late miocene holocene canyon incision in the western altiplano northern chile tectonic or climatic forcing abstract major fluvial incision 600 1000 m affecting the coastal cordillera and central depression of northern chile is analysed to evaluate supposed coeval uplift of the altiplano and or climatic changes in the atacama desert the timing of the beginning of incision is constrained by the age of deposition of the central depression top in the north 18 19 s this top corresponds to fluvial gravels accumulated between 11 9 0 6 ma and 8 3 0 5 ma which are genetically related to semiarid climate and to an eastward poorly dissected parallel drainage network that developed between 15 0 0 6 and 11 2 0 6 ma thus gravel deposition ended at 11 9 11 2 ma to the south 19 20 s the central depression top corresponds to c 6 ma alluvial deposits stratigraphically determined canyon ages and knickzone locations indicate that southward dissection began later and or developed under a regime of lower erosion capacity owing to drier climate vertical incision rate evolution is compatible with eastward knickzone migration dissection required a considerable altitude difference between ancient and present day river base levels which was achieved predominantly by basin infill on an already partially elevated bedrock therefore subsequent incision would have been triggered by local semiarid climatic periods rather than by contemporaneous surface uplift exoreic canyons occur when climatic conditions in the catchments are arid semiarid whereas endoreism is developed when these conditions in catchments are hyperarid

denudation rates and a topography driven rainfall threshold in northern chile multiple cosmogenic nuclide data and sediment yield budgets abstract the quantification of geomorphic process rates on the outcrop and the orogen scale is important to describe accurately the interaction between the relative effects of erosion tectonics and climate on landscape evolution we report single and paired cosmogenic nuclide 10 be 26 al and 21 ne derived erosion rates and exposure ages on hillslope interfluves from the tectonically active western central andes that show a distinct spatial variation a positive correlation of erosion rates with elevation and present day rainfall rates is observed erosion rates at lower altitudes the hyperarid coastal cordillera and the western escarpment with the northern part of the atacama desert are extremely low and of the order of 10 100 cm my nominal exposure ages 1 6 my in contrast erosion rates at higher altitudes the semiarid western cordillera range up to 4600 cm my nominal exposure ages 0 02 0 1 my this latter average long term bedrock erosion rate record suggested to be coupled to an orographically controlled pattern of rainfall is also reflected in the pattern of denudation rates derived from a short term decadal record of limited sediment yield data specifically denudation rates calculated from sediment flux data are of a similar order of magnitude as erosion rates deduced from long lived cosmogenic nuclides from bedrock hillslope interfluves of the western cordillera nevertheless the production and the supply of sediment from the western andean slope are very limited analysis of multiple cosmogenic nuclides allows simultaneous determination of erosion rates and exposure ages but also reveals complex exposure histories of non bedrock samples such as boulders or amalgamated clast samples notably this study shows that saturation of nuclides usually assumed in studies where only a single nuclide is analyzed is rather the exception than the rule as revealed by erosion island plots constant erosion that started much later than the formation age of the rocks or episodic erosion by spalling can partially explain non steady state concentrations and more complicated exposure scenarios furthermore the use of multiple nuclides with different half lives allowed us to infer that no significant variations in long term erosion rates have occurred and that at the western escarpment erosion rates have been low and constant for most of the late neogene nevertheless the time intervals necessary to reach steady state concentrations for cosmogenic nuclides can be quite different from those needed for landscapes to reach steady state

multiphase development of the atacama planation surface recorded by cosmogenic 3he exposure ages implications for uplift and cenozoic climate change in western south america the atacama planation surface is an extensive west dipping surface developed between 16 s and 27 s along the pacific margin of south america it is considered to have formed between 16 and 7 5 ma and to have important chronostratigraphic significance here we present new cosmogenic 3he exposure dates of boulders on the planation surface using pyroxene and amphibole exposure ages display good within and between site consistency and range from 22 to 1 2 ma with ages of ca 14 6 7 and 3 ma recurring at more than one site on the planation surface the 14 6 ma peak records the cessation of the main period of planation surface development but contrary to popular opinion the younger ages reflect subsequent modification of the planation surface by alluvial activity comparison with other climate proxies for western south america suggests that since 14 6 ma a predominantly hyperarid climate interspersed with short lived phases of more intense runoff driven by global climate change has prevailed the longevity and composite nature of the atacama planation surface suggest that regionally extensive planation surfaces may have a multiphase history are unlikely to have any chronostratigraphic significance and cannot be used to reconstruct uplift histories

multiproxy record for the last 4500 years from lake shkodra albania montenegro a multi proxy record is presented for approximately the last 4500 cal a bp from lake shkodra albania montenegro lithological analyses c n ratio and d 13 c of the organic and inorganic carbon component suggest that organic matter and bulk carbonate are predominantly authigenic the d 18 o record of bulk carbonate indicates the presence of two prominent wet periods one at ca 4300 cal a bp and one at ca 2500 2000 cal a bp the latter phase is also found in southern spain and central italy and represents a prominent event in the western and central mediterranean in the last 2000 years four relatively wet intervals occurred between ca 1800 and 1500 cal a bp 150 450 ad 1350 1250 600 700 ad 1100 800 850 1150 ad and at ca 90 cal a bp 1860 ad between ca 4100 and 2500 cal a bp d 18 o values are relatively high with three prominent peaks indicating drier conditions at ca 4100 4000 cal a bp ca 3500 and at ca 3300 cal a bp four additional drier events are identified at 1850 ca 100 ad 1400 ca 550 ad 1150 800 ad and ca 750 cal a bp 1200 ad the pollen record does not show changes in accordance with these episodes owing to the poor sensitivity of vegetation in this area which is dominated by an orographic rainfall effect and where changes in altitudinal vegetation belts do not affect the pollen rain in the lake catchment however since ca 900 cal a bp a significant decrease in the percentage arboreal pollen and in pollen concentrations suggest major deforestation produced by human activities copyright 2012 john wiley sons ltd

