La cuenca de antepais terciaria asociada a la faja plegada y corrida de los Andes Patagónicos entre los 41º y 42º S, SO de Argentina

In Argentina, between 41"-42" S and related to the Andean Patagonian fold and thrust belt, two synorogenic sedimentary sequences were deposited in the Tertiary foreland basin. They represent different moments of the eastward migration of the orogenic front, during upper Eocene to Mio-Pliocene times. The units within the sequence have a characteristic wedge shape, and the proximal facies on the west, prograde to the east and cover the lower distal-medium facies. Structural relationships diplay discordant boundanes near the active orogenic front, which progressively change to concordant towards the foreland. Eocene-Oligocene volcano-sedimentary basa1 sequence contains marine intercalations with Pacific affinities, while Oligocene-lower Pliocene upper sequence has a sedimentary-pyroclastic composition. Based on the age and geometrical characteristics, we proposed a preliminary correlation between proximal to distal facies in the synorogenic formations, and the well known litostratigraphic units outcropping in the El Bolsón valley and the Ñirihuau-Collón Cura basin

Geometría, estructuras y evolución de la terminación occidental de los relieves del Orógeno Alpino-Pirenaico (NO Península Ibérica)

The geometry, structures and tectonic evolution of the western termination of the Alpine-Pyrenean Orogen relief onshore and related foreland have been studied. We present the results of structural mapping and detailed outcrop studies of Cenozoic-age structures carried out at the NW Iberian Peninsula. On the basis of this work we propose a new tectonic model for the termination. According to the identified structures, three main regions could be recognised: (1) the Astur-Galaica (AG) region or the western part of the Cantabrian Mountains (CM), characterised by thrusts with a south vergence, which are the continuation of the structures of the Pyrenees, (2) The Galaico-Leoneses Mountains (GLM), characterized by thrusts with a north vergence, and (3) The Rías Baixas-Terra Chá region (RBT) characterized by strike-slip faults with no relevant associated relief but with recent seismic activity, which represents the less deformed Alpine foreland. The western termination of the Alpine-Pyrenean Orogen is formed due to the superposition of two mountain ranges (CM and GLM) and a complex tectonic evolution. The CM were emplaced southwards and subsequently the GLM was emplaced northwards. The western limit of the E-W thrusts of the CM and the associated relief define a N-S-oriented arch-shape structures (Ibias-Ancares and Rúa-Vilalba). Tectonic activity commenced during the Eocene, and in the westernmost areas during the Late Oligocene. The CM south-verging thrust activity ended at the beginning of Late Miocene, although deformation continued in the GLM with north-verging thrusts. The evidence of intense tectonic activity during the Miocene, the western migration and southward transference of tectonic activity and the interaction of two successive deformation fronts, suggests that a re-examination of the tectonic evolution of the northern Iberian microplate during the Alpine Orogeny is necessary.Se han estudiado las estructuras, la geometría y la evolución tectónica de la terminación occidental de los relieves del Orógeno Alpino-Pirenaico (o Cántabro Pirenaicos) y del antepaís asociado. Se presentan los resultados de la cartografía estructural y estudios detallados de campo de las estructuras tectónicas cenozoicas del NO de la Península Ibérica. Basándose en este estudio proponemos un nuevo modelo tectónico para esta terminación. En función de las estructuras tectónicas identificadas se han diferenciado tres regiones: (1) la Astur-Galaica que es la terminación más occidental de la Cordillera Cantábrica (CC) y que se caracteriza por cabalgamientos con vergencia sur y por ser la continuación natural de las estructuras que configuran el Pirineo. (2) Los Montes Galaico-Leoneses (MGL) que se caracteriza por cabalgamientos con vergencia norte. Finalmente, (3) la región de las Rías Bajas-Terra Cha que se caracteriza por fallas de desgarre con sismicidad asociada que no generan relieve importante y que representan el antepaís menos deformado. La terminación del Orógeno Alpino-Pirenaico es el resultado de la superposición de dos cadenas montañosas: la Cordillera Cantábrica (CC) que es prolongación de los Pirineos y los Montes Galaico Leoneses (MGL), con una compleja evolución tectónica. La CC se emplazó hacia el sur y posteriormente fueron los MGL los que se emplazaron hacia el norte. El límite occidental de los cabalgamientos de dirección E-O que elevan la CC son dos estructuras arqueadas de dirección N-S (Ibias-Ancares y Rúa-Vilalba). La actividad tectónica comenzó durante el Eoceno y en las zonas más occidentales es durante el Oligoceno. La actividad de los cabalgamientos de la CC finalizó al principio del Mioceno superior. Mientras tanto, la deformación continuó en los cabalgamientos de los MGL que se emplazaban hacia el norte. Las evidencias de intensa actividad tectónica durante el Mioceno, la migración hacia el oeste y la transferencia de la deformación hacia el sur, así como la interacción de dos frentes de deformación sucesivos, sugiere una revisión de la evolución tectónica del norte de la microplaca Ibérica durante la Orogenia Alpina

