Elsevier

Cretaceous Research

Volume 128, December 2021, 104985
Cretaceous Research

Multiproxy provenance analysis of Lower to Upper Cretaceous synorogenic deposits in the Southern Andes (34–35°S): Evidence of coeval volcanism during the onset of the Andean orogeny

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104985Get rights and content

Highlights

  • A multiproxy provenance analysis was applied to the Diamante Formation in the northern Neuquén Basin.

  • Apatite Fission Track analysis of the Diamante Formation reveals an Albian rapid cooling for its provenance-source.

  • A lag time of 3 ma. for the Diamante Formation suggests a volcanic arc provenance during Albian times.

  • Diamante Formation records the transition between the backarc and the foreland basin.

  • Diamante Formation at 34–35°S was deposited in a foredeep depozone through a Distributive Fluvial System.

Abstract

The combination of detrital low-temperature thermochronology with previous U–Pb geochronology, petrological and sedimentological analyses, has proven to be a valuable approach to constrain the provenance of non-marine Lower to Upper Cretaceous synorogenic deposits in the northern Neuquén Basin. This work focuses on the study of the Diamante Formation, a fluvial succession that represents the first synorogenic products of the Andean foreland basin at 34–35°S. The results indicate that the deposition of the Diamante Formation occurred simultaneously with the existence of an active western volcanic arc during the onset of the foreland basin. The facies associations evidence the transition between the backarc and the foreland basin stages as well as the inception of fluvial sedimentation in the foredeep. Petrographic analyses, together with changes in the paleocurrents and the record of limestone clasts suggest a regional detrital source shift. Apatite fission-track analyses (AFT) of a sample collected from the lower part of the Diamante Formation indicate an Albian central cooling age. This sample also evidences a remarkable presence of angular apatite and zircon crystals with subordinated rounded and subangular grains. Zircon fission-track analyses (ZFT) of a sample from the upper part of the Diamante Formation yield two discrete populations of cooling ages, both reflecting source-cooling during the Late Jurassic (∼161 Ma) and the Permian (∼265 Ma). Finally, a comparison between the AFT and the U–Pb maximum depositional zircon-age reveals a short lag time (ca. 3 ma), likely related to the rapid magmatic cooling of a coeval volcanic source at ∼110 Ma (Albian).

Introduction

A combination of multiple techniques has been a useful tool to perform provenance studies in the last decade. The analysis of detrital crystals with particular chemical and isotopic signatures reveals associations with source areas and tectonic events in many geological scenarios (Carrapa et al., 2009; Carrapa, 2010; Cawood et al., 2012; Chew and Donelick, 2012; Peyton and Carrapa, 2013; Gehrels, 2014; Owusu Agyemang et al., 2019). The changes of the allocyclic and autocyclic processes that influence the sedimentation over time can generate sediments of variable compositions derived from a similar source or, conversely, very similar sedimentary rock derived from different sources. The recognition of different compositional patterns in the detrital components of sedimentary sequences allows for the identification of diverse source signals (Cecil, 2003; Tyrrell et al., 2012; Franklin et al., 2019). Additionally, combined geochronometry and low-temperature thermochronometry enhance the recognition of syntectonic provenance information, by providing crystallization and thermotectonic histories of the same source rocks feeding the basin (Malusá and Fitzgerald, 2019a, b and references therein). Multiproxy analysis, including multidating methods, is a powerful tool for the reconstruction of the tectonic history of foreland basin systems (Bernet and Spiegel, 2004; Umazano et al., 2009; Ghiglione et al., 2015; Suriano et al., 2017; Thomson et al., 2017; Buelow et al., 2018; Bernet, 2019 and references therein).

