Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 1 13

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Preface

Andean geodynamics: main issues and contributions

from the 5th ISAG, Toulouse
M. GerbaultT, G. Herail
LMTG, IRD CNRS UMR 5563, OMP-14 av. E. Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
Accepted 23 December 2004
Available online 8 February 2005

1. Introduction
The Andes are the typical mountain belt resulting
from subduction of an oceanic lithosphere under a
continent (Fig. 1). Although subduction zones are
numerous and distributed over a large portion of the
Earths surface, only along the western edge of the
South American plate are topography and crustal
thickness comparable to the Himalayas. These two
monsters of terrestrial relief present common characteristics of continental compression and shortening.
This observation calls into question the origin of
continental deformation and orogeny, resulting from
either subduction or collision. What are the processes,
general and specific, responsible for the growth of
such important topography and thickened crust as the
Andes?
The ISAG 2002 symposium, with 191 presentations, gathered 250 scientists from 17 countries,
including more than one hundred researchers from
Latin America. This symposium occurred after a
number of large geophysical surveys that were

T Corresponding author.
E-mail address: gerbault@lmtg.obs-mip.fr (M. Gerbault).
0040-1951/$ - see front matter D 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.
doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2004.12.012

conducted during the 1990s: Pisco 1994, Lithoscope

1994, BANJO, CINCA, ANCORP, ISSA 2000 in the
ChiloArgentinean Andes, ECOGUAY 1998 (Schmitz
et al., 2002), and ECCO 2001, in the Venezuelan
Northern Andes. Most results coming out from these
surveys have now been processed and published
(Dorbath and Paul, 1996; CINCA Study Group,
1996; Zandt et al., 1996; ANCORP Working Group,
1999, 2003; Reutter, 1999; Schmitz et al., 1999; Yuan
et al., 2000, 2002; Luth et al., 2003), providing images
of the deep structure of the Central Andes. Although a
number of areas remain unexplored, current studies of
Andean geodynamics tend to concentrate efforts on
dense networks of pluri-disciplinary measurements
(seismology, geodesy, gravity, electromagnetism) covering areas of a generally smaller scale. These surveys
include results from traditional disciplines such as
structural geology, stratigraphy, paleomagnetism. The
targeted areas are chosen (a priori), not only as they are
key localities that enable to reveal the structural
evolution of the Andes, such as Aricas bend, the triple
junction close to Valdivia in Southern Chile, or the
coast of Ecuador, but also because they present high
natural hazards for populations.
Although multi-disciplinary approaches have
become the way to proceed, interpretation of observed

M. Gerbault, G. Herail / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 113

or measured processes in Earths tectonics necessitates

to deal with problems typical to an open system, and
one necessarily needs to dguessT the importance of
dominant processes; crustal tectonics depend on the
dsecondaryT role of climate as it modifies relief, as
well as on the role of mantle convection that controls
thermal conditions in the lithosphere. Processes at the
short scale sum up to interact with mechanisms of
deformation on the long term (from the grain size to
regional rigid-like block motions). In turn, background dlong-termT features need to be incorporated
in mechanisms of the short scale (e.g., regional stress
distribution for seismicity). On the aspect of mechanical processes, one can ask to which extent can a
subducting lithosphere be considered as an external
factor to continental deformation, when most of the
latter may be reasonably explained by dintraplateT
compression alone. Within this state of facts, current
projects and contributions in this present issue often
combine classical geological or geophysical interpretations and most advanced techniques, to seek for the
appropriate initial conditions or approximations that
will allow integrating and interpreting specific data
into a consistent dynamical representation of plate
tectonics in the Andes.

2. ISAG 2002 contributions

Fig. 1. Geological sketch of the Andes of South America, with

location of the studied areas in this Special Issue.

