Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364

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Journal of South American Earth Sciences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jsames

The late stages of the Pampean Orogeny, Co
rdoba (Argentina):

Evidence of postcollisional Early Cambrian slab break-off magmatism
Victor A. Ramos a, *, Mo

nica Escayola a, Pablo Leal b, Marcio M. Pimentel c,
~o O.S. Santos d
Joa
a
Instituto de Estudios Andinos Don Pablo Groeber (Universidad de Buenos Aires e CONICET), Argentina
b
Departamento de Geología, F.C.E.y N., Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
c
Instituto de Geoci^
encias, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília-DF 70910-900, Brazil
d
University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Widespread rhyolitic and mafic volcanism in the northern and southern sectors respectively of Eastern
Received 30 April 2015 Sierras Pampeanas, central western Argentina, are associated with an important phase of extension and
Received in revised form uplift linked to slab break-off on latest stages of the Pampean Orogeny. The main orogenic deformation
26 July 2015
took place between 540 and 535 Ma based on new ages available for this region. New UePb ages in
Accepted 4 August 2015
zircons from the Onca
n Rhyolite and new and old recalculated zircons from Los Burros Rhyodacite in the
Available online 8 August 2015
northern sector of Sierras de Co
rdoba, together with new UePb ages of the southern sector, indicate that
volcanic and subvolcanic rocks of both sectors are partially coeval and unconformably overlying and/or
Keywords:
Sierras Pampeanas
intruding the basement rocks during a period of exhumation and subsequent cooling at 530-520 Ma.
Western Gondwana These data are in agreement with previous estimates for the final uplift of the Sierras de Co
rdoba based
Rhyolites on the KeAr cooling ages. The southern sector of Eastern Sierras Pampeanas may represent deeper
Neoproterozoic structural levels within the crust and is characterized by the occurrence of small mafic bodies with OIB-
Cambrian like signature. New and reinterpreted UePb SHRIMP and TIMS ages on zircons and monazites in the
Orogenic collapse metamorphic associated rocks date this episode, which is related to a rapid slab break-off event at 519-
515 Ma. This episode is also associated with the emplacement of peraluminous granitoids, and with the
extension, cooling and final uplift of the rocks affected by the Pampean Orogeny all along the Eastern
Sierras Pampeanas.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
A long-standing controversy in the geological evolution of the
Sierras Pampeanas of central Argentina has been the age of their
metamorphic rocks and granitoids, which varies from Precambrian
to Paleozoic (Gordillo and Lencinas, 1972). The Sierras Pampeanas
are a series of blocks uplifted during Andean deformation in the
broken foreland of central Argentina that expose crystalline base-
ment (Ramos et al., 2002). Early isotopic data from this basement
showed that many metamorphic rocks, mainly the amphibolites
dated by KeAr, had a late Neoproterozoic minimum age, whereas
the granitoids were early Paleozoic (Linares and Latorre, 1969;
Linares and Cordani, 1976). However, subsequent refinement and
precision achieved by UePb geochronology, suggested that most of
* Corresponding author.
the orogeny affecting the eastern Sierras Pampeanas was short-
lived and developed during early Cambrian times (Rapela et al.,
1998). Nevertheless, several authors relate this orogeny to the
main collision between the Rio de La Plata craton and the accreted
Pampia block during late Neoproterozoic times (Kraemer et al.,
1995; Escayola et al., 2007; among others). The last stage of the
orogeny is evidenced in the northern Sierras de Co
rdoba by rhyo-
litic lavas, associated domes and dikes preserved at shallow struc-
tural levels intruding deformed granitoids and metamorphic rocks
which are unconformably covered by these sequences. In the
southern Sierras de Co
rdoba coeval rocks represented by gabbroic
OIB like plutons are emplaced in granulitic and charnockite meta-
morphic rocks, and represent a much deeper crustal level, but both
sectors together provide an opportunity to date the minimum age
of the deformation and subsequent collision.
The objective of this paper is to describe these volcanic rocks,
present precise radiometric ages and to analyze the tectonic

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2015.08.002
0895-9811/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
352 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364
implication of their emplacement. In order to refine our model
described here for the evolution of Eastern Sierras Pampeanas we
include new SHRIMP and TIMS data of migmatites genetically
related to OIB-like gabbros generated during the late stages of the
Pampean orogeny in the southern part of the present study area.
2. Geologic setting of Eastern Sierras Pampeanas
The study area is located in northern and southern Sierras de
Co
rdoba, which is part of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas of central-
western Argentina (Fig. 1).This region is characterized by a series of
crystalline basement blocks uplifted during the Andean deforma-
tion at the northeastern end of the present flat-slab subduction
zone (Jordan et al., 1983). The basement of the Eastern Sierras
Pampeanas of Co
rdoba is composed by three different rock as-
semblages:(1) supracrustal mainly metasedimentary rocks in me-
dium to high amphibolite to granulite facies including metatexites
and diatexites and carbonate sequences which have poorly con-
strained ages between late Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian,
associated with syn to post migmatitic gabbroic intrusions (Can ~ ada
del Puerto at the migmatitic San Carlos massif to the north and
several mafic plutons as Suya Taco and others to the south) and
ultramafic rocks; (2) a series of metaluminous granitoids ranging
from granodiorites to monzogranites (Lira et al., 1997) with arc
signature and late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian ages (Miro
studies based on a larger population indicate two dominant ages,
et al., 2005); and (3) minor domes and small intrusives of dacitic
composition like the Los Burros Rhyodacite (Leal et al., 2003), and
widespread dikes and small domes of rhyolites that make up the
Onca
n Rhyolite and are associated with small aplitic bodies (Miro