Carboniferous stratigraphie and structure oí the Pisuerga-Carrion unit. NW Spain

[Resumen] La Unidad del Pisuerga-Carri6n (UPC) constituye la parte más externa (Cuenca de antepaís) de la Zona Cantábrica (ZC). Los materiales silúrico-dev6nicos, con facies más profundas que los del resto de la ZC, están circunscritos a unidades alóctonas desenraizadas emplazadas como mantos gravitacionales. El sistema carbonífero se caracteriza por la presencia de series potentes con notables variaciones de facies y potencias. Durante el Carbotírtero inferior es característica la prensencia de facies homogéneas y una baja tasa de sedimentación en un ambiente claramente preorogénico. A partir del Namuriese se inicia la sedimentación sinorogénica, abundan las facies originadas a partir de pendientes submarinas o ligadas a relieves emergidos. La persistencia de las condiciones sinorogénicas desde el Namuriense hasta el Estefaniense A y la relativa proliferación de discordancias son también rasgos peculiares de éste área. En este trabajo se propone un esquema de unidades litoestratigráficas, a las que informalmente se asigna la categoría de «grupo~, separadas por discordancias y/o conglomerados de continuidad lateral limitada. Se considera que estos «grupos~ representan «cuñas clásticas~ relacionadas con el emplazamiento de unidades alóctonas concretas, por lo que se propone también un modelo relacionando grupos litoestratigráficos y unidades alóctonas o mantos. Se establecen los rasgos generales de la estructura de la UPC diferenciando dos tipos de manta> (gravitacionales y enraizados), así como las relaciones entre éstos y las diversas generaciones de pliegues y esquistosidades. Por último se propone un modelo de evolución tectonosedimentaria para la UPC, claramente ligado a la evolución estructural de toda la ZC como una cadena arqueada, en el que se considera que el carácter centrípeto de las vergencias en la ZC origina estructuras en la UPC con vergencias igualmente centrípetas así como cuñas elásticas, genéticamente relacionadas, con depocentros situados en posiciones distintas a través del tiempo.[Abstract] The Pisuerga-Carrion Unit (PCU) forms the most external part (foreland basin) of the Cantabrian Zone (Cl). Siluro-devonian rocks with deeper facies than those of the CZ are limited to alloctonous unit wich have been regarded as gravitational nappes. The main characteristic of Carboniferous system is the presence of thick series with remarkable facies and thickness lateral changes. The outstanding feature of lower Carboniferous is the low rate of sedimentation and the fairly uniform sedimentary facies in a preorigenic environment. The synorogenic sedimentation starts in the Namurian, the most frecuent facies are those originated in submarine slopes or those related to subaerial reliefs. The continous synorogenic conditions from Namurian to the Stephanian A stage and the presence of numerous unconformities and lateral sedimentary changes constitue sorne of the characteristics of this area. In this paper a lithostratigraphic sketch are suggested; alllithostratigraphic units were integrated in higher rank units informally called «groups». These «groups» are separated by conglomerates and /or unconformities of limited lateral extension and would represent clastic wedges generated in the front of the nappes Both clastic wedges and nappes are related in this sketch. The general features of the PCU structure are found and two types of nappes (generated by gliding and /or spreading) are stablished, in this way, severa! Generations of folds and cleavages are related with both types of nappes. Lately a tectonosedimentary evolution model for the PCU which would be directly linked to the structural evolution of the Cl. The centripetal character of the vergences in the Cl produced structures (nappes and related folds) in the PCU that have an equally centripetal vergence and originated a synorogenic clastic wedges with depocenters located, in time, in several positions

