Surface uplift and convective rainfall along the southern Central Andes (Angastaco Basin, NW Argentina)

Pingel, Heiko; Mulch, Andreas; Alonso, Ricardo; Cottle, John M.; Hynek, Scott A.; Poletti, Jacob; Rohrmann, Alexander; Schmitt, Axel K.; Stöckli, Daniel F.; Strecker, Manfred R.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.02.009

Cited by 43 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…However, the sedimentary basin record of flexural subsidence may be the earliest archive of orogenic processes and growth and erosion of topography [ Flemings and Jordan , ]. Accordingly, changes in sediment source areas, basin subsidence rate, and shifts in depositional environments reflect the local to regional tectonic and climatic framework superimposed by global climate [ Willett , ; Barnes et al ., ; Pingel et al ., ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retroarc basin reorganization and aridification during Paleogene uplift of the southern central Andes

et al. 2017

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Tectonic development of the Andean Cordillera has profoundly changed the topography, climate, and vegetation patterns of the southern central Andes. The Cenozoic Bermejo Basin in Argentina (~30°S) provides a key record of thrust belt kinematics and paleoclimate south of the high‐elevation Puna Plateau. Ongoing debate regarding the timing of initiation of upper plate shortening and Andean uplift persists, precluding a thorough understanding of the earlier tectonic and climatic controls on basin evolution. We present new sedimentology, detrital geochronology, sandstone petrography, and subsidence analysis from the Bermejo Basin that reveal siliciclastic‐evaporative fluvial and lacustrine environments prior to the main documented phase of Oligocene‐Miocene shortening of the Frontal Cordillera and Argentine Precordillera. We report the first radiometric dates from detrital zircons collected in the Ciénaga del Río Huaco Formation, previously mapped as Permian, that constrain a Late Cretaceous (~95–93 Ma) maximum depositional age. Provenance and paleocurrent data from these strata indicate that detritus was derived from dissected arc and cratonic sources in the north and northeast. Detrital zircon U‐Pb ages of ~37 Ma from the overlying red beds suggest that foredeep sedimentation began by at least the late Eocene. At this time, sediment dispersal shifted from axial southward to transversal eastward from the Andean Arc and Frontal Cordillera. Subsidence analysis of the basin fill is compatible with increasing tectonic deformation beginning in Eocene time, suggesting that a distal foredeep maintained fluvial connectivity to the hinterland during topographic uplift and unroofing of the Frontal Cordillera, prior to Oligocene‐Miocene deformation across the Precordillera.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retroarc basin reorganization and aridification during Paleogene uplift of the southern central Andes

et al. 2017

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“…Because of the wind shear between upper level winds and the SALLJ, MCSs are formed. Once temperature rises, for example through solar heating, the associated thermal energy provides the condition for forming deep convective storms along the south-central Andes [11][12][13]15]. The combination of these atmospheric processes described above show that the south-central Andes are a region characterized by highly seasonal and extreme rainfall events.As mentioned above, the temperature rise triggers the condition for formation of deep convective storms along the south-central Andes.…”

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confidence: 99%

Using Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) and Dew-Point Temperature to Characterize Rainfall-Extreme Events in the South-Central Andes

et al. 2019

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The interactions between atmosphere and steep topography in the eastern south–central Andes result in complex relations with inhomogenous rainfall distributions. The atmospheric conditions leading to deep convection and extreme rainfall and their spatial patterns—both at the valley and mountain-belt scales—are not well understood. In this study, we aim to identify the dominant atmospheric conditions and their spatial variability by analyzing the convective available potential energy (CAPE) and dew-point temperature ( T d ). We explain the crucial effect of temperature on extreme rainfall generation along the steep climatic and topographic gradients in the NW Argentine Andes stretching from the low-elevation eastern foreland to the high-elevation central Andean Plateau in the west. Our analysis relies on version 2.0 of the ECMWF’s (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) Re-Analysis (ERA-interim) data and TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) data. We make the following key observations: First, we observe distinctive gradients along and across strike of the Andes in dew-point temperature and CAPE that both control rainfall distributions. Second, we identify a nonlinear correlation between rainfall and a combination of dew-point temperature and CAPE through a multivariable regression analysis. The correlation changes in space along the climatic and topographic gradients and helps to explain controlling factors for extreme-rainfall generation. Third, we observe more contribution (or higher importance) of T d in the tropical low-elevation foreland and intermediate-elevation areas as compared to the high-elevation central Andean Plateau for 90th percentile rainfall. In contrast, we observe a higher contribution of CAPE in the intermediate-elevation area between low and high elevation, especially in the transition zone between the tropical and subtropical areas for the 90th percentile rainfall. Fourth, we find that the parameters of the multivariable regression using CAPE and T d can explain rainfall with higher statistical significance for the 90th percentile compared to lower rainfall percentiles. Based on our results, the spatial pattern of rainfall-extreme events during the past ∼16 years can be described by a combination of dew-point temperature and CAPE in the south–central Andes.

