Conductos de arena (sand pipes) como potenciales indicadores de sismicidad en la Formación Casa Grande, Noroeste Argentino

Mario Albertengo; Cecilia  del Papa; Ayelén Lapiana

Autores/as

Mario Albertengo IBIGEO-CONICET
Cecilia del Papa CICTERRA-CONICET
Ayelén Lapiana

Palabras clave:

estructuras de deformación en sedimentos blandos, Paleógeno, sismitas, escape de fluidos, Cordillera Oriental

Resumen

En depósitos fluviales de la Formación Casa Grande (Eoceno medio; Cordillera Oriental, Jujuy, Argentina) se reconocieron una serie de estructuras de deformación en sedimento blando (soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS)) cuya génesis podría estar asociada a movimientos sísmicos (sismitas). Dicha unidad ha sido vinculada a los primeros estadios de evolución de la cuenca de antepaís andina en la transición entre la Puna y la Cordillera Oriental. El presente trabajo se centra particularmente en describir e interpretar estructuras discordantes a la estratigrafía entendidas como conductos de arena (sand pipes) y discutir los procesos vinculados a su formación. Estas estructuras se caracterizan por una morfología de embudo invertido y se destacan por sus dimensiones de escala métrica. Asociadas a los conductos de arena se reconocieron estructuras como laminación disturbada, pilar y plato, diques clásticos y calcos de carga. Considerando los rasgos de las estructuras se interpreta como mecanismos formadores de las mismas los procesos de licuefacción y fluidización. De acuerdo con las características del depósito y de las estructuras, su presencia en intervalos estratigráficos restringidos, la continuidad lateral, la repetición vertical, el contexto geológico y la similitud con estructuras producidas por sismos recientes, se propone eventos sísmicos como el mecanismo desencadenante de la deformación.

Citas

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