Papers by Claudio Carignano
Gondwana Landscapes in southern South America, 2014
A record of glacier advance and retreat is preserved in Carboniferous strata exposed in an exhume... more A record of glacier advance and retreat is preserved in Carboniferous strata exposed in an exhumed glacial paleovalley on the eastern side of the Paganzo basin. Previous investigations have focused on the sandstones in the paleovalley and inferred a glacial lacustrine history. New observations have demonstrated that remnants of a preglacial, ancient weathering front, developed under wet tropical conditions and composed of corestones, are found underneath the glaciogenic deposits. Delta and alluvial fan deposits were also recognized, but no inferences were made from the diamictites in the paleovalley regarding glacial events (Andreis et al., Bol Acad Nac Cienc Cordoba 57:3–119, 1986; Buatois and Mangano, J Paleolimnol 14:1–22, 1995; Sterren and Martinez, El Paleovalle de Olta (Carbonifero): Paleoambiente y Paleogeografia. 13o Congreso Geologico Argentino and 3o Congreso de Exploracion de Hidrocarburos, Actas, 2, 89–103, 1996). This chapter focuses on the diamictites and provides a link between the sediment infill and the glacial origin of the paleovalley. We describe diamictites and associated sediments at three main locations: at La Chimenea, near the mouth of the paleovalley; at Mid-Valley, near the middle of the paleovalley; and at the Campsite, near the head of the valley. We interpret some of the diamictites exposed at La Chimenea and at Mid-Valley to be subglacial tillite. Deformation in the sandstone underlying the tillite indicates warm-based conditions as the glacier advanced over soft deformable sediment. At the Campsite location, a diamictite bed, which is about 1.5 m thick, lies within a sequence of alternating sandstone and siltstone beds. The diamictite bed is interpreted to represent an ice-front readvance during a period of ice retreat. The diamictite may be a debrite originating off the ice front, or a subglacial deposit, i.e., a tillite, or a combination of both. Two additional diamictite beds, exposed higher in this sequence of alternating sandstone and siltstone beds, may also record minor ice-front advances into the flooded valley.
En las Sierras de Córdoba han sido identificados procesos de remoción en masa en los escarpes de ... more En las Sierras de Córdoba han sido identificados procesos de remoción en masa en los escarpes de las fallas principales, coincidentemente en sectores donde hay evidencias de actividad neotectónica. Los mismos, han sido reconocidos mediante sensores remotos y análisis geomorfométricos con relevamiento de campo, pero todavía no han sido caracterizados ni cuantificada s u t asa d e m ovimiento y v elocidad. E n este trabajo se hace un análisis de los procesos de remoción en masa existentes en las Sierras de Córdoba en base a su parametrización geomorfométrica, con una estimación del desplazamiento que presentan obtenida con datos SAR. Se presentan los parámetros geomorfométricos que caracterizan cuantitativamente al relieve local en combinación con los resultados obtenidos luego de la utilización del algoritmo P-SBAS (Parallel Small BAseline Subset), puesto a disposición como servicio por la Geohazards Exploitation Platform (GEP) de la Agencia Espacial Europea (ESA). Los mapas de despl...
Ameghiniana, Nov 18, 2012
The chronological scale and continental biostratigraphy of South America was established on the b... more The chronological scale and continental biostratigraphy of South America was established on the base of fossil mammals from the Pampean Region. This scheme consists of Stages/Ages based on Biozones, with the late Miocene–early Holocene type localities in the Buenos Aires province. In the Córdoba province, several geological and stratigraphical studies have been undertaken since the 1990s and have provided a regionally useful scheme for biostratigraphic studies of the Quaternary. The aim of this work is to perform a biostratigraphic study of the San Francisco locality, in the east central region of the Córdoba province through the analysis of its mammal assemblages and to analyze the correlation with the scale proposed for the Pampean Region. We describe two faunal assemblages from two stratigraphical levels: (1) the faunal assemblage from the stratigraphic level 2 consisting of Lomaphorus sp., Neosclerocalyptus ornatus Owen, Catonyx tarijensis (Gervais and Ameghino), Scelidotheriinae indet., Macrauchenia patachonica Owen, Hemiauchenia paradoxa Gervais and Ameghino, Smilodon populator Lund and Panthera onca (Linnaeus) and assigned to the Ensenadan (early–middle Pleistocene) of the Pampean region; and (2) the faunal assemblage from the stratigraphic level 3 consisting of Neosclerocalyptus paskoensis (Zurita), Equus (Amerhippus) sp., Toxodon sp., Arctotherium sp., and cf. Lagostomus Brokes and assigned to the Lujanian (late Pleistocene–early Holocene) of the Pampean region. New records for Córdoba Province include Neosclerocalyptus ornatus, Panthera onca, and Arctotherium sp.; in addition, the latter represents the first record of the Ursidae family.
American Journal of Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration, 2013
Trace elements are well known in the geochemistry disciplines. However, its relationship to the b... more Trace elements are well known in the geochemistry disciplines. However, its relationship to the biological and medical sciences is very recent. In spite that knowledge about the influence of environment in living processes is a traditional concept, until about the middle part of the 20 century, the possible influence on physiological functions of chemical elements present in waters and soil surrounding man habitat was not particularly investigated. Principal concern was concentrated to evaluate toxic actions of chemical elements on living systems. However, evidence showing that chemical elements are able to interact with enzymes, transcription factors and DNA in several living systems, put the inorganic elements into a new perspective. Higher concentrations of inorganic elements in the environment do not necessarily must be the only requirement for biological interactions in living systems. In the present paper historical aspects, some chemical properties of trace elements, an emphasized discussion about selenium and tellurium on functional processes in living systems are reviewed. In addition, hypothesis about the role of trace elements on epigenetic changes in the expression of gene action is also discussed.
Geociencias, 2010
... Jorge RABASSA I,II ; Claudio CARIGNANO III,IV ; Marcela CIOCCALE IV,V. ... fans, surrounding ... more ... Jorge RABASSA I,II ; Claudio CARIGNANO III,IV ; Marcela CIOCCALE IV,V. ... fans, surrounding the ranges, but they belong to the Late Cenozoic (Rabassa, 1973; Zárate & Rabassa ... It reaches between 400-700 m above the surrounding plains, with maximum elevation of 1240 m ...
