Convenors:
Dr. Juan E. Otamendi (UNRC – CONICET); Dr. Alina B. Guereschi (UNC – CONICET); Dr. Alina M. Tibaldi (UNRC – CONICET); Dr. Roberto D. Martino (UNC – CONICET); Dr. Silvio H. Peralta (UNSJ)
The Pre-Andean Tectonics Symposium has been held continuously since the XVII Argentine Geological Congress, organized in San Salvador de Jujuy in 2008, with steadily increasing participation from a wide range of geological disciplines. It is a multidisciplinary symposium aimed at discussing and integrating different aspects of geological knowledge, with a central focus on the tectonic implications of geological evolution prior to Andean deformation. The study of pre-Andean tectonics constitutes a fundamental pillar for understanding the geodynamic evolution of the western margin of Gondwana and its relationship to the processes that gave rise to the modern Andes Mountains. This symposium provides a forum to integrate recent data and discuss current models from a multidisciplinary perspective, fostering exchange among researchers with diverse approaches.
Our objectives focus on the pre-Andean tectonic evolution of the pale-Pacific margin of western Gondwana, primarily controlled by the accretion of different terranes and by interactions with cratonic masses amalgamated with the subducted oceanic slab. This geodynamic framework shaped the development of diverse tectonic events recorded in the rocks that currently comprise the Andean foreland from the Proterozoic to the Mesozoic. Processes associated with these events left a clear imprint on the crust: metamorphism, magmatism, deformation, and the generation of sedimentary basins reveal significant heterogeneities in the upper plate, which may have controlled the pattern, style, and distribution of structures associated with subsequent tectonic events. At a regional scale, geophysical studies support the extension of these heterogeneities into both the crust and mantle.
Because many of these objectives are closely linked to the research and conclusions of Prof. Víctor A. Ramos—presented at Argentine Geological Congresses and published in scientific journals—we wish to dedicate this symposium to his prolific career. We believe that Víctor fundamentally transformed the tectonic interpretation of the Andes Mountains, their foreland, and southern South America by integrating terrane accretion, crustal inheritance, and plate tectonics within the broader geodynamic framework of South America.
Knowledge of pre-Andean tectonics has direct implications for natural resource exploration, geological hazard assessment, and the interpretation of deep crustal architecture. It also contributes to the development of comparative models applicable to other convergent margins worldwide. We also aim to promote an integrative discussion that advances understanding of the lithospheric and asthenospheric processes that controlled the construction of the continental margin.
Through this proposal, we seek to encourage the geoscience community to critically examine the hypotheses and evidence surrounding terrane accretion models in southwestern Gondwana from a contemporary perspective, linking them to Paleozoic and Mesozoic evolution, crustal inheritance, and Andean structuring within the paradigm of plate tectonics. Contributions that integrate multiple disciplines and provide new data or interpretations on pre-Andean tectonic evolution are especially encouraged.
With nearly two decades of continuity within the Argentine Geological Congresses, this symposium has become a leading forum for discussion of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the proto-Andean margin of western Gondwana. In its seventh edition, it seeks to synthesize the progress achieved during this period, promote collaboration among different research lines, and contribute to the training of new generations of geoscientists.
