The argentine continental shelf: morphology, sediments, processes and evolution since the last glacial maximum

VIOLANTE, R.A., MARCOLINI, S.I., CAVALLOTTO, J.L., PATERLINI, C.M., LAPRIDA, C., DRAGANI, W., WATANABE, S., TOTAH, V., ROVERE, E.I. Y OSTERRIETH, M.L..

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON SPECIAL PUBLICATION

Geological Society of London

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2007 p. 1 - 34

0305-8719

The ACS is one of the most extensive shelves in the world, which shows diverse geological characteristics as a result of its emplacement in different geotectonic and oceanographic settings. Its knowledge is uneven and still incomplete, and to learn more about it is a challenge for present an future generations. Particularly, and despite the fairly good knowledge of its morphology and sedimentary constitution in some areas, regional geological aspects related to its evolution during post-LGM times still remain not solved, particularly those related to the understanding of: a) the origin and evolution of different striking features like terraces and related steps, incised valleys and north patagonian gulfs; b) how climatic changes have influenced the sea-level; c) whether or not some events (i.e. Younger Dryas, Antarctic Cold Reversal, Neoglacial periods) have occurred, and, if they did occur, which are the evidences; d) why the shelf border greatly changes in depth in different regions; e) the post-glacial sea-level history and its conditioning mechanisms; f) the better interpretation of features resulting from the sea-level fluctuations, particularly the lowstand deposits present in the shelf edge and upper slope; g) the processes that regulated the late subaerial exposure of the shelf. To solve all these problems a big effort must be done in order to organize multidisciplinary projects aimed at carrying out research activities on the entire shelf based on geophysical-geological surveys -focused on the uppermost stratigraphic level, i.e. in the Late Quaternary- in a continuous and sistematic way with the objective of progressively covering successive areas until the entire shelf had been surveyed. It is absolutely necessary to do this under the “sea-land correlation” integrated perspective. A program initiated in the 1980´s by the Group of Marine Geology and Geophysics of the Argentina Hydrographic Survey, and still continuing, was the starting point of such a research line. The summary that this contribution represents, since it includes all the present knowledge on the subject, must serve as a framework for further studies.