2013) INQUA Proj. 1311: "SAQint3-Interactions between climatic forcing, tectonics and volcanism d... more 2013) INQUA Proj. 1311: "SAQint3-Interactions between climatic forcing, tectonics and volcanism during the Late Quaternary: a multidisciplinary approach applied on key regions of South America" http://www.terpro.org.ar/quaternary_geology.htm Support:
The structure of the Cretaceous extensional basins in the Sierras de Córdoba. In the Sierras Pamp... more The structure of the Cretaceous extensional basins in the Sierras de Córdoba. In the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba,
the Cretaceous continental sedimentary rocks, associated to spills and basaltic dikes, are a petrotectonic rift association,
developed in a series of half grabens asymmetric toward the east. This rift system would have been controlled by normal
faults, reactivated nowaday in the reverse Sierra Chica and Elevación Pampeana faults. The Tertiary tectonics would
have provoked the inversion of the Cretaceous basins and the uplift and arrangement of the Sierras Pampeanas. The
relicts of the Cretaceous extensional basins, dismembered by the Tertiary tectonics, have been preserved in two main
areas in the Sierra Chica: the Sierras de Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa and the Sierra de Los Cóndores. At the present,
the Sierras de Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa basin is narrow, with rhombic shape on the map view and lengthening
parallel to the strike-slip faults. It is a deep basin in relation with their width (~660 m of thickness and ~12 km wide)
and wedged toward the east. The main margin is the Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa fault, and the secondary one is the
Quebrada de Luna fault. Clastic dikes are indicative of the paleostresses during the early extension and pervasive in the
whole area of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. Their orientations are coincident with the main faulting recognized in the
basin: N 330° and N 50°. At the present, the Sierra de Los Cóndores basin is rhombic in shape on the map view, deep in
relation with its width (< 7 km), with ~25 km long, ~380–400 m thickness of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, and wedged
toward the east. The main margins are the Cerro Colorado and the Cerro Grande fault; a secondary margin to the north
is given by the Villa Nueva fault. Toward the south, the limit would be the Cerro Colorado fault, which changes its direction.
The main faults, with directions N 340°, are interpreted here as principal deformation zones, tied by basin sideway oblique faults. The integration of all the obtained data allowed to build a kinematic-dynamic model of the Cretaceous
basins of the Sierras de Córdoba and to interpret them as pull-apart basins generated by dextral strike-slip. The Cretaceous
basins of Saliniana, Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa, Los Cóndores, General Levalle and Macachín show a common pattern
at regional and continental scales. They are deep basins with rhombic shape, limited by normal faults with in échelon
arrangement and associated to a continental transcurrent zone defined as the Eastern Pampean lineament. In the Sierras
de Córdoba, this zone coincides with the Sierra Chica fault. This limit would be the superficial expression of a deep
suture between the Pampia and the Río de la Plata Craton terranes, reactivated during the Cretaceous extension and the
opening of the Atlantic Ocean.
Keywords: Cretaceous, structure, pull-apart basins, Sierras Pampeanas, Sierra Chica.
The chronological scale and continental biostratigraphy of South America was established on the b... more The chronological scale and continental biostratigraphy of South America was established on the base of fossil mammals from the Pampean Region. This scheme consists of Stages/Ages based on Biozones, with the late Miocene–early Holocene type localities in the Buenos Aires province. In the Córdoba province, several geological and stratigraphical studies have been undertaken since the 1990s and have provided a regionally useful scheme for biostratigraphic studies of the Quaternary.
The aim of this work is to perform a biostratigraphic study of the San Francisco locality, in the east central region of the Córdoba province
through the analysis of its mammal assemblages and to analyze the correlation with the scale proposed for the Pampean Region. We describe two faunal assemblages from two stratigraphical levels: (1) the faunal assemblage from the stratigraphic level 2 consisting of Lomaphorus
sp., Neosclerocalyptus ornatus Owen, Catonyx tarijensis (Gervais and Ameghino), Scelidotheriinae indet., Macrauchenia patachonica Owen,
Hemiauchenia paradoxa Gervais and Ameghino, Smilodon populator Lund and Panthera onca (Linnaeus) and assigned to the Ensenadan
(early–middle Pleistocene) of the Pampean region; and (2) the faunal assemblage from the stratigraphic level 3 consisting of Neosclerocalyptus paskoensis (Zurita), Equus (Amerhippus) sp., Toxodon sp., Arctotherium sp., and cf. Lagostomus Brokes and assigned to the Lujanian (late Pleistocene–early Holocene) of the Pampean region. New records for Córdoba Province include Neosclerocalyptus ornatus, Panthera onca, and Arctotherium sp.; in addition, the latter represents the first record of the Ursidae family.
Influence of the pre-Andean tectonics on the Andean tectonics: the case of the Sierra Chica fault... more Influence of the pre-Andean tectonics on the Andean tectonics: the case of the Sierra Chica fault, Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba, Argentina.
The Sierra Chica fault is one of the most important Tertiary reverse faults of the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba. The Andean
fragile deformation would have been partially controlled by previous structures as the regional foliation of the late
Proterozoic-Cambrian metamorphic basement. Another important control is given by the Cretaceous extensional tectonics
that produced the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The present-day trace of the fault shows straight tracts of high angle (~50º-
60°) linked with Cretaceous deposits, which are interpreted as reactivation of previous normal faults, and curved tracts of
low angle (~30°) that do not associate in particular with any specific deposit, which would be new reverse faults originated by
the Tertiary tectonics. A series of ancient shear belts, oblique to the main direction, named the Carapé, Quebrada Honda and
Soconcho lineaments, produce the segmentation of the Sierra Chica fault in three large thrust sheets. During the Tertiary compression,
these lineaments were reactivated as dextral slip faults, which acted as lateral ramps while the thrust sheets moved
towards NNW (~N 330°). The west-directed convex form would be due to the effect of the low angle inverse faulting together
with the expansion of the frontal part of the thrust sheet. The present-day geobarometric difference (~5000 m) between the
blocks exhumed at both sides of the Sierra Chica fault, at the latitude of Alta Gracia (31º 36 ‘ S), would still reflect the effects of
the Cretaceous extensional tectonics that were not compensated by the Tertiary inversion.
Gondwana Landscapes in Argentina were already identified by Juan Keidel and Walther Penck at the ... more Gondwana Landscapes in Argentina were already identified by Juan Keidel and Walther Penck at the beginnings of the twentieth century, as well as by other geologists and naturalists of the different European schools that worked in this country. These studies were continued at a very good level in Brazil, thanks to the work of Lester C. King, later on intensively followed by João José Bigarella. However, these concepts gradually disappeared from the Argentine geological scene, dominated by the influence of American geomorphologists, and particularly William Thornbury, who doubted the existence of such ancient landforms, when one of the paradigms of the time was that “practically there is no landscape older than the Pleistocene.” These landforms are the result of the process of both deep chemical weathering, developed in very stable tectonic and climatic environments, under hyper-tropical climates, and pediment processes in semiarid to humid environments.