counterclockwise rotation of late eocene oligocene fore arc deposits in southern peru and its significance for oroclinal bending in the central andes the results of a paleomagnetic study along the fore arc of southern peru 15 18 s and northern chile 18 19 s are reported from middle to late miocene ignimbrites 7 sites late oligocene to early miocene ignimbrites 72 sites paleogene sediments 20 sites and mesozoic and paleocene volcanics and intrusions 31 sites comparison of locality mean directions with expected paleomagnetic directions indicates vertical axis rotations ranging from 5 2 11 3 clockwise to 55 6 7 0 counterclockwise spatially the magnitude of counterclockwise rotations increases northward from 0 within the chilean fore arc south of 18 30 s to 45 north of 16 30 s in southern peru paleomagnetic rotations recorded in paleogene red beds decrease from late eocene to late oligocene whereas miocene ignimbrites display no evidence of rotation these new results confirm that the rotations recorded in the fore arc of southern peru were acquired at least before 15 ma and probably before 25 ma and thus prior to the late neogene shortening of the sub andes the onset of major andean shortening in the eastern cordillera during the latest eocene earliest oligocene is interpreted to have triggered the bending of the peruvian fore arc the region of the peruvian fore arc with the largest rotations appears to be the fore arc counterpart of the abancay deflection a remarkable ne sw offset in the axis of the eastern cordillera induced by a major regional preorogenic structure we underline that the abancay deflection should be seen as the northwestern boundary and therefore as a key element of the bolivian orocline

late cenozoic uplift of mountain ranges and global climate change chicken or egg the high altitudes of most mountain ranges have commonly been ascribed to late cenozoic uplift without reference to when crustal thickening and other tectonic processes occurred deep incision and recent denudation of these mountain ranges abundant late cenozoic coarse sediment near them and palaeobotanical evidence for warmer climates where high mountain climates today are relatively cold have traditionally been interpreted as evidence for recent uplift an alternative cause of these phenomena is late cenozoic global climate change towards lower temperatures increased alpine glaciation a stormier climate and perturbations to humidity vegetative cover and precipitation

uplift of the western altiplano plateau evidence from the precordillera between 20 and 21 s northern chile 1 we present a quantitative reconstruction of uplift of the western flank of the altiplano plateau central andes one of the largest monoclines on the earth on the basis of an analysis of tectonic structures syntectonic deposits and geophysical data uplift occurred on a west vergent slowly propagating system of high angle reverse faults merging into a joint detachment that ramps down to midcrustal levels below the plateau edge the upper ramps determine local fold geometries while the lower ramp controls large scale surface tilting and uplift at 20 s this fault system was active between 30 ma and 5 10 ma with maximum shortening rates of 0 22 mm yr between 17 and 10 ma it generated some 2600 m of surface uplift with only minor shortening of 3000 m its activity was largely synchronous to eruption of large volume ignimbrites from a midcrustal source geophysical data indicate that the fault system localized deformation at the boundary between a cool strong forearc crust and a presumably fluid rich and or partially molten zone underneath the plateau area the systematic relation between crustal melting and shortening with uplift at the western plateau margin can be traced along most of the plateau flank with a stepwise decrease in age of deformation and magmatism toward the south indicating discontinuous addition of plateau segments crustal thickening to as much as 70 km from westward underthrusting in the back arc parts of the plateau isostatically compensated the tectonic surface uplift and monocline formation with respect to a stable forearc which only reacted with minor tilting

thermal and exhumation history of the coastal cordillera arc of northern chile revealed by thermochronological dating abstract the thermal and erosional history of convergent plate boundaries is important for understanding the links between subduction arc magmatism genesis of ore deposits topography and climate of orogenic belts unlike the continent continent collision that formed many of the largest orogenic belts known today the central andes of south america is a unique case where an oceanic continent collision has given rise to the earth s longest and second tallest orogenic belt over the last thirty years a plethora of models have been suggested in an attempt to explain how a plateau type orogen formed at the leading edge of western south america in the central andes most research have focussed attention on the study of the evolution of the arc and backarc since continuous subduction erosion of the forearc has left little trace of the interplate dynamics that initiated the orogenic belt in this article we present a new insight into the thermal and exhumation history of the forearc along the coastal cordillera of northern chile based on biotite k ar apatite fission track and apatite zircon u th he dating we collected diorite samples in a 2 km thick crustal section at the coastal cliff 22 s and a sea level isoelevation profile between 21 and 27 s results from all three dating methods show that the cooling of coastal cordillera took place shortly after emplacement during a period of rifting in jurassic times cooling took place in two episodes mainly in late jurassic early cretaceous 118 152 ma but also during late cretaceous 60 80 ma due to the resumption of compression rift closure arc uplift exhumation eastward migration of magmatic arc activity and thermal relaxation the youngest apatite u th he ages reveal a cooling event never reported previously between 40 and 50 ma eocene this thermal event affected a 500 km long and 1 km thick section of the coastal cordillera in northern chile rock cooling recorded in the eocene cannot be explained by the thermal effect of the magmatic arc we explore two scenarios that can provide an explanation for the observed cooling 1 forearc uplift and exhumation and 2 changes in plate subduction dynamics erosion rates of 0 24 to 0 36 km myr for a period of 10 myr are necessary to explain the cooling event alternatively the subduction of a ridge could explain significant cooling by flat slab dewatering based on recent sea floor spreading reconstruction we suggest the subduction of the farallon phoenix ridge as a possible candidate the subduction of this ridge can account for the cooling event at 40 50 ma but also for some important aspects of the eocene development of the central andes notably the onset of uplift an abrupt decrease in magmatic activity and porphyry copper mineralization

