|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
| JOURNAL HOME | HELP | CONTACT PUBLISHER | SUBSCRIBE | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
1 Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2 Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 0610, Antofagasta, Chile
3 Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The age of onset of hyperaridity in the Atacama Desert, Chile, which is needed to validate geological and climatological concepts, has been heretofore uncertain. Measurement of cosmogenic 21Ne in clasts from erosion-sensitive sediment surfaces in northern Chile shows that these surfaces have been barely affected by erosion since 25 Ma. Surface exposure ages of sediment clasts give replicate values at 25, 20, and 14 Ma and individual values at 37 and 9 Ma. Predominantly hyperarid conditions are required to preserve these oldest continuously exposed surfaces on Earth. Our findings are compatible with the hypothesis that the onset of aridity in the Atacama Desert could be the reason for, rather than the consequence of, uplift of the high Andes.
Key Words: Atacama Desert • Andes • desertification • climate change • erosion • exposure age
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  A. Matmon, O. Simhai, R. Amit, I. Haviv, N. Porat, E. McDonald, L. Benedetti, and R. Finkel Desert pavement-coated surfaces in extreme deserts present the longest-lived landforms on Earth Geological Society of America Bulletin, May 1, 2009; 121(5-6): 688 - 697. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. P. Loveless, R. W. Allmendinger, M. E. Pritchard, J. L. Garroway, and G. Gonzalez Surface cracks record long-term seismic segmentation of the Andean margin Geology, January 1, 2009; 37(1): 23 - 26. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. A. Evenstar, A. J. Hartley, F. M. Stuart, A. E. Mather, C. M. Rice, and G. Chong Multiphase development of the Atacama Planation Surface recorded by cosmogenic 3He exposure ages: Implications for uplift and Cenozoic climate change in western South America Geology, January 1, 2009; 37(1): 27 - 30. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Benavides, T. K. Kyser, A. H. Clark, C. Stanley, and C. Oates Application of molar element ratio analysis of lag talus composite samples to the exploration for iron oxide-copper-gold mineralization: Mantoverde area, northern Chile Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, November 1, 2008; 8(3-4): 369 - 380. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. Warren, D. A. Archibald, and S. F. Simmons GEOCHRONOLOGY OF EPITHERMAL Au-Ag MINERALIZATION, MAGMATIC-HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION, AND SUPERGENE WEATHERING IN THE EL PENON DISTRICT, NORTHERN CHILE Economic Geology, June 1, 2008; 103(4): 851 - 864. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Tooth Arid geomorphology: recent progress from an Earth System Science perspective Progress in Physical Geography, February 1, 2008; 32(1): 81 - 101. [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Houston, D. Hart, and A. Houston Neogene sedimentary deformation in the Chilean forearc and implications for Andean basin development, seismicity and uplift Journal of the Geological Society, January 1, 2008; 165(1): 291 - 306. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Burke and Y. Gunnell The African Erosion Surface: A Continental-Scale Synthesis of Geomorphology, Tectonics, and Environmental Change over the Past 180 Million Years Geological Society of America Memoirs, January 1, 2008; 201(0): 1 - 66. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. L. Nester, E. Gayo, C. Latorre, T. E. Jordan, and N. Blanco Perennial stream discharge in the hyperarid Atacama Desert of northern Chile during the latest Pleistocene PNAS, December 11, 2007; 104(50): 19724 - 19729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. A. Riihimaki and J. C. Libarkin Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides as Paleoaltimetric Proxies Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, October 1, 2007; 66(1): 269 - 278. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Tooth Arid geomorphology: investigating past, present and future changes Progress in Physical Geography, June 1, 2007; 31(3): 319 - 335. [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. P. Drees, J. W. Neilson, J. L. Betancourt, J. Quade, D. A. Henderson, B. M. Pryor, and R. M. Maier Bacterial Community Structure in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile Appl. Envir. Microbiol., December 1, 2006; 72(12): 7902 - 7908. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Rech, B. S. Currie, G. Michalski, and A. M. Cowan Neogene climate change and uplift in the Atacama Desert, Chile Geology, September 1, 2006; 34(9): 761 - 764. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Arancibia, S.J. Matthews, and C. Perez de Arce K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of supergene processes in the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile: tectonic and climatic relations Journal of the Geological Society, January 1, 2006; 163(1): 107 - 118. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. J. Hartley, A. E. Mather, E. Jolley, and P. Turner Climatic controls on alluvial-fan activity, Coastal Cordillera, northern Chile Geological Society, London, Special Publications, January 1, 2005; 251(1): 95 - 116. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
| JOURNAL HOME | HELP | CONTACT PUBLISHER | SUBSCRIBE | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