The Gondwana Landscapes or their fragmented remnants have been recognized in Argentina, from north to south, in the basaltic hills of the province of Misiones; the Sierras Pampeanas of the provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan; the Sierras Chicas, Sierras Grandes, and Sierra Norte of Córdoba province; the Sierras de San Luis, the Sierra Pintada, or San Rafael Block of Mendoza province; the Sierras de Tandil, Sierra de la Ventana, and the Pampa Interserrana of Buenos Aires province; the Sierras de Lihuel Calel of the province of La Pampa; the Somuncurá or Northern Patagonian Massif in the provinces of Río Negro and Chubut; the Deseado Massif of Santa Cruz province; and the Malvinas-Falklands archipelago. In other regions of Argentina, these surfaces have been downwarped in tectonic basins and are covered by sedimentary and/or volcanic units of various ages. The ages for the development of the Gondwana Landscapes have been estimated in between the Middle Jurassic and the Paleogene.
The Argentine Gondwana Landscapes were uplifted, fragmented, and eroded during the Middle to Late Tertiary. They have remained as mute testimony of the past above extensive pediplains and piedmont deposits, as climates and environments became more arid and cooler, approaching the present conditions.
A record of glacier advance and retreat is preserved in Carboniferous strata exposed in an exhume... more A record of glacier advance and retreat is preserved in Carboniferous strata exposed in an exhumed glacial paleovalley on the eastern side of the Paganzo basin. Previous investigations have focused on the sandstones in the paleovalley and inferred a glacial lacustrine history. New observations have demonstrated that remnants of a preglacial, ancient weathering front, developed under wet tropical conditions and composed of corestones, are found underneath the glaciogenic deposits. Delta and alluvial fan deposits were also recognized, but no inferences were made from the diamictites in the paleovalley regarding glacial events (Andreis et al., Bol Acad Nac Cienc Cordoba 57:3–119, 1986; Buatois and Mángano, J Paleolimnol 14:1–22, 1995; Sterren and Martínez, El Paleovalle de Olta (Carbonífero): Paleoambiente y Paleogeografía. 13º Congreso Geológico Argentino and 3º Congreso de Exploración de Hidrocarburos, Actas, 2, 89–103, 1996). This chapter focuses on the diamictites and provides a link between the sediment infill and the glacial origin of the paleovalley. We describe diamictites and associated sediments at three main locations: at La Chimenea, near the mouth of the paleovalley; at Mid-Valley, near the middle of the paleovalley; and at the Campsite, near the head of the valley. We interpret some of the diamictites exposed at La Chimenea and at Mid-Valley to be subglacial tillite. Deformation in the sandstone underlying the tillite indicates warm-based conditions as the glacier advanced over soft deformable sediment. At the Campsite location, a diamictite bed, which is about 1.5 m thick, lies within a sequence of alternating sandstone and siltstone beds. The diamictite bed is interpreted to represent an ice-front readvance during a period of ice retreat. The diamictite may be a debrite originating off the ice front, or a subglacial deposit, i.e., a tillite, or a combination of both. Two additional diamictite beds, exposed higher in this sequence of alternating sandstone and siltstone beds, may also record minor ice-front advances into the flooded valley.
Evidence of an ancient, preglacial weathering front (Late Devonian?–Earliest Carboniferous?) has been found in the granitic basement rocks which underlie the glaciogenic deposits, as large corestones included in a weathered regolith. This weathering front was developed under wet tropical conditions, before the onset of Carboniferous glaciations. The tillite and other diamictites overlying the corestones are composed largely of locally derived granitic basement rock. Features observed in the tillite and other diamictites are attributed to rapid rates of deposition, depositional processes, and the susceptibility of pre-weathered granitic basement rock to glacial and other erosional processes. Processes other than glacial erosion and deposition, including mass transport (slumping, rafting, sliding, and debris flow), also operated in the steep-sided valley and contributed large amounts of diamictite and other sediment to the valley fill. Corestones, weathered from the basement rock during a pre-Carboniferous period of intense weathering, constitute the larger clasts in the diamictite and associated deposits. The glacial paleolandscape is very well preserved in detail, after being buried during the Permian and later exhumed in the Cenozoic. The glacial valley was likely a transitional (fjord) environment, as micropaleontological material (Gutiérrez and Limarino, Ameghiniana 38:99–118, 2001) and clay mineral assemblages (Net et al., Sediment Geol 152:183–199, 2002) indicate a marine transgression into the area during the Middle Carboniferous.
Geomorphology. The province of Córdoba is located in the central region of Argentina (between 29°... more Geomorphology. The province of Córdoba is located in the central region of Argentina (between 29°30’S and 35°00‘S
and between 61°50’W and 65°50’W). Its territory exhibits a varied set of landforms, resulting from exogenous and endogenous
processes and comprises part of two geomorphological regions of first order: the Pampean Ranges and the
Chaco-Pampean Plain. The mountainous area of the province is part of the southeastern corner of the geomorphological
province of Sierras Pampeanas and comprises five major units: the Norte-Ambargasta ranges, the Chicas-Las Peñas
ranges, the Grandes-Comechingones ranges, the Pocho- Guasapampa ranges, and the Structural Valleys, also including
the great inter-mountain basin of the Salinas Grandes and Ambargasta. The ranges are the result of a prolonged and
complex geomorphological evolution characterized by the alternation of long periods of “stability”, with rocks exposed
to the weathering agents, events of tectonic uplift and exhumation, and the subsequent activation of the erosion processes;
even in the ranges it is possible to recognize remnants of pre-Cenozoic landforms. The plains of Córdoba are a part of
the southwestern sector of the great Chaco-Pampean Plains geomorphic province, and they include four major environments:
the Tectonic Depression of Mar Chiquita Lake, the Fluvio-Aeolian Central Plain, the Southern Aeolian Sandy
Plain and the Piedmont Environments. They are characterized by Cenozoic sedimentary accumulation, with predominance
of fluvial or ephemeral alluvial systems and aeolian deposits, mainly of the loess type. Fluvial systems, especially
their distal parts, have been modified by aeolian action during glacial periods of the Late Quaternary. In the later stages
of the Pleistocene, the entire region has undergone a sequence of dry and humid episodes that conditioned the geomorphological
dynamics and therefore, the morphological features that characterize the plain. The present landscape
mainly results from the influence of the humid period of the Isotope Stage 3 (OIS 3; 64–36 ka), related to the generation
of the present fluvial network of the plain, where the large Mar Chiquita and Salinas Grandes lakes were also formed.
