Decratonization by rifting enables orogenic reworking and transcurrent dispersal of old terranes in NE Brazil

Dispersion and deformation of cratonic fragments within orogens require weakening of the craton margins in a process of decratonization. The orogenic Borborema Province, in NE Brazil, is one of several Brasiliano/Pan-African late Neoproterozoic orogens that led to the amalgamation of Gondwana. A common feature of these orogens is that a period of extension and opening of narrow oceans preceded inversion and collision. For the case of the Borborema Province, the São Francisco Craton was pulled away from its other half, the Benino-Nigerian Shield, during an intermittent extension event between 1.0–0.92 and 0.9–0.82 Ga. This was followed by inversion of an embryonic and confined oceanic basin at ca. 0.60 Ga and transpressional orogeny from ca. 0.59 Ga onwards. Here we investigate the boundary region between the north São Francisco Craton and the Borborema Province and demonstrate how cratonic blocks became physically involved in the orogeny. We combine these results with a wide compilation of U–Pb and Nd-isotopic model ages to show that the Borborema Province consists of up to 65% of strongly sheared ancient rocks affiliated with the São Francisco/Benino-Nigerian Craton, separated by major transcurrent shear zones, with only ≈ 15% addition of juvenile material during the Neoproterozoic orogeny. This evolution is repeated across a number of Brasiliano/Pan-African orogens, with significant local variations, and indicate that extension weakened cratonic regions in a process of decratonization that prepared them for involvement in the orogenies, that led to the amalgamation of Gondwana.

www.nature.com/scientificreports/ of the province is controlled by these collisions 19 . Their tectonic nature is indicated by the record of UHP metamorphism and eclogites 27,28 , marginal ophiolites 29,30 , and arc sequences 16,24,37 , that together suggest the West Gondwana Orogen resulted from oceanic subduction followed by collision between the Benino-Nigerian Shield and the West African Craton 19,27 , while the Southern Borborema Orogen resulted from collision of the BP against the SFC. The two different orogens interacted in a complex collisional zone, giving rise to an intricate network of continental shear zones that controlled deformation 19 . In this context, the large Transbrasiliano-Kandi shear zone, that developed as a result of the collision along the West Gondwana Orogen, acted as a dextral transfer zone leading to BP collision against the SFC and the development of the Southern Borborema Orogen 17 .
In this paper, we compile large volumes of whole-rock Nd isotope data, zircon U-Pb geochronology data, as well as geological and geophysical data from the BP and northern part of the SFC and the Benino-Nigerian Shield. We use the data to first quantify the Neoproterozoic continental growth of the BP and establish the dominance of recycled cratonic material, and then to investigate how the decratonization allowed former cratonic Archean-Paleoproterozoic terranes to be entrained in the BP during the Neoproterozoic Orogeny.

Geological setting of the Borborema Province
The distribution of rocks in the triangular wedge-shaped orogenic BP ( Fig. 1) was ultimately controlled by a set of Neoproterozoic strike-slip shear zones 19,20 . These shear zones bound the north, central and south subprovinces and within them several other informal domains 32 . Shearing was accompanied by granitoids with intrusions concentrated at 0.59-0.56 Ga 19,22 . Archean and Paleoproterozoic rocks are found as basement inliers, often referred as blocks and/or terranes, all over the BP, and always bounded by Neoproterozoic shear zones (Fig. 1). Early Neoproterozoic extensional events starting as early as 1.0 Ga are marked by granitoid intrusions, bimodal volcanism and deposition of immature terrigenous and minor carbonatic sediments during the so-called Cariris Velhos event 13 . This event was initially defined as orogenic 33 , however no associated Tonian deformation and metamorphism have been reported, which led to the proposition that this was an extensional event 21 .