A presentation of the state of the art in understanding the Andes was presented in the preface of the
4th ISAG Special Issue (ISAG (1999) 2002; Jaillard
et al., 2002). Since then, some open questions have
been partially answered, have evolved, especially in
terms of relating surface observations to the deep
structure.
Articles composing this Special Issue are presented below. Grouping them according to geographical areas did not appear as appropriate, since
methodologies and techniques are not equally distributed in each of the studied areas. Instead, we
organised them in three principal theme-sections: we
distinguish contributions that concentrate on (1)
clarifying the structures, geometries, and behaviour
of the Andes at the lithospheric scale, generally
using geophysical data, (2) those that compile the
geological past and inherited structure of specific
areas, mostly using classical geological approaches,

M. Gerbault, G. Herail / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 113

and (3) those that are based on processes measurable

at the human time-scale, like seismicity, geodesy,
and geomorphology.
In addition, we have attempted to present these
contributions within the framework of a certainly
non-exhaustive number of publications, mostly
since about year 2000, that we think have brought
insight to the understanding of Andean geodynamics. We cite some of the current research topics,
such as the growth of the Altiplano/Puna plateau,
effects of subduction processes on continental
deformation, the geodynamical interpretation of
paleomagnetism data, the interaction between climate and tectonics, or the improving quality of
geochronological methods.
2.1. Geophysical methods and processes of
deformation at the lithospheric scale
Concerning the growth of the Central Andes and
the AltiplanoPuna plateaus, many studies follow
from Isacks (1988) reference two-step scenario (pureshear like homogeneous thickening of the crust,
followed by the development of a simple-shear like
under-thrusting of the South American continent
under the Altiplano. Subsequent papers like Beck et
al. (1996), Allmendinger et al. (1997), Beaumont et al.
(1999), Bock et al. (2000) propose models of crustal
shortening and thickening. Another basic paper is that
of Roeder (1988), on the idea of a localised detachment in the lower crust, or sub-horizontal shear zone
that propagates from the Benioff plane toward the east
under the Eastern Cordillera and the Subandean zone;
the two first papers in this issue (McQuarrie et al. (1);
Tassara (2)) propose a structural interpretation of the
lithospheric Central Andes that involves the existence
of such a detachment zone.
McQuarrie et al. (1) stands as a synthesis of
previously published data and models of the lithospheric structure across the Central Andean plateau.
Combining geological and geophysical data, a model
for the evolution of the Central Andes since 70 Ma,
inferred from the stratigraphic depositional history.
These authors suggest that the eastward jump of
deformation recorded in the geology at 4015 Ma
may be related to lithospheric mantle delamination
(Kay et al., 1994). However the mechanical relation
between thermal weakening of the thickened con-

tinental crust and the existence of a localized detachment zone remains unclear.
Tassara (2) develops a flexural analysis (e.g.,
Burov and Diament, 1995) based on the correlation
between topography and Bouguer anomaly along the
Andean margin in northern Chile (158348S), providing insight on the mechanical properties of the forearc.
The mechanical role of the Chilean forearc remains
crucial to understand as it constitutes the interface
between the subduction zone, where thousands of
kilometres of oceanic plate sink into the mantle, and
the continental orogen, where shortening occurs at a
rate nearly an order of magnitude less. In this paper,
the forearcs rigidity is linked with the age of the
subducting oceanic plate, and uses inferences from
previously published seismic interpretations (e.g.,
ANCORP Working Group, 1999; Beck et al., 1996;
Masson et al., 2000; Yuan et al., 2000, 2002). In some
places, the forearc is seen as a rigid block attached to
the subducting plate that indents the continental
lithosphere (Arriagada et al., 2003).
Alternatively to the view of a mega-detachment
zone crossing the lower crust of the Central Andes,
several studies develop the idea of a more uniformly
deforming lower crust. Indeed, one should not omit
Dorbath et al.s (1996) remark that a signal characteristic of the underthrusting of the South American
craton does exist under the Subandean zone and
Eastern Cordillera, but is not evident under the
Altiplano. Recently, Babeyko et al. (2002) have
argued that the crust beneath the Altiplano is hot,
and is subject to crustal scale thermal convection.
Independently, Husson and Sempere (2003) have
proposed that the thickness of the Altiplano may
result from ductile lower crustal flow developing from
the boverthickenedQ Western and Eastern Cordilleras.
In the present issue, Gerbault et al. (3) also argue for
some contribution of ductile crustal flow to explain
the different altitudes of the Altiplano and Puna.
Gerbault et al. (3) propose a thermo-mechanical
model, based on the hypothesis of a different density
of the mantle below the continental crust. As a
consequence, gravitational disequilibrium may trigger
lateral south to north ductile flow in the crust. Lower
crustal aseismic flow could be one possible mechanism among those able to contribute to the evolution
of high relief areas, and involving three-dimensional
mass transfer.

