Quaternary deformation at the Lerma Valley, Northwestern Argentina

MONTERO LÓPEZ, CAROLINA; KRUGER, FRANK; CRIADO SUTTI, EMILIO; HONGN, FERNANDO; ELÍAS, LEONARDO; GARCÍA, VÍCTOR; STRECKER, MANFRED

Hamburgo

Simposio; 25th Latin-American Colloquium of Geoscience; 2019

Northwestern Argentina is a seismically active, intraplate region on the back-arc of the Central Andes. Several intermontane valleys record paleo- and Historical seismic events, as is the Lerma Valley in the Eastern Cordillera (Salta province). Geological studies in progress in the southern part of the valley focused on the Quaternary morphostructures and its sedimentary infill reveals evidence (synsedimentary deformation) for widespread paleoseismic activity during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene. At the same time, the records of a 13-months-running seismic network in the northern part of this valley, reflect the seismic activity in real-time. Combining both geophysical and geological studies will be suitable for unraveling the most recent deformation history in this part of the Andean deformation front that is characterized by irregularly distributed evidence of Quaternary to recent deformation throughout the Eastern Cordillera. In this context, the Medeiros anticline at the northern part of the Lerma valley, is interpreted as an active structure that must be deeply investigated due to its closeness to Salta city with more than 700,000 inhabitants.