@article{StreckerAlonsoBookhagenetal.2009,
  author    = {Strecker, Manfred and Alonso, Ricardo N. and Bookhagen, Bodo and Carrapa, Barbara and Coutand, Isabelle and Hain, Mathis P. and Hilley, George E. and Mortimer, Estelle and Schoenbohm, Lindsay M. and Sobel, Edward},
  title     = {Does the topographic distribution of the central Andean Puna Plateau result from climatic or geodynamic processes?},
  issn      = {0091-7613},
  doi       = {10.1130/G25545a.1},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {Orogenic plateaus are extensive, high-elevation areas with low internal relief that have been attributed to deep-seated and/or climate-driven surface processes. In the latter case, models predict that lateral plateau growth results from increasing aridity along the margins as range uplift shields the orogen interior from precipitation. We analyze the spatiotemporal progression of basin isolation and filling at the eastern margin of the Puna Plateau of the Argentine Andes to determine if the topography predicted by such models is observed. We find that the timing of basin filling and reexcavation is variable, suggesting nonsystematic plateau growth. Instead, the Airy isostatically compensated component of topography constitutes the majority of the mean elevation gain between the foreland and the plateau. This indicates that deep-seated phenomena, such as changes in crustal thickness and/or lateral density, are required to produce high plateau elevations. In contrast, the frequency of the uncompensated topography within the plateau and in the adjacent foreland that is interrupted by ranges appears similar, although the amplitude of this topographic component increases east of the plateau. Combined with sedimentologic observations, we infer that the low internal relief of the plateau likely results from increased aridity and sediment storage within the plateau and along its eastern margin.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{CarrapaDeCellesReinersetal.2009,
  author    = {Carrapa, Barbara and DeCelles, Peter G. and Reiners, Peter W. and Gehrels, George E. and Sudo, Masafumi},
  title     = {Apatite triple dating and white mica Ar-40/Ar-39 thermochronology of syntectonic detritus in the Central Andes : a multiphase tectonothermal history},
  issn      = {0091-7613},
  doi       = {10.1130/G25698a.1},
  year      = {2009},
  abstract  = {We applied apatite U-Pb, fission track, and (U-Th)/He triple dating and white mica Ar-40/Ar-39 thermochronology to syntectonic sedimentary rocks from the central Andean Puna plateau in order to determine the source-area geochronology and source sedimentary basin thermal histories, and ultimately the timing of multiple tectonothermal events in the Central Andes. Apatite triple dating of samples from the Eocene Geste Formation in the Salar de Pastos Grandes basin shows late Precambrian-Devonian apatite U-Pb crystallization ages, Eocene apatite fission track (AFT), and Eocene-Miocene (U-Th)/He (ca. 8-47 Ma) cooling ages. Double dating of cobbles from equivalent strata in the Arizaro basin documents early Eocene (46.2 +/- 3.9 Ma) and Cretaceous (107.6 +/- 7.6, 109.5 +/- 7.7 Ma) AFT and Eocene-Oligocene (ca. 55-30 Ma) (U-Th)/He ages. Thermal modeling suggests relatively rapid cooling between ca. 80 and 50 Ma and reheating and subsequent diachronous basin exhumation between ca. 30 Ma and 5 Ma. The Ar-40/Ar-39 white mica ages from the same samples in the Salar de Pastos Grandes area are mainly 400-350 Ma, younger than apatite U-Pb ages, suggesting source- terrane cooling and exhumation during the Devonian-early Carboniferous. Together these data reveal multiple phases of mountain building in the Paleozoic and Cenozoic. Basin burial temperatures within the plateau were limited to <80 degrees C and incision occurred diachronously during the Cenozoic.},
  language  = {en}
}