The aeolian activity during dry phases of the Late Pleistocene (ca. 30–11 ka) and of the Late Holocene (3.5 to 1.4 ka) are
respectively related to the generation of a loess mantle (Last Glacial Maximum, 24–18 ka) that masked minor landforms
(fluvial and aeolian elements), the development of dune fields (mostly linear and parabolic dunes), and also the generation
of numerous deflation hollows, most of them currently occupied by shallow lakes.
Keywords: Geomorphology, ranges, paleosurfaces, saline, lake, plains, alluvial fan, dune field, loess, Mesozoic, Cenozoic,
Province of Córdoba.
The stratigraphy of the Quaternary sedimentary deposits. A first compilation of the Quaternary li... more The stratigraphy of the Quaternary sedimentary deposits. A first compilation of the Quaternary lithostratigraphic units
of the province, defined by different authors and appearing in national and international scientific literature, is presented
here. The order followed is based on a description of geological formations that typify the main geomorphological environments,
organized according to a known or inferred age for each formation. This resulted in five lithostratigraphical
units representative of the Inter-mountain Valleys of the Pampean Ranges of Córdoba (Brochero, Las Rabonas, Mina
Clavero and Charbonier Formations), four informal sedimentary units in the named high pampas, twelve units recognized
in the Central Eastern Piedmont and of the Sierra de Comechingones (Alpa Corral, Estación Belgrano, Río Primero,
General Paz, Río La Granja, Pampeano, Chocancharava, La Invernada, Río Cuarto, Arroyo Las Lajas, Laguna Oscura
and Reducción Formations), eight representative units of the Western Flank of Sierra Norte, the Inter-mountain Basin
of the Salinas Grandes and Ambargasta and the Northeastern Piedmont (Río Cruz del Eje, Toro Muerto, Charbonier,
Chuña, La Batea, Las Ollas, Guanaco Muerto and Zanjas Hondas Formation), four units of the Fluvio-Aeolian Central
Plain (Carcarañá, Tezanos Pinto, Lucio V. López and San Guillermo Formations), four units of the Tectonic Depression
of Mar Chiquita Lake (Lagunilla del Plata, Tezanos Pinto, Lomita del Indio Formations, and Las Saladas Sands), three
units recognized in the Elevated Block of San Guillermo (Palo Negro, Tezanos Pinto and San Guillermo Formations),
and three representative units of the Southern Aeolian Sandy Plain (Teodelina and San Gregorio Formations, and Aeolian
Sands of the Little Ice Age). Data related to the analysis of the outcropping pedosedimentary sequences investigated by
several authors in the province are also integrated. A reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental evolution of the Upper
Quaternary based primarily on the stratigraphic record and geomorphological information supplements the analysis.
Keywords: Stratigraphy, Quaternary, Pleistocene, Holocene, Province of Córdoba.
In this study, we utilize multiple thermochronometric methods, including apatite and zircon fissi... more In this study, we utilize multiple thermochronometric methods, including apatite and zircon fission track, (U-Th)/He, and zircon U-Pb, to evaluate the cooling history and provenance of sedimentary strata of the late Carboniferous to Late Permian eastern Paganzo basin and adjacent basement rocks (Argentina). The strata in the study area represent a long-lived, composite basin system that is interpreted to have experienced multiple periods of deformation, and to have received sediment from a number of different source terranes. These strata are well exposed in the Sierra de Chepes of west-central Argentina. New thermochronometric data and field observations, together with published data from the surrounding mountains, allow us to reconstruct: (1) the cooling history of the underlying basement rocks and the highlands surrounding the basin, (2) the thermal history of the source areas that provided sediment to the basin, and (3) the timing of structural inversion of the basin. Our data suggest that parts of the Sierra de Chepes were rapidly exhumed in Late Devonian–Carboniferous times; these exhuming areas supplied sediment to the adjacent basin. In contrast, the overlying red-bed strata originated from a slowly exhuming region located farther east or north of the basin within the Pampean orogenic belt or the Famatinian belt, respectively. Burial by latest Carboniferous and younger strata and an elevated geothermal gradient resulted in heating of the underlying Upper Carboniferous strata and underlying granitoid basement to temperatures between 80 °C and 140 °C. During Triassic time, the eastern Paganzo basin was structurally inverted; this event was marked by rapid cooling and may be related to regional extension and the development of rift basins to the west. The basement and the Upper Paleozoic strata of the eastern Paganzo basin in the study area have remained below 50 °C since latest Jurassic–Early Cretaceous times and are characterized by very slow cooling. Results of this study provide a thermochronometric view along an ∼330 m.y. path defining the geologic evolution of the eastern Paganzo basin and the upper crust of west-central Argentina.
A megalandslide has been identified on the western hillslope of Cerro Uritorco peak (1.949 m a.s.... more A megalandslide has been identified on the western hillslope of Cerro Uritorco peak (1.949 m a.s.l.), at the north end of the Sierra Chica de Córdoba (30°49'55.46"S - 64°29'50.31"W). The materials mobilized from the Sierra Chica fault scarp front, have covered partially the Capilla del Monte Granite and the pleistocene alluvial fans at the foothills. The landslide lobe and rotated blocks form a topographic high which acts as a boundary between the Punilla (south)
and Charbonier (to the northwest) valleys. This never noticed megalandslide has been identified and characterized using digital processing techniques and interpretation of multispectral satellite images of mean to very high resolution (Landsat-ETM and GeoEye-1), and by terrain modeling from digital terrain elevation models (SRTM and GDEM Aster), with fieldwork control. Due to the high recorded seismicity in the area and at Sierra Chica and Pajarillo-Copacabana-Masa Faults, we assume that this landslide may have been triggered by an earthquake, which could occur at the Sierra Chica Fault. The landslide deposits and scar show features of advanced hydric erosion, so that this landform would be pre-Late Pleistocene. Comparative analysis with other dated landslides of Sierras de San Luis, allow to assign a Middle-Late Pleistocene age. By volume (2.1 m3x109) and characteristics this landslide is unique in the Sierras de Córdoba and one of the largest landslides recorded in
Argentina.
Trace elements are well known in the geochemistry disciplines. However, its relationship to the b... more Trace elements are well known in the geochemistry disciplines. However, its relationship to the biological and medical sciences is very recent. In spite that knowledge about the influence of environment in living processes is a traditional concept, until about the middle part of the 20 century, the possible influence on physiological functions of chemical elements present in waters and soil surrounding man habitat was not particularly investigated. Principal concern was concentrated to evaluate toxic actions of chemical elements on living systems. However, evidence showing that chemical elements are able to interact with enzymes, transcription factors and DNA in several living systems, put the inorganic elements into a new perspective. Higher concentrations of inorganic elements in the environment do not necessarily must be the only requirement for biological interactions in living systems. In the present paper historical aspects, some chemical properties of trace elements, an emphasized discussion about selenium and tellurium on functional processes in living
systems are reviewed. In addition, hypothesis about the role of trace elements on epigenetic changes in the expression of gene action is also discussed.
