Tectonic models for the Patagonian orogenic curve (southernmost Andes): An appraisal based on analog experiments from the Fuegian thrust?fold belt

GUZMAN, CECILIA GRISELDA; TORRES CARBONELL,P.J.; YAGUPSKY, D.L; DIMIERI, L.V.

TECTONOPHYSICS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 671 p. 76 - 94

0040-1951

Tectonic models for the evolution of the Patagonian orogenic curve were evaluated using analog experimentsthat considered either a rotational or a non-rotational orogenic backstop, combinedwith a basement promontoryon the foreland cratonic margin. Five different kinematic configurations were used, aiming to evaluate theinfluence of the Río Chico Arc as a rigid obstacle on the evolution of the Fuegian thrust?fold belt. Rotations, strainsand displacement fields obtained from each analog experiment were compared with the structural geologyknown from the Fuegian thrust?fold belt, in order to appraise the tectonic models that are more consistentwith the natural structure. The push of a counterclockwise rotational backstop, combined with the buttressingeffect of a foreland promontory, seem of major importance in controlling the final structure and map-viewshape of the thrust wedge.