balancing crustal thickening in arcs by tectonic vs magmatic means igneous intrusions were emplaced prior to and contemporaneous with horizontal shortening of the crust in the late cretaceous to late eocene magmatic arc in north chile 21 45 22 30 s temporally changing major and trace elements of magmatic rocks from this paleo arc system chronicled gradual crustal thickening prior to and substantial crustal thickening contemporaneously with crustal shortening balanced structural cross sections indicate a minimum of 9 km of arc normal shortening that occurred simultaneously with dextral arc parallel movements accounting for orogen parallel lengthening of 10 km this shortening produced 5 4 km of tectonic crustal thickening and resulted in a minimum of 42 km late eocene andean crustal thickness temporal and spatial geochemical changes diagnostic of crustal thickening indicate that the remainder 2 6 km was accommodated by basaltic underplating at or near the base of the arc crust prior to and during transpression the ratio of tectonic to magmatic crustal thickening is 2 1 whole crustal magmatic addition rates during the 12 m y duration of arc transpression are 35 km 3 per kilometer of model arc length per million years mafic underplating may have thickened the andean crust considerably but most pre neogene crustal thickening was due to discrete episodes of tectonic shortening

strike slip duplexes abstract strike slip fault systems often contain zones of steep imbricate faults geometrically similar to imbricate fans and duplexes in dip slip thrust and normal fault systems they are evident in map view rather than in vertical sections examples of duplexes are cited from both active and ancient systems and from theoretical and physical models duplexes may form at bends on strike slip faults by a process kinematically analogous to the sequential imbrication of ramps on dip slip faults however some may form and many may initiate as non sequential riedel fractures at fault offsets or on straight fault segments this process is more marked than in dip slip systems where primary anisotropy such as bedding exerts more control on fault geometry strike slip duplexes may be shunted along the fault system parallel to the regional slip vector however duplexes or individual horses will usually also move up or down perpendicular to the slip vector because of the unconstrained upper surface to the fault system these factors mean that no section through a strike slip system should be expected to area balance the faults of strike slip duplexes and imbricate fans may root in kinematically necessary low dip faults or may converge downwards and appear in vertical sections as flower structures

relative motion of the nazca farallon and south american plates since late cretaceous time by combining reconstructions of the south american and african plates the african and antarctic plates the antarctic and pacific plates and the pacific and nazca plates we calculated the relative positions and history of convergence of the nazca and south american plates despite variations in convergence rates along the andes periods of rapid convergence averaging more than 100 mm a between the times of anomalies 21 49 5 ma and 18 42 ma and since anomaly 7 26 ma coincide with two phases of relatively intense tectonic activity in the peruvian andes known as the late eocene incaic and mio pliocene quechua phases the periods of relatively slow convergence 50 to 55 30 mm a at the latitude of peru and less farther south between the times of anomalies 30 31 68 5 ma and 21 and between those of anomalies 13 36 ma and 7 correlate with periods during which tectonic activity was relatively quiescent thus these reconstructions provide quantitative evidence for a correlation of the intensity of tectonic activity in the overriding plate at subduction zones with variations in the convergence rate

cenozoic plate kinematics subduction and magmatism south american andes revised plate reconstructions and enlarged isotopic age data sets strongly support three mechanisms for controlling the configuration and associated volcanism and tectonism of the andean subduction zone these include age of subducted plate convergence rate and interaction with hotspot traces from 50 to 25 ma in the andes the age of oceanic plate subducted progressively decreased apparently resulting in a9gradual decrease in subduction angle and consequent eastward shift in the loci of magmatic activity a major reorganization of plate motions at 25 ma resulted in an increased convergence rate normal to the chilean andes and was accompanied by subsequent broadening of the locus of magmatic activity into adjacent portions of bolivia and argentina convergence rates changed only slightly across the peruvian margin and no clear effect on subsequent magmatism is indicated interaction of the andean subduction zone with the juan fernandez and easter nazca hotspot traces apparently resulted in lower angle subduction and consequent gaps in magmatic activity as predicted continuations of the traces correspond with regions lacking dated volcanic rocks the current gaps in igneous activity correspond with contemporary subduction of the two traces and this association apparently occurred in the past as well