geomorphic evidence for post 10 ma uplift of the western flank of the central andes 18 30 22 s 1 the western andean mountain front forms the western edge of the central andean plateau between 18 5 and 22 s latitude the mountain front has 3000 m of relief over 50 km horizontal distance that has developed in the absence of major local neogene deformation models of the evolution of the plateau as well as paleoaltimetry estimates all call for continued large magnitude uplift of the plateau surface into the late miocene i e younger than 10 ma longitudinal river profiles from 20 catchments that drain the western andean mountain front contain several streams with knickpoint bounded segments that we use to reconstruct the history of post 10 ma surface uplift of the western flank of the central andean plateau the generation of knickpoints is attributed to tectonic processes and is not a consequence of base level change related to pacific ocean capture eustatic change or climate change as causes for creating the knickpoint bounded stream segments observed minor valley filling alluvial gravels intercalated with the 5 4 ma carcote ignimbrite suggest uplift related river incision was well under way by 5 4 ma the maximum age of river incision is provided by the regionally extensive approximately 10 ma el diablo altos de pica paleosurface the river profiles reveal that relative surface uplift of at least1 km occurred after 10 ma

fault related folding drainage network evolution and valley incision during the neogene in the andean precordillera of northern chile abstract we describe neogene drainage network development before during and after regional folding in the precordillera of the andes of northern chile 18 19 s the drainage network developed on an extensive regular erosional surface formed on oligocene miocene ignimbrites oxaya formation the folding affecting the rocks of the precordillera is represented by the oxaya anticline oa which trends n to nw is 50 km long and 30 km wide the fold is gentle west vergent and has resulted in an uplift of the hinge zone by up to 850 m it formed by the propagation on its western border of a subvertical east dipping blind reverse fault ausipar fault af the folding occurred in the middle late miocene essentially between 11 7 0 7 and 10 7 0 3 ma its maximum duration was 2 my two phases of drainage development are recognised in the precordillera an initial lower middle miocene 19 12 ma parallel drainage network is well preserved and synchronous with fluvial and lacustrine sedimentation in the central depression the network was poorly structured and attained maximum incision of to 250 50 m the minimum long term rate of incision was 36 7 m my folding generated the progressive abandonment and fossilisation of the initial parallel drainage network which became trellissed and concentrated in a few deeply incised valleys in the anticline hinge the lluta and azapa main valleys present a total incision of 1650 50 and 1605 50 m respectively whereas the cardones valley presents 595 50 m during folding river incision at the fold hinge was equal to or greater than the amplitude of the folding which is 790 50 m in the lluta valley and 715 50 m in the azapa valley consequently the long term rate of synfolding incision was much greater than 395 25 lluta valley and 358 25 m my azapa valley the cardones valley was fossilised approximately in the middle of the folding after folding 11 to 0 ma the incision in the lluta and azapa rivers was 610 100 and 640 100 m and with a rate of 56 9 and 58 9 m my respectively the postfolding incision rate is approximately twice than of the prefolding incision rate this implies an acceleration of valley incision since the late miocene which is considered as consequence of regional uplift of the andean forearc

geochronologic and stratigraphic constraints on canyon incision and miocene uplift of the central andes in peru the deepest valleys of the andes have been cut in southern peru by the rios cotahuasi ocona and colca majes these canyons are late miocene landforms based on a new ignimbrite stratigraphy supported by 42 new 40ar 39ar age determinations obtained on plateau forming and valley filling ignimbrites between 19 and 13 ma a gently sloping surface bevelling the clastic wedge southeast of the developing mountain front was mantled by widespread ignimbrites after 13 ma this paleosurface was tilted up from 2 2 km a s l at the mountain front to 4 3 km a s l at the base of the pliocene and pleistocene volcanoes that crown the southwestern edge of the altiplano the canyons incised this topography after 9 ma while the dated base of younger ignimbrite valley fills suggests that these canyons had been cut down to near their present depths as early as 3 8 ma by 1 4 ma however the canyons had been almost completely refilled by 1 3 km thick unwelded pyroclastic deposits which were subsequently eroded valley incision since 9 ma at an average rate of 0 2 mm yr 1 is the response to topographic uplift after 13 ma combined with increasing runoff due to a wetter climate recorded after 7 ma although long term aridity generated an imbalance between high long term uplift rates and low plateau denudation rates the combination of aridity and volcanism still promoted canyon incision because episodic volcanic fills maintained a cycle of catastrophic debris avalanches and subsequent dam breakouts

paleosurfaces paleoelevation and the mechanisms for the late miocene topographic development of the altiplano plateau abstract we construct a topographic datum across the central andes between 18 s and 22 s using extensive well preserved paleosurfaces that span the entire range this datum combined with estimates of topographic change from paleoaltimetry in the altiplano and geomorphic relief generation estimates from the plateau flanks allow us to reconstruct the paleo topography of the range at 10 ma using the 10 ma topography we explore which geophysical processes can create the observed topographic change over the

