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Magnetostratigraphy and paleomagnetism of early and middle Miocene synorogenic strata: basement partitioning and minor block rotation in Argentine broken foreland

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Abstract

Magnetostratigraphic and paleomagnetic studies on early Andean synorogenic strata (Del Crestón Fm.), in the Famatina Belt (28.7°S, 67.5°W) clarify details of chronology that permit calculation of sedimentation rates within the broken foreland of west Argentina. The Del Crestón Fm represents the first record of broken foreland sedimentation within the southern Central Andean belt and the earliest retroarc volcanic rocks exposed several hundred kilometers from the trench. Twenty-five out of 49 sites collected along the succession presented a primary remanence, as determined through positive fold and reversal tests. Correlation of the local magnetic polarity section with the global polarity time scale indicates that the sedimentation of Del Crestón Fm started at ~16.7 Ma and continued until ~14.5 Ma. The youngest strata are represented by conglomerates bearing abundant Lower Paleozoic granite boulders indicating unroofing of the crystalline basement within the NW Sierras Pampeanas. This result supports the hypothesis of an early broken foreland stage at these latitudes of the Andes, with involvement of the basement in deformation and coeval retroarc volcanism, common attributes of flat-subduction regimes. A mean site paleomagnetic direction of Dec: 6.3°, Inc: −43.6° (α95: 8.0°, N = 24) confirm our earlier intrepretation that the central part of the Famatina Belt within the Sierras Pampeanas did not undergo large vertical axes rotations since the Middle Miocene.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financed through grants UBACyT X183 and PIP-CONICET 5783 from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and CONICET (Argentina). Further funding by FONCyT, CONICET and SECyT-UNCor to FMD and RAA is gratefully acknowledged. Mabel Mena helped us with some statistical analyses, and Rubén Somoza critically reviewed an earlier version of the manuscript. Thorough and constructive comments by T. Jordan and W. MacDonald significantly improved the original manuscript.

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  1. Oscar Zambrano

    Present address: Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina

  2. Cecilia M. Spagnuolo

    Present address: IESGLO, Instituto de Sedimentología, Fundación Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo 251, T4000JFE, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INGEODAV, Depto. Cs. Geológicas, F.C.E.yN., Universidad de Buenos Aires and CONICET, Pabellón 2, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Oscar Zambrano, Augusto E. Rapalini & Cecilia M. Spagnuolo

  2. Laboratorio de Análisis de Cuencas-CICTERRA-CONICET, Cátedra de Estratigrafía y Geología Histórica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Av. Velez Sarsfield 1611, 2º Piso, Of. 7, X5016GCA, Córdoba, Argentina

    Federico M. Dávila & Ricardo A. Astini

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  1. Oscar Zambrano
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Correspondence to Augusto E. Rapalini.

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Zambrano, O., Rapalini, A.E., Dávila, F.M. et al. Magnetostratigraphy and paleomagnetism of early and middle Miocene synorogenic strata: basement partitioning and minor block rotation in Argentine broken foreland. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 100, 591–602 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-010-0570-x

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