Geodynamic Evolution of the Southernmost Andes: Connections with the Scotia Arc

214 Pages·2016·9.86 MB·English

by  Matías C. Ghiglione (eds.)

Springer Earth System Sciences
Matías C. Ghiglione E ditor
Geodynamic
Evolution of the
Southernmost
Andes
Connections with the Scotia Arc
Springer Earth System Sciences
Series editors
Philippe Blondel, Bath, UK
Eric Guilyardi, Paris, France
Jorge Rabassa, Ushuaia, Argentina
Clive Horwood, Chichester, UK
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10178
í
Mat as C. Ghiglione
Editor
Geodynamic Evolution
of the Southernmost Andes
Connections with the Scotia Arc
123
Editor
Matías C.Ghiglione
National Council of Argentina (CONICET)
Universidad deBuenosAires
BuenosAires
Argentina
ISSN 2197-9596 ISSN 2197-960X (electronic)
SpringerEarth System Sciences
ISBN978-3-319-39725-2 ISBN978-3-319-39727-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-39727-6
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016941068
©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2016
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Foreword
This new volume of the “Springer Earth System Science” deals with the attractive
SouthernmostAndes–Antarcticaconnectionissue,whichhascalledtheattentionof
several generations of field geologists, geophysicists, and oceanologists. A new
generation of researchers, but already experienced young scientists, is presenting
theresultsofseveralyearsofinvestigationintheseremoteregionsofverydifficult
access. It is interesting to compare the early work on land of Katz (1964)1 and the
studies of Dalziel et al.(1974)2 inthe Rocas Verdes marginal basin and theScotia
Arc, to see how much we have advance in the knowledge and the timing of the
tectonic processes. This book will be a milestone for understanding the new con-
nections of the Patagonian–Fuegian Andes with the Scotia Arc and related areas.
Special attention should be paid to the work of Matías C. Ghiglione and
coworkers, who is based on an extensive and detailed fieldwork. His research
started in the Tierra del Fuego Island during his Ph.D. thesis (1999–2003), to
continue in the Patagonian Andes of Argentina and Chile over the last years. As a
resultofthisextensivefieldwork,togetherwithavailableindustrialseismiclines,he
has proposed new details and processes on the geodynamic evolution of the
southernmost Andes and its relation with subsidence and sedimentation in the
Argentine continental margin.
The progress in the knowledge of the metamorphic conditions (pressure, tem-
perature, and timing), the geochemical characteristics, and age ofthe metamorphic
complexes is another piece of new data that allow setting thoughtful paleogeo-
graphic schemes for the Paleozoic and Mesozoic evolutions. Calderon and
coworkers present new solid hypotheses, which will deserve further research and
consideration.
1KatzHR(1964)Somenewconceptsongeosynclinaldevelopmentandmountainbuildingatthe
southernendofSouthAmerica.XXIIInternGeolCongr,India,Proceedings4:242–255.
2DalzielIWD,DeWitMF,PalmerKF(1974)FossilmarginalbasininthesouthernAndes.Nature
250:291–294.
v
vi Foreword
Most of the Andes have evidence in recent years of important variations in the
present and old subduction geometries of the Benioff zones. The Southernmost
Andes is not an exception, and the data presented by González Guillot show firm
evidence of these variations based on petrological and spatial changes in the
magmatic front through time.
The review of the Scotia arc development, at different time windows, and their
connections with the Patagonian–Fuegian Andes through time, profits of the
comprehensiveexperienceofGraemeEaglesonthissubject.Thedifferentschemes
ofEaglesshowdidacticallyandrigorouslyfinedetailsontheprocessesinvolvedin
this complex evolution.
SeismicityinthesouthernmostSouthAmericaanditscomplexrelationwiththe
geodynamic context of the Scotia Arc is an important but little understood topic.
SueandGhiglioneundertakethissubjectfromtheviewofbrittledeformation,fault
kinematics, and related seismicity, to elucidate deformation pattern in the south-
ernmost Andes and surrounding southern oceans.
TheanalysisofthePatagonianOrocline,aclassicproblemofthelast50yearsin
the Southernmost Andes since the early proposal of Warren Carey, clearly shows
that the continental margin bend is not a proper orocline. Several paleomagnetic
studieshaveshownthecomplexityofthisevolutionandhowrotationsvaryontime