Shelf Transport Pathways Adjacent to the East Australian Current Reveal Sources of Productivity for Coastal Reefs

The region where the East Australian Current (EAC) separates from the coast is dynamic and the shelf circulation is impacted by the interplay of the western boundary current and its eddy field with the coastal ocean. This interaction can drive upwelling, retention or export. Hence understanding the connection between offshore waters and the inner shelf is needed as it influences the productivity potential of valuable coastal rocky reefs. Near urban centres, artificial reefs enhance fishing opportunities in coastal waters, however these reefs are located without consideration of the productivity potential of adjacent waters. Here we identify three dominant modes of mesoscale circulation in the EAC separation region (~31.5−34.5°S); the ‘EAC mode’ which dominates the flow in the poleward direction, and two eddy modes, the ‘EAC eddy mode’ and the ‘Eddy dipole mode’, which are determined by the configuration of a cyclonic and anticyclonic eddy and the relationship with the separated EAC jet. We use a Lagrangian approach to reveal the transport pathways across the shelf to understand the impact of the mesoscale circulation modes and to explore the productivity potential of the coastal waters. We investigate the origin (position and depth) of the water that arrives at the inner-mid shelf over a 21-day period (the plankton productivity timescale). We show that the proportion of water that is upwelled from below the euphotic zone varies spatially, and with each mesoscale circulation mode. Additionally, shelf transport timescales and pathways are also impacted by the mesoscale circulation. The highest proportion of upwelling (70%) occurs upstream of 32.5°S, associated with the EAC jet separation, with vertical displacements of 70–120 m. From 33 to 33.5°S, water comes from offshore above the euphotic layer, and shelf transport timescales are longest. The region of highest retention over the inner shelf is immediately downstream of the EAC separation region. The position of the EAC jet and the location of the cyclonic eddy determines the variability in shelf-ocean interactions and the productivity of shelf waters. These results are useful for understanding productivity of temperate rocky reefs in general and specifically for fisheries enhancements along an increasingly urbanised coast

Structure of the Southern Patagonian Andes at 49ºS, Argentina

This paper describes Late Paleozoic Gondwanan and Late Cretaceous to Early Cenozoic Andean structures in the Southern Patagonian Andes and an associated Extra-Andean region between lakes San Martín and Viedma. The study area encompasses a 200-km-long W-E section between the Patagonian icefield and the 72ºW longitude meridian, in Argentine Patagonia. The oldest structures are of Late Paleozoic age and developed through at least two deformation phases during the Gondwanan Orogeny. The first deformation phase (Dg1) includes isoclinal and N-overturned WNW trending folds and associated thrusts, including duplexes. The second deformation phase includes NNE trending open folds (Dg2). Deformation occurred in non-metamorphic to very low-grade metamorphic conditions. A spaced rough cleavage is found near the first phase fold hinges. The Eocene and Miocene Andean structural compression resulted in a N-S oriented fold and thrust belt. This belt is comprised of three morphostructural zones from W to E, with distinctive topographic altitudes and structural styles: Andean; Sub-Andean; and Extra-Andean zones. The first corresponds to the inner fold and thrust belt, while the last two are part of the outer fold and thrust belt. The Andean zone (3400–2000m above sea level) is characterized by N-S to NNE trending, E-vergent, Cenozoic reverse faults and associated minor thrusts. The northern part of the Sub- Andean zone (2000–1500m above sea level) consists of W-vergent reverse faults and some NNE open folds. The southern part of the Andean zone includes tight folds with box and kink geometries, related to thrusts at deeper levels. In the Extra-Andean zone, with maximum heights of 1500m, the deformation is less intense, and gentle folds deform the Upper Cretaceous sediments. An inherited Jurassic N-S extensional fault system imposed a strong control on this morphostructural zonation. Also the variation of the Austral Basin sedimentary thickness in the N-S direction seems to have influenced the structural styles of the outer fold and thrust belt. Those differences in sedimentary thickness may be related to S-dipping transfer zones associated to W-E Jurassic extension. In turn, the transfer zones may have been controlled by the N-vergent WNW, Dg1, Gondwanan structural fabric