M. Gerbault, G. Herail / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 113

A different density of the continental mantle may

not only be due to different past history, but may also
result from mantle delamination under the Puna
plateau, as suggested by Kay et al. (1994, 1999)
using isotopic magmatic analysis. Metamorphic processes in the overthickened AltiplanoPuna areas are
certainly complex, and not much has evolved in their
understanding since estimates proposed by Le Pichon
et al. (1997). New models that combine mechanics
and chemical phase changes should soon bring light
on these processes (e.g., Kerrick and Connolly, 2001;
Connolly and Petrini, 2002).
The debate about the effect of the subducting
oceanic plate on continental deformation has also
evolved, such as for example the relation between flat
slab subduction and lack of arc volcanism (Jordan et
al., 1983), as the mantle wedge between the oceanic
plate and overriding continent is shifted further into
the continent and away from the trench. In a general
understanding, it appears that the regime of oceanic
subduction do not depend only on the age or speed of
the subducting plate, but also on mantle mechanical
properties at depth (e.g., Funiciello et al., 2003a,b;
Conrad et al., 2004; Heuret and Lallemand, in press).
In the Andes more particularly, researchers have long
been looking for a link between orogenic growth, the
volume of the Andes, the speed and dip of the oceanic
plate, but also the input of magmatic material (e.g.,
Reutter et al., 1994; James and Sacks, 1999; Ramos
and Aleman, 2000; Sempere et al., 2002; Worner et
al., 2000, 2002).
Following the synthetic study of Gutscher et al.
(2000), Gutscher and Peacock (2003), who proposed
that an excess buoyancy of subducting oceanic ridges
affects several segments of the Andes, new mechanical models explore the effects of density and
viscosity of a subducting plate (e.g., van Hunen et
al., 2002; Funiciello et al., 2003a,b). Other models
using fluid mechanics and petrology consider dehydration processes, thermal evolution, and material
transfer at corner wedges (e.g., Billen and Gurnis,
2001; Gerya and Yuen, 2003). The effect of subduction in terms of transfer of heat and material, on
shortening and thickening of the overriding continent,
still remains to be quantified.
From the point of view of data, the displacement of
oceanic ridges through time along the Andean margin
is still under exploration: for example, Yanez et al.

(2001) relate the evolution of geographical structures

and arc volcanism to the displacement of the Juan
Fernandez ridge since 35 Ma, from latitude ~198S
(Arica) down to ~338S (Valparaiso). Seismotectonic
and tomographic data (Pardo et al., 2002), as well as
petrological data (Kay and Mpodozis, 2002) also
highlight the characteristic properties of the continental lithosphere adjacent to the Juan Fernandez ridge at
~338S. In this issue, Ramos (4) presents a multidisciplinary paper on the effect of ridge subduction on
the uplift of the Patagonian Andes at ~478S. Ramos
(4) correlates the present-day topography and uplift
rates with information provided by magmatic signatures. The authors identify several periods of ridge
collision occurring in the Paleogene and during the
Late Cretaceous. Present-day rapid isostatic rebound
due to ice cap retreat south of the triple junction,
correlated with the patterns of volcanic gaps, imply
low viscosities and thus a hot mantle, which the
authors argue to be due to the multiplicity of ridge
collision rather than to past episodes of flat slab
subduction (Suarez et al., 2000).
Further north, in the Peruvian Amazonia, effect
of lithospheric processes on the backarc is investigated, based on tectonicsedimentation relationships: Roddaz et al. (5) interpret deformation in the
distal foreland as enhanced flexural uplift of the
bended continental lithosphere. They argue that the
Iquitos Arch (Peru) has evolved until present day, as
the growing forebulge of the Northwestern Amazonian foreland basin. The Neogene and Quaternary
sedimentary architecture indicates an increase in
surface uplift that is linked to tectonic activity, such
that this arch acts as a topographic barrier since
about 6 Ma.
Both contributions by Ramos (4) and Roddaz et al.
(5) study zones for which typically, future geophysical
investigations of the deep lithospheric structure would
help to complete our understanding of the link
between the past geology and present-day mass
transfers measurable at the surface. Indeed, the
following contribution by Schmitz et al. (6), interprets
deep wide-angle seismic measurements across the
Venezuelan Andes, obtained during field campaigns
in 1998 (ECOGUAY, Schmitz et al., 2002) for the
Guayana Shield and in 2001 (ECCO) for the Oriental
Basin. Based on velocity and gravimetric models, an
image of a shallowing Moho towards the North is

