Tectonic evolution of the northern Malargüe Fold and Thrust Belt, Mendoza province, Argentina

Las Leñas International Tunnel – Geomechanical challenges in large‐scale tunneling projects across The Andes

“…From West to East, the tunnel is intended to cross diorites and granodiorites of the Miocene Nacientes del Cortaderal Granitoids Complex; andesitic lavas corresponding to the Río Damas Formation of Kimmeridgian age, highly deformed mid-Jurassic calcareous rocks belonging to the Puesto Araya Formation, the evaporitic Upper-Jurassic Auquilco Formation, and the Permo-Triassic Choiyoi Group conformed by rhyolitic, ignimbritic, and intrusive rocks, constituting the geological basement of the area Figure 1a). Although the Choiyoi group does not outcrop in the study area, it has been reported in the nearby region [1][2][3]. Additionally, in the western border of the study area, recent lavas from the Palomo Volcano are exposed, overlaying granodioritic rocks.…”

“…Las Leñas International Tunnel is intended to connect Chile and Argentina through the Main Cordillera of Central Chile, where pre-Jurassic basins were opened during the Triassic, through the development of extensional faulting and infilled with calcareous and detrital sedimentation before changes in the stress field led to an inversion and strong deformation during several orogenic episodes. These episodes took place mainly during Upper-Cretaceous and Cenozoic times, which were accompanied with extensive magmatic intrusions [1][2][3]. These led to an Developing large-scale tunnelling projects in orogenic regions implies enormous technical challenges.…”

The late Oligocene xenarthran fauna of Quebrada Fiera (Mendoza, Argentina) and its implications for sloth origins and the diversity of Palaeogene cingulates

“…2004; Combina & Nullo 2011; Martos et al . 2020). The sediments are Paleocene–Pleistocene in age (Fig.…”

“…Martos et al . (2020) have indicated the development of an extensive retro‐arc basin during the Late Cretaceous, with mainly marine sedimentation. Thereafter, the tectonic inversion of the Neuquén Basin settled and a continental sedimentation cycle began with the deposit of the Pircala and Coihueco formations.…”

Architecture, Kinematics, and Tectonic Evolution of the Principal Cordillera of the Andes in Central Chile (∼33.5°S): Insights From Detrital Zircon U‐Pb Geochronology and Seismotectonics Implications

“…It is characterized by a series of tectonic domains, with an accretionary wedge in the Coastal Cordillera, Quaternary deposits in the Central Valley, a hybrid thrust belt in the Principal Cordillera, a rigid block uplift in the Frontal Cordillera, basement uplift in the Precordillera and the Sierras Pampeanas, and a series of Neogene‐Quaternary broken foreland basins (Alvarado et al., 2009; Giambiagi et al., 2015; Lossada et al., 2020; Martínez et al., 2016; Ramos et al., 2002, 2004; Rodríguez et al., 2018; Suriano et al., 2017). A decrease of volcanic activity since the early and middle Miocene (Jones et al., 2016; Kay & Abbruzzi, 1996; Litvak et al., 2007; Ramos et al., 2002), and a complex history of shortening and exhumation (Barrionuevo et al., 2019; Lossada et al., 2017, 2020; Martos et al., 2020; Rodríguez et al., 2018; Suriano et al., 2017) is also one of the main features of this area. The transition between the Pampean flat‐slab and the southern normal subduction zone is observed along the Aconcagua fold‐and‐thrust belt (AFTB; Figure 1), characterized by a mixture of thin‐ and thick‐skinned tectonic styles (Giambiagi & Ghiglione, 2009; Giambiagi et al., 2003a, 2015; Porras et al., 2016), that straddle the axis of symmetry of the Maipo Orocline in central Chile (Arriagada et al., 2013; Figure 1).…”