and Sapp, 2001) assigned to the late Cambrian based on a whole
rock RbeSr age (Rapela et al., 1991).
3. Methodology
The isotopic analyses have been done in three different labo-
ratories. The volcanic rocks were analyzed by Sensitive High Mass
Resolution Ion MicroProbe (SHRIMP II) UePb at Curtin University,
Western Australia, in two sessions using an analytical spot size of
about 20e25 mm (Tables 1 and 2). Individual analyses are composed
of measurement of nine masses repeated in five scans. The
following masses were analyzed for zircon: (Zr2O, 204Pb, back-
ground, 206Pb, 207Pb, 208Pb, 238U, 248ThO, 254UO). The standards D23
and NBS611 were used to identify the position of the peak of the
mass 204Pb, whereas the calibration of the U-content and the Pb/U
ratio were done using the zircon standard BR266 (559 Ma, 903 ppm
U). Data were reduced using the SQUID 1.03 software (Ludwig,
2001a,b) and the ages calculated using Isoplot 3.0 (Ludwig, 2003).
The Phanerozoic ages are mean average 206Pb/238U ages whereas
the Precambrian ages are mean average 207Pb/206Pb ages all
calculated at 2s level.
Additional ion microprobe analyses were carried out using
SHRIMPeRG at the Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian
National University, Canberra, Australia (Table 3). Transmitted and
reflected light microscopy, as well as scanning electron microscope
cathodo-luminescence images were used to investigate the internal
structure of zircon crystals prior to analysis. The data was collected
and reduced using the method described by Williams and Claesson
(1987) and Compston et al. (1992). Uncertainties are reported at the
1s level and final ages are quoted with a 95% confidence level.
Reduction of raw data and age calculation were carried out using
SQUID 1.02 and Isoplot-Ex (Ludwig, 2003). U/Pb isotope ratios were
referenced to the RSES standard zircon FC1 (1099 Ma,
206
Pb*/238U ¼ 0.1859). U and Th concentrations were determined
relative to those measured in the RSES standard SL13.
The third set of isotopic analyses (Tables 4 and 5) was carried out
at the Geochronology Laboratory of the University of Brasília by
TIMS e Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry. Zircon dissolution
and chemical extraction of U and Pb were done according to the
general procedures described by Krogh and Davis (1973).
The errors of the isotopic ratios and ages are quoted at 2 sigma
for the data generated on SHRIMP II (Tables 1 and 2) and SHRIMP-
RG (Table 3), as well as the data produced by TIMS (Tables 4 and 5).
3.1. The metamorphic rocks of the northern sector of Eastern Sierras
Pampeanas
The metamorphic sequence exposed in the Sierra Norte de
Co
rdoba is composed of medium- to high-grade metamorphic
rocks represented by quartz-biotite schists, tonalitic gneisses, am-
phibolites and migmatites grouped in the Pozo del Macho Forma-
tion by Castellote (1985). Isolated remnants of low grade
metamorphic rocks such as metalimestones, quartz phyllites and
metacoglomerates are part of the Simbol Huasi Formation defined
by Lucero (1969) and Miro
and Sapp (2001), and recently described
by Von Gosen and Prozzi (2010).
The protoliths of the Sierras de Co
rdoba metasedimentary rocks
have a maximum age of sedimentation in the latest Proter-
ozoiceEarly Cambrian based on limited detrital zircon analyses
(Rapela et al., 1998; Sims et al., 1998; Steenken et al., 2011). Recent
Neoproterozoic (~600e700 Ma) and Mesoproterozoic
(950e1050 Ma), and a limited presence of Paleoproterozoic
(~1900 Ma) zircons (Schwartz and Gromet, 2004). Almost half of
the zircons have a Mesoproterozoic age indicating erosion of a
Grenville-age source, which may indicate an older basement in the
western and northern sectors as pointed out by Cingolani and
Varela (1975) and Escayola et al. (2007). Some gneisses yielded
UePb ages of 553 ± 7 Ma (Schwartz et al., 2008) and 533 ± 12 Ma
(Siegesmund et al., 2010) (see Fig. 2 for location).
3.2. The granitoids of the northern sector of Eastern Sierras
Pampeanas
The granitic batholith of Eastern Sierras Pampeanas has been
studied by several authors. Calc-alkaline magmatic rocks of latest
Proterozoic and Cambrian age underlie much of the Sierra Norte,
Sierra de Ambargasta and Sierra de Sumampa regions in the
Eastern Sierras Pampeanas (Fig. 2). These metaluminous to
weakly peraluminous granitoids have been analyzed by Lira et al.
(1997) and mapped in detail by Candiani et al. (2000) and Miro