In the southern BP, this event culminated in the development of a passive margin sequence along the edge of the SFC associated with 0.9-0.82 Ga mafic-ultramafic intrusions, proximal margin-type ophiolites and A-type granites 14,16 . Early Neoproterozoic passive margin and intracontinental sedimentation was overlain by orogenic sedimentary successions as young as 0.58 Ga 16 contemporaneous with other basins within the central and north BP 34 . The lithological boundary of the SFC and BP is defined in many geological maps (Fig. 1A), however seismic data indicate that the lithospheric cratonic signature at 100 km depth extends further north ending within the central portion of BP 35,36 (Fig. 1C).
During the Late Neoproterozoic, from 0.65 to 0.61 Ga, predating continental collisional events, continental magmatic arcs developed in the west 24 and south 37 parts of the province, closing intervening oceanic basins. During the collisions that ensued, the province was squeezed between two impinging continents, one continent coming in from the west and the other, the São Francisco Craton, coming in from the south 19 . As a consequence, the BP tectonically "escaped" obliquely with the development of a throughgoing network of transcurrent shear zones 19,20 that both shear and bound Archean-Paleoproterozoic terranes [38][39][40] , such as the Alto Moxotó terrane 25 (Fig. 1). Just how these old terranes became involved in the orogen remains unclear.

Results
U-Pb ages, Nd isotopic spatial distribution and crustal growth. The U-Pb ages of igneous rocks in the northern SFC and Benino-Nigerian Shield show a similar pattern to those of the ancient basement terranes in the BP, recording similar episodes of magma production during the Archean and most intensely during the Paleoproterozoic ( Fig. 2A, Supplementary Data 1). In the Neoproterozoic, U-Pb ages of igneous rocks from the BP show two intervals of magma production at 1.0-0.92 Ga and 0.67-0.52 Ga, with a few ages < 0.50 Ga (Fig. 2B). Both intervals are characterized by production of new juvenile crust combined with recycling of old pre-existing crust. The spatial distribution of the interpolated U-Pb ages and ε Nd(t) values ( Fig. 1D and E), excluding the areas covered by sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks, was used to estimate the crustal growth during the evolution of the Borborema Province (see "Methods" section, Supplementary Fig. S1).
The gridded values resulted in a map with 46,426 pixels with a pixel size of 3.2 × 3.2 km (pixel area = 10.24 km 2 ). These pixels where clipped to the crystalline basement area of the Borborema Province, excluding the Neoproterozoic metasedimentary belts, Phanerozoic basins and more recent cover, resulting in a map with 17,235 pixels with a total area of 176,486 km 2 . Pixel values of Nd model ages (Fig. 1B) were binned into 100 Myr interval, from 0.5 to 3.4 Ga, and so were the U-Pb crystallization ages from individual rock samples. Positive ε Nd(t) values were used to distinguish juvenile addition of new crust to the Borborema Province through time.
The results based on the exposed surface area, incorporating both zircon U-Pb and Nd isotopes, indicate that 65-60% of the province was already formed by the end of the Paleoproterozoic, with a rapid growth rate between 2.3 to 2.0 Ga, when 55-50% of the continental crust of the Borborema Province formed (Fig. 2C). During the Early Neoproterozoic, from 1.0 to 0.7 Ga, new juvenile additions accounts for ~ 20% of the crust. This period includes the early stages of the Santa Quitéria arc at ca. 0.85 Ga 24 and magmatism related to the Cariris Velhos event from 1.0 to 0.92 Ga 41 . The production of new continental crust during the main Neoproterozoic orogenic period, between 0.67 and 0.52 Ga, accounts for only ~ 15% of the new continental crust in the province, suggesting the orogeny was characterized by whole-sale lithospheric reworking with minor juvenile magma input.
