Title
Structural inheritance and selective reactivation in the central Andes: Cenozoic deformation guided by pre-Andean structures in southern Peru
Date Issued
07 March 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Publisher(s)
Elsevier B.V.
Abstract
Structural, stratigraphic, and geochronologic constraints from the Eastern Cordillera in the central Andean plateau of southern Peru (14-15°S) demonstrate the existence and position of major pre-Andean structures that controlled the accumulation of Triassic synrift fill and guided subsequent Cenozoic deformation. The timing of initial clastic deposition of the Triassic Mitu Group is here constrained to ~. 242-233 Ma on the basis of detrital and volcanic zircon U-Pb geochronology. Regionally distinct provenance variations, as provided by U-Pb age populations from localized synrift accumulations, demonstrate Triassic erosion of multiple diagnostic sources from diverse rift-flank uplifts. Stratigraphic correlations suggest synchronous initiation of extensional basins containing the Mitu Group, in contrast with previous interpretations of southward rift propagation. Triassic motion along the NE-dipping San Anton normal fault accommodated up to 7 km of throw and hanging-wall deposition of a synrift Mitu succession > 2.5 km thick. The contrasting orientation of a non-reactivated Triassic normal fault suggests selective inversion of individual structures in the Eastern Cordillera was dependent on fault dip and strike. Selective preservation of a ~ 4 km thick succession of Carboniferous-Permian strata in the down-dropped San Anton hanging wall, beneath the synrift Mitu Group, suggests large-scale erosional removal in the uplifted footwall. Field and map observations identify additional pre-Andean thrust faults and folds attributed to poorly understood Paleozoic orogenic events preserved in the San Anton hanging wall. Selective thrust reactivation of normal and reverse faults during later compression largely guided Cenozoic deformation in the Eastern Cordillera. The resulting structural compartmentalization and across-strike variations in kinematics and deformation style highlight the influence of inherited Paleozoic structures and Triassic normal faults on the long-term history of convergent margin deformation in the Andes.
Start page
264
End page
280
Volume
671
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
GeoquÃmica, GeofÃsica
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84960428986
Source
Tectonophysics
ISSN of the container
00401951
Sponsor(s)
This research was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant ( EAR-0908518 ), NSF Graduate Research Fellowship , ExxonMobil Geoscience Grant , Geological Society of America Graduate Student Research Grant , American Association of Petroleum Geologists Grants-in-Aid , and support from the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin . We thank Franco Bedoya for logistical assistance in Peru and the staff at the University of Arizona LaserChron Center. This manuscript benefited from discussions with N. McQuarrie, M. Bush, A. Calle, R. McKenzie, and S. Ramirez. We appreciate thoughtful comments and critiques from an anonymous reviewer and A. Teixell that improved the quality and focus of this manuscript.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción CientÃfica
Scopus