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Papers by Claudio Carignano
the Cretaceous continental sedimentary rocks, associated to spills and basaltic dikes, are a petrotectonic rift association,
developed in a series of half grabens asymmetric toward the east. This rift system would have been controlled by normal
faults, reactivated nowaday in the reverse Sierra Chica and Elevación Pampeana faults. The Tertiary tectonics would
have provoked the inversion of the Cretaceous basins and the uplift and arrangement of the Sierras Pampeanas. The
relicts of the Cretaceous extensional basins, dismembered by the Tertiary tectonics, have been preserved in two main
areas in the Sierra Chica: the Sierras de Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa and the Sierra de Los Cóndores. At the present,
the Sierras de Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa basin is narrow, with rhombic shape on the map view and lengthening
parallel to the strike-slip faults. It is a deep basin in relation with their width (~660 m of thickness and ~12 km wide)
and wedged toward the east. The main margin is the Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa fault, and the secondary one is the
Quebrada de Luna fault. Clastic dikes are indicative of the paleostresses during the early extension and pervasive in the
whole area of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. Their orientations are coincident with the main faulting recognized in the
basin: N 330° and N 50°. At the present, the Sierra de Los Cóndores basin is rhombic in shape on the map view, deep in
relation with its width (< 7 km), with ~25 km long, ~380–400 m thickness of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, and wedged
toward the east. The main margins are the Cerro Colorado and the Cerro Grande fault; a secondary margin to the north
is given by the Villa Nueva fault. Toward the south, the limit would be the Cerro Colorado fault, which changes its direction.
The main faults, with directions N 340°, are interpreted here as principal deformation zones, tied by basin sideway oblique faults. The integration of all the obtained data allowed to build a kinematic-dynamic model of the Cretaceous
basins of the Sierras de Córdoba and to interpret them as pull-apart basins generated by dextral strike-slip. The Cretaceous
basins of Saliniana, Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa, Los Cóndores, General Levalle and Macachín show a common pattern
at regional and continental scales. They are deep basins with rhombic shape, limited by normal faults with in échelon
arrangement and associated to a continental transcurrent zone defined as the Eastern Pampean lineament. In the Sierras
de Córdoba, this zone coincides with the Sierra Chica fault. This limit would be the superficial expression of a deep
suture between the Pampia and the Río de la Plata Craton terranes, reactivated during the Cretaceous extension and the
opening of the Atlantic Ocean.
Keywords: Cretaceous, structure, pull-apart basins, Sierras Pampeanas, Sierra Chica.
The aim of this work is to perform a biostratigraphic study of the San Francisco locality, in the east central region of the Córdoba province
through the analysis of its mammal assemblages and to analyze the correlation with the scale proposed for the Pampean Region. We describe two faunal assemblages from two stratigraphical levels: (1) the faunal assemblage from the stratigraphic level 2 consisting of Lomaphorus
sp., Neosclerocalyptus ornatus Owen, Catonyx tarijensis (Gervais and Ameghino), Scelidotheriinae indet., Macrauchenia patachonica Owen,
Hemiauchenia paradoxa Gervais and Ameghino, Smilodon populator Lund and Panthera onca (Linnaeus) and assigned to the Ensenadan
(early–middle Pleistocene) of the Pampean region; and (2) the faunal assemblage from the stratigraphic level 3 consisting of Neosclerocalyptus paskoensis (Zurita), Equus (Amerhippus) sp., Toxodon sp., Arctotherium sp., and cf. Lagostomus Brokes and assigned to the Lujanian (late Pleistocene–early Holocene) of the Pampean region. New records for Córdoba Province include Neosclerocalyptus ornatus, Panthera onca, and Arctotherium sp.; in addition, the latter represents the first record of the Ursidae family.
The Sierra Chica fault is one of the most important Tertiary reverse faults of the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba. The Andean
fragile deformation would have been partially controlled by previous structures as the regional foliation of the late
Proterozoic-Cambrian metamorphic basement. Another important control is given by the Cretaceous extensional tectonics
that produced the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The present-day trace of the fault shows straight tracts of high angle (~50º-
60°) linked with Cretaceous deposits, which are interpreted as reactivation of previous normal faults, and curved tracts of
low angle (~30°) that do not associate in particular with any specific deposit, which would be new reverse faults originated by
the Tertiary tectonics. A series of ancient shear belts, oblique to the main direction, named the Carapé, Quebrada Honda and
Soconcho lineaments, produce the segmentation of the Sierra Chica fault in three large thrust sheets. During the Tertiary compression,
these lineaments were reactivated as dextral slip faults, which acted as lateral ramps while the thrust sheets moved
towards NNW (~N 330°). The west-directed convex form would be due to the effect of the low angle inverse faulting together
with the expansion of the frontal part of the thrust sheet. The present-day geobarometric difference (~5000 m) between the
blocks exhumed at both sides of the Sierra Chica fault, at the latitude of Alta Gracia (31º 36 ‘ S), would still reflect the effects of
the Cretaceous extensional tectonics that were not compensated by the Tertiary inversion.
The Gondwana Landscapes or their fragmented remnants have been recognized in Argentina, from north to south, in the basaltic hills of the province of Misiones; the Sierras Pampeanas of the provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan; the Sierras Chicas, Sierras Grandes, and Sierra Norte of Córdoba province; the Sierras de San Luis, the Sierra Pintada, or San Rafael Block of Mendoza province; the Sierras de Tandil, Sierra de la Ventana, and the Pampa Interserrana of Buenos Aires province; the Sierras de Lihuel Calel of the province of La Pampa; the Somuncurá or Northern Patagonian Massif in the provinces of Río Negro and Chubut; the Deseado Massif of Santa Cruz province; and the Malvinas-Falklands archipelago. In other regions of Argentina, these surfaces have been downwarped in tectonic basins and are covered by sedimentary and/or volcanic units of various ages. The ages for the development of the Gondwana Landscapes have been estimated in between the Middle Jurassic and the Paleogene.
The Argentine Gondwana Landscapes were uplifted, fragmented, and eroded during the Middle to Late Tertiary. They have remained as mute testimony of the past above extensive pediplains and piedmont deposits, as climates and environments became more arid and cooler, approaching the present conditions.