the precordilleran fault system of chuquicamata northern chile evidence for reversals along arc parallel strike slip faults abstract the chilean precordillera situated between the longitudinal valley and the western cordillera of northern chile was the site of the andean magmatic arc from the late cretaceous to the eocene oligocene boundary magmatism came to an end during the incaic tectonic phase 38 ma which caused arc normal shortening and the development of longitudinal dextral strike slip faults precordilleran fault system this magmatic arc tectonism is also related to the formation of the chuqicamata porphyry copper ore deposit as well as of other important deposits of this type in the precordillera structural investigations in and around the chuqicamata open pit mine have shown that wrench tectonics determined the kinematics of the area the n s striking west fissure which separates a 35 ma old non mineralised pluton to the west from a central late paleozoic basement ridge containing the mineralization became a sinistral fault along with other parallel faults in the area the central part is separated from similar paleozoic rocks to the east by the messabi este fault and a narrow faulted and sheared syncline of mesozoic cenozoic sediments this fault bears structures indicating dextral movements which probably are of an age that is similar to the mylonites 34 8 ma in the western pluton the dextral movements preceded the sinistral shear thus the fault system of chuqicamata displays a reversal of arc parallel shear movements according to the orientation of quartz veins in the mineralized body it is presumed that the sense of displacement of these strike slip motions reversed when mineralization started at about 32 ma during this time the stress field must have changed fundamentally the incaic phase dextral transpression is supposed to have been induced by the oblique vector of plate motion the following sinistral transtension corresponds to a time of reduced convergence rate and possibly reduced plate coupling as however the vector of plate motion remained unchanged during that time oblique subduction cannot be used as an argument for arc parallel sinistral shear movements

cenozoic dextral transpression and basin development at the southern edge of the puna plateau northwestern argentina abstract in northwestern argentina the southern edge of the altiplano puna is the most remarkable positive topographic anomaly average altitude 3700 m of the andean chain to the south are the sierras pampeanas a less elevated domain made of alternating compressive basins and ranges developed during the cenozoic at about 27 s the transition between the puna and the sierras pampeanas coincides with a substantial narrowing of the high chain and with a change in the dip of the pacific subduction zone nazca plate from 30 e below the plateau to subhorizontal below the sierras pampeanas we argue that this structural transition which can be identified at the scale of the andean topography is a major dextral transpressional transfer zone the tucuman transfer zone in this region ene wsw to e w directed subhorizontal shortening related to bulk convergence between the nazca and south american plates interferes with nw se directed subhorizontal shortening strains due to lateral influence of changes in the amount of crustal thickening on intraplate kinematics structural observations digital mapping spot satellite images and a microtectonic analysis of fault populations provide general insights into the neogene kinematic evolution of transpressional basins and ranges at the edge of the puna

tectonic subsidence history and thermal evolution of the orange basin the orange basin offshore southwest africa appears to represent a classical example of continental rifting and break up associated with large scale transient volcanism the presence of lower crustal bodies of high seismic velocities indicates that large volumes of igneous crust formed as a consequence of lithospheric extension we present results of a combined approach using subsidence analysis and basin history inversion models our results show that a classical uniform stretching model does not account for the observed tectonic subsidence moreover we find that the thermal and subsidence implications of underplating need to be considered another departure from the uniform stretching model is renewed sub crustal thinning and linked to that uplift in the cenozoic that is necessary to reproduce the observed phases of erosion and the present day depth of the basin the dimension of these events has been examined and quantified in terms of tectonic uplift and sub crustal thinning based on these forward models we predict the heat flow evolution not only for the available real wells but also for virtual wells over the entire study area finally the hydrocarbon potential and the temperature evolution is presented and shown in combination with inferred maturation of the sediments for depth intervals which comprise potential source rocks 2009 elsevier ltd all rights reserved

