Special Research Center 267 DEFORMATION PROCESSES IN THE ANDES

Freie Universitaet Berlin · Technische Universitaet Berlin · GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam · Universitaet Potsdam

Sedimentation, tectonics and volcanism in the Salar de Antofalla area, southern Puna (NW Argentina)

Intraandine basins as documents of the interaction of tectonics, volcanism and sedimentation (Subproject D1B (funded by the DFG 1993-1998))

Overview

The geology of the Salar de Antofalla area in the southermost part of the Central Andean Puna plateau was investigated by subproject D1B of the Colloborative Research Center SFB 267 (FU Berlin, Germany). Main focus was the interaction between tectonism, volcanism and sedimentation/erosion in an area of Mesozoic to recent intra-andean basin.

The performed investigations comprised:

stratigraphic subdivision of the Tertiary strata


facies analysis of the sedimentary basin filling

petrography and geochemistry of the volcanic rocks and the pyroclastics (focus: igminbrites)

documentation of the structural inventory

The results suggest the incorporation of the sedimentary basins into the Andean orogen since 40 Ma. Based on the synopsis of sedimentological and structural data, a model of the palaeogeographic evolution and the timing and nature of the Andean deformation during the plateau uplift is presented. Furthermore, the investigations of the volcanics yielded variations in magmatism related to changing tectonic conditions in the Southern Puna since the Oligocene/Miocene. Volcanism, tectonism and sedimentation/erosion reflect crustal thickening and changing rheologies of the continental crust during the development of the Andean magmatic arc.

Back to Top

------------------------------------------------

For further informations contact:

Dr. Dirk Adelmann

adelmann@cuenca.de

Salar de Antofalla