Evidence of an ancient, preglacial weathering front (Late Devonian?–Earliest Carboniferous?) has been found in the granitic basement rocks which underlie the glaciogenic deposits, as large corestones included in a weathered regolith. This weathering front was developed under wet tropical conditions, before the onset of Carboniferous glaciations. The tillite and other diamictites overlying the corestones are composed largely of locally derived granitic basement rock. Features observed in the tillite and other diamictites are attributed to rapid rates of deposition, depositional processes, and the susceptibility of pre-weathered granitic basement rock to glacial and other erosional processes. Processes other than glacial erosion and deposition, including mass transport (slumping, rafting, sliding, and debris flow), also operated in the steep-sided valley and contributed large amounts of diamictite and other sediment to the valley fill. Corestones, weathered from the basement rock during a pre-Carboniferous period of intense weathering, constitute the larger clasts in the diamictite and associated deposits. The glacial paleolandscape is very well preserved in detail, after being buried during the Permian and later exhumed in the Cenozoic. The glacial valley was likely a transitional (fjord) environment, as micropaleontological material (Gutiérrez and Limarino, Ameghiniana 38:99–118, 2001) and clay mineral assemblages (Net et al., Sediment Geol 152:183–199, 2002) indicate a marine transgression into the area during the Middle Carboniferous.
and between 61°50’W and 65°50’W). Its territory exhibits a varied set of landforms, resulting from exogenous and endogenous
processes and comprises part of two geomorphological regions of first order: the Pampean Ranges and the
Chaco-Pampean Plain. The mountainous area of the province is part of the southeastern corner of the geomorphological
province of Sierras Pampeanas and comprises five major units: the Norte-Ambargasta ranges, the Chicas-Las Peñas
ranges, the Grandes-Comechingones ranges, the Pocho- Guasapampa ranges, and the Structural Valleys, also including
the great inter-mountain basin of the Salinas Grandes and Ambargasta. The ranges are the result of a prolonged and
complex geomorphological evolution characterized by the alternation of long periods of “stability”, with rocks exposed
to the weathering agents, events of tectonic uplift and exhumation, and the subsequent activation of the erosion processes;
even in the ranges it is possible to recognize remnants of pre-Cenozoic landforms. The plains of Córdoba are a part of
the southwestern sector of the great Chaco-Pampean Plains geomorphic province, and they include four major environments:
the Tectonic Depression of Mar Chiquita Lake, the Fluvio-Aeolian Central Plain, the Southern Aeolian Sandy
Plain and the Piedmont Environments. They are characterized by Cenozoic sedimentary accumulation, with predominance
of fluvial or ephemeral alluvial systems and aeolian deposits, mainly of the loess type. Fluvial systems, especially
their distal parts, have been modified by aeolian action during glacial periods of the Late Quaternary. In the later stages
of the Pleistocene, the entire region has undergone a sequence of dry and humid episodes that conditioned the geomorphological
dynamics and therefore, the morphological features that characterize the plain. The present landscape
mainly results from the influence of the humid period of the Isotope Stage 3 (OIS 3; 64–36 ka), related to the generation
of the present fluvial network of the plain, where the large Mar Chiquita and Salinas Grandes lakes were also formed.
The aeolian activity during dry phases of the Late Pleistocene (ca. 30–11 ka) and of the Late Holocene (3.5 to 1.4 ka) are
respectively related to the generation of a loess mantle (Last Glacial Maximum, 24–18 ka) that masked minor landforms
(fluvial and aeolian elements), the development of dune fields (mostly linear and parabolic dunes), and also the generation
of numerous deflation hollows, most of them currently occupied by shallow lakes.
Keywords: Geomorphology, ranges, paleosurfaces, saline, lake, plains, alluvial fan, dune field, loess, Mesozoic, Cenozoic,
Province of Córdoba.
of the province, defined by different authors and appearing in national and international scientific literature, is presented
here. The order followed is based on a description of geological formations that typify the main geomorphological environments,
organized according to a known or inferred age for each formation. This resulted in five lithostratigraphical
units representative of the Inter-mountain Valleys of the Pampean Ranges of Córdoba (Brochero, Las Rabonas, Mina
Clavero and Charbonier Formations), four informal sedimentary units in the named high pampas, twelve units recognized
in the Central Eastern Piedmont and of the Sierra de Comechingones (Alpa Corral, Estación Belgrano, Río Primero,
General Paz, Río La Granja, Pampeano, Chocancharava, La Invernada, Río Cuarto, Arroyo Las Lajas, Laguna Oscura
and Reducción Formations), eight representative units of the Western Flank of Sierra Norte, the Inter-mountain Basin
of the Salinas Grandes and Ambargasta and the Northeastern Piedmont (Río Cruz del Eje, Toro Muerto, Charbonier,
Chuña, La Batea, Las Ollas, Guanaco Muerto and Zanjas Hondas Formation), four units of the Fluvio-Aeolian Central
Plain (Carcarañá, Tezanos Pinto, Lucio V. López and San Guillermo Formations), four units of the Tectonic Depression
of Mar Chiquita Lake (Lagunilla del Plata, Tezanos Pinto, Lomita del Indio Formations, and Las Saladas Sands), three
units recognized in the Elevated Block of San Guillermo (Palo Negro, Tezanos Pinto and San Guillermo Formations),
and three representative units of the Southern Aeolian Sandy Plain (Teodelina and San Gregorio Formations, and Aeolian
Sands of the Little Ice Age). Data related to the analysis of the outcropping pedosedimentary sequences investigated by
several authors in the province are also integrated. A reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental evolution of the Upper
Quaternary based primarily on the stratigraphic record and geomorphological information supplements the analysis.
