The Cerrito Blanco de Arizaro Formation is part of the widespread Cenozoic volcanism in the Southern Puna region. It comprises three lava domes (Domes 1, 2, and 3) with subcircular to slightly elliptical shapes, emplaced on gentle slopes. Domes 1 and 2 lie east of the Aracar volcano, while Dome 3 is located east of the Vega de Arizaro. Dome 1 consists solely of coherent lava, whereas Domes 2 and 3 display both coherent lava and autobreccia facies. Petrographically, the rocks contain plagioclase, quartz, and biotite crystals within a glassy groundmass. All three domes exhibit flow foliation, marked by variations in vesicle abundance and distribution, indicating emplacement under laminar flow conditions. Geochemically, the domes are high-silica rhyolites with a calc-alkaline signature
and features suggesting intraplate magmatic affinity. Their silica-rich composition and low rare earth element (REE) enrichment imply advanced fractionation of phases such as hornblende, pyroxene, and accessory minerals. Compared to other rhyolitic bodies in the region, these domes are distinguished by a subtle negative Eu anomaly and moderate Sm/Yb ratios, consistent with crystallization at intermediate depths in the crust.

The Miocene Vinchina Formation (VFm) is the thickest sedimentary unit of the Vinchina Basin, an Andean broken-foreland basin in northwestern Argentina. Between 16 and 7 Ma, more than 10,000 meters of sediments accumulated in this basin. The sedimentology and compositional characteristics of the unit have been thoroughly studied. However, its diagenetic history is poorly understood. Based on the composition of authigenic minerals and their temporal relationships in seventy-eight sandstone samples, this study presents an interpretation of the diagenesis of the VFm sandstones. Petrographic observations allowed identification of authigenic minerals and their temporal and spatial distribution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses helped differentiate zeolites and clay-mineral species. Using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) permitted the identification of crystal morphology and the composition of the neoformed phases. Sandstones of the VFm exhibit a diverse arrangement of twelve authigenic minerals, calcite, zeolites, and gypsum being the most prevalent. Their distribution varies geographically throughout the basin due to paleoenvironmental facies distribution, framework clast composition, and diagenetic processes. Carbonate cements dominate the coarser-grained (fluvial) facies in the northern region. In contrast, gypsum is more conspicuous in the finer-grained (lacustrine and playa lake) facies prevalent in the basin’s southern sector. Accordingly, clay cements increase from north to south as sediment grain size decreases. The distribution of zeolite cements correlates with the quantity and nature of volcanic clasts. Analcime is abundant in the upper and lower sections and correlates with rhyolitic paleovolcanic clasts. Heulandite and laumontite are frequent in the central and northern areas linked to pulses of andesitic neovolcanic detrital contributions. Finally, deep burial and uplift control the alteration of the neoformed authigenic phases. That is the case of the gypsum to anhydrite, clinoptilolite–heulandite to laumontite, and smectite illitization transformations during the mesogenesis or the formation of secondary porosity during telogenesis. Compositional and textural characteristics of VFm sandstone cements were used to produce a diagenetic model to explain the various pathways, from eogenesis to telogenesis, which occurred in different parts of the basin. Altogether, diagenetic studies suggest that primary composition, depositional-facies distribution, and burial depth were major controlling factors during diagenesis.

The occurrence of the laumontite–quartz mineral pair in sandstones of the lower part of the VFm suggests that maximum temperatures may have reached a range between 139 and 162 °C. Depending on the sedimentary thickness considered, these values are consistent with either a 13.9 °C/km or a 30 °C/km geothermal gradient.

Thus, establishing a robust depth–time model that considers the effects of progressive unconformities is necessary to determine the basin’s paleogeothermal gradient accurately.