M. Gerbault, G. Herail / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 113

obtained, inferring the presence of pre-existing (preCretaceous) extensional basins. This information
provides crucial constraints for extending at depth
observations on the surface of the inherited structure
and recent block motions (such as in this issue, Dhont
et al., 15). It will enable further integrated understanding of the geodynamics of this area.
2.2. Geological history and pre-existing structures
One of the issues in understanding the Andes, like
anywhere else, is to understand the relative contribution of the present-day tectonic regime on the one
hand, and that of inherited events and structures on the
other hand. The following group of papers studies
different areas in the Andes that reveal the complex
pattern resulting from superimposed periods of
deformation. Although this tracing of the geological
past is a classical problem in geology, which calls for
classical methods such as mapping, paleomagnetism,
geochronology, its implications in terms of understanding the geodynamical phenomena responsible for
the Andes is essential.
During this 5th ISAG, there were concerns about
the interpretation of paleomagnetic data, in the
specific region of the Central Andes. Anticlockwise
rotations measured in the Altiplano were provided by
Beck (1988) and Abels and Bischoff (1999). While a
number of recent studies reveal post-10 Ma rotations,
mostly in the forearc area (Rousse et al., 2003; Gilder
et al., 2003), other studies also indicate that most of
the curvature in the Bolivian Orocline would have
been acquired before the late Oligocene (~2535 Ma,
Roperch et al., 1999, 2000; Arriagada et al., 2000,
2003). According to the latter authors, most recent
rotations indicate minimal block adjustments that
accommodate an overall two-dimensional shortening
parallel to the direction of subduction, and with the
forearc behaving like a quasi-rigid indenter for the
Altiplano.
A synthetic view for the Central Chilean zone at
~238S is presented in this issue by Mpodozis et al.
(7), which conducted a stratigraphy study of the
(inverted) Salar de Atacama basin (Northern Chile),
the largest pre-Andean backarc basin during the Late
Cretaceous. Magmatism, syntectonic sedimentation,
and uplift of the Cordillera of Domeyko, a thickskinned basement range west of the Salar de

Atacama, are discussed within the framework of past

oblique plate convergence.
In the Central Andes, problems arise when assessing the amount of tectonic shortening involved in the
uplift of the Altiplano/Puna plateau, and which are
partly due to the ignorance we have in the pre-existing
structure of the continent (Lyon-Caen et al., 1985;
Roeder, 1988; Roeder and Chamberlain, 1995; Sheffels, 1990; Schmitz, 1994; Kley and Monaldi, 1998;
Lamb et al., 1997; Baby et al., 1997). In this issue,
complements on the structural geology of North
Western Argentina prior to the development of the
high plateaus are provided by Kley et al. (8), Mon et
al. (9), and Busquets et al. (10); these studies describe
the tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Subandean area (Salfity, 1994).
Kley et al. (8) describe strain markers and interpret
seismic data. Similarly to the Salar de Atacama basin
and Cordillera de Domeyko in the previous paper (7),
this zone, located at an equivalent latitude on the
eastern side of the orogen, was also the site of
continental rifting from Cretaceous to Paleogene
times. It is shown that pre-existing fault systems have
influenced the Andean thrusting since the Eocene,
such as for example the intermittent activity of
oblique transfer zones. Pliocene inversion of preexisting structures in an area west of that studied by
Kley et al. (8) is also described by Mon et al. (9).
The geological history of the basement of the
North-Argentina Andes during the SilurianDevonian
is discussed by Busquets et al. (10) using paleontological records and reconstitution of the tectonosedimentary environment. An interesting conclusion
of this paper for plate tectonics reconstructions is that
a large ocean may not necessarily have separated the
Chilenia Terrane (of which the Frontal Cordillera
formed) and the Cuyania Terrane (which included the
Precordillera), from contemporaneous Gondwana.
Studying denudation rates from paleo-thermochronometry or geochronology is well applied in the
Andes, particularly in Chile (for example, Maksaev
and Zentilli, 1999; Maksaev et al., 2003; Thomson et
al., 2001; Thomson, 2002) and Ecuador (Ruiz et al.,
2002; Ruiz et al., 2004). New methods in geochemistry of syntectonic sediments and joint paleothermometric analysis constitute a powerful tool for
following the kinematical evolution of relief. In this
issue, Spikings et al. (11) present new fission track