and Sapp (2001), among others. Geochemical characteristics
suggest that these granitoids are arc-related (Lira et al., 1997) and
provide a record of subduction and convergent margin tectonics
along the western margin of Gondwana in the late Neo-
proterozoic (Ramos, 1988; Rapela et al., 1998; Miro
et al., 2005;
Schwartz et al., 2008).
Early KeAr geochronological studies show a wide range of ages
between 600 and 510 Ma (Castellote, 1982, 1985; Gonz
alez et al.,
1985), and other ages within this range were obtained by RbeSr
analyses (Millone et al., 2003). However, new studies based on
UePb dating of zircons offer better constraints on the crystalliza-
tion age of the different granitic suites of the batholith. The first
ages reported by Rapela et al. (1998) for granitic rocks of this
batholith have been partially confirmed by subsequent work of
Schwartz et al. (2008), Siegesmund et al. (2010) and Ianizzotto et al.
(2013). Ages are indicated in Fig. 2. The age of the granitoids varies
from more than 540 Ma to 530 Ma as established by Schwartz et al.
(2008). However, some granites such as the Tres Lomas Granite
have ages around 533 Ma, which is similar to the San Miguel
Orthogneiss (533 ± 2 Ma and 533 ± 12 Ma, Siegesmund et al., 2010).
 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364 353

rdoba. The location of the Atos Pampa

Fig. 1. The Eastern Sierras Pampeanas of central-western Argentina showing the northern and southern sectors studied in the Sierras de Co
Massif and the main localities cited in the text are also shown (based on Ramos et al., 2010).
354 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364

Table 1
UePb SHRIMP II isotopic data of zircons from sample P48, Los Burros Rhyodacite.
207
Th 206 Pb
Spot U Th U Pb 4f206 206 Pb Isotopic ratios Ages Disc. %
ppm ppm ppm (%) 207
Pb 206
Pb 208
Pb 207
Pb 206
Pb
235 U 238 U Error 232 Th 206 Pb 238 U

Correl.

b.1-1 88 48 0.56 6.0 0.31 0.05452 ± 4.62 0.5934 ± 4.72 0.0789 ± 0.98 0.207 0.0241 ± 3.03 393 ± 104 489.7 ± 4.6 24.74
b.1-1b 87 47 0.56 5.8 0.26 0.05441 ± 5.88 0.5846 ± 5.95 0.0779 ± 0.94 0.158 0.0240 ± 4.36 388 ± 132 483.7 ± 4.4 24.62
b.2-1 211 190 0.93 15.3 0.00 0.05760 ± 2.22 0.6730 ± 2.34 0.0847 ± 0.74 0.317 0.0265 ± 1.64 515 ± 49 524.3 ± 3.7 1.86
b.4-1 518 331 0.66 38.5 0.05 0.05721 ± 1.14 0.6818 ± 1.23 0.0864 ± 0.47 0.381 0.0273 ± 0.98 500 ± 25 534.4 ± 2.4 6.91
b.6-1 174 91 0.54 12.2 0.12 0.05719 ± 2.55 0.6444 ± 2.71 0.0817 ± 0.92 0.341 0.0256 ± 2.22 499 ± 56 506.3 ± 4.5 1.47
b.7-1 162 102 0.65 11.7 0.34 0.05860 ± 1.95 0.6651 ± 2.05 0.0835 ± 0.65 0.316 0.0266 ± 1.63 520 ± 42 517.3 ± 3.2 0.58
b.8-1 143 64 0.47 10.5 0.21 0.05803 ± 2.59 0.6866 ± 2.68 0.0858 ± 0.68 0.255 0.0265 ± 2.57 531 ± 57 530.7 ± 3.5 0.03
B.8-2 141 72 0.53 9.4 0.98 0.05764 ± 5.33 0.6141 ± 5.39 0.0773 ± 0.77 0.143 0.0252 ± 4.65 516 ± 117 479.8 ± 3.6 7.01
b.12-1 132 54 0.42 9.3 0.18 0.05764 ± 3.48 0.6505 ± 3.56 0.0818 ± 0.77 0.217 0.0248 ± 3.85 516 ± 76 507.1 ± 3.8 1.77
b.12-2 57 32 0.58 4.0 0.00 0.05923 ± 3.14 0.6504 ± 3.63 0.0820 ± 1.83 0.503 0.0273 ± 3.17 513 ± 68 509.1 ± 8.9 0.78
b.13-1 133 78 0.61 9.3 0.11 0.05842 ± 2.57 0.6553 ± 2.67 0.0814 ± 0.75 0.280 0.0264 ± 2.33 545 ± 56 504.2 ± 3.6 7.56
b.18-1 300 206 0.71 21.4 0.03 0.05808 ± 1.52 0.6643 ± 1.60 0.0829 ± 0.50 0.311 0.0258 ± 1.22 533 ± 33 513.7 ± 2.5 3.60
b.19-1 157 107 0.70 11.2 0.02 0.05824 ± 2.02 0.6663 ± 2.13 0.0830 ± 0.66 0.308 0.0263 ± 1.62 539 ± 44 513.9 ± 3.2 4.62
b.19-2 213 168 0.81 15.2 0.08 0.05657 ± 1.71 0.6451 ± 1.87 0.0827 ± 0.76 0.404 0.0254 ± 1.38 475 ± 38 512.3 ± 3.7 7.91
b.19-3 120 68 0.58 8.5 0.32 0.05821 ± 3.29 0.6595 ± 3.37 0.0822 ± 0.76 0.226 0.0246 ± 3.02 538 ± 72 509.1 ± 3.7 5.32

Notes: Isotopic ratios errors in %.

