external iron source for the Fe‐cemented alluvium, that is, they are ferricretes. Two ferricrete facies were identified: plate‐shaped and conglomeratic. They are characterised by the infilling of a primary porous system with crystalline and amorphous ferruginous phases or grain coatings by ferruginous materials. In plate‐shaped ferricretes, the size of the cemented grains differentiates the identified subtypes. Conglomeratic ferricretes can be subdivided into ferruginous and aluminous, and feature two types of cementing microstructures: septary and microlaminar. The results of the X‐ray diffraction analysis of the conglomeratic ferricretes highlight the strong presence of goethite (more common) and hematite. The chemical composition corroborated the mineralogical analysis, with the septa having an average iron‐rich composition. Aluminous conglomeratic ferricretes also occur and are the oldest in the area; their cement is composed mainly of gibbsite. Thus, it can be considered (i) a possible past source area of aluminous sediments or (ii) the in situ deferruginisation of a first level of ferricretes. A certain granulometric control in both ferricrete facies reinforces the importance of transport and deposition during ferricrete genesis. However, the cementing of sediments under supergene conditions and their microstructural variety suggest that their formation and evolution also occurred as a result of lateritic processes. Furthermore, the ferricretes revealed integration with the regional relief evolution, and the conglomeratic ones may be associated with lower rates of drainage incisions in some valleys.