Tectonic Setting of the Tordillo Formation in the Aconcagua Fold-and-Thrust Belt

Acevedo, Eliana; Rosselot, Eduardo Agustín; Martos, Federico E.; Fennell, Lucas; Naipauer, Maximiliano; Folguera, Andrés

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-29680-3_7

Cited by 3 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…In these sectors, the fundamental evidence in support of the extension is the volumetric magmatism of the Rio Damas Formation, emplaced in a retroarc position in reference to the Jurassic arc location (Figure 1a) (Charrier et al, 2007). Records of extensional faulting are scarce, restricted to isolated outcrops, inferred from balanced structural sections that require the addition of local graben and half‐graben structures, or from isopach maps (Acevedo et al, 2020; Cegarra & Ramos, 1996; Giambiagi et al, 2003; Mardones et al, 2021; Martos et al, 2020; Mescua et al, 2008, 2014; Pángaro et al, 1996; Vicente & Leanza, 2009). These Late Jurassic normal faults have consistent NNW, N or NE strike directions, although some of them are inferred or indirectly measured (Figure 12c) (Acevedo et al, 2020; Cegarra & Ramos, 1996; Giambiagi et al, 2003; Mardones et al, 2021; Martos et al, 2022; Mescua et al, 2020; Pángaro et al, 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The distance between sections is not to scale. thick was not deposited (Fennell et al, 2020); (iii) in the northernmost Neuquén Basin there is no record of Precuyo (Figure 12b), however, at these latitudes, there are several proposals of Late Jurassic extension (Acevedo et al, 2020;Cegarra & Ramos, 1996;Giambiagi et al, 2003;Vicente & Leanza, 2009); (iv) the Río Damas Formation (Chilean equivalent of the Tordillo Formation) reaches thickness values of 5 km (Klohn, 1960), which could not be explained only by differential compaction; (v) differential compaction associated faults would show maximum displacement in the lower post-rift and a gradual upwards decrease in throw, instead of discrete pulses of reactivation (Worthington & Walsh, 2017). On this basis, differential compaction cannot account for the magnitude of subsidence required to explain the Late Jurassic deposition of the Tordillo and Rio Damas Formations, though it might have been responsible to some degree as a secondary process.…”

Section: Neuquén Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the northern portion of the Neuquén Basin (32°–35°S), the Tordillo Formation shows a systematic increase in thickness and in the volcanic and volcaniclastic material from east to west, as it transitions to the Rio Damas Formation (Acevedo et al, 2020; Lo Forte, 1996; Mescua et al, 2020; Sanguinetti, 1989; Sruoga et al, 2011). At this latitude, the basin has a N‐S elongated shape and Tordillo Formation's thickness changes occur rapidly across this narrow segment.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Kimmeridgian regression is considered to be tectonically forced. Still, there are different proposed tectonic scenarios: (i) disconnection from the paleo‐Pacific ocean by the growth of the magmatic arc along the western basin margin (Ramos, 1985; Spalletti et al, 2008; Spalletti & Veiga, 2007); (ii) uplift along the southern basin margin (Mosquera & Ramos, 2006; Silvestro & Zubiri, 2008; Vergani et al, 1995; Zavala & Freije, 2002); and (iii) a new extensional phase in the northern part of the basin (Acevedo et al, 2020; Charrier et al, 2007; Mescua et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Jurassic back‐arc extension in the Neuquén Basin (37°S): Insights from structural, sedimentological and provenance analyses

et al. 2022

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The Middle Jurassic–Early Cretaceous evolution of the Neuquén Basin is traditionally attributed to a long phase of thermal subsidence. However, recent works have challenged this model. In view of this, we study the Late Jurassic Tordillo Formation, a non‐marine depositional unit that marks a shift to regional regression across the basin. Previous studies propose different causes for this regression, including the growth of the magmatic arc in the west, uplift in the south or extension in the north. We studied the Tordillo Formation in sections located at an intermediate position in the Neuquén Basin, in order to understand the tectonic processes active during sedimentation. We present evidence of normal faulting within the Tordillo Formation and the base of the overlying Vaca Muerta Formation. Some of these faults can be attributed as syndepositional. We characterize the Tordillo Formation as part of a distal fan‐playa lake depositional system with a contemporaneous western magmatic arc as the main source of sediment. When compared to the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic NE to NNE‐oriented rifting, which marks the opening of the Neuquén Basin, the Late Jurassic extension shows a switch in stress orientation; the latter is orthogonal to the north‐trending subduction zone. We interpret this change as a renewed phase of back‐arc extension induced by slab rollback along with minor distributed intraplate extension prior to opening of the South Atlantic Ocean.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Neuquén Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Jurassic back‐arc extension in the Neuquén Basin (37°S): Insights from structural, sedimentological and provenance analyses