M. Gerbault, G. Herail / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 113

data from the Western Cordillera of Ecuador using

40
Ar/39Ar, ZFT and AFT ages, and propose a geological evolution of this region from Late Cretaceous
to late Miocene. The authors describe accretion,
cooling and exhumation, blocks rotations and ocean
continent suturing until ~29 Ma. From 13 Ma, distinct
periods of regional scale cooling and exhumation are
attributed to the collision of the Carnegie Ridge with
the Ecuador Trench. This result completes previous
work from Spikings et al. (2001), who combined
recent convergence plate movement data with thermal
history data from the Cordillera Real and suggested
the initial collision occurred at ~15 Ma. While periods
of cooling at ~98 Ma have also been recognised in
Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and northern
Argentina (see review in Spikings et al., 2000), this
timing is older than other authors that consider that the
Carnegie ridge may have been subducting since 1 to 8
Ma (e.g., Gutscher et al., 2000). More recently, fault
reactivation and basins development are described,
together with the inception of subsidence in the
Central Depression since about 6 Ma; a date that
coincides with the onset of backarc flexural uplift in
Northern Peru, according to Roddaz et al. (5).
In the Northern Andes, structuration of the lithosphere is understood to be constrained by accretion of
different terranes and large transcurrent structures (the
Guayaquil Fault for example) that are linked with
oblique subduction. Rotations resulted from important
transpressive and transtensional tectonics (e.g.,
Mitouard et al., 1992). The paper of Montes et al.
(12) constitutes a detailed kinematical study of the
Campanian to Neogene deformation of the Colombian
Andes. Since the amount, direction, and timing of
deformation documented there contradict current
tectonic models for the Oriental Cordillera, an
alternative model is proposed that involves three
continental blocks accommodating oblique deformation, partly by rigid-body rotation and translation
(derived from published paleomagnetic and kinematic
data), and partly by internal distortion and dilation
(derived from field markers). This paper, together
with that of Velandia et al. (16), provides information
on the Colombian Andes, which remain poorly
investigated.
In Ecuador, while the mechanism of accretion has
been well established for the Western Cordillera
(Megard, 1984; Jaillard et al., 1995; Reynaud et al.,

1999), a similar mechanism had been thought to have

generated the structural composition of the Eastern
Cordillera (Litherland et al., 1994; Aspden et al.,
1995; Boland et al., 2000). These ideas were exposed
again during the 5th ISAG, and a different model is
proposed here (Pratt et al. (13)), based on indications
for an autochthonous origin of deformation. Pratt et
al.s (13) opinion is that previous models are
inappropriate, i.e., that the Mesozoic evolution of
Ecuador did not occur in a geotectonic context
dominated by accretion of oceanic terranes. Instead,
the authors find structural similarities between both
sides of the Eastern Cordillera, which they attribute to
the deformation of the autochthonous Guyana Shield,
and argue that only the latest CretaceousPaleocene
deformation occurred as a progressive collision of an
oceanic terrane with the South American continent.
Young fault movements have subsequently juxtaposed
different structural levels.
Local and regional petrographic studies concerning
the influence of tectonic processes on the formation of
topography provide improving knowledge about the
composition of rock fragments contained in sediments, and mineralogical and/or geochemical composition of synorogenic sediments (e.g., DeCelles and
Hertel, 1989; Pinto et al., 2004). Neogene series from
the Subandean zone and the Amazonian basins are
particularly studied. Several presentations were given
during the 5th Isag, but only the contribution by Toro
and Jaillard (14) has evolved into an article in this
Issue. These authors reconstruct the successive
emplacement of accretionary terranes in the Western
Cordillera of the Andes of Ecuador, later than the
period studied in the previous contribution (13), and
based on the variability of syntectonic sediments.
CretaceousEocene clastic deposits of the Western
Cordillera of Ecuador record significant changes in
the source areas, grain size and location of the
depocenters, which these authors relate to the accretion of oceanic terranes, that contributed to the crustal
thickening and creation of the relief of Ecuador. Other
presentations given at the 5th ISAG evolved into
publications in the Special Issue of the Journal of
South American Earth Sciences, dedicated to Neogene
Andean basins (Charrier and Herail, in press).
Both studies by Pratt et al. (13) and Toro and
Jaillard (14) propose geological models that may then
feed future mechanical models of subduction-related