Keywords: Stratigraphy, Quaternary, Pleistocene, Holocene, Province of Córdoba.
and Charbonier (to the northwest) valleys. This never noticed megalandslide has been identified and characterized using digital processing techniques and interpretation of multispectral satellite images of mean to very high resolution (Landsat-ETM and GeoEye-1), and by terrain modeling from digital terrain elevation models (SRTM and GDEM Aster), with fieldwork control. Due to the high recorded seismicity in the area and at Sierra Chica and Pajarillo-Copacabana-Masa Faults, we assume that this landslide may have been triggered by an earthquake, which could occur at the Sierra Chica Fault. The landslide deposits and scar show features of advanced hydric erosion, so that this landform would be pre-Late Pleistocene. Comparative analysis with other dated landslides of Sierras de San Luis, allow to assign a Middle-Late Pleistocene age. By volume (2.1 m3x109) and characteristics this landslide is unique in the Sierras de Córdoba and one of the largest landslides recorded in
Argentina.
systems are reviewed. In addition, hypothesis about the role of trace elements on epigenetic changes in the expression of gene action is also discussed.
the Cretaceous continental sedimentary rocks, associated to spills and basaltic dikes, are a petrotectonic rift association,
developed in a series of half grabens asymmetric toward the east. This rift system would have been controlled by normal
faults, reactivated nowaday in the reverse Sierra Chica and Elevación Pampeana faults. The Tertiary tectonics would
have provoked the inversion of the Cretaceous basins and the uplift and arrangement of the Sierras Pampeanas. The
relicts of the Cretaceous extensional basins, dismembered by the Tertiary tectonics, have been preserved in two main
areas in the Sierra Chica: the Sierras de Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa and the Sierra de Los Cóndores. At the present,
the Sierras de Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa basin is narrow, with rhombic shape on the map view and lengthening
parallel to the strike-slip faults. It is a deep basin in relation with their width (~660 m of thickness and ~12 km wide)
and wedged toward the east. The main margin is the Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa fault, and the secondary one is the
Quebrada de Luna fault. Clastic dikes are indicative of the paleostresses during the early extension and pervasive in the
whole area of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas. Their orientations are coincident with the main faulting recognized in the
basin: N 330° and N 50°. At the present, the Sierra de Los Cóndores basin is rhombic in shape on the map view, deep in
relation with its width (< 7 km), with ~25 km long, ~380–400 m thickness of sedimentary and volcanic rocks, and wedged
toward the east. The main margins are the Cerro Colorado and the Cerro Grande fault; a secondary margin to the north
is given by the Villa Nueva fault. Toward the south, the limit would be the Cerro Colorado fault, which changes its direction.
The main faults, with directions N 340°, are interpreted here as principal deformation zones, tied by basin sideway oblique faults. The integration of all the obtained data allowed to build a kinematic-dynamic model of the Cretaceous
basins of the Sierras de Córdoba and to interpret them as pull-apart basins generated by dextral strike-slip. The Cretaceous
basins of Saliniana, Pajarillo, Copacabana y Masa, Los Cóndores, General Levalle and Macachín show a common pattern
at regional and continental scales. They are deep basins with rhombic shape, limited by normal faults with in échelon
arrangement and associated to a continental transcurrent zone defined as the Eastern Pampean lineament. In the Sierras
de Córdoba, this zone coincides with the Sierra Chica fault. This limit would be the superficial expression of a deep
suture between the Pampia and the Río de la Plata Craton terranes, reactivated during the Cretaceous extension and the
opening of the Atlantic Ocean.
Keywords: Cretaceous, structure, pull-apart basins, Sierras Pampeanas, Sierra Chica.
The aim of this work is to perform a biostratigraphic study of the San Francisco locality, in the east central region of the Córdoba province
through the analysis of its mammal assemblages and to analyze the correlation with the scale proposed for the Pampean Region. We describe two faunal assemblages from two stratigraphical levels: (1) the faunal assemblage from the stratigraphic level 2 consisting of Lomaphorus
sp., Neosclerocalyptus ornatus Owen, Catonyx tarijensis (Gervais and Ameghino), Scelidotheriinae indet., Macrauchenia patachonica Owen,
Hemiauchenia paradoxa Gervais and Ameghino, Smilodon populator Lund and Panthera onca (Linnaeus) and assigned to the Ensenadan
(early–middle Pleistocene) of the Pampean region; and (2) the faunal assemblage from the stratigraphic level 3 consisting of Neosclerocalyptus paskoensis (Zurita), Equus (Amerhippus) sp., Toxodon sp., Arctotherium sp., and cf. Lagostomus Brokes and assigned to the Lujanian (late Pleistocene–early Holocene) of the Pampean region. New records for Córdoba Province include Neosclerocalyptus ornatus, Panthera onca, and Arctotherium sp.; in addition, the latter represents the first record of the Ursidae family.
The Sierra Chica fault is one of the most important Tertiary reverse faults of the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba. The Andean
fragile deformation would have been partially controlled by previous structures as the regional foliation of the late
Proterozoic-Cambrian metamorphic basement. Another important control is given by the Cretaceous extensional tectonics
that produced the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The present-day trace of the fault shows straight tracts of high angle (~50º-
60°) linked with Cretaceous deposits, which are interpreted as reactivation of previous normal faults, and curved tracts of
low angle (~30°) that do not associate in particular with any specific deposit, which would be new reverse faults originated by
the Tertiary tectonics. A series of ancient shear belts, oblique to the main direction, named the Carapé, Quebrada Honda and
Soconcho lineaments, produce the segmentation of the Sierra Chica fault in three large thrust sheets. During the Tertiary compression,
these lineaments were reactivated as dextral slip faults, which acted as lateral ramps while the thrust sheets moved
towards NNW (~N 330°). The west-directed convex form would be due to the effect of the low angle inverse faulting together
with the expansion of the frontal part of the thrust sheet. The present-day geobarometric difference (~5000 m) between the
blocks exhumed at both sides of the Sierra Chica fault, at the latitude of Alta Gracia (31º 36 ‘ S), would still reflect the effects of
the Cretaceous extensional tectonics that were not compensated by the Tertiary inversion.
The Gondwana Landscapes or their fragmented remnants have been recognized in Argentina, from north to south, in the basaltic hills of the province of Misiones; the Sierras Pampeanas of the provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan; the Sierras Chicas, Sierras Grandes, and Sierra Norte of Córdoba province; the Sierras de San Luis, the Sierra Pintada, or San Rafael Block of Mendoza province; the Sierras de Tandil, Sierra de la Ventana, and the Pampa Interserrana of Buenos Aires province; the Sierras de Lihuel Calel of the province of La Pampa; the Somuncurá or Northern Patagonian Massif in the provinces of Río Negro and Chubut; the Deseado Massif of Santa Cruz province; and the Malvinas-Falklands archipelago. In other regions of Argentina, these surfaces have been downwarped in tectonic basins and are covered by sedimentary and/or volcanic units of various ages. The ages for the development of the Gondwana Landscapes have been estimated in between the Middle Jurassic and the Paleogene.
The Argentine Gondwana Landscapes were uplifted, fragmented, and eroded during the Middle to Late Tertiary. They have remained as mute testimony of the past above extensive pediplains and piedmont deposits, as climates and environments became more arid and cooler, approaching the present conditions.