All Pb in ratios are radiogenic component corrected for 204Pb.
disc. ¼ discordance, as 100e100{t[206Pb/238U]/t[207Pb/206Pb]}.
f206 ¼ (common 206Pb)/(total measured 206Pb) based on measured 204
Pb.
Uncertainties are 2s.

Table 2
UePb SHRIMP II isotopic data of zircons from sample 903, Oncan Rhyolite.

Spot U Th Th Pb 4f206 (%) Isotopic ratios Ages Disc. %

U
ppm ppm ppm 207
Pb 207
Pb 206
Pb 208
Pb 207
Pb 206
Pb
206 Pb 235 U 238 U Error 232 Th 206 Pb 238 U

Correl.

903, felsic volcanic rock

a.2-1 117 74 0.65 8.5 1.00 0.05699 ± 3.80 0.6593 ± 3.99 0.0839 ± 1.19 0.300 0.0260 ± 3.22 491 ± 84 519.4 ± 6.0 5.79
a.4-1 301 182 0.63 22.1 0.14 0.05831 ± 1.68 0.6845 ± 1.97 0.0851 ± 1.02 0.517 0.0265 ± 1.76 541 ± 37 526.7 ± 5.1 2.71
a.5-1 180 187 1.08 13.2 0.85 0.05810 ± 4.55 0.6784 ± 4.69 0.0847 ± 1.11 0.237 0.0264 ± 2.44 534 ± 100 524.1 ± 5.6 1.78
a.5-2 129 68 0.54 9.5 0.89 0.05966 ± 5.71 0.6962 ± 5.84 0.0846 ± 1.21 0.208 0.0264 ± 5.97 591 ± 124 523.7 ± 6.1 11.41
a.6-1 2154 976 0.47 154.4 0.22 0.05783 ± 0.95 0.6641 ± 1.27 0.0833 ± 0.85 0.666 0.0250 ± 2.58 523 ± 21 515.7 ± 4.2 1.45
a.6-1b 1516 705 0.48 108.1 0.23 0.05806 ± 1.14 0.6634 ± 1.44 0.0829 ± 0.87 0.607 0.0262 ± 1.46 532 ± 25 513.2 ± 4.3 3.57
a.7-1 346 277 0.82 25.6 0.36 0.05815 ± 2.34 0.6867 ± 2.53 0.0857 ± 0.96 0.380 0.0265 ± 3.12 535 ± 51 529.8 ± 4.9 1.03
a.7-2 309 156 0.52 22.6 0.27 0.05798 ± 2.69 0.6773 ± 2.87 0.0847 ± 1.02 0.354 0.0265 ± 2.72 529 ± 59 524.3 ± 5.1 0.87
a.13-1 445 301 0.70 32.4 0.12 0.05804 ± 1.57 0.6763 ± 1.84 0.0845 ± 0.97 0.526 0.0257 ± 1.49 531 ± 34 523.0 ± 4.9 1.59
a.14-1 173 203 1.21 12.3 0.29 0.05717 ± 3.11 0.6503 ± 3.32 0.0825 ± 1.15 0.348 0.0252 ± 2.15 498 ± 69 511.0 ± 5.7 2.61
204
Notes: Isotopic ratios errors in %. All Pb in ratios are radiogenic component, all corrected for Pb.
Disc. ¼ discordance, as 100100{t[206Pb/238U]/t[207Pb/206Pb]}.
4f206 ¼ (common 206Pb)/(total measured 206Pb) based on measured 204Pb.
Uncertainties are 1s.

This clearly indicates that some foliated granitoids, and some Escayola et al. (2007) in the southern sector of Eastern Sierras
postectonic granites share common ages as result of the important Pampeanas (Fig. 3).
anatexis and hydrothermal activity recorded in the last postcolli-
sional stages affecting the region (Lira et al., 2009). In a recent
3.3. The volcanic rocks of the northern sector of Eastern Sierras
synthesis Lira et al. (2014) established that the 8000 sq. kms. of the
Pampeanas
batholith exposed in the northern Sierras de Co
rdoba and adjacent
regions, extended between 560 Ma to 500 Ma, with late hydro-
Since the early study of Lucero (1969) it is evident that a series of
thermal episodes until 485 Ma.
volcanic rocks was emplaced over the metamorphic and granitic
Ianizzotto et al. (2013) recently presented UePb SHRIMP data
basement of northern Sierras de Co
rdoba. These suites were
for two different suites, one affected by deformation and myloni-
divided in three units, the Los Burros Rhyodacites, the Onca
n
tization and a second emplaced after deformation ceased. The older
Rhyolite and the Balbuena Formation. See recent review of O'Leary
deformed suite belonging to the Juan García Granite yielded the age
et al. (2014) for a comprehensive description of their distribution
of 537 ± 4 Ma, whereas the Villa Albertina Granite crystallized at
and characteristics.
530 ± 4 Ma (see location in Fig. 2). However, all have relatively high
initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.706 to at least 0.710), negative εNdT values
(1.7 to 5.9) and, in some cases, inherited 600 Ma and 970 Ma 3.3.1. Los Burros Rhyodacites
zircons, similar to the isotopic signature and zircon provenance These rocks are exposed on the western slope of the Sierra de
seen in the metamorphic host rocks, which suggests anatexis or Ambargasta and have been described by Leal et al. (2003). Here, a
strong contamination with the country rocks (Ianizzotto et al., subvolcanic dome of semicircular shape exposed in the western
2013). These ages are similar to comparable suites dated by flank of the range is intruded into the deformed foliated granites
 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364 355