a mosaic of nonallophanic andosols umbrisols and cambisols on rhyodacite in the southern brazilian highlands abstract soils in the highlands of north eastern rio grande do sul brazil show dark coloured topsoils which are light and very rich in organic matter they are distributed in a mosaic of grassland forest with araucaria angustifolia and several anthropogenic vegetation forms the climate is humid and temperate without marked dry periods we characterized and classified 27 soils to investigate the relationships between present and past vegetation pattern and soil properties all soils are strongly acidic with high clay contents low bulk densities and most of them show high phosphate retentions x ray diffraction indicates the presence of quartz kaolinite secondary chlorite and gibbsite selective extractions with pyrophosphate p dithionite citrate bicarbonate d and acid oxalate o give in most horizons the following relationships fe d fe p fe o and al p al d al o despite the possible al release from gibbsite we attribute the high al p concentrations mainly to high amounts of al humus complexes the absence of allophane and imogolite was confirmed by the very low si o and si d concentrations 21 soils have andic properties according to world reference base for soil resources wrb iuss working group wrb 2006 world reference base for soil resources 2006 world soil resources reports 103 fao rome at least for some depth range 15 of them fulfil the minimum thickness and depth requirements of andosols they belong to the aluandic type and are the first detected andosols in south america outside the areas of recent volcanism in the andes the other soils are umbrisols 11 and cambisols 1 in grassland soils andic properties start at or near the soil surface in forest soils they are only present in subsurface layers especially in buried a horizons the latter differ from their actual topsoils by some characteristics which they have in common with the grassland soils like deep black colours and low melanic indexes it is known from pollen analyses that the araucaria forests are invading the grasslands since about 1000 years in this environment a grass vegetation seems to favour formation and permanence of andosols whereas a change into the forest starts a process of losing andic properties most soils without andic properties or with andic properties of insufficient thickness only fail the required minimum concentrations of al o and fe o on the other hand they all show similar concentrations of al d and fe d therefore we conclude that the loss of andic properties with forest proliferation is caused by crystallization of al and fe oxides which seems to be easier under forest

coastal deformation and sea level changes in the northern chile subduction area 23 s during the last 330 ky abstract the nazca south american plate boundary is a subduction zone where a relatively complex pattern of vertical deformation can be inferred from the study of emerged marine terraces along the coasts of southern peru and northern chile the vertical distribution of remnants of pleistocene terraces suggests that a crustal large scale uplift motion is combined with more regional local tectonic processes in northern chile the area of hornitos 23 s offers a remarkable sequence of well defined marine terraces that may be dated through u series and aminostratigraphic studies on mollusc shells the unusual preservation of the landforms and of the shell material which enabled the age determination of the deposits is largely due to the lengthy history of extreme aridity in this area the exceptional record of late middle pleistocene to late pleistocene high seastands is also favoured by the slight warping of two distinct fault blocks that have enhanced the morphostratigraphic relationships between the distinct coastal units detailed geomorphological sedimentological and chronostratigraphic studies of the hornitos area led to the identification with reasonable confidence of the depositional remnants of sea level maxima coeval with the oxygen isotope substages 5c 5e 7 probably two episodes and the isotope stage 9 series of beach ridges the coastal plain at the foot of the major coastal escarpment of northern chile appears to have been uplifted at a mean rate of 240 mm ky in the course of the last 330 ky from the elevation of the older terraces and late pliocene shorelines it can be inferred that these steady vertical motions were much more rapid than during the early pleistocene

upper plate deformation and seismic barrier in front of nazca subduction zone the chololo fault system and active tectonics along the coastal cordillera southern peru abstract the south america plate boundary is one of the most active subduction zone the recent mw 8 4 arequipa 2001 earthquake ruptured the subduction plane toward the south over 400 km and stopped abruptly on the ilo peninsula in this exact region the subduction seismic crisis induced the reactivation of continental fault systems in the coastal area we studied the main reactivated fault system that trends perpendicular to the trench by detailed mapping of fault related geomorphic features also at a longer time scale a recurrent quaternary transtensive tectonic activity of the cfs is expressed by offset river gullies and alluvial fans the presence of such extensional fault systems trending orthogonal to the trench along the coastal cordillera in southern peru is interpreted to reflect a strong coupling between the two plates in this particular case stress transfer to the upper plate at least along the coastal fringe appears to have induced crustal seismic events that were initiated mainly during and after the 2001 earthquake the seafloor roughness of the subducting plate is usually thought to be a cause of segmentation along subduction zones however after comparing and discussing the role of inherited structures within the upper plate to the subduction zone segmentation in southern peru we suggest that the continental structure itself may exert some feedback control on the segmentation of the subduction zone and thus participate to define the rupture pattern of major subduction earthquakes along the southern peru continental margin

evolution of the west andean escarpment at 18 s n chile during the last 25 ma uplift erosion and collapse through time abstract the geological record of the western andean escarpment warp reveals episodes of uplift erosion volcanism and sedimentation the lithological sequence at 18 s comprises a thick pile of azapa conglomerates 25 19 ma an overlying series of widespread rhyodacitic oxaya ignimbrites up to 900 m thick ca 19 ma which are in turn covered by a series of mafic andesite shield volcanoes between 19 and 12 ma the surface of the oxaya ignimbrites evolved into a large monocline on the western slope of the andes a giant antithetically rotated block oxaya block 80 km 20 km formed on this slope at about 10 12 ma and resulted in an easterly dip and a reversed drainage on the block s surface morphology topography and stratigraphic observations argue for a gravitational cause of this rotation a secondary gravitational collapse 50 km3 extending 25 km to the west occurred on the steep western front of the oxaya block alluvial and fluvial sediments 11 2 7 ma accumulated in a half graben to the east of the tilted block and were later thrust over by the rocks of the escarpment wall indicating further shortening between 8 and 6 ma flatlying upper miocene sediments