arc oblique fault systems their role in the cenozoic structural evolution and metallogenesis of the andes of central chile abstract the evolution of the main cordillera of central chile is characterized by the formation and subsequent inversion of an intra arc volcano tectonic basin the world s largest porphyry cu mo deposits were emplaced during basin inversion statistically the area is dominated by ne and nw striking faults oblique to the n striking inverted basin margin faults and to the axis of cenozoic magmatism this structural pattern is interpreted to reflect the architecture of the pre andean basement stratigraphic correlations syn extensional deposits and kinematic criteria on fault surfaces show several arc oblique structures were active as normal faults at different stages of basin evolution the geometry of syn tectonic hydrothermal mineral fibers in turn demonstrates that most of these structures were reactivated as strike slip reverse faults during the middle miocene early pliocene fault reactivation age is constrained by 40 ar 39 ar dating of hydrothermal minerals deposited during fault slip the abundance and distribution of these minerals indicates fault controlled hydrothermal fluid flow was widespread during basin inversion fault reactivation occurred under a transpressive regime with e to ene directed shortening and was concentrated around major plutons and hydrothermal centers at the margins of the former intra arc basin deformation was largely accommodated by reverse faulting whereas in its central part strike slip faulting was predominant

transpression and transtension within different structural levels in the central aegean region in the central aegean region shortening structures within the miocene molasse arc known since long ago nevertheless recently most authors have recognized extensional structures within middle to upper miocene granitoids proposing a basin and range type model for the late cenozoic evolution of the area to resolve this problem structural mapping and mesoscopic analysis of 900 faults sampled from 12 islands have been carried out late orogenic uplift of the central aegean region is the result of a continuous convergence and indentation of the pelagonian plate by the apulian plate that took place throughout the miocene formation of core complexes can be associated with a large oblique upthrusts b steeply dipping strike slip faults and c low angle normal faults the latter are produced by low multidirectional extension which has affected small crustal regions as adjacent areas underwent transpression in the late stages of collision the overthickened crust began to collapse due to transtension which was replaced by extension caused by the roll back of the hellenic subduction zone in the lower pliocene time this extensional regime has lasted until the present day

the gravel sand transition along river channels abstract this paper discusses a hitherto neglected aspect of fluvial downstream fining the transition from a gravel bed to a sand bed from the few known examples and by additional study of new sites some general features of such transitions are given these transitions are generally rapid and involve a change in bed texture from unimodal gravels through bimodal sediments to exclusively sand material and are often associated with a break in slope we propose three possible causes local base level control an excess of sand supply and abrasion breakdown of fine gravel we further argue that such transitions occur in a variety of fluvial environments and are geographically more widespread than previously supposed and on this basis we suggest they may also aid in interpreting ancient sediment showing bimodality and rapid proximal to distal changes in grain size

the andean orogenic period and its major structures in central and northern peru the andean orogenic period began in the albian and consisted of at least 6 discrete compressional phases which are albian to late miocene in age deformation migrated progressively toward the amazonian foredeep the major andean structures in central and northern peru are related to the eocene incaic early miocene quechua 1 and late miocene quechua 3 phases the maranon thrust and fold belt mtfb which bounds the western cordillera to the ne rose in the eocene it was reactivated partly by the quechua 1 phase which also folded the altiplano farther e and possibly part of the eastern cordillera the sub andean thrust and fold belt stfb is related to the quechua 3 phase in both mtfb and stfb the imbricate thrusts merge at depth in large decollement faults gravity sliding does not play a dominant role for these faults have to be rooted westward in the pre andean basement the corresponding crustal shortening played a significant part in the creation of the sialic root of the andes