The Neuquén Basin (Fig. 1) is a large depocenter developed during Late Triassic to Paleogene times in the southwestern margin of Gondwana (30–40°S) created by continental-scale rifting processes in response to the break-up of the Pangea supercontinent (Mpodozis and Ramos, 2008; Charrier et al., 2015; D'Elia et al., 2020; among others), with the potential influence of upper-plate movement and basement fabrics interaction (Fennell et al., 2020 and references therein). It records a thick Mesozoic sedimentary sequence of more than 7.000 m including marine and non-marine sedimentary rocks. Between the Early to Late Cretaceous, the Neuquén Basin changed from a backarc extensional basin to a retroarc foreland basin, in response to a westward acceleration of the South American plate during the Cretaceous (Mpodozis and Ramos, 1990; Howell et al., 2005; Ramos and Kay, 2006; Tunik et al., 2010). Congruent with this tectonic setting, several large-scale drainage systems have been interpreted for the Upper Cretaceous non-marine deposits of the Neuquén Basin, based on stratigraphy and sedimentology (e.g., Di Giulio et al., 2012, 2017; Gómez et al., 2019, 2020). Provenance analyses in the northern part of the basin (34–35°S) suggest that the foreland basin began to form at approximately 100–107 Ma with the deposition of the Diamante Formation, which is temporally equivalent to the youngest formation of the Neuquén Group described south of 35°S (Fig. 1; Gómez et al., 2019, 2020). A proposed source rock-model includes a westward sediment dispersion derived from the Sierra Pintada System and the San Rafael Block before the uplift of the Andes, which was then shifted eastwards with the onset of the Andean orogeny, associated to a new west-derived source (Tunik et al., 2010; Di Giulio et al., 2012, 2017; Balgord and Carrapa, 2016; Balgord, 2017; Fennell et al., 2017a, Borghi et al., 2019; Gómez et al., 2019, 2020). However, the lack of detailed sedimentological and provenance studies north of 35°S reflects the need for further studies to better understand the tectonic evolution during latest Early to Late Cretaceous times.

In the last few years, several discrepancies arose regarding the presence of a coeval volcanic arc during the Upper Cretaceous along the western margin of the Neuquén Basin (e.g., Muñoz et al., 2018; Gómez et al., 2019, 2020). Some authors speculated on a decreasing volcanic activity because of the absence of detrital zircons <100 Ma in the Neuquén Group. Moreover, an eastward arc migration is proposed in response to a shallowing of the subducted oceanic slab at ∼35°S (Fennell et al., 2017a; Muñoz et al., 2018). This flat-slab stage produced an increase in the contractional deformation and the generation of a first order unconformity known as the Patagonidic (Ramos, 1988; Leanza, 2009; Tunik et al., 2010; Fennell et al., 2017b; Asurmendi et al., 2017; among others). For this paleogeographic scenario, Muñoz et al. (2018) documented differences in provenance patterns between the western and eastern Lower Cretaceous synorogenic deposits of the Neuquén Basin (∼35°S). Based on this finding, Muñoz et al. (2018) suggested the presence of a topographic barrier separating the eastern and western domains, associated with the growth of the Andean fold-and-thrust belt during the Late Cretaceous. More recently, Tapia et al. (2020) correlated this compressive stage with maximum exhumation rates estimated for the western Paleozoic basement of the Coastal Cordillera, accompanied by the development of a topographic barrier that inhibited the sediment supply derived from the contemporaneous volcanic arc to the eastern foreland basin. However, Gómez et al. (2019) found evidence of the influence of a volcanic arc during the Lower to Upper Cretaceous (Albian-Campanian) non-marine sedimentation in the foreland basin, and pyroclastic components associated with fluvial deposits were recognized within the Neuquén Group deposits (Corbella et al., 2004; Garrido, 2010; Sánchez et al., 2008, 2013; Asurmendi et al., 2017). Furthermore, Gómez et al. (2020) observed reworked tuff levels with ca. 0.60 m of thickness at 34–35°S in the Diamante Formation, which is interpreted as a direct evidence of volcanic activity during the foreland basin deposition stage. Moreover, the U–Pb detrital zircon ages as well as a petrographic analyses of the Neuquén Group and the Diamante Formation, reveal indirect evidence of the presence of an active volcanic arc after the Aptian (Tunik et al., 2010; Borghi et al., 2019; Gómez et al., 2019; among others).