Evidence of an ancient, preglacial weathering front (Late Devonian?–Earliest Carboniferous?) has been found in the granitic basement rocks which underlie the glaciogenic deposits, as large corestones included in a weathered regolith. This weathering front was developed under wet tropical conditions, before the onset of Carboniferous glaciations. The tillite and other diamictites overlying the corestones are composed largely of locally derived granitic basement rock. Features observed in the tillite and other diamictites are attributed to rapid rates of deposition, depositional processes, and the susceptibility of pre-weathered granitic basement rock to glacial and other erosional processes. Processes other than glacial erosion and deposition, including mass transport (slumping, rafting, sliding, and debris flow), also operated in the steep-sided valley and contributed large amounts of diamictite and other sediment to the valley fill. Corestones, weathered from the basement rock during a pre-Carboniferous period of intense weathering, constitute the larger clasts in the diamictite and associated deposits. The glacial paleolandscape is very well preserved in detail, after being buried during the Permian and later exhumed in the Cenozoic. The glacial valley was likely a transitional (fjord) environment, as micropaleontological material (Gutiérrez and Limarino, Ameghiniana 38:99–118, 2001) and clay mineral assemblages (Net et al., Sediment Geol 152:183–199, 2002) indicate a marine transgression into the area during the Middle Carboniferous.
and between 61°50’W and 65°50’W). Its territory exhibits a varied set of landforms, resulting from exogenous and endogenous
processes and comprises part of two geomorphological regions of first order: the Pampean Ranges and the
Chaco-Pampean Plain. The mountainous area of the province is part of the southeastern corner of the geomorphological
province of Sierras Pampeanas and comprises five major units: the Norte-Ambargasta ranges, the Chicas-Las Peñas
ranges, the Grandes-Comechingones ranges, the Pocho- Guasapampa ranges, and the Structural Valleys, also including
the great inter-mountain basin of the Salinas Grandes and Ambargasta. The ranges are the result of a prolonged and
complex geomorphological evolution characterized by the alternation of long periods of “stability”, with rocks exposed
to the weathering agents, events of tectonic uplift and exhumation, and the subsequent activation of the erosion processes;
even in the ranges it is possible to recognize remnants of pre-Cenozoic landforms. The plains of Córdoba are a part of
the southwestern sector of the great Chaco-Pampean Plains geomorphic province, and they include four major environments:
the Tectonic Depression of Mar Chiquita Lake, the Fluvio-Aeolian Central Plain, the Southern Aeolian Sandy
Plain and the Piedmont Environments. They are characterized by Cenozoic sedimentary accumulation, with predominance
of fluvial or ephemeral alluvial systems and aeolian deposits, mainly of the loess type. Fluvial systems, especially
their distal parts, have been modified by aeolian action during glacial periods of the Late Quaternary. In the later stages
of the Pleistocene, the entire region has undergone a sequence of dry and humid episodes that conditioned the geomorphological
dynamics and therefore, the morphological features that characterize the plain. The present landscape
mainly results from the influence of the humid period of the Isotope Stage 3 (OIS 3; 64–36 ka), related to the generation
of the present fluvial network of the plain, where the large Mar Chiquita and Salinas Grandes lakes were also formed.
The aeolian activity during dry phases of the Late Pleistocene (ca. 30–11 ka) and of the Late Holocene (3.5 to 1.4 ka) are
respectively related to the generation of a loess mantle (Last Glacial Maximum, 24–18 ka) that masked minor landforms
(fluvial and aeolian elements), the development of dune fields (mostly linear and parabolic dunes), and also the generation
of numerous deflation hollows, most of them currently occupied by shallow lakes.
Keywords: Geomorphology, ranges, paleosurfaces, saline, lake, plains, alluvial fan, dune field, loess, Mesozoic, Cenozoic,
Province of Córdoba.
of the province, defined by different authors and appearing in national and international scientific literature, is presented
here. The order followed is based on a description of geological formations that typify the main geomorphological environments,
organized according to a known or inferred age for each formation. This resulted in five lithostratigraphical
units representative of the Inter-mountain Valleys of the Pampean Ranges of Córdoba (Brochero, Las Rabonas, Mina
Clavero and Charbonier Formations), four informal sedimentary units in the named high pampas, twelve units recognized
in the Central Eastern Piedmont and of the Sierra de Comechingones (Alpa Corral, Estación Belgrano, Río Primero,
General Paz, Río La Granja, Pampeano, Chocancharava, La Invernada, Río Cuarto, Arroyo Las Lajas, Laguna Oscura
and Reducción Formations), eight representative units of the Western Flank of Sierra Norte, the Inter-mountain Basin
of the Salinas Grandes and Ambargasta and the Northeastern Piedmont (Río Cruz del Eje, Toro Muerto, Charbonier,
Chuña, La Batea, Las Ollas, Guanaco Muerto and Zanjas Hondas Formation), four units of the Fluvio-Aeolian Central
Plain (Carcarañá, Tezanos Pinto, Lucio V. López and San Guillermo Formations), four units of the Tectonic Depression
of Mar Chiquita Lake (Lagunilla del Plata, Tezanos Pinto, Lomita del Indio Formations, and Las Saladas Sands), three
units recognized in the Elevated Block of San Guillermo (Palo Negro, Tezanos Pinto and San Guillermo Formations),
and three representative units of the Southern Aeolian Sandy Plain (Teodelina and San Gregorio Formations, and Aeolian
Sands of the Little Ice Age). Data related to the analysis of the outcropping pedosedimentary sequences investigated by
several authors in the province are also integrated. A reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental evolution of the Upper
Quaternary based primarily on the stratigraphic record and geomorphological information supplements the analysis.
Keywords: Stratigraphy, Quaternary, Pleistocene, Holocene, Province of Córdoba.
and Charbonier (to the northwest) valleys. This never noticed megalandslide has been identified and characterized using digital processing techniques and interpretation of multispectral satellite images of mean to very high resolution (Landsat-ETM and GeoEye-1), and by terrain modeling from digital terrain elevation models (SRTM and GDEM Aster), with fieldwork control. Due to the high recorded seismicity in the area and at Sierra Chica and Pajarillo-Copacabana-Masa Faults, we assume that this landslide may have been triggered by an earthquake, which could occur at the Sierra Chica Fault. The landslide deposits and scar show features of advanced hydric erosion, so that this landform would be pre-Late Pleistocene. Comparative analysis with other dated landslides of Sierras de San Luis, allow to assign a Middle-Late Pleistocene age. By volume (2.1 m3x109) and characteristics this landslide is unique in the Sierras de Córdoba and one of the largest landslides recorded in
Argentina.
systems are reviewed. In addition, hypothesis about the role of trace elements on epigenetic changes in the expression of gene action is also discussed.