Petrological and Geochemical Characteristics of the Cerro Colorado Plutonic Complex in the Precordillera of Northern Chile

Abstract. The Cerro Colorado intrusive stock in the northeastern Chilean Precordillera is a plutonic complex formed during Late Cretaceous (64–72 Ma), and consists predominantly of pyroxene-bearing biotite monzogabbro (Colorado Unit), with lesser amounts of pyroxene-bearing hornblende biotite diorite (Pucaquisca Unit) and biotite hornblende monzonite (Pabellón Unit). Compositional variations of major and trace elements suggest that the Cerro Colorado complex is composed of shoshonitic alkali granitoids generated at the active continental margin. The basic to intermediate rocks of the Colorado Unit are characterized by high contents of A1₂O₃ (>20 wt%), CaO and LIL elements (K, Sr, Ba), high Fe/Mg ratio and fairly low contents of Cr, Ni and Y. These characteristics suggest that the Colorado Unit was formed by plagioclase-free source magma originated from asthenospheric mantle or mafic lower crust. All the Cerro Colorado rocks generally display linear compositional trends, and the latest Pabellón Unit rocks are richer in SiO₂ than the Colorado Unit and Pucaquisca Unit rocks. These indicate that the Pabellón Unit rocks were produced by assimilation-fractional crystallization process of the basic to intermediate magma genetically related to the voluminous Colorado Unit.     

Mineral deposits and Cu–Zn–As dispersion–contamination in stream sediments from the semiarid Coquimbo Region,Chile

This paper presents Cu–Zn–As geochemical data from stream sediment surveys carried out in the three main watersheds of the Coquimbo Region of Chile. This mountainous semiarid realm occupies an area of 40,656 km² between 29° and 32°S. Given that the area has a long historical record of mining activities, important environmental disturbances were expected. However, despite the detection of three major geochemical anomalies for Cu, Zn, or As, only one can be unmistakably linked to the development of mining–metal recovery procedures (Andacollo–Panulcillo). An investigation of the other two anomalies (Elqui and Hurtado) reveals three major causes that fully or partially account for them: (1) the type of ore deposit and associated hydrothermal alteration; (2) the regional structural setting (intensity of fracturing); and (3) climate–landscape. Cu–Au–As epithermal deposits/prospects along the so-called El Indio belt are here regarded as the sources of both the Elqui and Hurtado anomalies. The strong advanced argillic alteration present in some of the epithermal deposits/prospects of the El Indio belt may have induced the loss of the buffering capacity of rocks, and therefore favoured metal dispersion during later oxidation–leaching of sulphides. This applies to the Elqui and Hurtado anomalies. Conversely, given that the potassic, propylitic and phyllic alterations do not affect the buffering capacity of rocks, only minor metal dispersion is observed in relation to the Los Pelambres porphyry copper deposit. Besides, the epithermal belt is located within a highly fractured Andean domain (3,000–4,000 m of altitude), which may have conditioned the fast unroofing of ore deposits, contributed to enhanced circulation of meteoric waters, and eventually, to strong oxidation, and leaching of metals. Metal dispersion is aggravated during rainy years in response to strong El Niño episodes.     

Specific suspended sediment yields of the Andean rivers of Chile and their relationship to climate,slope and vegetation

Abstract

Using daily suspended sediment and water discharge data, we calculated the current mean annual runoff and Specific Suspended Sediment Yield (SSY) for 66 mountainous and piedmont catchments in Chile. These catchments are located from the extreme north of Chile to Southern Patagonia and cover an exceptionally wide range of climates, slopes, and vegetation. The SSY ranges mainly between 0 and 700 t km^-2 year^-1 with some exceptions as high as 1780 t km^-2 year^-1. The SSY increases between the extreme north and 33°S and then decreases toward the south. Sediment and water discharge north of 33°S occur mainly during summer. Farther south the contribution of winter precipitation increases and predominates. When the SSY database is correlated with topographic, climatic and vegetation indices, it is found to correlate significantly with runoff and mean slope only. In order to concentrate on erosion processes in the mountain range, 32 mountainous catchments were selected along a strong north–south SSY gradient between 27°S and 40°S. From north to south, SSY increases strongly with runoff and then decreases, even while runoff keeps increasing. In catchments where SSY is low, although runoff is high, the mean slope is less than 40% and the vegetation cover is greater than 8%. For the other catchments, runoff variations explain 67% of the variance in sediment yields. Thus, SSY seems to be controlled by vegetation cover and slope thresholds. In addition, SSY also correlates with glacier cover. However, a correlation between SSY and seismicity, although possible, is ambiguous.

Citation Pepin, E., Carretier, S., Guyot, J. L. & Escobar, F. (2010) Specific suspended sediment yields of the Andean rivers of Chile and their relationship to climate, slope and vegetation. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(7), 1190–1205.     

Climate variability over the last 9900 cal yr BP from a swamp forest pollen record along the semiarid coast of Chile

We present a fossil pollen analysis from a swamp forest in the semiarid coast of Chile (32°05′S; 71°30′W), at the northern influence zone of southern westerly wind belt. A ∼10,000 cal yr BP (calendar years before 1950) palynological sequence indicates a humid phase characterized by dense swamp forest taxa dated between ∼9900 and 8700 cal yr BP. The presence of pollen-starved sediments with only scant evidence for semiarid vegetation indicates that extreme aridity ensued until ∼5700 cal yr BP. The swamp forest recovered slowly afterwards, helped by a significant increase in moisture at ∼4200 cal yr BP. A new swamp forest contraction suggests that another slightly less intense drought occurred between ∼3000 and 2200 cal yr BP. The swamp forest expansion begins again at ∼2200 cal yr BP, punctuated by a highly variable climate. Comparisons between the record presented here with other records across the region imply major variations in the extent of the southern westerlies during the Holocene. This variability could have been caused either by latitudinal displacements from the present mean position of southern westerlies wind belt or by changes in the intensity of the South Pacific Subtropical Anticyclone, both of which affect winter precipitation in the region.     

