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Paleomagnetic data from volcanic rocks in the southern Central Andes of Argentina and their implications for tectonics and geomagnetic field behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2025

M.L. Perez Open the ORCID record for M.L. Perez [Opens in a new window] ,
F.N. Milanese ,
S.E. Geuna ,
P.R. Franceschinis ,
C. Puigdomenech ,
A. Folguera  and
A.E. Rapalini
M.L. Perez*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires (IGEBA), CONICET, Buenos Aires, CP 1428, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Buenos Aires, CP 1425, Argentina
F.N. Milanese
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Buenos Aires, CP 1425, Argentina Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA), San Martín, CP 1650, Argentina
S.E. Geuna
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Buenos Aires, CP 1425, Argentina Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA (IBIGEO), Universidad Nacional de Salta, CONICET, Salta, CP 4405, Argentina
P.R. Franceschinis
Affiliation:
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires (IGEBA), CONICET, Buenos Aires, CP 1428, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Buenos Aires, CP 1425, Argentina
C. Puigdomenech
Affiliation:
Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA), San Martín, CP 1650, Argentina
A. Folguera
Affiliation:
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Buenos Aires, CP 1425, Argentina Instituto de Estudios Andinos “Don Pablo Groeber” (IDEAN)–(UBA-CONICET), Buenos Aires, CP 1428, Argentina
A.E. Rapalini
Affiliation:
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires (IGEBA), CONICET, Buenos Aires, CP 1428, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Buenos Aires, CP 1425, Argentina
*
Corresponding author: M. L. Perez; Email: mperez@gl.fcen.uba.ar
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Abstract

A paleomagnetic study of basaltic lava flows exposed in the northern Neuquén Cordillera, southernmost Central Andes, along the Antiñir-Copahue fault zone (ACFZ), involved 25 sites of the Cola de Zorro Formation (Pliocene–Early Pleistocene) along two different sections. The sites show exclusive normal polarity, corresponding to the Late Pliocene Gauss chron (3.6–2.6 Ma). The angular standard deviation of virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs; ASD = 14.8°) is consistent with the expected values from recent geomagnetic models, in opposition to anomalously low dispersion found in previous studies in Pleistocene VGPs of reverse polarity from neighboring areas to our study zone. Mean paleomagnetic directions for Bella Vista (Dec = 0.0°, Inc = −50.0°, α₉₅ = 7.6°, K = 36.7, N = 11) and Río Huaraco sections (Dec = 354.9°, Inc = −57.0°, α₉₅ = 7.5°, K = 55.7, N = 8) do not show tectonic rotation around vertical axes. Combining and regrouping our and previous data by area confirmed the absence of tectonic rotations in the Huaraco-Trohunco block and a statistically significant clockwise rotation of 14.4° ± 10.3° of three adjacent tectonic blocks located south of our study locality in Pleistocene times. These results suggest that strike-slip deformation along some sections of the ACFZ was significant in the Pleistocene structural evolution of this region.

Keywords

Tectonic rotationsCola de Zorro FormationPleistoceneLiquiñe-Ofqui
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , First View , pp. 1 - 18
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Quaternary Research Center

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