and is truncated by a north-trending fault. The rocks have a hyp-

Err corr
abyssal texture with phenocrysts of quartz, plagioclase, biotite and

0.493
0.615
0.454
0.793
0.496
0.504
0.654
0.578
0.597
0.710
0.325
0.691
0.839
0.556
0.414
hornblende, in a microcrystalline matrix. According to Castellote
(1988), the volcanic rocks were emplaced after the main defor-

0.95

0.98
1.0
1.1
1.1

1.1
1.2
1.0
1.1
1.1

1.2

1.0
1.0
1.1
mation, which is associated with approximately 8 km uplift of the
±%

10
deformed granites.
Pb/238U

Early KeAr studies of this subvolcanic body yielded ages of

0.08006
0.08106
0.08229
0.08914
0.08391
0.08248
0.08455
0.08414
0.08950
0.08206

0.09361
0.1482

0.2974
0.1141
0.0980
523 ± 15 Ma and 499 ± 20 Ma (Castellote, 1985), which were
±% (1)
206

interpreted as cooling ages associated with hydrothermal

2.1
1.7
2.5
1.2
2.2
2.3
1.6
1.9
1.9
1.4
3.8
1.4
1.2
1.8
2.7
alteration.
The first UePb TIMS study of abraded zircons in these exposures
Pb/235U

yielded an age of 557 ± 4 Ma (So €llner et al., 2000). However, as the

0.7158

0.6584
0.616
0.658
0.652

0.672
0.668
0.672
0.678
0.714

1.436
0.774
4.481
0.965
0.807
few zircons dated were discordant, with low 206Pb/204Pb ratios, the
(1)
207

upper intercept was interpreted as a minimum age of crystalliza-

0.73

0.97

0.66 tion by these authors.

1.8
1.4
2.3

1.9
2.0
1.2
1.6
1.5

3.6
1.0

1.5
2.4
±%

To elucidate these results we dated more zircons by UePb

Pb/206Pb*

SHRIMP from samples of the same locality we have collected in

0.05884

0.05823

0.05761
0.05848
0.05788
0.05819

0.06000
0.10929
0.06131
0.0558

0.0574

0.0581
0.0588

0.0703

0.0597

Leal et al. (2003), and obtained a new age for the Los Burros
Rhyodacites. The final results are within the range of the ones we
(1)
207

have obtained with Leal et al. (2003, compare their Fig. 5 with the
0.95

0.98
1.0
1.1
1.1

1.1
1.2
1.0
1.1
1.1

1.2

1.0
1.0
1.1

present Fig. 3). Backscattered-electron images of zircons of the

±%

10

Los Burros Rhyodacite indicate typical euhedral volcanic zircons

U/206Pb*

(Leal et al., 2003; their Fig. 4). The results are recalculated to a 2s
6.748

3.363
8.761

level as shown in Table 1 and Fig. 3, which indicate three different

12.49
12.34
12.15
11.22
11.92
12.12
11.83
11.89
11.17
12.19

10.68

10.20
(1)
238

ages.
The older ages were interpreted by Leal et al. (2003) as xen-
0.73

0.88

0.86
0.56
0.83
1.1
1.1
1.4

1.2
1.4
1.0
1.6
1.2

3.1

1.2
±%

ocrysts inherited from the foliated granite country rock. However,

Pb/206Pb

since these rocks are profusely intruded by rhyolitic dikes corre-

lated with the Onc

0.05719
0.05953
0.05897
0.05823
0.05994
0.06036
0.05856
0.05848
0.05881
0.05823

0.06175
0.11067
0.06357
0.06287

an Rhyolite, we favor the new concordia age of

0.0733
Total

531 ± 3.5 Ma as the age of crystallization of the rhyodacite. The

207

younger concordia age of 511.3 ± 2.4 Ma age is interpreted to be

0.95

0.98
1.0
1.1
1.1

1.1
1.2
1.0
1.1
1.1

1.2

1.0
1.0
1.1

related to thermal events in the rhyodacite associated with coeval

±%

10

emplacement of the rhyolitic dikes (see next section). The youngest

Pb/206PbAge Dis-cor-dant 238U/206Pb

age of 483.5 ± 2.4 Ma, could be related to the late hydrothermal

6.723

3.358
8.737

activity described by Lira et al. (2009), which is associated with the

12.47
12.33
12.13
11.22
11.89
12.10
11.81
11.89
11.16
12.19

10.66

10.16
Total

late emplacement of spessartite lamprophyric dikes dated at

485 ± 25 Ma by a whole-rock RbeSr isochron in Sierra Norte-
Pb.
204

Ambargasta (O'Leary et al., 2009), as well as the Ordovician (490-

Notes: Isotopic ratios errors in %. All Pb in ratios are radiogenic component, all corrected for

470 Ma) regional convergent-transpression shear zones proposed

12
10
0
2
2
9
2
5
5
5
5
5
6
7
2

by Martino (2003). Similar KeAr ages have been obtained by

%

Steenken et al. (2010).