the kinematic and geodynamic significance of the atacama fault zone northern chile abstract the atacama fault zone afz is the dominant feature in the structure of the north chilean coastal cordillera left lateral displacement took place along its system of longitudinal faults during the jurassic and early cretaceous this development was contemporaneous with arc magmatism and was later reactivated resulting in a steep normal fault strike slip movements along the afz consist of two sets of ductile shear zones of different ages one jurassic formed under amphibolite facies conditions the other early cretaceous with greenschist facies mylonites structural asymmetries point to a sinistral sense of shear in both sets the afz can be interpreted as a magmatic arc structure which accommodated the oblique subduction of an oceanic plate trench linked strike slip fault the sinistral sense of shear is consistent with reconstructions of late jurassic to early cretaceous plate configurations in the se pacific

tectonic and magmatic evolution of the andes of northern argentina and chile abstract two orogenic cycles both with different evolution are developed in the western margin of the south american continent in northern argentina and chile the paleozoic hercynic cycle and the meso cenozoic andean cycle the hercynic cycle a wide marine basin extending westward of the cordillera oriental which developed in cambrian ordovician times marks the beginning of this cycle in contrast to peru and bolivia where this basin developed between two precambrian blocks the western margin of this basin in northern argentina and chile is still unknown the ordovician sedimentation and accompanied volcanism ends with the ocloyic deformation phase and its synkinematic granitic plutonism two basins were developed in the silurian devonian separated by the puna arc uplifted during this ocloyic phase the shallow water marine terrigeneous sediments which were deposited in them were deformed by a new tectono magmatic associated phase chanic phase carboniferous to lower permian marine carbonates were deposited west of the puna arc and red beds east of it later on during the permian to triassic a magmatic belt was developed along the cordillera occidental the rhyolites ignimbrites and the granitic to granodioritic related intrusives are well represented in chile although the overall geologic history of this period is known many problems concerning its origin and relations to plate tectonics are still unsolved the andean cycle during this cycle a series of magmatic arc systems related to the subduction of the pacific crust was built up along the western margin of south america huge volumes of calc alkaline lavas and related plutons were emplaced since the jurassic along belts parallel to the present coastline showing a general eastward migration trend up to the lower cretaceous an ensialic back arc basin was formed east of this magmatic arc thousands of meters of marine and continental sediments were deposited in it this basin disappeared during the middle cretaceous probably as a result of the final opening of the atlantic and the active westward movement of the south american plate since middle cretaceous times the magmatic arc has been the fundamental paleogeographic element the arc progressively migrated stepwise eastward each step marked by a tectonic phase subduction related crustal erosion could explain the lack of fore arc petrotectonic assemblages the eastward magmatic polarity which characterizes this section of the andes could also be explained by such a mechanism

geomorphological markers of faulting and neotectonic activity along the western andean margin northern chile in the atacama desert northern chile some ephemeral channels are developed in the plio quaternary alluvial sequence that caps the neogene atacama gravels formation geomorpho logical studies and high resolution digital elevation data gps along a structural transect in the cen tral depression are used to document modern growth history of subtle folding and faulting in the fore arc region outcrop data of the most recent deposits are combined with observations of warped and faulted late quaternary pediments alluvial fans and terrace surfaces to propose unsuspected neotec tonic processes on the western flank of the domeyko cordillera neotectonic process recognition is here based largely upon the interpretation of alluvial landforms drainage organisation and evolution as the intermittent river network shows systematic patterns of course deflections successive incisions or deposition processes as it encounters the fault scarps or folds in the superficial deposits this area presents both n s trending active vertical faults in the topographically higher pampas and n s trending active folding in the lower pampas these faults seem to accommodate e w extension and compression that could be related to uplift of the western andean margin within a compressive context uplift may have taken place unevenly over the past few million years after the deposition of the superficial alluvial surfaces that cap the neogene atacama gravels copyright 2003 john wiley sons ltd