renewed uplift of the central andes forearc revealed by coastal evolution during the quaternary most of the pacific coast of the central andes between 15 s and 30 s displays a wide a couple of kilometres planar feature gently dipping oceanwards and backed by a cliff this morphology usually of marine orgin is called rasa and argues for a recent and spatially continuous uplift of the margin over the 1 500 km long coastal region we describe the cliff foot is found at a similar elevation 110 m amsl all over the studied area with the exception of peninsulas such as the mejillones peninsula the compilation of published chronological data and the extrapolation of re appraised uplift rates provide evidence for a common cliff foot age of around 400 ka i e marine isotopic stage mis 11 this together with other geological constraints indicates a quaternary renewal of uplift in the central andes forearc after a late pliocene quiescence or subsidence

interaction between the nazca and south american plates and formation of the altiplano puna plateau review of a flexural analysis along the andean margin 15 34 s abstract the results of a two dimensional flexural analysis applied to the andean margin which is based on the correlation between topography and bouguer anomaly are here reviewed in order to characterize rigidity variations across and along the forearc arc transition of the central andes and to understand the role of the forearc in the formation of the altiplano plateau the forearc has maximum rigidities between 15 and 23 s forearc rigidity decreases gradually southward and sharply toward the plateau the main orogen elevations higher than 3000 m is very weak along the entire central andes a semi quantitative interpretation of these trends based on the relationship between flexural rigidity and the thermo mechanically and compositionally controlled strength of the lithosphere allows the following conclusions to be made 1 across strike rigidity variations are dominated by the thermal structure derived from the subduction process 2 the forearc constitutes a strong cold and rigid geotectonic element 3 southward weakening of the forearc is directly related to the decreasing thermal age of the subducted slab 4 very low rigidities along the main orogen are caused by the existence of a thick quartz rich crust with a low strain rate to heat flow ratio 5 the strength of the plateau lithosphere is localized in an upper crustal layer whose base at 15 km could be correlated with a p to s seismic wave converter trac1 of yuan et al 2000 yuan x sobolev s kind r oncken o et al 2000 subduction and collision processes in the central andes constrained by converted seismic phases nature v 408 21 28 diciembre p 958 961 6 the forearc plateau rigidity boundary corresponds to a zone of changing thermal conditions eastward increasing crustal thickness and felsic component in the crust and low strain rate deformation which correlates with a west verging structural system at the surface these conclusions suggest that the rigid forearc acts as a pseudo indenter against the weak plateau and allows the accumulation of ductile crustal material that moves westward from the eastern foreland this pseudo indenter is geometrically represented by a crustal scale triangular zone rooted at trac1 this model allows the integration of existing contradictory ideas on the dynamics of forearc plateau interaction that are related to the relative importance of upper crustal compressive structures and lower crustal accumulation below the forearc

sedimentation tectonism and volcanism relationships in two andean basins of southern peru the intermontane basins of the central andes formed from the first episode of the andine tectonic peruvian phase santonian are characterized by a clastic continental sedimentation settled in a compressive tectonic context and containing volcanic intercalations

uplift of the western margin of the andean plateau revealed from canyon incision history southern peru we explore canyon incision history of the western margin of the andean altiplano puna plateau in the central andes as a proxy for surface uplift u th he apatite data show rapid cooling beginning at ca 9 ma and continuing to ca 5 1 ma in response to incision a minimum of 1 0 km of incision took place during that interval the youngest apatite date and a volcanic fl ow perched 125 m above the present valley fl oor dated at 2 261 0 046 ma 40 ar 39 ar show that an additional 1 4 km of incision occurred between ca 5 1 and 2 3 ma thus we infer that a total of at least 2 4 km or 75 of the present canyon depth was incised after ca 9 ma u th he zircon data collected along the same transect imply that the western margin of the plateau was warped upward into its present monoclinal form rather than uplift being accommodated on major surface breaking faults

climatic influences on profile concavity and river incision 1 longitudinal profiles of alluvial and bedrock rivers are typically concave up and the precise shape of their concavity is known to integrate tectonic climatic and channel grain size distribution factors we isolate climatic hydrologic effects on profile concavity through a spatial analysis of large watersheds with mixed bedrock alluvial trunk channels spanning a steep climatic hydrologic gradient in a tectonically stable landscape forty watersheds on the eastern american high plains were selected to minimize variability in base level relief vegetation rock type and drainage area we calculate stream concavity by two complementary methods an area normalized stream concavity index sci and the slope of a line regressed through log log plot of channel slope and basin area the sci and covary more importantly a positive correlation exists between profile concavity and climatic hydrologic factors such as precipitation intensity and peak annual discharge however modeled profile steepness has no correlation to climate or watershed hydrology we conclude that in tectonically stable settings higher intensity rainfall and greater mean annual precipitation lead to more concave profiles we do not have data to know if the concavity changes reflect primarily bedrock or alluvial grain size processes but generally a doubling of rainfall intensity on the high plains leads to a tripling in concavity manifest as tens of meters of incision such climatically influenced profile concavity could explain some of the often cited late cenozoic incision and increase in local relief for the high plains and rocky mountains traditionally ascribed to tectonics