M. Gerbault, G. Herail / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 113

accretion of oceanic terranes in western Ecuador. Such

mechanical models are under development, as
recently published by Bonnardot et al. (2004).
2.3. Present-day processes: seismicity and
geomorphology
The following contributions exploit measurements
techniques based on present-day morphology, or
seismic activity, that reveal the intensity of deformation across different areas of the Andes. While
neotectonics is a common discipline worldwide and
is often applied across the Andes, more recently
developed methods based on space geodesy are still
too rarely applied across the Andes (Chorowicz et al.,
1995). The following contributions reveal active
structures in some specific areas.
Neotectonic strikeslip regime in the Northern
Andes is described in four papers. Transtension in
Venezuela, as discussed by Dhont et al. (15), evolves
to transpression in Colombia, according to Velandia et
al. (16), propagating in Ecuador, as discussed by
Dumont et al. (17).
Dhont et al. (15) use SAR (radar imagery)
techniques and complementary remote sensing devices to identify relative block motions on the regional
scale (110 km) in the Venezuelan Andes: this study
typically shows the efficiency of this method on areas
of reduced size to complete the understanding of
tectonic patterns and blocks adjustments (since the
Plio-Quaternary). Extrapolation to long-term occurrences of syn-orogenic extension is proposed.
Velandia et al. (16) also study the Algeciras Fault
system, in the Northern Andes of Colombia, with the
use of Landsat morphological approach and fault
mapping. The authors identify this active fault system
as constituting a continuous boundary for the transpressive regime that extends from the Gulf of
Guayaquil in Ecuador to Colombia and Venezuela.
Dumont et al. (17) present neotectonic morphological and microtectonic data from the Gulf of
Guayaquil in Ecuador, where transpression leads to
relief growth of the order of 0.5 cm/year within the
last 500 ka. This study also comprises a discussion on
the relationship between present-day active motions
and geological-scale structures.
Another geomorphological study is that of Bes de
Berc et al. (18), on the Pastaza mega-alluvial fan

located in the eastern Ecuadorian Andes, and which

lies on a fold and thrust belt adjacent to the continental
foredeep. Dating of fault scarps and alluvial terraces
indicates huge uplift rates since the past 18 kyr. These
results may be interesting to link it with results from
the previous paper (Dumont et al., 17), obtained at the
equivalent scale and on the other (western) side of the
Ecuadorian Andes.
The interaction of climate and subduction-related
orogeny is a key research topic. A number of
mechanical models that account for surface processes
are being developed since more than a decade, and
they show their control on the dynamical evolution of
mountain belts (Koons, 1990; Masek et al., 1994;
Avouac and Burov, 1996; Willet, 1999; GarciaCastellanos et al., 2002). Recently, Lamb and Davis
(2003) developed this issue and argued for a
correlation between height and width of the Andes
and lubrication and friction loss at the interplate
contact, which would depend on the efficiency of
surface processes to carry sediments into the trench.
Back in time, since Pinter and Brandon (1997)
popularised the role of erosion and sedimentation on
tectonics, Montgomery et al. (2001) correlated
regional data of paleoclimate, precipitations, and
topography to divide the Eastern Andes into three
hypsometric domains from north to south correlated
with tropical, intermediate and glacial climates.
However, accurate data show that reality is more
complex. For example, Thomson et al. (2001) showed
with fission tracks that there is important denudation
versus low relief in the Patagonian forearc, whereas at
the latitudes of the Central Andes, there is little
denudation versus high topography (Maksaev and
Zentilli, 1999). Another study by Sobel et al. (2003)
discusses the dynamical interaction of climate and
tectonics in developing and maintaining the endorheic
drainage system of the Altiplano.
The complexity of surface processes is being
slowly revealed, with improving quantification of
mass transfers via surface processes on the field. The
Amazonian basin adapted to act as a reservoir for
mass transfer away from the Andes (e.g., Hoorn et al.,
1995), and is subject of many ongoing studies. In the
Central Andes, Gregory-Wodzicki (2000) compiled
data that constrain the age of growth of the Altiplano
Puna areas. In particular, Northern Chile constitutes
an ideal natural laboratory because of its arid climate