The compiled dataset of detrital zircons, including 2147 grains from 60 samples (Supplementary Data 2) from the central and southern Borborema Province, defines three main groups (G1, G2 and G3) based on the youngest zircon age and source areas given by the older zircon dates in each group (Fig. 3A www.nature.com/scientificreports/ and 1.0 Ga with source areas dominated by rocks ranging from 0.9 to 1.0 Ga. A subgroup of samples in G2 also shows source areas dominated by Paleoproterozoic and Archean rocks such as those in G1. The last group (G3) comprises samples with youngest zircon ages between 0.5 and 0.7 Ga, representing the youngest sedimentary record in the province, associated with syn-orogenic sedimentation. The source areas of G3 vary from rocks with ages in the range of 0.65 to 0.52 Ga, such as the foreland strata of the Sergipano fold-and-thrust belt 16 , to rocks with source components from 1.0 to 0.65 Ga and even older ( Fig. 3A and B).
Transpression and correlation of terranes. Another aspect revealed by our data compilation and geophysical image investigation is the link between old Paleoproterozoic and Archean terranes across the province. The Southern Borborema Orogen (Figs. 1A,B, 4), is split into the Sergipano and Riacho do Pontal fold-and-thrust belts by a promontory of the São Francisco Craton, well-defined in the Nd isotopic model age map (Fig. 1B) and geological maps 15,16 . This promontory forms the Entremontes block and may mark an inherited feature of the paleocontinental passive margin inverted during onset of the Southern Borborema Orogen. It comprises mainly Archean and Paleoproterozoic gneisses, migmatites and supracrustal rocks 42 . The combination of our field data, geological maps, isotopic data and geophysical images show that the Entremontes block is bound by the Pernambuco shear zone in the north and the Boa Vista shear zone in the south (Fig. 4A). Movement on these shear zones forced rotation and internal deformation of the block under a transpressive regime (Fig. 4B) leading to the folds documented in the aeromagnetic images at wavelengths of 5 to 20 km with 2D axial planes subparallel to the shear zones (Fig. 4B). In outcrop, folds are tight and fold a previous foliation (Sn), generating a steep axial plane (Sn + 1) permeated by leucosomes indicative of syn-tectonic partial melting (Fig. 4B). Stretching lineation has low rake and is commonly parallel to the fold axes, plunging . Data show increased involvement of old crust during the Brasiliano Orogen, as oceanic basins closed, and collision progressed (see "Methods" section for data compilation). (C) Continental growth for the Borborema Province using data from samples of igneous and metaigneous rocks (solid lines) and exposed area coverd by these rocks based on pixel values from the maps in Fig. 1D, E (dashed lines). Colour of the lines represent cumulative U-Pb ages (red), ε Nd(t) < 0 (black) and Nd model ages (green), binned for each 100 Myr interval from 3.4 to 0.5 Ga. Growth is estimated from the cumulative proportion of juvenile crustal addition using the ε Nd(t) cut-off value of zero for the igneous and metaigneous rock samples and gridded pixels for the crystalline igneous and metaigneous areas from the maps in Fig. 1D, E (see "Methods" section).  (Fig. 4A). The geophysical and Nd isotopic characteristics of the ancient Entremontes block and the Tonian-age Afeição domain can be recognized in the central Borborema Province, north of the Pernambuco shear zone, displaced dextrally by ≈ 200 km and deformed into sigmoidal terranes characteristic of the BP (Fig. 4, Supplementary  Fig. S1). U-Pb ages and ε Nd(t) , as well as K-Th-U contents, as recorded in the radiometric images ( Supplementary  Fig. S1), show that the Afeição domain 43 can be linked with the contemporaneous Alto Pajeú terrane 13 , and the Entremontes block can be linked with the Alto Moxotó terrane, also composed of Paleoproterozoic and Archean gneisses and migmatites 25,42 . The Alto Moxotó terrane includes high-grade Late Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Surubim Complex that can be correlated to the lower-grade equivalents of the Riacho do Pontal fold-and-thrust belt and of the Cabrobó Complex overthrusting the Entremontes block. The Surubim Complex and these lower grade-rocks share similar detrital zircon age signatures 22,42,43 .