andean uplift ocean cooling and atacama hyperaridity a climate modeling perspective abstract located along the west coast of subtropical south america the atacama desert features an extremely dry climate in sharp contrast with relatively wet conditions over the central andes and farther east the atacama s hyperaridity has been attributed to its subtropical location the cold waters over the adjacent southeast pacific ocean and the presence of the andes cordillera although geological evidence reveals less dry conditions in the remote past the timing of the arid to hyperarid transition is a matter of controversy several studies suggest that such transition occurred between 19 and 13 ma fostered by the concurrent uplift of the andes during the lower middle miocene other studies however suggest a much earlier 25 ma or later 2 1 ma transition associated with global or regional ocean cooling here we use plasim a simple global climate model to study the effect of the andean surface uplift and sea surface temperature changes upon atacama aridity in one set of experiments the continental topography was scaled by a factor ranging from 0 9 to 0 1 decreasing the height of the andes did not increase precipitation over the atacama region but rather decrease the precipitation over the central andes and the interior of the continent these results consistent with previous modeling studies suggest that the andean uplift was not an important ingredient in the onset of atacama hyperaridity even if both events overlapped in time a globally uniform sea surface warming does not result in a significant increase of precipitation over the atacama in contrast a regional warming over the subtropical southeast pacific very effectively increase precipitation along the west coast of south america by decreasing the subsidence and the dry advection at low levels it suggested that a reinforcement of the humboldt current since the late miocene and particularly during the pliocene pleistocene transition was crucial in the drying of the atacama desert that culminated with the present day hyperarid conditions

age of supergene oxidation and enrichment in the chilean porphyry copper province twenty five samples of supergene alunite collected from deeply developed supergene profiles in porphyry copper deposits and prospects between latitudes 20 degrees and 27 degrees s in northern chile yield k ar ages ranging from about 34 to 14 ma therefore supergene oxidation and enrichment processes were active from the early oligocene to the middle miocene a minimum of 20 m y supergene activity at individual deposits lasted for at least 0 4 to 6 2 m y the early oligocene supergene activity affected deposits in the paleocene porphyry copper belt whereas early and middle miocene supergene processes are documented in the early cretaceous paleocene and late eocene to early oligocene porphyry copper belts middle miocene oxidation also affected the oldest epithermal gold silver deposits in the maricunga belt farther east supergene activity commenced no less than 11 m y after generation of each porphyry copper deposit because of the time required to unroof the copper bearing parts of the system supergene activity throughout northern chile ceased at approximately 14 ma the geologic features of deposits and prospects and their morphotectonic positions present latitudes and present elevations display no obvious correlations with the supergene chronology exploration for major cumulative enrichment blankets should not be carried out either beneath thick sequences of piedmont gravels or ignimbrites of oligocene through middle miocene age unless their accumulation is demonstrably late in the documented history of supergene activity or in porphyry copper provinces such as those of central chile and northwestern argentina which formed after approximately 14 ma the uplift responsible for efficient cumulative copper enrichment is difficult to correlate convincingly with the brief pulses of compressive tectonism postulated for northern chile and contiguous areas unless their effects were much more prolonged intensifying aridity is confirmed as the likely reason for the cessation of supergene activity in northern chile and tectonic uplift was its most probable cause however more fundamental global controls producing a period of chemical weathering followed by worldwide dessication also may have played a role

scale of relief growth in the forearc of the andes of northern chile arica latitude 18 s the stream profiles of rivers of northern chile reveal two graded segments separated by 20 km long knickzones their formation was initiated in the late miocene in response to surface uplift of the western flank of the altiplano this phase of uplift that was coeval with the shift of deformation from the altiplano to the sub andean zone caused relief to grow at the scale of the whole drainage basin above and beneath these knickzones the presence of braided channels and the absence of erosion on adjacent pediplains suggest no substantial modification in the local relief the knickzones however show bedrock channels and fluvial dissection rates have exceeded erosion rates on adjacent pediplains by two orders of magnitudes hence the data imply that the only geomorphic recorders of relief growth are the knickzones that currently transpose the effects of the late miocene phase of surface uplift from the coast to the altiplano

cenozoic climate change as a possible cause for the rise of the andes causal links between the rise of a large mountain range and climate have often been considered to work in one direction with significant uplift provoking climate change here we propose a mechanism by which cenozoic climate change could have caused the rise of the andes based on considerations of the force balance in the south american lithosphere we suggest that the height of and tectonics in the andes are strongly controlled both by shear stresses along the plate interface in the subduction zone and by buoyancy stress contrasts between the trench and highlands and shear stresses in the subduction zone depend on the amount of subducted sediments we propose that the dynamics of subduction and mountain building in this region are controlled by the processes of erosion and sediment deposition and ultimately climate in central south america climate controlled sediment starvation would then cause high shear stress focusing the plate boundary stresses that support the high andes

late pliocene age for the atacama desert implications for the desertification of western south america the atacama desert forms one of the major hyperarid deserts of the world previous studies suggest that desertification commenced at 14 ma during global climate desiccation sedimentologic data from middle miocene to upper pliocene successions in the modern atacama desert indicate that a semiarid climate persisted from 8 to 3 ma punctuated by a phase of increased aridity at ca 6 ma as such hyperaridity did not commence until the late pliocene implications are 1 that the rain shadow generated by the andean cordillera has had a minor influence on climate change and 2 that the upwelling north flowing cold humboldt current although important in establishing the generally arid climate of western south america did not control the shift to hyperaridity the formation of the hyperarid atacama desert in the late pliocene accompanied the development of the current phase of aridification in the sahara and namib deserts and is attributed to a phase of global climate cooling