Late Palaeozoic lithostratigraphy of the Andean Precordillera revisited (San Juan Province, Argentina)

New data on some neopalaeozoic lithostratigraphic units of the central sector of the Argentinean Precordillera are presented. The western Precordillera displays occasional outcrops of siliciclastic rocks of the Late Palaeozoic. These rocks are separated by two main unconformi­ties related to the development of the Chanic (Upper Devonian-early Carboniferous) and Gondwanan (late Carboniferous-early Permian) orogens. A major unconformity marks the beginning of the Andean cycle in middle Permian times. The Del Ratón Formation (800 m) in the studied area is made up of conglomerates and can be divided into two units. The basal part (Lower Member) was deposited in a fjord environment. The Upper Member was generated by an alluvial system that was mainly dominated by upper flow-regime plane beds, whereas its uppermost part accumulated in a fan delta setting. The clast provenance and the main palaeocurrents suggest the existence of a significant topographic high to the W and NW of the present outcrops. The El Planchón Formation (1400 m) is mainly composed of shales and sandstones as a result of sedimentation in a deep-sea fan environment. These lutite-dominated materials graded laterally north­wards into conglomerates in a glacial setting. The Del Ratón and El Planchón formations of the Lower Carboniferous correspond to the synorogenic Chanic sedimentation (Chanic foreland basin). Thereafter, the stratigraphic succession underwent deformation which led to its prolonged subaerial exposure and rubefaction. In Permian times, a marine transgression gave rise to the Del Salto Formation (600 m), which is constituted by beach deposits with some aeolian reworking and which lies unconformably over the Lower Carboniferous rocks. Conglomerates (Quebrada del Alumbre Formation, 100 m) produced by an alluvial system prograded episodically into coastal areas. The Escombrera Formation (350 m) is composed of beach deposits prograding seawards. This formation probably represents the end of the Palaeozoic sedimentary record. Thereafter, a playa-lake and an alluvial fan system were generated (Quebrada de la Arena Formation). This unit (750 m) was the last infill of the Gondwanan retroarc foreland, the total thickness of which was about 4000 m.Se presentan nuevos datos sobre las unidades neopaleozoicas aflorantes en la parte occidental de la Precordillera andina. Esas unidades litoestratigráficas estan separadas por dos discordancias angulares principales asociadas al desarrollo de las orogenias Chánica (Devónico tardío-Carbonífero temprano) y Gondwánica (Carbonífero tardío-Pérmico temprano) respectivamente. Otra nueva discordancia sugiere el inicio del ciclo andino durante el Pérmico medio. La Formación Del Ratón (800 m) está constituida principalmente por conglomerados y puede dividirse en dos unidades de rango menor: la parte basal y la parte superior respectivamente. La parte basal (Miembro inferior) fue acumulada en un fiordo. La parte superior (Miembro superior) fue generada en un sistema alluvial dominado predominantemente por la acumulación de capas planas de alto régimen de flujo, mientras que la parte más alta fue depositada en un entorno de abanico deltaico (fandelta). La procedencia de los clastos y las paleocorrientes principales indican la presencia de un relieve topográfico alto y significativo, situado al O y NO de los afloramientos actuales.La Formación El Planchón (1400 m) constituida principalmente por lutitas y areniscas fue acumulada en un contexto de abanico submarino (deep-sea fan). Estos materiales predominantemente lutíticos pasan lateralmente hacia el norte a conglomerados acumulados en un ambiente sedimentario glacial. Las Formaciones Del Ratón y El Planchón corresponden a la sedimentación sinorogénica Chánica (cuenca de antepaís chánica). Posteriormente, la sucesión estratigráfica sufrió una deformación que dió lugar a una prolongada exposición subaérea y su consiguiente rubefacción. Durante el Pérmico, una transgresión marina produjo la acumulación de la Formación Del Salto (600 m), que está constituída por depósitos de playa con algún retrabajamiento eólico y que recubre discordantemente los materiales del Carbonífero inferior. Un sistema aluvial conglomerático (Formación Quebrada del Alumbre 100 m) pogradó episódicamente sobre las zonas costeras. La Formación Escombrera (350 m), que está constituída por materiales arenosos coste-ros progradantes hacia el mar, representa, muy probablemente, el final del registro sedimentario paleozoico en esta zona. Posteriormente se generó otra discordancia sobre la que se acumularon materiales arenosos en un contexto de cursos fluviales trenzados sobre los que se disponen materiales lutíticos acumulados en una ciénaga (playa-lake) que gradan, primero a cursos trenzados, luego a cursos sinousos y finalmente a abanicos aluviales (Formación Quebrada de la Arena). Esta unidad (750 m) corresponde al último relleno sedimentario de la cuenca Gondwánica de retroarco, cuya potencia es del orden de unos 4000 m.Fil: Colombo, F.. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Limarino, Carlos Oscar. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología; ArgentinaFil: Spalletti, Luis Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas; ArgentinaFil: Busquets, P. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Cardo, R.. Secretaría de Industria y Minería. Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino; ArgentinaFil: Mendez Bedia, I. Universidad de Oviedo; EspañaFil: Heredia, N.. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España; Españ

