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Meso-Cenozoic Paleotopographies and Paleolandscapes in the Deseado Massif (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina)

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Gondwana Landscapes in southern South America

Part of the book series: Springer Earth System Sciences ((SPRINGEREARTH))

Abstract

The Deseado Massif is the southernmost part of a continent, outside of Antarctica, where Gondwana Landscapes may be observed and investigated. This chapter presents preliminary observations and field data about the Gondwana Landscapes of this cratonic area of Southern Argentina, one of the most remote, isolated, and less populated places on Earth. Under extreme cold–arid climate conditions, the region presents very scarce vegetation cover, which further enables the geomorphological observations. Remnants of planation surfaces of undisputable Late Mesozoic age, developed on Jurassic volcanic units and covered by Late Cretaceous and Paleogene sedimentary rocks, are exposed along tens of thousands square kilometers of this cratonic unit. In those remote times, the climate of this portion of Patagonia was very wet and warm, allowing the development of extensive chemical weathering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR CNRS 8586 PRODIG, Paris, France

    F. Bétard

  2. Université Paris-Sorbonne, UFR Géographie et Aménagement, Paris, France

    J. P. Peulvast

  3. Laboratorio de Geomorfología y Cuaternario, CADIC-CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    Jorge Rabassa

  4. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    Jorge Rabassa

  5. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Calles 122 y 60, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Emilia Y. Aguilera

  6. DAIS (Dirección de Aplicación de Imágenes Satelitarias), Calle 7 N° 1267-2°P, 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    Emilia Y. Aguilera

Authors
  1. F. Bétard
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  2. J. P. Peulvast
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  3. Jorge Rabassa
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  4. Emilia Y. Aguilera
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Bétard .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Geomorfología y Cuaternario, CADIC-CONICET, Ushuaia, Tierra de Fuego, Argentina

    Jorge Rabassa

  2. School of Earth and Environment, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Cliff Ollier

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Bétard, F., Peulvast, J.P., Rabassa, J., Aguilera, E.Y. (2014). Meso-Cenozoic Paleotopographies and Paleolandscapes in the Deseado Massif (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina). In: Rabassa, J., Ollier, C. (eds) Gondwana Landscapes in southern South America. Springer Earth System Sciences. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7702-6_17

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