Stable isotopic signatures of diachronous Andean mountain building from volcanic glass, Condoroma Basin, northern Altiplano, Peru
Abstract
Recent stable isotopic analyses of pedogenic carbonates from the central Altiplano (~18S) suggest that the plateau may have uplifted rapidly between 10 and 6 Ma possibly in response to removal of mantle lithosphere. Climate modeling, however, suggests that gradual uplift may have produced a similar magnitude effect in the stable isotopic system of the central Altiplano in response to attainment of a critical elevation. We present the results of new stable isotope (δD) analyses of volcanic glass from the Condoroma Basin in southern Peru (~15S). Nonmarine sedimentation in this hinterland basin extended from ~20 to ~5 Ma. The basin fill is composed primarily of lacustrine and lake-margin lithofacies but, critically, contains records of multiple volcanic eruptions. Samples of volcanic glass, which hydrates in the presence of surface water within ~10 kyr following eruption, were separated from multiple volcanic levels in two stratigraphic sections. Analysis of the deuterium isotopic composition of the volcanic glass reveals an abrupt and pronounced decrease of approximately 50-70‰ in both stratigraphic sections. Analyses of multiple grain size fractions yield consistent δD values, providing additional confidence in the robustness of the data. (U-Th)/He analysis of zircons separated from volcanic strata indicate that this shift occurred at ~18-14 Ma; earlier than in the central Altiplano. Applying the modern lapse rate implies an elevation increase of ~2.5 km. However, the isotopic shift could be the result of attainment of a threshold elevation, rather than representing a rapid, large-magnitude uplift event. Nevertheless, temporal variations suggest that uplift was not a single, plateau-wide event but rather, that the northern Altiplano was rapidly uplifted or attained the critical elevation prior to the central Altiplano. The possible effects of a diachronous rise in the Andes have not fully been incorporated into climate models. These data point to a diachronous elevation gain in the central Andean plateau, highlighting the need for spatially higher resolution paleoelevation studies.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.T21E2608S
- Keywords:
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- 8108 TECTONOPHYSICS / Continental tectonics: compressional;
- 8169 TECTONOPHYSICS / Sedimentary basin processes;
- 8177 TECTONOPHYSICS / Tectonics and climatic interactions