Boletín de Geología

Vol. 46 No. 3 (2024): Boletín de Geología
Tribute to the work of Dr. Gerardo Botero-Arango

Uplift and denudation of the Antioquia Eastern Massif (Colombia) from fission-tracks thermochronology

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  • Edgar Alland Saenz-Mateus,
  • Carlos Guillermo Paucar-Álvarez,
  • Jorge Julián Restrepo-Álvarez
Edgar Alland Saenz-Mateus
Ingeniería de Rocas y Suelos S.A.S.
Bio
Carlos Guillermo Paucar-Álvarez
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Jorge Julián Restrepo-Álvarez
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18273/revbol.v46n3-2024009

Published 2024-11-28

Keywords

  • Morphogenesis,
  • Andean orogeny,
  • Antioqueño Plateau

How to Cite

Saenz-Mateus, E. A., Paucar-Álvarez, C. G., & Restrepo-Álvarez, J. J. (2024). Uplift and denudation of the Antioquia Eastern Massif (Colombia) from fission-tracks thermochronology. Boletín De Geología, 46(3), 205–227. https://doi.org/10.18273/revbol.v46n3-2024009

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Abstract

Fission-track dating and thermochronology have been used to assess the low-thermal history of some plutonic rocks intruded into the Antioquia Eastern Massif as defined by Gerardo Botero. These techniques enable us to gain a better understanding of the orogenic process that shaped the northern Colombian Central Cordillera. Samples were collected from the Antioqueño Batholith, Sonsón Batholith, and the smaller igneous bodies: La Unión, San Diego, Altavista and Ovejas, all intruded during the Late Cretaceous. Zircon fission track ages vary from 46.4±1.1 Ma to 64.0±1.3 Ma. Mean track lengths are very homogeneous, with variations from 13.9±1.6 μm to 14.6±1.3 μm. The results of thermal annealing modeling carried out with the AFTSolve program show three main segments: 1) Significant decrease in temperature from 240°C to ~50°C in the middle to late Eocene at maximum cooling rates of 50°C/Ma; 2) A period of thermal stability extending into the Middle Miocene; and 3) a final cooling segment through to surface temperature (20°C) at cooling rates of about 4°C/Ma. Results were interpreted as coincident with the Pre-Andean (middle Eocene) and the Eu-Andean (late Miocene-Pliocene) orogenies. This last pulse is related to the recent orogeny that exhumed the analyzed samples, occurring between 3 and 5 Ma ago, interpreted as the maximum time for the formation of the “Central Cordillera” erosion surface and its subsequent superimposed relief. The intermediate quiescent period did not record the Oligocene Proto-Andean orogeny. The tectonic phases produced episodes of uplift and denudational response at maximum rates of 2000 and 160 m/ Ma, respectively, using an assumed geothermal gradient of 25ºC/km.

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