The goal of this paper is to constrain the sediment provenance of the Albian to Campanian synorogenic succession in the northern Neuquén Basin and to reconstruct its evolution. With this aim, a multiproxy approach was applied with the integration of new sedimentological, petrographic and low-temperature thermochronological data with previous geochronological results obtained by Gómez et al. (2019).

Section snippets

Tectonic setting

Three different kinematic regimes have been documented in the Andes: 1) a backarc extension as a result of a slab rollback rate exceeding the ‘absolute’ velocity (normal component) of the overriding plate; 2) dominant strike-slip kinematics with a local transtension to transpression during periods of oblique convergence; and 3) a contractional deformation caused by the ‘absolute’ velocity (normal component) of the overriding plate exceeding the rate of the slab rollback (e.g., Schellart, 2008;

Stratigraphic synthesis

The non-marine Upper Cretaceous deposits recorded south of 35°S of the Neuquén Basin are assigned to the Neuquén Group, where the sequence reaches a maximum thickness of 1600 m (Legarreta and Gulisano, 1989; Garrido, 2010; Orts et al., 2012). There, the synorogenic deposits of the Neuquén Group are subdivided into the Río Limay, Río Neuquén and Río Colorado subgroups (Cazau and Uliana, 1973; Ramos, 1981). Cazau and Uliana (1973) pointed out that each subgroup is characterized by upward fining

Multiproxy methodology

This paper contains results obtained through a combination of techniques to determine the provenance of the Albian-Campanian non-marine deposits in the northern part of the Neuquén Basin. Although several results from the application of this approach were published over the last decade, few papers include a detailed sedimentological analysis in addition to the provenance studies (e.g., Surpless and Augsburger, 2009; Di Giulio et al., 2017; Suriano et al., 2017; among others), and none of them

Sedimentological analysis

To perform the paleoenvironment interpretation from the Arroyo Oscuro and Arroyo Las Playas localities, two stratigraphic sections were measured (Fig. 3, Fig. 4). These localities had not been studied in detail before and included both the Bajada del Agrio Group and the Diamante Formation deposits. Considering that there is no evidence of the Patagonidic regional unconformity along the studied sections, a transitional boundary between both units was assumed (see Discussion section). Towards the

Paleoenvironmental interpretation

The facies associations previously defined for the Arroyo Oscuro and the Arroyo Las Playas areas indicate particular depositional environments.

In the case of the Huitrín and the Rayoso formations (Bajada del Agrio Group), the facies associations represent a restricted marginal marine system that evolved to an ephemeral lacustrine environment. The Huitrín Formation is linked to an inland hypersaline shallow sea with high temperatures resulting in high evaporation rates, as well as periodic

Conclusions

A multiproxy provenance analysis developed on the Arroyo Oscuro and the Arroyo Las Playas areas, and its combination with previous studies, evidence the presence of coeval volcanic activity during the onset of the Andean foreland basin at 34–35°S. The evidence that support our proposal are summarized below, integrated with paleoenvironment and regional tectonic scenarios:

  • -

    The stratigraphic sequence of the study area records the transition between the backarc and the foreland basin stages in the

Acknowledgments

This work is based on research within R. Gómez's Ph.D. project and supported by CONICET (PUE 0031CO), and subsidies from the Universidad Nacional de Río Negro and the Agencia de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (UNRN-40A-321, ANPCyT PICT 2018-00917, and PICT-2017-3259). The authors would like to acknowledge the Laboratorio de Termocronología La.Te. Andes S.A. (Salta, Argentina), and Sofía Bordese for their collaboration with the low-temperature thermochronology analyses. We are grateful for

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