middle miocene climatic change in the atacama desert northern chile evidence from supergene mineralization at la escondida geochronology and paleotopographic reconstruction of the porphyry copper deposit at la escondida chile are used to calculate long term erosion rates and to deduce the timing of tertiary climatic change for a portion of the atacama desert region hypogene hydrothermal alteration and protore mineralization at la escondida took place between 33 7 1 4 and 31 0 1 4 ma based on k ar dating of hydrothermal biotite and sericite supergene weathering and copper sulfide en richment processes were active from 18 0 0 7 to 14 7 0 6 ma based on k ar dating of supergene alunite distinguished from hypogene alunite by grain size color and sulfur isotopic composition reworked lenses of volcanic ash in the vicinity of la escondida provide useful time stratigraphic markers at 8 7 0 4 6 5 0 2 and 4 2 0 2 ma within present soil profiles long term average rates of erosion are determined by these age dates and quantitative calculation of eroded leached capping thickness at la escondida using mass balance analysis of geochemical profiles coupled with an estimate of unmineralized lithocap thickness based on alteration petrology and fluid inclusion geobarometry at similar deposits the observed trend of decreasing long term average erosion rates with time is consistent with arid to semiarid conditions in the early miocene changing to hyperarid conditions during the middle miocene this climatic desiccation caused termination of significant supergene copper suffide enrichment at la escondida and elsewhere in the atacama region and preservation of surficial features including the ash horizons and the leached capping middle miocene climatic desiccation in northern chile and southern peru was probably related to a pronounced decrease in temperature of coastal waters supplied by an ancestral humboldt current and an increase in upwelling intensity as the antarctic ice cap became established at approximately 15 to 13 ma the central andes cordillera which now provides a rain shadow protecting the atacama region from precipitation from the east must have attained at least half its present elevation prior to about 15 ma to have played a similar role in the middle miocene

magmatic arc tectonics in the central andes between 21 and 25 s abstract in northern chile four magmatic arc systems each displaced towards the east in relation to the previous one developed in sequence since the lias this migration of the magmatic arc from the coastal cordillera to the western cordillera probably was a consequence of tectonic erosion of the continental margin within each of these systems tectonic deformation took place contemporaneously to magmatic activity as the continental crust of the upper plate has been weakened in the area of the magmatic arc by the igneous processes it is relatively sensitive to the stresses introduced by plate convergence a very important factor for the deformation in the magmatic arc is the angle of convergence obliqueness which may cause shortening if obliqueness is small

magnetic properties related to hydrothermal alteration processes at the escondida porphyry copper deposit northern chile fluid rock interaction related to the circulation of hydrothermal fluids can strongly modify the physicochemical properties of wall rocks in porphyry cu deposits these processes can also produce compositional and textural changes in ferromagnetic minerals which can be quantified using magnetic methods in the escondida porphyry cu deposit of northern chile each hydrothermally altered lithology is characterized by a discrete assemblage of fe ti oxide minerals these minerals have distinctive bulk magnetic susceptibility k bulk temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility and magnetic hysteresis parameters selectively altered rocks i e potassic and chloritic alteration types exhibit the highest k bulk values 3 93 10 3 si units and their hysteresis parameters indicate multidomain magnetic mineral behavior this suggests that these rocks are composed of the coarsest magnetic grain sizes within the deposit optical analyses and susceptibility temperature curves confirm that the magnetic signals in selectively altered rocks are mainly carried by secondary magnetite in contrast pervasively altered rocks i e quartz sericite and argillic alteration types exhibit low k bulk values 1 93 10 4 si units and contain smaller pseudo single domain magnetic grain assemblages this is consistent with the destruction and or reduction in size of magnetite under acidic conditions the results therefore demonstrate a genetic relationship between the hydrothermal alteration processes fe ti oxide minerals and magnetic properties of the wall rock in the escondida deposit these magnetic methods can be considered a sensitive and efficient petrophysical tool for the identification and semi quantification of alteration assemblages and facilitating the recognition and mapping of discrete hydrothermal zones during exploration and operation of porphyry cu deposits

on the mechanism of tectonic transport in zones of oblique subduction abstract many cases of oblique subduction are known throughout the world today and many more must have existed in the past in at least one modern case sumatra the over riding plate has responded to oblique subduction by forming a strike slip fault that traverses the magmatic arc and displaces its leading edge in the direction of the transverse component of oblique convergence conditions favoring this sort of tectonic response are shown to be 1 1 a high angle of oblique convergence 2 2 a low angle of subduction and 3 3 relative thermal softening of the magmatic arc this mechanism may have been responsible in part for northward transport of western cordilleran magmatic arc and subduction zone rocks in the late cretaceous and earliest tertiary it also may help to explain evidence of southward transport and left lateral shear in northern mexico and the caribbean region in pre jurassic time

