INVESTIGADORES
OLIVERO Eduardo Bernardo
artículos
Título:
Sand dispersal in the southeastern Austral Basin, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina:Outcrop insights from Eocene channeled turbidite systems
Autor/es:
PABLO TORRES CARBONELL; OLIVERO, EDUARDO B.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
Editorial:
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Referencias:
Año: 2012 vol. 33 p. 80 - 101
ISSN:
0895-9811
Resumen:
We made a detailed facies analysis of well exposed Eocene foredeep and wedge-top successions in the SE
Austral Basin of eastern Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, contributing to a better understanding of its patterns
of sand dispersal. The analysis reveals that these successions constitute portions of turbidite systems
with recurrent facies associations, interpreted as channel, channel-margin and levée depositional
elements. The channel facies, paleocurrents and interpreted paleogeography suggest that the studied
successions form the transfer zone of the turbidite systems that fed the foreland basin. We hypothesize
that the SE Austral Basin, which forms the transition between the Austral and Malvinas Basins, acted as
an east-west conduit for sediments sourced at the Fuegian Andes and transported to a deeper depositional
zone in the SW Malvinas Basin. The fill of the channels in the transfer zone involved a large
amount of turbidity flows, which in addition to the evidence of levée confinement in the studied deposits
suggests that the sandier portion of the flows was able to reach the depositional zone, were mostly
unconfined (sheeted) sand bodies may have formed. In addition, overbank sand bodies were deposited
within the transfer zone, associated to processes of flow overspill. Both types of sand bodies constitute
potential reservoirs in this hydrocarbon producing basin, implying that the Eocene SE Austral Basin, and
the ultimate zone of deposition in the SW Malvinas Basin may constitute major prospects for hydrocarbon
exploration. The proposed model define a new perspective for future research on the sedimentologic
and stratigraphic evolution of the SE portion of the Austral Basin.