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Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, Universität Erlangen, Schlossgarten 5, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
The stratigraphical record of the Argentine Precordillera from Early Cambrian to Late Devonian times reveals its plate-tectonic history from incipient rifting and the evolution of a marginal platform to the separation from Laurentia, its drift in higher latitudes and amalgamation with Gondwana. This pre-Carboniferous succession can be subdivided into four supersequences bounded by major unconformities and their main features are discussed with respect to plate-tectonic implications. The basal two supersequences which include the carbonate platform deposits are subdivided into 13 third-order sequences, each with a duration of 2–10 Ma. Supersequence A reflects intracratonic rifting, creating a graben system and forming a marginal plateau. In its in higher part a progradational carbonate complex covered the entire platform. Supersequence B shows the development of an aggradiational carbonate succession and the evolution of reef ecosystems comparable to those that developed around the margins of the Ouachita embayment. It also shows the demise of the carbonate platform by drowning. Deposits of Supersequence C reflect crustal extension and rifting, which led to the final separation of the Precordillera from mainland Laurentia. Supersequence D reveals the approach, and probably the accretion, of the Argentine Precordillera to Gondwana.
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