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Links between Mountain Uplift, Climate, and Surface Processes in the Southern Patagonian Andes

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The Andes

Part of the book series: Frontiers in Earth Sciences ((FRONTIERS))

Abstract

Miocene surface uplift of the southern Patagonian Andes, related to an episode of rapid plate convergence prior to the ∼14–10 Ma collision of the Chile Ridge with the South American subduction zone, has produced one of the most pronounced orographic rain shadows on Earth. Apatite fission track ages from the western flank of this Andean segment imply that 3–4 km of denudation has occurred in this region since ∼17 Ma. The track-length distribution of the studied samples suggests a complex thermal history with initial cooling followed by reheating, presumably owing to the progressive opening and eastward migration of a slab window after the ridge-trench collision, and ultimately more rapid cooling since ∼4 Ma. These thermochronological data are in good agreement with constraints on the elevation history of the southern Patagonian Andes. Based on sedimentological and geochronological data from ∼23 to ∼14 Ma sedimentary rocks in the eastern foreland, and oxygen isotope data from pedogenic carbonate contained in these deposits, we infer that > 1 km of surface uplift of these mountains occurred between ca. 17 and 14 Ma. Carbon isotope data from the pedogenic carbonate samples demonstrate that this led to strong aridification in the eastern foreland and, presumably, strongly increased precipitation rates on the windward western side of the mountains. Because a thicker trench fill promotes weaker coupling along the plate interface, this implies that progressive surface uplift of the southern Patagonian Andes and the increasing sediment flux to the adjacent segment of the South American trench may have contributed significantly to a decrease in compressive deformation and surface uplift.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24, 14476, Potsdam, Germany

    Peter M. Blisniuk, Edward R. Sobel, Manfred R. Strecker & Frank Warkus

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Libby A. Stern

  3. Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, 94305, Stanford, CA, USA

    C. Page Chamberlain

  4. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 18015, USA

    Peter K. Zeitler

  5. Departamento Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Victor A. Ramos

  6. Ocean and Planetary Sciences, University School of Earth, Cardiff, UK

    Michael Haschke

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  1. Peter M. Blisniuk
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  2. Libby A. Stern
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  4. Peter K. Zeitler
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department 3 Geodynamik, GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Onno Oncken

  2. Departamento de Geología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 610, Antofagasta, Chile

    Guillermo Chong

  3. Petrologie, Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften, Technische Universität Berlin, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1, 10587, Berlin, Germany

    Gerhard Franz

  4. Abteilung Geophysik, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Otto-Hahn-Platz 1, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Hans-Jürgen Götze

  5. Departamento Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Victor A. Ramos

  6. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24, 14476, Potsdam, Germany

    Manfred R. Strecker

  7. Fachrichtung Geophysik, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, 12249, Berlin, Germany

    Peter Wigger

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Blisniuk, P.M. et al. (2006). Links between Mountain Uplift, Climate, and Surface Processes in the Southern Patagonian Andes. In: Oncken, O., et al. The Andes. Frontiers in Earth Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-48684-8_20

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