M. Gerbault, G. Herail / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 113

and its typical position as a forearc bordering the

Altiplano: Riquelme et al. (2003), Audin et al. (2003)
and Victor et al. (2004) show that very slow active
deformation occurs, that can only be seen with
geomorphological markers. Despite that the contributions on the interaction of tectonics and climate had
been encouraged for the 5th ISAG, only Bes de Berc
et al. (18) discuss in this issue the relative contribution
of climate and tectonics on the incision rate of the
Pastaza river, in Eastern Ecuador. Their analysis of
recent terraces suggests that the rapid present-day
incision of the river results essentially from the
surrection of that part of the Subandean zone.
Seismicity indicates local high deformation rates.
In this issue, Vargas et al. (19) study paleoseismic
inferences from marine sedimentary records along the
Northern Chile forearc, a zone well known to be
subject to little dcumulativeT deformation, but locus of
high seismic hazard. This work comes within the
scope of a number of similar studies that attempt to
quantify patterns of active tectonics (e.g., Ruegg et al.,
1996; Delouis et al., 1998, or more recently Gonzalez
et al., 2003). The Northern Chilean forearc is understood in terms of mechanics as a supercritical accretionary wedge submitted to tectonic erosion and
gravitational instabilities (e.g., Von Huene et al.,
1999; Von Huene and Ranero, 2003). Vargas et al.
(19) analyse cores and paleoceanographic reconstruction using sedimentological and geochronological
techniques, to infer two strong seismic events during
the last thousand years, in the outer forearc at the
latitude of 238S. Such a study together with that on
the rigidity of the forearc by Tassara (2) shows the
problem we have now, in linking mechanical coupling
and frictional strength at the seismic and geological
time-scale.
Linking active or neotectonic deformation to longterm tectonic processes is a delicate task, in which one
should keep in mind that non-linear processes, such as
for example the strain-rate and fluid content dependency of rheological laws (for example those used in
Gerbault et al. (3)), or present-day spatial correlations
(for example backarc surrection and ridge subduction
in Bes de Berc et al. (18)), need to integrate the entire
geological and climatic evolution of the area.
Parada et al.s (20) contribution is of a broad
interest for South American geology. It brings
insights on the structural composition of the con-

tinent, as it studies, based on magnetic properties, the

process of plutonic emplacement with multiple
injections.

3. Conclusions
Conceptual models and ideas have been developed
to explain the building and structure of the Andes, and
as so, they can only be validated and evolve by
constantly confronting and testing new data or new
technologies, with ancient or classical methods (often
geological and stratigraphic data), that yet also need to
be completed and updated.
On the other hand, the South American continent
still contains areas that are unknown and unexplored.
For example, we lack data on the Peruvian Andes, and
there are no papers in this issue (apart from the
Amazonian Peruvian Andes in Roddaz et al. (5)) that
tackle this area. However, the Peruvian Andes are
crucial for linking the Northern Andes characterised
by transcurrent regimes and accretionary-style of
subduction and the Central Andesfeaturing a
high plateau style of orogenesis. A recently published
collection of contributions concerning the Geology of
southern Peru, edited by I.R.D. and Sociedad Geologica del Peru (Jacay and Sempere, 2004), may
however be mentioned.
Finally, the methods that were used and developed
in the present papers do not display an exhaustive
panel of techniques used in Earth Sciences and
applicable to the Andes. Disciplines based on
measurement of short-scale deformation are missing
in this Issue, despite the Andes being an ideal natural
laboratory for understanding large subduction earthquakes and oceancontinent interplate behaviour (for
example, GPS studies like Bevis et al., 2001, 2004;
stress transfer and strain rate variations during the
seismic cycle, Perfettini and Avouac (2004), or the
double seismic structure of the subducting plate,
Rietbrock and Waldhauser (2004)). Dynamical modelling of compressional tectonics applied to the
Andes, and involving the general concepts of
double-critical accretionary prism and decoupled
orogenic processes with crustal ductile flow (e.g.,
the recent Beaumont et al., 2004), would also help
further constrain mass transfers and propagation of
deformation through time.

