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The Mata Amarilla Formation marks the onset of the foreland stage of the Austral basin, which is composed of mostly nonmarine and littoral siliciclastic sediments, thus providing an opportunity to study the detrital record of the Late Cretaceous southern foreland Andes. Our dataset provides, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of the Late Cretaceous evolution of the Austral foreland basin, constituting a possible analogue to other foreland basins at the foot of the Andes. Sandstones from the Mata Amarilla Formation testify to variable contributions from Jurassic bimodal volcanic rocks of the Deseado Massif and the Patagonian fold-and-thrust belt, in the context of an eastward-advancing orogen. Sandstone petrography shows an overall feldspathic litharenite composition, whereas sandstones coming from the northeast (Deseado Massif) have higher Lv and lower Qp proportions than samples coming from the west (Patagonian fold-and-thrust belt). In the central part of the study area, sandstones are characterized by higher proportions of Qt associated with a greater distance and time of transport relating to its position in the Austral foreland basin. In spite of the increased maturity of sandstone in the central area, X-ray analyses permit recognition of the compositional signature of Mata Amarilla Formation, in which four claymineral assemblages were identified: S (rich in smectite), S-K (rich in smectite and kaolinite), Pg (rich in palygorskite), and I/S (rich in illite-smectite mixed layers). S-assemblage evidences well-crystallized smectite, characteristic of volcaniclastic origin. Most smectite was formed during early diagenesis through alteration of labile tuffaceous material derived from the Southern Andes. The stratigraphic variations in clay-mineral assemblages reveal a strong environmental control on their distribution. The transformation of smectite into illite and kaolinite is considered as product of pedogenesis, whereas the presence of palygorskite indicates a coastal environment with paleosol development under poorly drained conditions.

Reconstructions of global mean sea level from earlier warm periods in Earth’s history can help constrain future projections of sea level rise. Here we report on the sedimentology and age of a geological unit in central Patagonia, Argentina, that we dated to the Early Pliocene (4.69–5.23 Ma, 2σ) with strontium isotope stratigraphy. The unit was interpreted as representative of an intertidal environment, and its elevation was measured with differential GPS at ca. 36 m above present-day sea level. Considering modern tidal ranges, it was possible to constrain paleo relative sea level within  ±2.7 m (1σ). We use glacial isostatic adjustment models and estimates of vertical land movement to calculate that, when the Camarones intertidal sequence was deposited, global mean sea level was 28.4 ± 11.7 m (1σ) above present. This estimate matches those derived from analogous Early Pliocene sea level proxies in the Mediterranean Sea and South Africa. Evidence from these three locations indicates that Early Pliocene sea level may have exceeded 20m above its present level. Such high global mean sea level values imply an ice-free Greenland, a significant melting of West Antarctica, and a contribution of marine-based sectors of East Antarctica to global mean sea level.