Global, full-fit plate reconstruction models predict a significant presence of oceanic floor in Northeast Brazil and West Africa during Albian time, while rifting was under earlier stages in the Pernambuco and Paraíba basins. We call it the Albian breakaway gap. Sedimentary, biostratigraphic and geochronological data from the Pernambuco and Paraíba basins challenge the timing of sea floor spreading in this region. In the onshore Pernambuco Basin, there are abundant outcrops of syn-rift continental siliciclastic rocks of Aptian–Albian age interbedded with intrusive and extrusive magmatic rocks (dated ca. 102 ± 2 Ma). Salt has been recognized on seismic data within the Pernambuco Basin, but there is no record or seismic indication of salt within the Paraíba Basin. Three interpreted seismic transects provide important clues about the type of intraplate margin developed in this region. Syn and post-rift magmatism within the onshore and offshore segments of the Pernambuco Basin indicate significant melt production during (and after) the main stretching phase. On the other hand, the abruptly-necked Paraíba Basin displays seismic evidence of seaward dipping reflectors, side by side with rift sediments, suggesting the development of an Albian volcanic intraplate margin. In addition, gravity and magnetic data, on the Brazilian side, suggest a wide transition from continental to pure oceanic crust in the Pernambuco and Paraíba basins, as well as at their African counterparts: Douala, Rio Del Rey, and Lower Benue, where either oceanic crust or proto-oceanic wide crust has been recognized. Instead of pure oceanic crust, as predicted by globally balanced plate motion reconstructions, the continent-ocean transitional domain was composed in part by stretched continental crust and partially by a wide embryonic or proto-oceanic crust. In fact, a continuous and regional mid ocean ridge was only defined at the end of Albian/early Cenomanian when the South America plate was completely separated from the African plate.

全球全面拟合的板块重建模型预测，在阿拉伯时期，巴西东北部和西非海底将大量存在，而伯南布哥州和帕拉伊巴盆地的裂谷处于早期阶段。我们称其为Albian突破性差距。来自伯南布哥州和帕拉伊巴盆地的沉积，生物地层学和地质年代学数据对该地区海床扩散的时间提出了挑战。在Pernambuco陆上海岸，有大量的阿普特一阿尔比时代同速裂谷大陆硅质碎屑岩露头，夹杂着侵入性和挤压性岩浆岩（约102±2 Ma）。在伯南布哥盆地的地震数据中已经识别出盐，但是在帕拉伊巴盆地没有盐的记录或地震指示。三个解释的地震样带提供了有关该区域发育的板内边缘类型的重要线索。伯南布哥盆地陆上和近海段的顺风和裂谷后岩浆活动表明，在主要伸展阶段（和之后），熔体产生量很大。另一方面，陡峭的帕拉伊巴盆地显示出地震迹象，表明海底浸入的反射器与裂谷沉积物并排，这表明阿尔比亚火山板块内边缘的发育。此外，巴西方面的重力和磁数据表明，伯南布哥州和帕拉伊巴州盆地以及非洲对应的杜阿拉，里约德尔雷伊和下贝努埃州的地壳已经从大陆型向纯海洋型转变了已经认识到大洋地壳或原始海洋宽地壳。像全球平衡的板块运动重建所预测的那样，大陆-海洋过渡域不是由纯粹的洋壳组成，而是部分由伸展的大陆壳组成，部分由较宽的胚胎或原始海洋壳组成。实际上，仅当南美板块与非洲板块完全分离时，才在Albian /切诺曼尼亚早期定义连续和区域性的中海脊。