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“…The role of tectonic uplift in long-term regional and global climate change remains a focus of research and continues to be assessed with geologic datasets (e.g. Dettman et al, 2003;Caves, 2017;Kent-Corson et al, 2006;Lechler et al, 2013;Lechler and Niemi, 2011;Licht et al, 2017;Methner et al, 2016;Mulch et al, 2015Mulch et al, , 2008Pingel et al, 2016) and climate modelling (e.g. Kutzbach et al, 1989;Kutzbach et al, 1993;Zhisheng, 2001;Bohner, 2006;Takahashi and Battisti, 2007a;Ehlers and Poulsen, 2009;Insel et al, 2010;Boos and Kuang, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of late Cenozoic climate change relevant to Earth surface processes in tectonically active orogens

et al. 2018

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Abstract. The denudation history of active orogens is often interpreted in the context of modern climate gradients. Here we address the validity of this approach and ask what are the spatial and temporal variations in palaeoclimate for a latitudinally diverse range of active orogens? We do this using high-resolution (T159, ca. 80 × 80 km at the Equator) palaeoclimate simulations from the ECHAM5 global atmospheric general circulation model and a statistical cluster analysis of climate over different orogens (Andes, Himalayas, SE Alaska, Pacific NW USA). Time periods and boundary conditions considered include the Pliocene (PLIO, ∼ 3 Ma), the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼ 21 ka), mid-Holocene (MH, ∼ 6 ka), and pre-industrial (PI, reference year 1850). The regional simulated climates of each orogen are described by means of cluster analyses based on the variability in precipitation, 2 m air temperature, the intra-annual amplitude of these values, and monsoonal wind speeds where appropriate. Results indicate the largest differences in the PI climate existed for the LGM and PLIO climates in the form of widespread cooling and reduced precipitation in the LGM and warming and enhanced precipitation during the PLIO. The LGM climate shows the largest deviation in annual precipitation from the PI climate and shows enhanced precipitation in the temperate Andes and coastal regions for both SE Alaska and the US Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, LGM precipitation is reduced in the western Himalayas and enhanced in the eastern Himalayas, resulting in a shift of the wettest regional climates eastward along the orogen. The cluster-analysis results also suggest more climatic variability across latitudes east of the Andes in the PLIO climate than in other time slice experiments conducted here. Taken together, these results highlight significant changes in late Cenozoic regional climatology over the last ∼ 3 Myr. Comparison of simulated climate with proxy-based reconstructions for the MH and LGM reveal satisfactory to good performance of the model in reproducing precipitation changes, although in some cases discrepancies between neighbouring proxy observations highlight contradictions between proxy observations themselves. Finally, we document regions where the largest magnitudes of late Cenozoic changes in precipitation and temperature occur and offer the highest potential for future observational studies that quantify the impact of climate change on denudation and weathering rates.

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Surface uplift and convective rainfall along the southern Central Andes (Angastaco Basin, NW Argentina)

Cited by 43 publications

References 54 publications

Retroarc basin reorganization and aridification during Paleogene uplift of the southern central Andes

Retroarc basin reorganization and aridification during Paleogene uplift of the southern central Andes

Using Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) and Dew-Point Temperature to Characterize Rainfall-Extreme Events in the South-Central Andes

Estimates of late Cenozoic climate change relevant to Earth surface processes in tectonically active orogens

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