Along strike variations in the southern Central Andes Victor A.

Ramos*(Universidad de Buenos Aires) Laboratorio de Tectnica Andina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina, andes@gl.fcen.uba.ar Observation of the present Andean topography denotes conspicuous changes along strike in width, elevation, and structural grain. When these changes are correlated with the geology and paleogeography of the different segments, several striking controls are evident. These controls may be subdivided into first order general features, and second order local attributes. As the physical parameters related to present subduction can be observed, a series of important factors can be specified as responsible for these along strike changes, such as subduction vector, age of oceanic crust, thermal regime, absolute plate motions, sublithospheric mantle flows, rheologic characteristics of the continental plate, former structural anysotropies, and previous geologic history [Jordan et al. 1983, Isacks 1988, Ramos 1988, Russo and Silver 1996, Allmendinger et al. 1997, Kay et al. 1999, James and Sacks 1999]. The first order controls are derived from oceanic plate features as well as from properties of the overriding continent. As the oceanic plates interact through the trench with the continental margin, changes in orientation of the margin substantially modify the resulting structures. North-south trending margins such as the Chilean margin produce under present subduction orthogonal shortening, almost no stress partitioning, and the highest topography [Mpodozis and Ramos 1989]; northwestern trending margins as the Peruvian margin have important stress partitioning and strike slip displacements dominate in the forearc regions [Beck 1998]. If the present structures are compared with Paleogene deformation, which was characterized by a northeast convergent vector, an opposite setting is observed. The Chilean margin developed important strike-slip structures such as the Atacama and Domeyko faults [Tomlinson and Blanco 1997], while the Peruvian margin had important orthogonal shortening related to the Incaic deformation [Vicente et al. 1979]. The Benioff geometry is another first order control. Present flat subduction segments control the highest and narrow Andes developed during a cold subduction regime [Jordan et al. 1983, Kay et al. 1991]; on the other hand normal subduction develops wide orogens with important fold and thrust belts, favored by warm ductile lower crust [Allmendinger et al. 1997]. As there is abundant evidence of changes through time of the Benioff zones, important segmentation along strikes is inferred by changes in magmatic activity and distribution [Kay et al. 1999]. Combined with changes in the Benioff geometry there is evidence of collision of seismic and aseismic oceanic ridges. Subduction of aseismic ridges seems to control the shallowing of the subduction zones and the development of flat subduction segments as seen in the interaction of the trench with the Juan Fernndez ridge (Pampean flat-slab segment), Nazca ridge (Peruvian segment), Cocos ridge (Talamanca ranges), among others. Subduction of seismic ridges produced segments with volcanic arc gaps, and astenospheric windows in the retroarc with extensive basaltic plateaux [Ramos and Kay 1992]. Local features also produce relevant variations along strike (Figure 1). Major crustal boundaries

Figure 1: Along strike variations in the Andes controlled by: The geometry of the Benioff zone (isobath in kilometers); tectonic inversion of rift systems; thermal uplift; basement discontinuities; terrane boundaries, and active volcanism [based on Isacks 1988, Kay et al. 1999].

favored the inception and shifting of magmatism to the foreland during shallowing of the oceanic plate. At the same time, under steady-state conditions of stress, higher thermal flux produced the failure of the upper crust, during this migration. Many examples through the Andes illustrate the combination of first and second order controls in the along strike variations of the present structure. These relationships between different geologic processes and along strike variations of the structure could be relevant to understand similar structural patterns in past orogenic systems. References Allmendinger, R.W., T.E. Jordan, S.M. Kay and B.L. Isacks [1997]: The evolution of the AltiplanoPuna Plateau of the Central Andes. Annual Reviews Earth Planetary Sciences, v.25, pp. 139-174. Beck, M.E. Jr. [1998]: On the mechanism of crustal block rotations in the Central Andes. Tectonophysics, v.299, pp. 75-92. Isacks, B. [1988]: Uplift of the Central Andean plateau and bending of the Bolivian orocline. Journal Geophysical Research, v.93, pp. 3211-3231. James, D.E. and S. Sacks [1999]: Cenozoic formation of the Central Andes: A geophysical perspective. In B. Skinner et al. (eds.) Geology and Mineral Deposits of Central Andes. Society of Economic Geology, Special Publication, v. 7, pp. 1-25. Jordan, T.E., B. Isacks, V.A. Ramos and R.W. Allmendinger [1983]: Mountain building in the Central Andes. Episodes, v.1983, no.3, pp. 20-26. Kay, S.M., C. Mpodozis, V.A. Ramos and F. Munizaga [1991]: Magma source variations for mid to late Tertiary volcanic rocks erupted over a shallowing subduction zone and through a thickening crust in the Main Andean Cordillera (28-33S). In R.S. Harmon and C. Rapela (eds.) Andean Magmatism and its Tectonic Setting. Geological Society of America, Special Paper, v. 265, pp. 113137. Kay, S.M., C. Mpodozis and B. Coira [1999]: Neogene magmatism, tectonism, and mineral deposits of the Central Andes (22ES to 33ES). In B. Skinner et al. (eds.) Geology and Mineral Deposits of Central Andes. Society of Economic Geology, Special Publication, v. 7, pp. 27-59. Mpodozis, C. and V.A. Ramos [1989]: The Andes of Chile and Argentina. In G.E. Ericksen, M.T. Caas Pinochet and J.A. Reinemud (eds.) Geology of the Andes and its relation to Hydrocarbon and Mineral Resources, Circumpacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources, Earth Sciences Series, v. 11, pp. 59-90. Ramos, V.A. [1988]: The tectonics of the Central Andes: 30 to 33 S latitude. In S. Clark and D. Burchfiel (eds.) Processes in Continental Lithospheric Deformation. Geological Society of America, Special Paper, v. 218, pp. 31-54.

Ramos, V.A. and S.M. Kay [1992]: The Southern Patagonian plateau basalts: retroarc testimony of a ridge collision, Argentina. Oliver, R.A., Vatin-Perignon, N., Laubacher, G. Andean geodynamics Symposium (Grenoble, France). Tectonophysics, v. 205, pp. 261-282. Russo, R.M. and P.G. Silver [1996]: Cordillera formation, mantle dynamics, and the Wilson cycle. Geology, v. 24, no.6, pp. 511-514. Tomlinson, A.J. and N. Blanco [1997]: Structural evolution and displacement history of the west fault system, Precordillera, Chile: Part I: Synmineral history. VIII Congreso Geolgico Chileno (Antofagasta), Actas, v. 3, pp. 1873-1877. Vicente, J.C., F. Sequeiros, M.A. Valdivia and J. Zavala [1979]: El sobre-escurrimiento de Cuicha-Lluta: elemento del accidente mayor andino al noroeste de Arequipa. Sociedad Geolgica del Per, Boletn, v. 61, pp. 67-100.

* Biographical Note: Victor A. Ramos graduated from the University of Buenos Aires in 1965, and M.Sc. in ITC Holland in 1968. Since his Ph.D. dissertation in some tectonic problems of the Andes in 1970, he has been devoted to study the geologic evolution of the Main Andes of Argentina and Chile. He is presently full professor in tectonics of the University of Buenos Aires, and chairman of the Andean Subcommittee of the ICL.