M. Gerbault, G. Herail / Tectonophysics 399 (2005) 113

But a symposium like ISAG cannot ambition to

display an exhaustive tool book of the Andes;
instead, it aims at providing an opportunity to
present, at a given time, the state of the art of our
knowledge.
Since the previous ISAG (4th, in 1999), relationships between structures at the surface and lithospheric
scale processes are better understood. The link between
processes detectable at the short time-scale (geomorphology, seismicity) with the mechanical properties of the crust and the mantle are being revealed.
General questions thus remain and guide future
research:
(1) What mass transfers at the lithospheric scale
account for the present day structure and volume
of the mountain belt? Can compression be
univoquely linked to shortening (what about
accommodation of compression via 3D extrusion
for example)? What of the non-linear processes
(thermal processes, phase transitions) that may
suddenly change the rheology of the crust or the
lithosphere on the large scale? Do the Cordilleras
have a negligible role in the overall mountain
equilibrium (e.g., be considered as negligible
zones of weakness), or do they constitute boundaries that divide continental blocks? To which
depth do these blocks extend, and to which depth
do superficial fault extend and represent major
shear zones?
(2) Have we got good enough knowledge of the
passed geological events (history), from which the
Andes undoubtedly inherited? How do active
major faults reactivate pre-existing structures that
may have formed in a different context, how to
quantify healing capacities with respect to newly
forming geometries of deformation? How fine
chronological data need to be, to understand which
processes, which zones of deformation at the
surface or at depth, significantly represent the
geodynamics of the Andes in particular, and that of
oceancontinent subduction in general?
(3) Active tectonics and superficial processes
witness an instantaneous image of plate tectonics
and climate, which helps us to measure the
importance of processes acting at different spatial
and temporal scales. For example, the functioning
of the Amazonian basin in the mass balance of the

Andean subduction should also be, soon, a process

that one should be able to take into account to
complete our image of plate tectonics in the South
American Continent.
We are convinced that these questions will be
amongst the most discussed during the 6th ISAG in
2005.

Acknowledgements
The guest editors take pleasure in thanking A.
Alaman (Houston), R. Allmendinger (Ithaca), P. Baby
(Lima), P. van der Beek (Grenoble), J.L. Bouchez
(Toulouse), S. Brusset (Toulouse), E. Burov (Paris), J.
Cembrano (Antofagasta), R. Charrier (Santiago), P.
Cobbold (Rennes), B. Colletta (Rueil-Malmaison), D.
Comte (Santiago), I. Coutand (Lille), B. Deffontaines
(Dinan), S. Dominguez (Montpellier), R. Eschard
(Rueil-Malmaison), S. Flint (Liverpool), L. Fonbote
(Gene`ve), M. Froidevaux (Paris), D. Gapais (Rennes),
S. Gilder (Paris), H.J. Gftze (Berlin), M.A. Gutscher
(Brest), J. Hervoet (Pau), E. Jaillard (Grenoble), J.
Kley (Iena), Y. Lagabrielle (Montpellier), S. Lamb
(Oxford), H. Lapierre (Grenoble), D. Legrand (Santiago), J. Le Roux (Santiago), V. Maksaev (Santiago), J. Martinod (Toulouse), H. Miller (Munich),
T. Monfret (Nice), J.L. Mugnier (Grenoble), Th.
Nalpas (Rennes), L. Ortlieb (Bondy), P. OSullivan
(Moscow), M. Pardo (Santiago), V. Ramos (Buenos
Aires), C. Ranero (Kiel), M. R7s7nen (Turku), L.
Rivera (Strasbourg), F. Roure (Rueil-Malmaison), F.
Sabat (Barcelonne), P. Santanach (Barcelonne), Th.
Sempere (Toulouse), J.C. Soula (Toulouse), A.
Taboada (Montpellier), N. Tribovillard (Lille), J.
Verges (Barcelonne), W. Winckler (Zurich), Th.
Winter (Orleans), G. Wfrner (Gfttingen) for your
help in reviewing the set of submitted papers. Th.
Sempere, S. Brusset and J. Martinod kindly provided
material input for this preface.

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