geometric kinematic and erosional history of the central andean plateau bolivia 15 17 s 1 latitudinal changes in topography climate and thrust belt geometry in the central andes have led to conflicting hypotheses that climate or tectonics exert a first order control on orogen evolution the relative roles of climate and tectonics in the evolution of the andean orogen are difficult to quantify because of a lack of detailed observations for both the long term deformation and erosion history of the andean fold thrust belt we contribute to the resolution of this problem by presenting a sequentially restored balanced cross section based on new mapping across the northern bolivia portion of the thrust belt 15 17 s the timing and magnitude of exhumation across the cross section are determined by synthesizing 10 new and 70 previously published mineral cooling ages once balanced and restored the section was sequentially forward modeled using stratigraphic and cooling age constraints results indicate the eastern cordillera ec records the highest magnitudes of shortening 123 km or 55 the interandean zone ia has shortened 48 km or 30 in both the ec and ia individual thrust sheets are tightly folded and have minor offsets of 1 5 km the subandes sa has multiple levels of detachments allowing for thrust sheets with relatively large offsets 6 17 km total shortening in the sa is 66 km or 40 total magnitude of shortening for the entire fold thrust belt in this region is 276 km 40 new apatite and zircon fission track cooling ages in conjunction with published ages indicate two phases of rapid exhumation an earlier phase from 40 to 25 ma in the ec and one prior to 25 ma in the ia followed by distributed exhumation of the entire fold thrust belt from 15 0 ma combined exhumation estimates from the balanced cross section and thermochronology suggest 9 11 km of exhumation in the ec 5 9 km in the ia and 3 4 km in the sa long term shortening rates are 7 mm a for the ec and ia and 4 8 mm a for the sa the sa shortening rates are based on a 15 0 ma or 8 0 ma deformation window by linking cooling ages to location and magnitude of shortening we suggest an 10 17 ma pause or a dramatic deceleration in the rate of deformation and propagation of the fold thrust belt between 25 and 15 or 8 ma

upper cenozoic volcanism and tectonism in the andes of northern chile abstract recent geological and radiometric information of the upper cenozoic volcanic sequences of northern chile in conjunction with previous evidences point out the complex evolution of the central andes volcanism volcanic activity developed along the andean range during the last 23 m y appears to have been temporally and genetically related to tectonic movements that shaped the major morphostructural features of this region since the middle miocene 12 m y there has been a constant overlap both in time and space between lavas and ignimbrites however ignimbrite eruptions seem to predominate up to the upper miocene while lava eruptions are dominant from the pliocene to the quaternary small scale chronological and volumetric variations of the volcanic activity in the studied areas make difficult the correlations with volcanic episodes through long distances units older than pliocene have been folded and thrusted as a result of compressive movements that occurred ca 7 4 m y ago this deformation is mostly remarkable at the borders of major faulted blocks these blocks were structured along pre existing fractures caused by tectonic movements during the lower miocene pliocene and quaternary block movements developed mainly through n s fault systems these faults together with nw se and ne sw systems control the spatial distribution of most volcanic vents in this region locally the n s faults may correspond to reactivations of previous fault zones this allowed successive effusions of volcanic material at least during the last 17 m y

groundwater sapping origin for the giant quebradas of northern chile northernmost chile is home to a well preserved disequilibrium landscape of great antiquity contrasting drainage patterns are developed on the western slope of the altiplano plateau the oldest of these patterns is a now relict parallel patterned drainage network in places a younger pattern comprising a series of deeply incised canyons or quebradas crosscuts the older parallel patterned network these canyons show strong evidence of a groundwater sapping origin we hypothesize that the initiation of the canyon network resulted from changes in the hydrological regime related to a drying out of climate of the forearc and to the uplift of the altiplano plateau

late cenozoic structural and tectonic development of the western margin of the central andean plateau in southwest peru 1 structural and thermochronologic studies of the western margin of the central andean plateau show changing styles of deformation through time that give insights into tectonic evolution in southwest peru uplift of the plateau proceeded in several distinct phases first nw striking ne dipping reverse faults accommodated uplift prior to 14 16 ma subsequent uplift of the plateau relative to the piedmont between the plateau and the pacific ocean occurred between 14 and 2 2 ma and was accommodated by nw striking sw dipping normal faults and subparallel monoclinal folds the youngest phase of uplift affected the piedmont region and the plateau margin as a coherent block although the uplift magnitude associated with phase 1 is unknown phases 2 and 3 resulted in at least 2 4 3 0 km of uplift up to 1 km of this may have occurred during phase 3 geodynamic processes occurring in both the continental interior and the subduction zone likely contributed to uplift