The development and emplacement of magmatic bodies during the Middle Paleozoic along the western margin of Gondwana remain poorly understood. To better constrain the nature of these processes, petrographic, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), anisotropy of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (AARM) and rock magnetic studies were performed in 326 specimens from 23 sites on Late Famennian—Early Tournaisian (∼357 Ma) basic dike swarms exposed at the Cuesta de Miranda (29°20′26″S; 67°46′3″W) and the Cosme Creek (29°15′27″S; 67°53′4″W) localities in the southwestern Famatina System, La Rioja province, Argentina. AMS results reveal that in the Cuesta de Miranda area, the maximum anisotropy axis (K1) is in a sub-vertical position, while in the Cosme Creek, it is dipping ∼40° towards the ESE, parallel to the strike of the dikes. Rock magnetic studies suggest that magnetite is the main mineral contributing to susceptibility. AARM studies confirm that the main axes of the susceptibility ellipsoid given by the AMS correspond to a “normal” fabric. The obtained results allow us to propose an emplacement model, in which the magmatic source that originated the dikes of the Cuesta de Miranda area was located under this region leading to a vertical flow of the magma at this locality. In the Cosme Creek, magma emplacement occurred due to an oblique upward flow that migrated around 15 km towards NW. In this area, all dikes exhibit similar AMS patterns despite petrographic differences among them. This suggests the emplacement of different magma pulses controlled by pre-existing regional structures.

The temperate grassland and cultivated soils of the Western Pampa of Argentina, southern South America, developed over Late Pleistocene–Holocene aeolian sands, shifted from semiarid to dry subhumid in the past ~120 years with an increase of precipitation variability, concordant with significant changes in agricultural land use. This Western Pampean Dunefield (WPD) is a dormant system, mostly stabilised by vegetation and agriculture, with extensive reactivations during the 1930s ‘Pampas Dust Bowl’ and the current formation of new dunes in an anthropogenically disturbed landscape. Analysis of the complex assembled aeolian landforms of the WPD with quantification of vegetated dunes provides new associations for landscape evolution and aims to contribute to science-based land management. The methodology includes field surveys, remote sensing imagery, dune morphometry, site stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. Main aeolian bedforms are blowout dunes and sinuous ridges, associated with aeolian streaks, sand sheets and fluvial-aeolian plains. The blowout dunes (simple, compound and complex) reach tens to thousands of meters in diameter, have commonly superimposed dunes on the depositional lobes, and sand transport directions towards the NW, NNW-NNE and SW. The sinuous ridges, continuous for 100s m to 1–2 km, have nearly symmetrical profiles and two main crest orientations (NW-SE and SW–NE). Cross-dune patterns and associated OSL chronology allow proposing a morphostratigraphy scheme of compound and complex blowout dunes developed during the Late Pleistocene and growing since then, while sinuous ridges probably accreted in the Holocene. Young blowout dunes are penecontemporaneous and post-date sinuous ridges, reflecting significant aeolian reworking processes. Patches of barchanoid and reversing dunes superimposed on blowout dunes, which have been active since at least the CE 1970s, and the new dune formation in the past two decades, often in intensively cultivated areas, indicate that synergistic biogeomorphic processes may yield irreversible changes in semi-arid to dry subhumid landscapes with an aeolian legacy.

Permian times were characterized by distribution of land masses forming a supercontinent called Pangea. Although its existence has been accepted for many decades, there is still debate about its configuration. In order to provide new constraints on the position of Gondwana during late Paleozoic times, a paleomagnetic study was carried out on Carboniferous-Permian red beds exposed in the Famatinian Ranges, western Argentina (27°43′S 67°58′W). Eighty four oriented samples (11 sites) were submitted to standard stepwise demagnetization procedures. Magnetic analysis was complemented by acquisition of isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM), backfield curves and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) on selected specimens. Inclination shallowing due to compaction was evaluated by application of oriented acquisition of IRM and demagnetization experiments. The high-temperature magnetic components of sites are characterized by southward declinations with positive inclinations that yield a positive fold test. A new paleomagnetic pole is calculated and suggests an age of magnetization between 300 and 270 Ma, thatmatches with a Pangea B distribution although a Pangea A2 model can not be ruled out if the magnetization age is restricted to 280-270 Ma.