In summary, much of the Borborema Province has old Nd model ages and zircon population signatures similar to the São Francisco Craton/Benino-Nigerian Shield (Figs. 1 and 2A), suggesting direct or indirect derivation from these areas. The stepwise process of breakdown and involvement of cratonic blocks is preserved at the margin of the craton, where increased deformation of cratonic blocks is recorded across the Pernambuco shear zone and associated with a dextral displacement of ≈ 200 km.

Discussion: decratonization, terrane dispersion and reworking
In the Borborema Province, crustal extension is marked by mafic-ultramafic intrusions (e.g., the ca. 0.90 Ga Brejo Seco Unit 14 and the ca. 0.82 Ga Monte Orebe Unit 29 ), continental rift-like basic volcanic rocks (e.g., the ca. 0.88 Ga Paulistana Complex 15 ) and A-type orthogneisses (e.g., the ca. 0.87 Ga Pinhões pluton 44 ), following intraplate 1.0-0.92 Ga A-type granitoids and bimodal volcanism 21,41 . Together this magmatism defines the Cariris Velhos event that records the initial extension of cratonic lithosphere 21 (Fig. 5A,B). Mafic dikes of the Bahia-Gangila LIP intruding the north São Francisco Craton at 0.92-0.90 Ga 45 further support the interpretation that this was a widespread extensional event. Depocenters in this dynamic extensional environment were favorably filled with detritus shed by the topographic highs of the cratonic lithosphere and/or by local supply of the 1.0-0.87 Ga igneous rocks, giving rise to the detrital zircon pattern observed in groups G1 and G2 (Figs. 3 and 5B). However, sampling of older Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks can also generate the G1 pattern. The geochemical signature 14 46 ), suggest that extension did not lead to the formation of a large ocean separating the rifted blocks. Instead, the break-up of the greater São Francisco Craton/Benino-Nigerian Shield resulted in local sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) exhumation followed by formation of an embryonic narrow ocean, the Sergipano Ocean 16 (Fig. 5B and C). This is similar to the Alpine-Apennine poorly evolved oceanic basins, as also described in other Neoproterozoic passive margins 47 . If this is the case, the extensional event between 1.0 and 0.82 Ga must have been intermittent so as to prevent the opening of a large ocean. This intermittent extension pulled away crustal ribbons from the cratonic margin, such as the Pernambuco-Alagoas terrane (PEAL, Fig. 5C), that were subsequently deformed during inversion and final collision (Fig. 5D).
The break-up of the conjoined São Francisco Craton/Benino-Nigerian Shield during extension indicates that decratonization started already in the Early Neoproterozoic, in a manner akin to the Mesozoic decratonization of the North China Craton 9 , where extension associated with metasomatism 10 reactivated and replaced lithospheric www.nature.com/scientificreports/ mantle by asthenosphere 48 and facilitated continental breakup 49 . This hypothesis is supported by alkaline volcanism (e.g., kimberlites) in the northern SFC from 1.15 to 0.68 Ga 50-52 . The long-term effect of extension on lithospheric strength depends on the relative thinning of the crust in relation to the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) 53,54 . Starting from a thick Archean lithosphere, as for the SFC 55,56 , Tonian thinning and refertilization of the SCLM (indicated by the alkaline volcanism), would have led to weakening that persisted long-after extension ended. Only after 0.40 to 0.75 Gyr from a given thermotectonic event, the temperature distribution in the continental lithosphere approaches equilibrium and stops evolving with time 53 (Fig. 5E). Thus, the Tonian extensional event would have made sections of the cratonic lithosphere amenable to subsequent reworking within the orogenic realm.
This weakened, decratonized lithosphere between the Benino-Nigerian Shield and the São Francisco Craton (Fig. 6A) was reworked in two steps during the construction of the Borborema Province Orogen. The first step was a result of oblique continental collision with the West African Craton being thrust under the Benino-Nigerian Shield 17,27,57,58 . This was preceded by oceanic lithosphere subduction and magmatism in the aforementioned Santa Quitéria arc, and terminal collision led to the development of the dextral Transbrasiliano-Kandi strike-slip belt ( Fig. 6B and C). The second step was a result of dextral movement on the Transbrasiliano-Kandi strike-slip belt. This movement brought the Benino-Nigerian Shield closer to the São Francisco Craton deforming the weakened decratonized area in between these two stiffer lithospheric domains and leading to the transpressional Borborema Province Orogeny (see cross-sections in Fig. 6D). The closure of the small intervening Sergipano Ocean (Fig. 5C), prior to collision and transpression, resulted in voluminous magmatism between 0.64 and 0.60 Ga, especially in the PEAL terrane and Sergipano fold-and-thrust belt 16,37 . This abundant magmatism could have resulted from increased H 2 O flux released from the subduction of sediments and serpentinized mantle from the extended margin of the approaching SFC, in a similar manner to that described in the transition from subduction to continental collision in the West Gondwana Orogen 59  The major transcurrent shear zones that characterize the Borborema Province splay out of the Transbrasiliano-Kandi shear zone 19 and deformed the weakened cratonic margin. Deformation was a result of these two quasi-contemporaneous collisions 19,27 (Fig. 6D). In the north part (north of the Patos shear zone in Fig. 1B), old Paleoproterozoic and minor volumes of Archean rocks dominate and represent the reworked southern continuation of the Benino-Nigerian Shield 17 . To the south, the Borborema Province records the interaction of the decratonized lithosphere and the São Francisco Craton. In this region, the transcurrent shear zones wrenched the blocks of the northern margin of the São Francisco Craton previously weakened by the Cariris Velhos extension. Deformation included a number of continental ribbons (e.g., PEAL terrane) pulled away from the craton, and the intervening Tonian sedimentary basins ( Fig. 6C and D).
The exact geometry of the decratonized terrane at the start of wrenching, and the source region of individual blocks now embedded in the BP remain undetermined. However, using rock ages, isotopic and geophysical signatures, we have linked the Tonian-age Afeição domain and the ancient Entremontes block south of the Pernambuco shear zone, with the Tonian-age Alto Pajeú and the ancient Alto Moxotó terranes, north of the shear zone. This implies ≈ 200 km dextral wrenching across the Pernambuco shear zone (Fig. 4). The rocks south of the shear zone record only incipient deformation, whereas those to the north are intensely strained into sigmoidal terranes, in harmony with the regional transcurrent deformation and the geological-geophysical structure of this region.
It is also possible to recognize signatures of specific sections of the SFC in the old blocks now within the BP. For example, the geological features of the Gavião Block in the SFC and of the Kaduna Massif in the Benino-Nigerian Shield 62 can be found in blocks within the Central and Northern Borborema Province 38,40,60 . These features include rare occurrences of Paleoarchean rocks (> 3.4 Ga) embedded in Neoarchean (2.8-2.6 Ga) to Paleoproterozoic (2.1-2.0 Ga) rocks imprinted by ca. 2.0 Ga high-grade metamorphism 60,61 . We conclude that the stepwise increase in deformation intensity of craton margin blocks, illustrated by the Entremontes block and the sigmoidal-shaped Alto Moxotó terrane, illustrates how a number of other Archean-Paleoproterozoic blocks may have been pulled away from the original craton to form inliers within the orogeny. It is important to note that dispersal of decratonized blocks from the SFC was more effective along the southern and central zones of the Borborema Province, where evidence for Cariris Velhos extensional events has been better defined.