The temperature stratification and related characteristics of Chilean lakes in midsummer

Temperature profiles in summer (February/March 1990) were measured in 24 lakes along a latitudinal transect from central Chile (32° S) to Patagonia (47° S), and on Easter Island (27° S). The lakes of the temperature zone, between 47° S and 38° S, are warm monomictic with surface and deep-water temperatures ranging from 12 °C to 21 °C and from 5.5 °C to 10 °C respectively. The heat content per unit area in midsummer was found to vary with lake area. The local stability of stratification (N ²) varied by more than two orders of magnitude, declining with increasing latitude, altitude, and depth. The lakes can be classified according to morphometric and temperature characteristics, mixing depth, stability of stratification and glacial turbidity. Lago General Carrera (463 m) was found to be almost as deep as Lago Nahuel Huapi (464 m), which is considered to be the deepest lake in South America.     

Field report: Sailing around the exhumed roots of the Mesozoic Patagonian paleo-accretionary wedge(Diego de Almagro Island,Chile)

We undertook a boat expedition to explore the geological framework of a very remote, lesser-known island, in the Chilean Patagonia: the Diego de Almagro Island(latitude S51°330'). This uninhabited, ca.400 km~2 Island is one of the very rare exposures of the Mesozoic accretionary subduction complex along the Chilean margin. Unstable weather, strong winds, steep topography, and very dense vegetation make an on-land mission difficult. Careful preparation based on high-resolution satellite images is advised to optimize shore access and minimize risks of injury. Despite a relatively important degree of regional reequilibration of metamorphic assemblages due to sluggish exhumation through the forearc crust, our results have shown that the island is composed of a nappe stack of ocean-floor derived slivers of metasedimentary units that exhibit very different pressure-temperature-time paths during burial by subduction under the Chilean margin and subsequent exhumation. These rocks are witness to a complex thermal evolution of the subduction zone between Jurassic and Cretaceous times from granulite facies to blueschist facies conditions as well as multiple episodes of accretion at ca. 35 -40 km in depth for almost100 Ma over the Mesozoic era.     

Assisted network governance: An inclusive innovation to mitigate extreme water scarcity

We study a local innovation of natural resource governance in Chile in times of extreme water scarcity. Through the issuance of a scarcity decree, the government obliges local water user associations (WUAs) to reach viable water redistribution agreements in order to avoid being overruled by the state. In the Aconcagua River, the government together with the WUAs created the Executive Committee, where only the WUAs have a vote, but private and public stakeholders participate in the process of negotiating water use agreements. Grounded on thematic coding of the detailed minutes of over 80 committee meetings since its inception, we examine the workings of a new local model of Assisted Network Governance (ANG). Based on content and social network analysis of over 1,000 directed interactions among committee members, we find that ANG, as an element of broader hybrid governance, has not only produced viable agreements for immediate water redistribution, but has also facilitated longer-term system improvements by building mutual understanding, resolving conflicts, and mobilizing external resources to improve infrastructure. We conclude that ANG helps accomplish common objectives in the field of natural resources under conditions of extreme water scarcity.     

Chronologic implications of new Miocene mammals from the Cura-Mallín and Trapa Trapa formations, Laguna del Laja area, south central Chile

Recent work in the central Andean Main Range of Chile near Laguna del Laja (37.5°S, 71°W) has produced the first mammal fossils for the region. Fossils, locally abundant and well preserved, occur patchily across a wide area southeast of the lake. Mammalian remains are derived from generally strongly folded (kilometer-scale) exposures of the locally 1.8 km thick, early to middle Miocene Cura-Mallín Formation; two identifiable specimens have been recovered from the overlying Trapa Trapa Formation as well. Both formations consist primarily of well-stratified (1–5 m thick layers) volcaniclastic and volcanic strata, deposited predominantly in fluviatile systems. The Cura-Mallín Formation is possibly the southern continuation of (or lateral equivalent to) the richly fossiliferous Abanico Formation mapped between 32°S and 36°S. Intensive sampling in a series of localities east and south of Laguna del Laja has yielded diverse faunas, in addition to radioisotopically dateable horizons. The new fossil mammal faunas represent as many as six South American Land Mammal “Ages” (SALMAs). Fossils, together with preliminary ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar radioisotopic dates, ranging from 9 to 20 Ma across the exposed thickness of the Cura-Mallín Formation and into the overlying Trapa Trapa Formation, provide a robust geochronological framework for middle Cenozoic strata in the Laguna del Laja region. The sequence of directly superposed mammalian assemblages at Laguna del Laja is one of the longest in all of South America, rivaled only by the classic Gran Barranca section of Patagonian Argentina. These data illuminate the geological history of the area and its record of mammalian evolution. The potential to isotopically date these diverse faunas with high precision (error ± 0.5 Ma) presents a rare opportunity to calibrate related portions of the SALMA sequence.     

Limnological studies of Amarga Lagoon,Chile: A saline lake in Patagonian South America

Amarga Lagoon, lat. 50°29 S and long. 73°45 S, it is located at the Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. The physical, chemical, and biological features of the lake were studied. According to salinity, the lake is mesosaline. Sodium and chloride were the dominant ions. Nitrogen was potentially limiting for phytoplankton growth. One Cyanophyceae species andArtemia were the predominant species in the plankton.Artemia provided abundant food for flamingoes.