@phdthesis{FigueroaVillegas2021,
  author    = {Figueroa Villegas, Sara},
  title     = {Paleolagos cuaternarios como marcadores neotect{\´o}nicos, Valle de Cafayate, Cordillera Oriental (no de Argentina)},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-53174},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-531742},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {192},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {The eastern flank of the southern Central Andes in north-western Argentina (NWA) is characterized by fault-bounded mountain ranges arranged in a thick-skinned active contractional orogen with a non-systematic spatiotemporal pattern of tectonic activity. This pattern is represented by instrumentally recorded crustal seismic activity as well as the distribution of Quaternary deformation phenomena along the Eastern Cordillera and the Santa B{\´a}rbara System morphotectonic provinces, creating a wide (> 200km) deformation zone that lacks a clear deformation front. The study of the neotectonic activity in this region has become more detailed over the past years and has involved morphotectonic analysis, remote sensing, geodesy, and field-based structural studies. Lacustrine deposits in the intermontane basins of the Eastern Cordillera that are exposed in areas associated with Quaternary faulting - due to their original horizontality of the fine-grained layers, are excellent strain markers to assess neotectonic activity. I analyzed lacustrine deposits that outcrop in the central area of the Calchaqu{\´i} valleys (Cafayate sector) to understand how deformation is accommodated in one of the largest intermontane basins of the tectonically active orogen. The strike of the Quaternary structures in the studied area is parallel to subparallel to the valley-bounding faults. With the stratigraphic, morphotectonic and structural study of the lacustrine deposits, I identified a minimum of five deformation episodes that affected the Quaternary stratigraphic section. Based on this I present Late Pleistocene minimum and maximum shortening rates for the central Calchaqu{\´i} intermontane valley that range between 0,19-4,47 mm/yr, respectively. The rates presented are based on balanced geological cross sections and geochronological ages obtained in this study as well as compilations from previously published studies. In order to compare the local shortening results at regional and different temporal scales, I additionally compiled Global Positioning System data from northwest Argentina to generate a surface-velocitiy profile. The results reveal a gradual decrease in horizontal surface velocities from the Eastern Cordillera toward the foreland, indicating tectonic activity in the interior of the orogen, which is recorded by seismic activity and the wide distribution of Quaternary faults and folds. In addition to the neotectonic investigation carried out in the study area, the stratigraphic analysis of the lacustrine deposits allowed to have a better understanding of the Quaternary basin evolution of the central area of the Calchaqu{\´i} valleys. At least seven distinct lacustrine deposits could be identified that correspond to an impoundment of the fluvial system and ensuing base-level changes, resulting in successive aggradation and subsequent erosion events. Together with a hydrological model previously published for the study area, the maximum elevations that the paleolakes reached were furthermore reviewed and compared with regional paleoclimate data to allow local climatic inferences. The results of this thesis are a significant contribution to our understanding of the Quaternary tectonic and the stratigraphic evolution of the central sector of the Calchaqu{\´i} valleys. Furthermore, the integration of local structural and geochronological data with regional structural and geodetic observations contributes to our knowledge of the deformation dynamics of the thick-skinned orogenic wedge of northwest Argentina.},
  language  = {es}
}
@article{FigueroaVillegasWeissHongnetal.2020,
  author    = {Figueroa Villegas, Sara and Weiss, Jonathan R. and Hongn, Fernando D. and Pingel, Heiko and Escalante, Leonardo and El{\´i}as, Leonardo and Aranda-Viana, R. Germ{\´a}n and Strecker, Manfred},
  title     = {Late pleistocene to recent deformation in the thick-skinned fold-and-thrust belt of Northwestern Argentina (Central Calchaqui Valley, 26 degrees S)},
  series = {Tectonics / American Geophysical Union, AGU ; European Geophysical Society, EGS},
  volume    = {40},
  journal   = {Tectonics / American Geophysical Union, AGU ; European Geophysical Society, EGS},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {American Geophysical Union},
  address   = {Washington, DC},
  issn      = {0278-7407},
  doi       = {10.1029/2020TC006394},
  pages     = {20},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {The thick-skinned fold-and-thrust belt on the eastern flank of the Andean Plateau in northwestern Argentina (NWA) is a zone of active contractional deformation characterized by fault-bounded mountain ranges with no systematic spatiotemporal pattern of tectonic activity. In contrast, the thin-skinned Subandean fold-and-thrust belt of northern Argentina and southern Bolivia is characterized primarily by in-sequence (i.e., west to east) fault progression, with a narrow zone of Quaternary deformation focused at the front of the orogenic wedge. To better understand how recent deformation is accommodated across these mountain ranges and the Argentinian portion of the orogen in particular, estimating and comparing deformation rates and patterns across different timescales is essential. We present Late Pleistocene shortening rates for the central Calchaqui intermontane valley in NWA associated with at least three episodes of deformation. Global Positioning System data for the same region reveal a gradual decrease in horizontal surface velocities from the Eastern Cordillera toward the foreland, which contrasts with the rapid velocity gradient associated with a locked decollement in the Subandean Ranges of southern Bolivia. Our new results represent a small view of regional deformation that, when considered in combination with the shallow crustal seismicity and decadal-scale surface velocities, support the notion that strain release in NWA is associated with numerous slowly deforming structures that are distributed throughout the orogen.},
  language  = {en}
}