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Chronological and geomorphological approach to the Holocene tephras from Tafí and Santa María valleys, NW Argentina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2020

María M. Sampietro-Vattuone Open the ORCID record for María M. Sampietro-Vattuone [Opens in a new window] ,
Walter A. Báez ,
José L. Peña-Monné  and
Alfonso Sola
María M. Sampietro-Vattuone*
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Geoarqueología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina CONICET, Tucumán, Argentina
Walter A. Báez
Affiliation:
Cátedra de Petrología Ígnea y Metamórfica – Escuela de Geología – Facultad de Ciencias Naturales – Universidad Nacional de Salta, Salta, Argentina Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA (IBIGEO) – CONICET, Salta, Argentina
José L. Peña-Monné
Affiliation:
Departamento de Geografía y Ordenación del Territorio and IUCA, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
Alfonso Sola
Affiliation:
Cátedra de Petrología Ígnea y Metamórfica – Escuela de Geología – Facultad de Ciencias Naturales – Universidad Nacional de Salta, Salta, Argentina Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA (IBIGEO) – CONICET, Salta, Argentina
*
*Corresponding author e-mail address: sampietro@tucbbs.com.ar (M.M. Sampietro-Vattuone).
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Abstract

A comprehensive morphostratigraphic and chronological study of the complete set of Holocene tephras from Tafí and Santa María valleys (northwestern Argentina), including analyses of compositional characteristics, is presented. Five ash tephras are recognized: V0 (El Rincón), V1a (Carreras 1a ash), V1b (Carreras 1b ash), V2a (Carreras 2 ash), and V2b (El Paso 3 ash). Two of them (V1b and V2b) are described for the first time in the study area. The new 14C and accelerator mass spectrometry ages presented, along with the previously published information, allows for the establishment of a chronological framework. The V0 tephra was deposited in the Early Holocene (about 10,000 yr BP), V1a and V1b were deposited in the Middle Holocene (about 4200 and 3500 yr BP, respectively), and V2a and V2b were deposited in the Late Holocene (after about 800 yr BP). The mineralogical, textural, and geochemical characterizations of the five tephras suggest that their tephra provenance was mainly from the back-arc region. However, the determination of the exact source of each tephra requires more accurate high-resolution tephrochronological studies. At least five major eruptions affected the Tafí and Santa María valleys in the last 10,000 yr.

Keywords

TephrostratigraphyExplosive volcanismVolcanic hazardCentral Volcanic Zone

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Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 94 , March 2020 , pp. 14 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

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