and space through the orogen. The proposal of Marco Maffione, based on the new
andoldpaleomagneticandstructuraldata,forchangingthePatagonianOroclineto
aPatagonianArc,deservesattention.Thisisnotjustachangeinthedenomination,
ifnotanidentificationofpreviouspaleogeographyandfurthermodifications,which
could be a clue to the final understanding of this important feature.
Asafinalremark,Iwanttoexpressthatthereadingofthisbookbroughttomy
memorynicescenesofnavigationinthesmallzodiacs,landinginabruptfjords,and
walkinginwetpitplains,whicharousemyenvytotheseyoungresearchersthatcan
continue to enjoy these beautiful landscapes, even under the rain and intense
snowfall, but full of excellent geology. Congratulations to the authors and espe-
cially to the editor for the initiative and for the robust final product obtained.
Victor A. Ramos
Emeritus Professor
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Contents
An Introduction to the Geodynamic Evolution of the Southernmost
Andes: Connections with the Scotia Arc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Matías C. Ghiglione
Tectonic Evolution of Paleozoic and Mesozoic Andean
Metamorphic Complexes and the Rocas Verdes Ophiolites
in Southern Patagonia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mauricio Calderón, Francisco Hervé, Francisco Fuentes, Julie C. Fosdick,
Fernando Sepúlveda and Gonzalo Galaz
Magmatic Evolution of the Southernmost Andes and Its Relation
with Subduction Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Mauricio González Guillot
Tectonic Reconstructions of the Southernmost Andes and the Scotia
Sea During the Opening of the Drake Passage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Graeme Eagles
The Relation Between Neogene Denudation of the Southernmost
Andes and Sedimentation in the Offshore Argentine and Malvinas
Basins During the Opening of the Drake Passage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Matías C. Ghiglione, Christian Sue, Miguel E. Ramos, Jonathan E. Tobal
and Rocío E. Gallardo
Wrenching Tectonism in the Southernmost Andes and the Scotia Sea
Constrained from Fault Kinematic and Seismotectonic Overviews. . . . . 137
Christian Sue and Matías C. Ghiglione
Kinematic Evolution of the Southern Andean Orogenic Arc . . . . . . . . . 173
Marco Maffione
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
vii
Contributors
Mauricio Calderón Carrera de Geología, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago,
Chile
GraemeEagles HelmholtzCentreforMarineandPolarResearch,AlfredWegener
Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
Julie C. Fosdick Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University,
Bloomington, USA
Francisco Fuentes Carrera de Geología, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago,
Chile
Gonzalo Galaz Departamento de Geología Regional, Instituo de Geología,
Universidad nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F., México
Rocío E. Gallardo Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Instituto de Estudios
Andinos “Don Pablo Groeber” CONICET, FCEN—Universidad de Buenos Aires,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
MatíasC.Ghiglione DepartamentodeCienciasGeológicas,InstitutodeEstudios
Andinos “Don Pablo Groeber” CONICET, FCEN—Universidad de Buenos Aires,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Mauricio González Guillot Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas
CADIC-CONICET, and Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambiente y Recursos
Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia,
Argentina
FranciscoHervé CarreradeGeología,UniversidadAndresBello,Santiago,Chile;
Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Marco Maffione Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht,
The Netherlands
ix
x Contributors
Miguel E. Ramos Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Instituto de Estudios
Andinos “Don Pablo Groeber” CONICET, FCEN—Universidad de Buenos Aires,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fernando Sepúlveda Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Santiago, Chile
Christian Sue Bourgogne Franche-Comté University, Laboratoire Chrono-
environnement, Besançon, France
Jonathan E. Tobal Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Instituto de Estudios
Andinos “Don Pablo Groeber” CONICET, FCEN—Universidad de Buenos Aires,
Buenos Aires, Argentina