cenozoic polyphase landscape and tectonic evolution of the cordillera occidental southernmost peru landforms on the pacific slope of the cordillera occidental western cordillera in southernmost peru reflect the episodic epeirogenic uplift of the central andes since the earliest miocene in the geomorphic history three major stages are distinguished initial uplift followed a mid tertiary period of tectonic and magmatic quiescence in which a low lying subdued landscape formed through dissection of an eocene subaerial volcano plutonic terrain uplift and resulting erosional beveling of this landscape coinciding in their later stages with the explosive reactivation of the magmatic arc gave rise to the regionally extensive lower miocene altos de camilaca surface i which was mantled soon after its formation by ignimbrites of the huaylillas formation major relief was achieved in the middle and early late miocene when a succession of uplift episodes generated a sequence of four discrete pediments constituting the multiple pediment stage ii uplift was accompanied by widespread eruption of ignimbrites of the chuntacala formation subsequently in the pliocene pedimentation was succeeded as the major erosional process by canyon incision across the lower slopes of the cordillera during this valley and terrace stage iii the immediate littoral margin experienced the development of two major terraces contemporaneous with a transition from ignimbrite eruption to predominantly andesitic volcanism in the high cordillera in the early pleistocene during this time it is probable that epeirogenic uplift rather than glacio eustatic sea level changes exerted the dominant control on landform development in the absence of evidence for large scale crustal compression in this immediate region since the cretaceous it is inferred that neogene uplift resulted from episodic thickening of the continental crust through underplating by basic and or intermediate magmas the neogene chronology of landform development herein defined is remarkably similar to that outlined in other transects of the central andes implying that the continental margin has on a broad scale responded uniformly to plate subduction since the early miocene however the low relief evident in the mid tertiary in the study area and not for instance in northern chile 27 s suggests that crustal thickening through the neogene was more rapid and more extensive in the vicinity of the arica deflection than in transects to the north and south the estimated neogene uplift rate for the transect was in the range 0 06 to 0 19 mm yr

influence of andean uplift on climate and paleoaltimetry estimates article i nfo article history recent elevation reconstructions of the andean plateau suggest a rapid 2 5 1 0 km rise of the central andes between 10 and 6 ma this rapid rise has been attributed to a catastrophic removal of a dense lithospheric mantle root beneath the andes however these findings are based on the assumption that climate did not change during deposition of paleoaltimetry proxies here we evaluate south american climate change due to andean uplift and its influence on interpretations of plateau elevation from climate sensitive paleoaltimetry data a series of experiments are presented using the regcm3 regional general circulation model rcm to characterize changes in andean precipitation amount surface temperature and wind direction vapor source as a function of changing plateau elevation results indicate that south american and andean climate changed significantly in response to plateau growth more specifically rising of the plateau results in up to a 900 mm increase in rainy season december january february precipitation over the plateau plateau uplift also results in a decrease in non adiabatic surface temperature of up to 6 5 c in addition to adiabatic cooling directly related to elevation change through the lapse rate finally the prevailing wind direction and the vapor source for precipitation switches from the south pacific ocean to the equatorial atlantic as plateau elevation increases above of its present day elevation taken together these changes in paleoclimate would have substantially depleted the oxygen isotopic concentration of paleoprecipitation through the cenozoic unless this climatic effect is taken into consideration paleoaltimetry reconstructions based on stable isotope methods may overestimate the rapid rise of the andes by up to several kilometers we conclude that some or all of the apparent rapid rise of the andean plateau from paleoaltimetry data could be an artifact of large changes in paleoclimate

low temperature thermochronology in the peruvian central andes implications for long term continental denudation timing of plateau uplift canyon incision and lithosphere dynamics abstract in peru the western edge of the 4 5 km high western cordillera is cut by a 3 km deep canyon to understand incision by the cotahuasi ocona river and the regional uplift history of this orogenic plateau capped by volcanic rocks 26 crystalline rock samples were collected for low temperature thermochronology from vertical profiles parallel and perpendicular to the canyon rock cooling histories confirm that most plateau denudation had occurred prior to 24 ma but plateau incision peaked after c 14 9 ma in response to rapid surface uplift the abrupt occurrence of a rock heating event is also detected during middle miocene time this was either a response to the emplacement of low conductivity regionally extensive ignimbritic caprock or a response to crustal scale fluid circulation caused by wet melting of the overriding plate when magmatism resumed c 24 ma the potential for thermochronology to provide information on past geothermal gradients is discussed showing how it can be used as a proxy for understanding change in subducting slab dynamics with oscillations in subduction angle having perhaps been the main on off switch for magmatism in this cordilleran setting supplementary material fission track and apatite u th he results and apatite chemistry indicators are available at http www geolsoc org uk sup18405

late cenozoic deformation and uplift of the western flank of the altiplano evidence from the depositional tectonic and geomorphologic evolution and shallow seismic activity northern chile at 19 30 s 1 we analyze the west vergent thrust system wts along the western flank of the altiplano in northern chile 18 s 21 s in our study area 19 20 s 19 50 s the wts consists of three thrust propagation monocline folds flexures developing growth strata the relative uplift accommodated by the flexures is rapid between 26 and 8 ma 0 1 mm yr diminishing to 0 02 mm yr after 8 ma approximately 2000 m of relative surface uplift was accommodated by the flexures since the late oligocene sedimentological and geomorphological analysis shows that westward tilting of the forearc occurred after 10 ma coeval with the shifting of deformation from the altiplano to the sub andean zone where the underthrusting of the brazilian craton would have resulted in crustal thickening surface uplift in the orogen and westward ductile subcrustal flow forearc tilting is accommodated by east vergent thrusts ets issued from the benioff zone beneath the central depression emerging into the western cordillera contributing 500 1400 m of surface uplift the wts connects the ets in the brittle ductile crustal transition 25 km depth continuing farther east as the altiplano low velocity zone configuring the western altiplano as a crustal scale fault bend fold forearc tilting would be caused by westward ductile flow in the lower crust pushing the rigid forearc in the ets meanwhile between 19 s and 21 s the wts accommodates dextral strike slip and 3 km of n s shortening occurred in the coastal cordillera transcurrence and strain partitioning are probably the result of slight plate convergence obliquity strong coupling within the interplate zone westward continental concavity and high elevation opposing horizontal contraction

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