A detailed geological study of the Guando oilfield has identified a modern landslide phenomenon that significantly alters the previous structural model and affects production challenges. The multi-compositional nature of the oil-bearing Cretaceous sequences of the Villeta Group, the rugged relief, the climatic incidence, and seismic activity in the Upper Magdalena Valley trigger the Guando Slump, which adjusts the topography to levels of greater stability. The previous tectonic model of the Guando oilfield was based on the superposition of an internally disturbed block by the Boquerón thrust. However, in its westernmost segment, this structure shows angular incompatibilities with the expected horizontal stress fields. Therefore, based on a detailed 3D interpretation of geological maps, DEM, and available geophysical data, we propose that this segment must be associated with the surface of the underlying detachment of the Guando Slump. The horizontal displacement of the landslide, ranging from 1 to 2 km, deforms and collapses the wells that reach the underlying productive reservoirs. This study describes the relationship of this new tectonic model of the Guando oilfield, considering the westernmost segment of the Boquerón thrust as a detachment of the Guando Slump. This real-life example, if properly monitored, will contribute to a better management of the possible causes and consequences of technical problems encountered in the Guando oilfield exploration and prevent catastrophic risks to the production facilities.

As humans expanded across the globe, the Americas were the last continents to be colonized. While debates persist regarding the timing and mechanisms of this process, it is widely accepted that by the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, the New World was populated from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. During this period, hunter-gatherer societies demonstrated remarkable cultural and adaptive diversity, particularly in subsistence strategies and technological innovations. The colonization of the Americas offers valuable insights into population dynamics, human–environment interactions, species extinctions, and adaptive capacities. From an interdisciplinary perspective that combines an isotopic analysis of megafaunal remains with archaeological evidence, this study examines human interactions with Pleistocene fauna in the south–central region of South America’s Southern Cone. Isotopic analyses provide information about the diets, adaptations, and climatic challenges faced by megafaunal communities. Archaeological evidence reveals that humans utilized megafauna and other Pleistocene species for food and tool production. These findings are supported by evidence such as cut marks and bone tools, but also by sealed sediment layers and/or indisputable associations of lithic artifacts. This research contributes to our understanding of human dispersal in the Southern Cone during the colonization of the Americas, shedding light on the regional environments and adaptive strategies of early populations.

The geodynamic evolution of the basement of the Patagonian Precordillera (Argentina) began with middle to late Paleozoic tectonometamorphic and magmatic events. Subsequent exhumation was triggered by brittle-ductile to brittle deformation from Mesozoic to Cenozoic times thought the thermal evolution of this stage is relatively unexplored in most basement areas. In this study, we assess the cooling-thermal evolution in the upper crust, providing new thermal models based on fission-track and (U-Th)/He thermochronology data in zircon and apatite belonging to basement inliers of the Patagonian Precordillera. Most thermal models show similar decreasing time-temperature paths (t-T), from which three stages are distinguished. The Late Triassic – Jurassic stage exhibits a rather undefined cooling trajectory and cooling rates (0.56–2.2°C/My), which are temporally correlated with high magmatic productivity and extensional deformation related to extensional tectonic settings. This first stage might have resulted from coupled tectonothermal processes consisting of extensional faulting and high-temperature gradient. Subsequently, a relatively fast temperature decrease (2.75–5°C/My) for the late Early Cretaceous to Paleocene is likely related to a compressive stage associated with the growth of the early Andean Orogen. Low cooling rates (<1°C/My) characterize the third stage correlative with Palaeogene arc magmatism. Although this low cooling rate remains until present day conditions, one thermal model denotes a final high cooling rate during Miocene linked to the second compression stage of the Andean Orogen. Results thus indicate that one of the most significant exhumation event recorded in basement rocks of the Patagonian Andean foreland took place during the late Early Cretaceous – Paleocene stage.

This work presents new K–Ar and X-ray diffraction illite data for Middle Jurassic sedimentary sequences (i.e. Mount Flora and Camp Hill formations) of the Antarctic Peninsula, providing the thermal evolution of the Mesozoic tectonic history of the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent regions. Samples of the Camp Hill Formation at Camp Hill Peninsula (Botany Bay) yielded middle Permian–early Triassic K–Ar ages that are associated with upper–lower anchizonal conditions, reflecting the input of detrital illite derived from the Trinity Peninsula Group. Maximum temperatures of up to c. 175°C, constrained by vitrinite reflectance data, were achieved during the Jurassic–Early Cretaceous burial of the Camp Hill Formation, contemporaneously with magmatism. In contrast, samples of the Mount Flora Formation show Late Cretaceous ages mainly related to upper anchizonal conditions, which result from hydrothermal processes linked with coeval igneous intrusions. Late Cretaceous arc magmatism was coupled with widespread hydrothermal activity that is well documented throughout the northern Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands.