Petrography and geochemistry of the continental Triassic in Argentina used as an analog for Triassic-Jurassic siliciclastic deposits in the western Gulf of Mexico basin associated with the Pangea breakup

Abstract

In Argentina, continental Triassic sediments can be found in many extensional sedimentary basins. They overlie a complex basement consisting of several terranes. These sediments are important in geological cycles at different scales: large-scale cycles that cover several lithostratigraphic formations; and medium-scale cycles that involve the creation of formations or parts thereof, and which indicate uplift pulses of the basin hinterlands or the respective terranes. These medium-scale cycles also may be connected with volcanic events. With few exceptions, the uplift pulses in the different terranes occurred independently of one another, and they were a main controlling factor in the evolution of the basins. Petrological and geochemical analysis has provided a differentiated view of the evolution of the Triassic sedimentary basins, across space and through time. In general, the sediments were derived from traceable, stable blocks, magmatic arcs, and a variety of terranes.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90369 © 2020 AAPG Hedberg Conference, Geology and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Circum-Gulf of Mexico Pre-salt Section, Mexico City, Mexico, February 4-6, 2020