445 ± 41
561 ± 30
509 ± 50
539 ± 16
532 ± 41
559 ± 44
515 ± 26
548 ± 34
525 ± 33
537 ± 21
936 ± 73
604 ± 23
15 1788.0 ± 12
650 ± 32
591 ± 53

n Rhyolite
4f206 ¼ (common 206Pb)/(total measured 206Pb) based on measured 204Pb.

3.3.2. The Onca

This unit was defined by Gonz

(1)
207

alez (1977) at the vicinities of

Summary of SHRIMP-RG UePb data of zircons from sample kinzigite.

Onca
n (see Fig. 2). Dikes and sills of rhyolitic composition intrude
5.0
5.1
5.6
5.0
5.3
5.8
5.2
5.5
5.9
4.8

5.5

6.6
6.4
10
Pb* 206Pb/238U

all previous rocks, forming, in some cases, subvolcanic bodies up to

±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±

Disc. ¼ discordance, as 100 - 100{t[206Pb/238U]/t[207Pb/206Pb]}.

100 km2. These high silica (75e77% SiO2) rhyolites are weakly
496.5
502.4
509.8
550.5
519.4
510.9
523.2
520.8
552.6
508.4
891.0
576.8
1678.0
696.8
602.9
Age
(1)

peraluminous with a typical calcalkaline trend (Rapela et al., 1991).

Their isotopic composition with high 87Sr/86Sr ratios
Th/238U Ppm

19.8
18.5
11.6
45.8
17.1
11.8
21.8
15.5
14.9
26.5
22.4
31.9
71.5
42.8
21.2

(0.79898e0.89906) indicates important crustal contamination by

206

melting of previous rocks.

The first ages for the Onca
n Rhyolite obtained in its type locality
were based on an RbeSr isochron for several samples that yielded
0.07
0.25
0.28
0.31
0.06
0.56
0.61
0.14
0.08
0.02
0.19
0.12
0.55
0.42
0.31
232

494 ± 11 Ma (Rapela et al., 1991). We have sampled the rhyolite in

the same locality for zircon UePb SHRIMP geochronology. The re-
Ppm Ppm

21
64
45
179
13
91
177
29
15
7
32
45
148
176
75
Th

sults are shown in Table 2 and in Fig. 4.

The new data show a concordant zircon UePb age of
288
266
164
599
237
167
299
214
193
376
175
395
279
435
251
Pbc U

521.1 ± 1.6 Ma, which is interpreted as the crystallization age of the

Uncertainties are 1s.

Onca
n Rhyolite.
0.17
0.08
0.19
0.00
0.23
0.19
0.12
0.00
0.11
0.00
0.37
0.21
0.16
0.28
0.39
206
Grain. Spot %

Slightly younger ages were obtained by Millone et al. (2003)

based on PbePb ages in galena associated with some rhyolitic
dikes. These authors identified two sets of ages, 514.9 to 515 Ma,
Table 3

10.1
11.1
12.1
12.1
14.1
15.1

and 444.6 to 466.2 Ma. The older ages are similar to the UePb age of
1.2
2.1
2.2
3.1
4.1
5.1
6.1
8.1
8.2

the Onca
n Rhyolite.

356 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364

Table 4
UePb TIMS isotopic data on zircon from Kinzigite of the Atos Pampa Massif.

Sample Fraction Size (mg) U Pb Th Th/U Pb 206 Pb207* (pct) Pb206* (pct) Correl.
ppm ppm ppm ppm Pb204 U235 U238 Coeff.
(obs.) (rho)

KINZI 6 0.032 179.15 16.41 34.01 0.189840915 3005.494 0.759513 0.806 0.0910277 0.767 0.951884
KINZI 7 0.026 307.47 26.523 41.85 0.13611084 1305.023 0.68563 0.912 0.0847178 0.638 0.70193
KINZI 8 0.037 283.82 23.688 29.41 0.103622014 3992.022 0.672346 0.395 0.0840235 0.377 0.85396
KINZI 10 0.028 152.19 14.429 38.36 0.252053354 1781.692 0.817708 1.86 0.0907183 0.688 0.3713
KINZI 9 0.025 114.6 9.6473 43.53 0.379842932 1331.807 0.677085 0.715 0.0845127 0.636 0.89255
KINZI E1 0.020 147.89 18.868 54.71 0.369937115 126.33 0.776214 3.06 0.08800 2.8 0.922219
KINZI E2 0.033 147.81 12.342 32.98 0.223124281 2440.415 0.659222 0.639 0.0830918 0.463 0.74154
KINZI E4 0.018 126.31 10.987 60.45 0.478584435 1588.879 0.668268 0.559 0.0834797 0.546 0.980129
KINZI 18 0.0210 208.19 20.207 51.82 0.248907248 1836.909 0.800228 0.62 0.0963194 0.536 0.87048