Preface: Palaeozoic geodynamics of the southwestern margin of Gondwana: controls on the present architecture of the Argentine-Chilean Andes

Palaeozoic geodynamics of the southwestern margin of Gondwana: controls on the present architecture of the Argentine-Chilean Ande

Driving the blue fleet: Temporal variability and drivers behind bluebottle (Physalia physalis) beachings off Sydney, Australia

Physalia physalis, the bluebottle in Australia, are colonial siphonophores that live at the surface of the ocean, mainly in tropical and subtropical waters. P. physalis are sometimes present in large swarms, and with tentacles capable of intense stings, they can negatively impact public health and commercial fisheries. P. physalis, which does not swim, is advected by ocean currents and winds acting on its gas-filled sail. While previous studies have attempted to model the drift of P. physalis, little is known about its sources, distribution, and the timing of its arrival to shore. In this study, we present a dataset with four years of daily P. physalis beachings and stings reports at three locations off Sydney's coast in Australia. We investigate the spatial and temporal variability of P. physalis presence (beachings and stings) in relation to different environmental parameters. This dataset shows a clear seasonal pattern where more P. physalis beachings occur in the Austral summer and less in winter. Cold ocean temperatures do not hinder the presence of P. physalis and the temperature seasonal cycle and that observed in P. physalis presence/absence time-series are out of phase by 3-4 months. We identify wind direction as the major driver of the temporal variability of P. physalis arrival to the shore, both at daily and seasonal time-scales. The differences observed between sites of the occurrence of beaching events is consistent with the geomorphology of the coastline which influences the frequency and direction of favorable wind conditions. We also show that rip currents, a physical mechanism occurring at the scale of the beach, can be a predictor of beaching events. This study is a first step towards understanding the dynamics of P. physalis transport and ultimately being able to predict its arrival to the coast and mitigating the number of people who experience painful stings and require medical help

Stratigraphy, structure and geodynamic evolution of the Paleozoic rocks in the Cordillera del Viento (37º S latitude, Andes of Neuquén, Argentina)