Decratonization related to Neoproterozoic extension and juvenile magmatism could have been widespread throughout West Gondwana, related to the break-up of Rodinia, although the position of the SFC in this supercontinent is contentious 63 . For example, it might account for thinning of the cratonic lithosphere in the Ribeira and Araçuaí belts of southeastern Brazil 64 , decratonizing the eastern margin of the SFC, preparing it for later involvement in the transcurrent Brasiliano tectonics 65 . In the Araçuaí Belt fissural mafic magmatism, associated with the Bahia-Gangila LIP event, preceded the opening of the Adamastor Ocean starting at ca. 0.9 Ga 45,66 with subsequent ca. 0.87 Ga rift-related, A-type continental plutonism 31 . Further south, in the Dom Feliciano-Kaoko belt, rift-related siliciclastic and bimodal volcanic rocks preserved in the Neoproterozoic schist belts, from both the Rio de la Plata/Paranapanema and Congo/Kalahari cratonic margins, suggest continental rifting between 0.9 and 0.78 Ga 67 . In the African side of these orogens (e.g., Gariep, Kaoko and Damara-Lufilian belts) extensional tectonics and breakup of surrounding cratons are also constrained to between 0.85 to 0.77 Ga 68-70 . These protracted extensional events preceding the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogens of coastal South America and African equivalents, disrupted and weakened the surrounding cratons, enabling orogenic reworking and transcurrent dispersal of old terranes such as the São Luiz, Curitiba, and Cabo Frio terranes 71 www.nature.com/scientificreports/ Global estimates for the construction of Gondwana between 0.6 and 0.5 Ga indicate only minor mantle addition 73 , in accordance with our observations in the Borborema Province. The final stage of reworking and transpression was accompanied by voluminous syn-transcurrent high-K calc-alkaline magmatism ranging from mafic to felsic rocks from 0.59 to 0.56 Ga [74][75][76] , peaking at ca. 0.58 Ga (Fig. 2B). Their strongly negative ε Nd values (Fig. 2B) and radiogenic Sr isotopes suggest a metasomatized, enriched lithospheric mantle source 74 . Lead isotopic ratios provide complementary information, suggesting involvement of asthenospheric fluids, possibly responsible for triggering voluminous lithospheric melting 76 . The orogenic collisional period of the BP resulted in crustal thickening, especially along the West Gondwana Orogen 27 , however, Rayleigh wave tomography indicates that this orogen is marked by thinner lithosphere today 77 , thus suggesting that the orogenic roots have been removed after collision. Since this magmatism from 0.59 to 0.56 Ga is contemporaneous with transcurrent deformation, post-dating the collisional event recorded by the West Gondwana Orogen, but synchronous to the collision along SBO, their origin can be attributed to the disturbance of the lithospheric mantle, including asthenospheric fluid influx 76 , unrelated to subduction processes 78 . This disturbance alongside collisional belts might be caused by lithospheric delamination, due to eclogitization at the base of the crust or by convective removal of a thickened thermal boundary layer 79 . The crustal structure of the province revealed by receiver functions and surface wave dispersion suggest that the delamination of the thickened lower crust might have occurred after the collisional period 80 in combination with asthenospheric upwelling 81 . Such delamination, caused renewed lithospheric weakening that facilitated lateral crustal flow 82 contributing to the processes of escape tectonics and terrane dispersion in the Borborema Province 19 (cross-section (c) to (d) in Fig. 6B). Finally, Ar-Ar cooling ages and U-Pb zircon emplacement ages (Fig. 2B) of poorly deformed to isotropic granitoids indicate slow cooling rates with continuous heat supply related to the delamination process until the Cambrian (0.52-0.50 Ga) 19 .
We conclude that the cratonic roots of the São Francisco Craton/Benino-Nigerian Shield, responsible for craton integrity, were weakened by Tonian-age extension. This created the conditions required for the involvement and dispersal of decratonized inliers within the Brasiliano orogen. We suggest that this may have been the general sequence of events for many of the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogens, where extension related to the break-up of cratonic masses and opening of oceanic realms with varying degrees of maturity were followed by convergence, wrench tectonics and late post-collisional magmatism during Gondwana amalgamation.