Sample Fraction Pb207* (pct) Pb206* Pb207* Pb207* (Ma)

Pb206* U238 U235 Pb206*
Age Age Age

KINZI 6 0.0605147 0.247 561.61 573.73 622.03 5.3

KINZI 7 0.0586967 0.65 524.22 530.27 555.87 14
KINZI 8 0.0580351 0.206 520.09 522.14 531.09 4.5
KINZI 10 0.0653735 1.73 559.78 606.77 786.38 36
KINZI 9 0.0581059 0.322 523 525.01 533.76 7.1
KINZI E1 0.0639764 1.18 543.67 583.32 740.85 25
KINZI E2 0.0575403 0.429 514.55 514.14 512.3 9.4
KINZI E4 0.0580589 0.111 516.86 519.66 531.98 2.4
KINZI 18 0.0602558 0.305 592.8 596.96 612.77 6.6

3.3.3. The Balbuena volcanic rocks of the northern sector of Eastern
Sierras Pampeanas
Another suite of volcanic rocks of intermediate to acidic
composition has been defined by Miro
and Sapp (2001) as the
Balbuena Andesites. These rocks have been studied by Koukharsky
et al. (2003) in the Sierra de Ambargasta and Sumampa (see loca-
tion in Fig. 2). They are andesitic to dacitic dikes with volcanic
textures intruding previous rocks. The geochemical analyses show
a variation from andesites to dacites, with rare earth element pat-
terns similar to the Onca
n Rhyolite. They show a typical calcalkaline
trend (Koukharsky et al., 2003; O'Leary et al., 2014) probably
inherited from the melt of previous granitoids.
A representative dike of this suite of volcanic rocks has been
dated by whole rock KeAr, yielding a minimum age of 514 ± 14 Ma
(Koukharsky et al., 2003), coherent with the new age obtained for
the Onca
n Rhyolite.
4. Gabbros and migmatites of the southern sector of Eastern
Sierras Pampeanas
The association of mafic and ultramafic rocks to migmatitic
massifs had been widely described at northern and southern
Eastern Sierras Pampeanas (Olsacher, 1960; Lucero Michaut and
Daziano, 1984; Bonalumi and Gigena, 1987; Gaido and Miro
,
1988; Tibaldi et al., 2014 and references therein). Mafic rocks
exposed at the southern sector of Eastern Sierras Pampeanas are
ferronorites and ferrodiorites having a distinctive OIB-like
chemical signature (Demichelis et al., 1996). The ferronorites
crystallized from transitional to alkaline rather than tholeiitic
magmas (Rabbia et al., 1996; Tibaldi et al., 2008). They occur as
clusters of small plutonic bodies in the southern part of the
Eastern Sierras Pampeanas (Bonalumi and Gigena, 1987) or as
widespread small intrusive dikes and as pillows in migmatites
(Ottamendi et al., 2004). They were exhumed together with the
supracrustal host rocks as shown by their preserved intrusive
contacts (Tibaldi et al., 2008).
Biotite-bearing gabbronorites and diorites are the most abun-
dant mafic lithologies. These rocks consist of orthopyroxene (3e30
vol %), biotite (6e24 vol%), variable proportions of Ca-rich amphi-
bole and plagioclase (An87 in cores and An65 in rims, 13e40 vol%).
The diorites contain a more sodic plagioclase (An63 in cores and
An30 in rims).Accessory minerals include ilmenite, zircon and
apatite (Tibaldi et al., 2008).
The mafic complexes were originated by repeated intrusion of
discrete magma pulses of similar compositions; they are made up
of a system of closely spaced lensoidal bodies intruded by cogenetic

Table 5
UePb TIMS on monazite from kinzigite of the Atos Pampa massif.

Sample Fraction Size (mg) U Pb Th Th/U Pb 206 Pb207* (pct) Pb206* (pct) Correl.
ppm ppm ppm ppm Pb204 U235 U238 Coeff.
(obs.) (rho)

KINZI 1 0.0290 1776.6 620.01 109.5 0.061634583 8397.045 0.632056 0.152 0.0801249 0.137 0.906714
KINZI 2 0.0310 202.4 862.23 102.5 0.506422925 1486.507 0.662834 0.661 0.0835293 0.643 0.973019
KINZI 3 0.0310 866.6 1190.7 102.5 0.118278329 7736.109 0.650782 0.229 0.0828476 0.2 0.87443

Sample Fraction Pb207* (pct) Pb206* Pb207* Pb207*

Pb206* U238 U235 Pb206*
Age Age Age

KINZI 1 0.0572119 0.0641 496.87 497.38 499.71

KINZI 2 0.0575526 0.153 517.15 516.35 512.77
KINZI 3 0.0569711 0.111 513.1 508.96 490.41
 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364 357