The Pre-Andean Paleozoic substrate from the Cordillera del Viento anticline is a polyorogenic basement composed of two groups of preorogenic rocks with different stratigraphy and deformation. The oldest set consists of pre-Late Devonian metasedimentary rocks belong­ing to the Guaraco Norte Formation. The upper set is formed by the thick volcano-sedimentary sequence of the Carboniferous Andacollo Group. This group is composed from bottom to top of the silicic volcanic rocks of the Arroyo del Torreón Formation (early Carboniferous) and the marine sedimentary rocks of the Huaraco Formation (late Carboniferous) developed in an extensional basin. Both formations are locally separated by minor syn-extensional unconformities. The relationship between the metamorphic rocks of the Guaraco Norte Formation and the volcano-sedimentary sequence of the Anda­collo Group is not observed, but we inferred a major angular unconformity associated with the Late Devonian-early Carboniferous Chanic orogeny. The main Chanic structures are tight vertical and subvertical folds with slight W-WSW vergence, formed under low-grade meta­morphic conditions, with the development of a pervasive axial-plane cleavage (S1), affected by a disjunctive crenulation cleavage (S2). In the early Permian, during the San Rafael orogeny of the Gondwanan orogenic cycle, deformation occurred under very low-grade to non-metamorphic conditions. The main structures are thrusts and associated folds that are re-folded by the Cordillera del Viento anticline, related to the Andean orogeny. The WNW-oriented and SSW-vergent folds are associated with an incipient axial-plane cleavage in the pyroclastic rocks and pencil lineation in shales. The pre-Andean Paleozoic basement rocks are intruded and unconformably covered by early Permian to Early Triassic? granitoids and silicic volcanic rocks from the Huingancó volcanic-plutonic Complex (equivalent to the Choiyoi Group), establishing the beginning of the Andean orogenic cycle in this region.El sustrato paleozoico pre-andino que aflora en el anticlinal de la Cordillera del Viento, es un basamento poliorogénico que está com­puesto por dos conjuntos de rocas preorogénicas con estratigrafía y condiciones de deformación diferentes. El más antiguo tiene una edad devónica superior y está formado por las rocas metasedimentarias de la Formación Guaraco Norte, en tanto que el conjunto superior son las espesas acumulaciones volcano-sedimentarias carboníferas del Grupo Andacollo. Este grupo, integrado en su parte inferior por rocas volcánicas silíceas de la Formación Arroyo del Torreón (Carbonífero inferior) y hacia techo, por las sedimentitas clásticas marinas de la Formación Huaraco (Carbonífero superior) fue desarrollado en el marco de una cuenca extensional y pueden estar separadas localmente por discordancias menores de carácter sin-extensional. Las relaciones entre las rocas metamórficas y la secuencia volcano-sedimentaria del Carbonífero no se observan, pero se infiere una discordancia mayor asociada con la orogenia Chánica, que tuvo lugar entre el Devónico Superior y el Carbonífero inferior. Las estructuras chánicas están asociadas a un metamorfismo de bajo grado y son pliegues apretados sub-verticales a verticales y con ligera vergencia al O-OSO que llevan asociados un clivaje penetrativo (S1) de rumbo N-S a NNO que está afectado por un clivaje subvertical más espaciado (S2). En el Pérmico inferior, durante la orogenia San Rafael del ciclo orogénico Gondwánico, la deformación contraccional se produce en condiciones de metamorfismo de muy bajo grado o en ausencia de éste. Las estructuras principales son cabalgamientos y pliegues asociados que se encuentran plegados por el anticlinal ándico de la Cordillera del Viento. Los pliegues de rumbo ONO y vergencia al SSO llevan asociados un incipiente clivaje de plano axial en los contactos entre limolitas y volcanitas y lineación de tipo lápiz (pencil) en las lutitas. Las rocas del basamento paleozoico pre-ándico están intruidas y cubiertas discordantemente por rocas volcánicas silíceas de edad Pér­mico inferior a Triásico Inferior?, correspondientes al Complejo volcánico-plutónico Huingancó (equivalente al Grupo Choiyoi), unidad que marca el comienzo el ciclo orogénico Andino, en esta región

Loss of strength in Ni3Al at elevated temperatures

Stress decrease above the stress peak temperature (750 K) is studied in h123i single crystals of Ni3(Al, 3 at.% Hf ). Two thermally activated deformation mechanisms are evidenced on the basis of stress relaxation and strain rate change experiments. From 500 to 1070 K, the continuity of the activation volume/temperature curves reveals a single mechanism of activation enthalpy 3.8 eV/atom and volume 90 b3 at 810K with an athermal stress of 330 MPa. Over the very same temperature interval, impurity or solute diffusion towards dislocation cores is evidenced through serrated yielding, peculiar shapes of stress–strain curves while changing the rate of straining and stress relaxation experiments. This complicates the identification of the deformation mechanism, which is likely connected with cube glide. From 1070 to 1270 K, the high-temperature mechanism has an activation enthalpy and volume of 4.8 eV/atom and 20 b3, respectively, at 1250 K