Paleoenvironmental characterization of the Holocenevolcaniclastic deposits in the Fiambalá Basin, Catamarca (Northwest Argentina)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67355/tr87n402Keywords:
fluvial sedimentology, Late Holocene, volcaniclastic, Nacimientos, Barrial de la PuntaAbstract
The Fiambalá Basin is an intermontane valley located in the Central Andes of Argentina (Catamarca; 27°16' S to 27°20' S; 67°42' W to 67° 37' W). It records significant volcaniclastic sedimentation resulting from explosive volcanic activity during the Holocene, associated with eruptive centers such as the Cerro Blanco Volcanic Complex, located north of the basin. This paper presents a detailed sedimentological study of the Holocene volcaniclastic deposits exposed along the banks of the Fiambalá River in the Barrial de La Punta and Los Nacimientos sectors, north of the town of Medanitos (Tinogasta Department). It aims to characterize their paleoenvironmental conditions, determine their composition and origin (primary vs. secondary), and constrain their depositional age. Based on the survey and logging of two detailed sedimentological profiles (Profiles 1 and 2), with 11 units described for each succession, grain-size, petrographic, and X-ray diffraction analyses were carried out, along with organic carbon and calcium carbonate measurements, and radiocarbon dating. The results indicate that these deposits correspond to a braided fluvial system with shallow channels, dominated by longitudinal bars and fluid (tractional) flows, with minor contribution from hyperconcentrated flows and eolian-fluvial interaction processes. Three evolutionary stages of the fluvial system were recognized: 1) shallow braided with clastic input; 2) a shallow braided with high volcaniclastic input; and 3) an incised fluvial system, with the generation of terraces and pedogenesis, currently of the wandering type. Mineralogical composition of sediment (litharenites and feldspathic litharenites with a predominance of vitric and acidic volcanic lithic fragments) points to the likely secondary nature of the volcaniclastic sediments, derived from the erosion and reworking of Holocene ignimbrites outcropping in the surrounding mountain fronts, mainly in the Southern Puna. Radiocarbon dating establishes that the analyzed deposits correspond to the Late Holocene, with a basal depositional age of 960–769 cal yr BP.
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