et al. 2022

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“…Between the Middle Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous, sedimentation was mostly controlled by thermal subsidence, and the first widespread marine transgressions occurred. Some authors show evidence of an extensional pulse during the Late Jurassic (Acevedo et al, 2020(Acevedo et al, , 2022Martos et al, 2020;Mescua et al, 2008;Sruoga et al, 2011) and even flexural subsidence caused by the magmatic arc load was proposed to explain the significant thickness increase toward the western margin for some intervals of this period (Spalletti, 2013). The sea-level changes and the magmatic-arc dynamics controlled the successive marine transgressions and regressions into the basin from the proto-Pacific Ocean until the late Early Cretaceous (Spalletti, 2013).…”

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ancient Configuration of the Southern Central Andes and Paleogeographic Reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous Foreland Basin at 34°40’S

Martos,

Fennell,

Naipauer

et al. 2024

Tectonics

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The early stages of Andean construction have been barely recognized due to a long history of tectonic superposition during the growth of the orogen. In this work, we present a multi‐method approach integrating sedimentological, geochronological, structural, and provenance analyses to reconstruct the architecture of the Late Cretaceous foreland basin at 34°40’S. We identified a new depocenter located in an inner position of the Late Cretaceous foreland basin, a strategic location to understand the sedimentation dynamics near the topographic front of the orogen. Two sandstone samples from the basal and upper sections of the Diamante Formation were collected for detrital zircons dating, which yielded maximum depositional ages between 98 Ma and 91 Ma. The provenance analyses based on U‐Pb zircons ages indicated a main source area located to the west, in the incipient orogenic belt, with a complementary contribution from basement rocks, located to the east. Moreover, growth strata documented in these deposits were compared with structural kinematic models, which suggest that some of these deposits are associated with inherited structures, reactivated during the tectonic inversion of the extensional Jurassic Atuel depocenter. Our paleogeographic model comprises an Andean Cordillera flanked by a hinterland basin to the west and a foreland basin to the east, with a deformational front positioned further east compared to previous models.

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The classical Cuevas River section revisited: an update to the style and timing of deformation of the Aconcagua region based on new geological, structural and geochronological data (32°50′S)

Fennell,

Martos,

Peluffo

et al. 2023

Front. Earth Sci.

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The Aconcagua region constitutes a classical site to study the growth of the Andes, being host of the highest mountain of South America and focus of numerous investigations since its first description by Charles Darwin almost 200 years ago. The last detailed works in this area characterized it as a typical thin-skinned fold-thrust belt with a basal detachment located in the lower evaporitic units of the Mesozoic sequences. Previous authors in this area correlated the different thrust sheets on the basis of their marine fossils, sedimentological characteristics and structural relations. Although these criteria were useful for the identification of the marine and evaporitic units, the resemblance between the nonmarine red beds and among the different volcanic units has difficulted their unequivocal assignment. Moreover, the inaccessibility of the outcrops and the lack of an adequate geochronological control has led to underestimate the importance of the Aconcagua fold-thrust belt in the last couple of years, being characterized as a secondary feature in Andean orogenesis. A series of new field observations, sedimentological studies and geochronological analyses were performed to update the geological map of this area and build a schematic cross section along the Río Cuevas at 32°50’S in west-central Argentina. These studies allowed the identification of important variations on the thickness of the Upper Jurassic nonmarine sequences associated with the activity of normal faults and the development of structural highs. Many of these normal faults are presently inverted, which suggests that tectonic inversion played an important role in the structuration of this region, leading to a deformational style that varies from a thick-skinned inner domain towards a thin-skinned frontal sector. A series of sedimentological profiles aided by four new U-Pb detrital zircon analyses and its integration with new geochronological databases allowed the documentation of previously unrecognized Paleogene deposits, the age reassignation of several volcanic and sedimentary units and the modification of the stratigraphy. Finally, at least three contractional events with different structural mechanisms were identified along this transect, revealing a dynamic tectonic evolution that underscores the role of structural inheritance and the relevance of the Aconcagua fold-thrust belt in the Andean orogeny.

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Tectonic Setting of the Tordillo Formation in the Aconcagua Fold-and-Thrust Belt

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

Late Jurassic back‐arc extension in the Neuquén Basin (37°S): Insights from structural, sedimentological and provenance analyses

Late Jurassic back‐arc extension in the Neuquén Basin (37°S): Insights from structural, sedimentological and provenance analyses

The Ancient Configuration of the Southern Central Andes and Paleogeographic Reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous Foreland Basin at 34°40’S

The classical Cuevas River section revisited: an update to the style and timing of deformation of the Aconcagua region based on new geological, structural and geochronological data (32°50′S)

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