shear criteria and structural symmetry abstract during the last decade it has been shown that most relevant shear criteria within ductile rocks are asymmetric structures e g pressure shadows shear bands c s structures fabrics tension gashes folds veins the correspondence between coaxial or non coaxial deformation and symmetric or asymmetric particle velocity fields respectively accounts for the use of structural symmetry as an indicator of strain history the application of this symmetry concept to various field examples emphasizes that i the degree of symmetry of a given structural pattern reflects the bulk strain regime irrespective of the size and the mechanical behaviour of the considered system and ii the strain regime can also be inferred from the order of appearance and dominance of structures which contribute to the total deformation pattern even where the progressive deformation results in a complex pattern which cannot be directly interpreted

structural evidence of orogen parallel strike slip displacements in the precordillera of northern chile the chilean precordillera situated between the longitudinal valley and the western cordillera of northern chile is made up of several elongate basement ridges following the trend of the andes these ridges which morphologically rise above the mesozoic tertiary cover rocks are developed as anticlinal cores or as pressure ridges bounded by reverse faults and thus show considerable orogennormal shortening several nearly vertical faults cut through the precordillera parallel or at a very low angle to the mountain ranges from the following structures it can be inferred that orogen parallel transcurrent movements took place along the faults a asymmetric en echelon fault arrays b stratigraphic and structural discontinuities across major faults c fabrics in fault rocks and d vertical folds a dextral displacement of the order of tens of km is probable the orogen parallel strikeslip movements as well as the orogen normal shortening are considered as phenomena of magmatic arc tectonics due to the focussing of central andean igneous activity on the precordillera from the late cretaceous until the paroxysm of deformation 45 30 ma deformation along the precordilleran fault system is related with the development of the large porphyry copper ore deposits of that area the structural evolution of the precordillera can be explained by oblique subduction resulting in dextral transpression

late neogene lacustrine record and palaeogeography in the quillagua llamara basin central andean fore arc northern chile abstract the cenozoic quillagua llamara basin northern chile central andes is an asymmetrical intramassif fore arc basin with a relatively wide northern sector separated from a narrower southward extension by a basement threshold the northern sector was characterised by a noticeable oligocene late neogene alluvial fan and lacustrine dominated deposition which resulted in sequences up to 900 m thick whereas the southern sector was often a bypass zone with thinner fluvial and lacustrine sediment accumulation the basin infill includes two third order alluvial lacustrine unconformity bounded units which include other higher frequency 4th to 5th order sequences the evolution of the late miocene pliocene lacustrine episodes in the quillagua llamara basin was not only controlled by the regional variations from arid to hyperarid palaeoclimate conditions due to the combined influence of the pacific high pressure cell the rain shadow effect exerted by the rising andes and the northward flowing cold oceanic currents but also by a the extensional tectonics and evolution and uplift of the fore arc region which defined the location and size of the depocentres b the resulting basement palaeorelief which affected sediment thickness and facies distribution during the late basin infill episodes and c the tectonic modifications of watersheds water divides and drainage networks in the precordillera which caused considerable changes of water income in the lacustrine systems understanding of this regional tectonosedimentary evolution is a necessary first step before analysing of the low to high order lacustrine sequence changes in the region lacustrine water supply was very sensitive to tectonics even gentle tectonic tilting and uplifting in critical water divide zones could result in changes in water balance in the lacustrine basins and trigger variations in the depositional record the very conspicuous lacustrine regime changes recorded in the quillagua llamara basin infill cannot be considered in themselves conclusive proof of an exclusive climatic forcing since they took place close to either major regional drainage changes or to gentle but noticeable tectonic reactivation in the fore arc region