Methods
Nd isotopic maps. In order to discriminate terranes with similar signatures, a large compilation comprising 360 zircon U-Pb ages and 1331 Sm-Nd whole-rock isotope analyses of samples from the BP and the northern SFC were used (Fig. 1B). Sm-Nd isotope distribution of a large number of samples is suitable to identify correlated terranes due to resistance of the Sm-Nd isotope system to post-crystallization thermal disturbance 83 . Data were downloaded from the open sources DateView 84 and the Geological Survey of Brazil database (http:// geosg b.cprm.gov.br). Due to the scarcity of U-Pb crystallization ages from the Benino-Nigerian Shield, for this region we used individual zircon ages for dated metaigneous rocks available in the global zircon compilation in 85 . The compilation was augmented with data from the literature. Most of the data are from (meta)igneous rocks with subordinated input from metasedimentary rocks.
In general, Nd model ages (T DM ) do not correspond to a specific crust-formation event but instead reflect mixing of material derived from the mantle at different times and are determined by calculating the time when a sample had an isotopic composition identical to that of its source 86 , so they can be understood as minimum ages of crust formation. For Fig. 1B we used Sm-Nd T DM ages as originally reported by different authors (Supplementary Data 1). The Sm-Nd T DM ages were gridded in the ArcGIS software using Inverse-Distance-Weighted Interpolation (IDW). Since significant discontinuities modify the surrounding geological environment, we define the major shear zones as interpolation barriers. We also applied the Gaussian low-pass filter to attenuate high frequencies due to variable spacing between samples. We compared compiled U-Pb zircon crystallization ages and freely available geological maps (http://geosg b.cprm.gov.br) of the Northern SFC and BP to cross-check terrane affinity based on the Sm-Nd T DM map, to identify old terranes within the Borborema orogenic province. From the compiled Sm-Nd dataset, only data with reported ppm contents of Nd, Sm and 143 Nd/ 144 Nd ratio associated with reliable reported U-Pb ages for the magmatic crystallization, were considered for building the ε Nd(t) maps and further crustal growth curve for the Borborema Province. This resulted in 889 data points with assigned geographical position and recalculated 147 Sm/ 144 Nd ratio. A new screening was applied to eliminate unreliable 147 Sm/ 144 Nd resulting in the 837 data points that were used for further gridding of ε Nd(t) values, as described above (Fig. 3). The gridded values resulted in a map with 46,426 pixels with a pixel size of 3.2 × 3.2 km (pixel area = 10.24 km 2 ). These pixels where clipped to the igneous crystalline area of the Borborema Province, excluding the Neoproterozoic metasedimentary belts, Phanerozoic basins and more recent cover, resulting in a map with 17,235 pixels with a total area of 176,486 km 2 . Pixel values were further binned to 100 Myr intervals, from 0.5 to 3.4 Ga, along with the U-Pb crystallization ages from individual rock samples. The ε Nd(t) cut-off value of zero was used to distinguish juvenile addition of new crust from reworked crust in the Borborema Province through time. The pixels with ε Nd > 0 were binned to 100 Myr and the cumulative percentage area covered by juvenile rocks was used to infer the crustal growth of Borborema Province from 0.5 to 3.4 Ga. Supplementary Figure S1 shows the data distribution used to grid the Sm-Nd T DM ages.
Magnetic maps. The airborne magnetic database comprises data from seven surveys between 2001 and 2010, with 500 m flight-line spacing in the N-S direction and flight height of 100 m (http://geosg b.cprm.gov. br). The Total Magnetic Intensity map (TMI) was created by interpolating the magnetic data into a 125 m grid cell size using the bi-directional method and subsequently filtered by a Gaussian low-pass filter. To highlight the regional tectonic framework, we calculated the first vertical derivative of TMI (1VD).  Fig. 1A are freely available at http://geosg b.cprm.gov.br. P-wave tomography model for the Borborema Province in Fig. 1C is available in reference 35 .