rdoba (based on Miro

Fig. 2. Geologic map of the northern Sierras de Co
and Sapp, 2001; and Candiani et al., 2000) with the location of the Onc
an Rhyolite sampling locality and the
Rhyodacite Los Burros volcanic dome. UePb SHRIMP and TIMS ages are from Leal et al. (2003); Schwartz et al. (2008); Siegesmund et al. (2010) and Ianizzotto et al. (2013).
358 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364
Fig. 3. Recalculated UePb SHRIMP II zircon ages of the Los Burros Rhyodacites
(modified from Leal et al., 2003, Fig. 5).See Fig. 2 for location and Table 1 for the
analytical data.
Fig. 4. UePb SHRIMP zircon age of the Onca
n Rhyolite in its type locality.See Fig. 2 for
location and Table 2 for the analytical data.
dikes. In detail, each mafic complex is lithologically composite, and
comprises gabbronorite, orthopyroxene-bearing diorite,
amphibole-bearing gabbro and local charnockite bodies. The host
metasedimentary package consists of semipelitic gneisses, stro-
matitic metatexites, diatexites, schlieric migmatites, and minor
peraluminous granitoids, amphibolites and marbles (Otamendi
et al., 1999).
The UePb TIMS analyses on igneous monazite from per-
aluminous granitic bodies found as aureoles of the mafic bodies or
granulitic septa enclosed in mafic rocks, gave ages between 520 and
517 Ma (Tibaldi et al., 2008).
These data are coherent with those obtained by Escayola and
Pimentel (2004), on samples of restites (kinzigites) from one of
the migmatitic massifs at the southern sector of Eastern Sierras
Pampeanas, the Atos Pampa Massif (see location in Figs. 1 and 5,
analytical data in Tables 3 and 4). Samples were selected for con-
ventional ID-TIMS and SHRIMP UePb analyses of zircon and
monazite after studying the cathodo-luminescence image of zir-
cons (Fig. 6).
The UePb SHRIMP data show that fifteen out of eighteen spots
on cores and rims gave a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of
514.6 ± 4.7 Ma (Fig. 7). Three cores yielded concordant ages of 0.7,
0.88, and 1.70 Ga (inset of Fig. 7).
The UePb ID-TIMS results yield an average 206Pb/238U age of
522 ± 9 Ma for the least discordant metamorphic zircons (Fig. 8).
Metamorphic monazite yielded a concordant age of 517 ± 4 Ma
(Fig. 9), showing that this mineral grew at the same time as the
zircon rims. Th/U ratios for the rims are 0.018 and for the cores 1.32
but they have the same UePb ages, demonstrating that they grew
during the same event. The monazite UePb data are consistent
with the age of both rims and cores although the low Th/U ratios of
the zircon rims indicate growth of monazite during the meta-
morphic peak. There are several ages in the zircon cores, but the
youngest zircon cores probably represent residual igneous zircons
that formed during partial melting immediately prior to high grade
granulite facies metamorphism.
The zircon and monazite ages are inconsistent with current
regional tectonic models for the Sierras Pampeanas of Co
rdoba,
which generally assume that the overall metamorphic P-T path of
the migmatitic massifs is clockwise, with nearly isothermal
decompression from granuliteefacies conditions (T > 800  C, at
the M2 stage) to amphibolite facies conditions (T ¼ 700e750  C).
The latter condition led to widespread anatexis of the metasedi-
mentary rocks (Rapela et al., 1998). Mineral parageneses in the
migmatites indicate that temperatures largely surpassed the
granite minimum-melting curve, and that incongruent melting of
biotite occurred during this process (Baldo, 1996a, and references
therein). The UePb geochronology shows that the granulites,
migmatites and peraluminous granites likely represent a local
thermal high related to mafic magmatism at ~518 Ma. The origin
of this alkaline magmatism has been related by Escayola et al.
(2007) to melting of accreted sedimentary sequences after colli-
sion, here interpreted as a post-collisional slab break-off. This
process was interpreted as the collision of the Eastern Pampean
Arc with Pampia, a Grenville-aged terrane docking from the west
(Escayola et al., 2007, 2011), which affected the whole Eastern
Sierras Pampeanas orogen. This conclusion was also put forward
by Tibaldi et al. (2008) although these authors privileged a ridge
subduction mechanism.
5. Tectonic models
There are three leading tectonic models for the evolution of the
Eastern Sierras Pampeanas according Ramos et al. (2014a). These
different accretionary models are illustrated in Fig. 10.
5.1. Orthogonal subduction and terrane collision
According to the early proposal of Ramos (1988), later supported
by Kraemer et al. (1995) and Escayola et al. (2007), the evolution of
Eastern Sierras Pampeanas involved orthogonal subduction and
terrane collision with the Rio de la Plata Craton (Fig. 10 a). Based on
present data this evolution can be summarized as: (1) Neo-
proterozoic accretion of the Co
rdoba Terrane, an island-arc terrane,
against the Río de la Plata Craton following west dipping (present
coordinates) subduction (Escayola et al., 2007); Drobe et al. (2011)
partially agreed with the island arc nature of the basement of
northern Sierras de Co
rdoba based on SmeNd data. This early stage
is supported by the M1-D1 metamorphic ages of 588e560 Ma.
(Sims et al., 1998; Guereschi and Martino, 2014 and references
therein). (2) Subsequent east dipping subduction and the accretion
of the Pampia Terrane, a Grenville age basement terrane, to the
already amalgamated Co
rdoba Terrane in the Neoproterozoic e
earliest Cambrian (Escayola et al., 2007; Ramos et al., 2010). This
collision produced the Pampean orogen with subsequent decom-
pression melting and intrusion of peraluminous granitoids.
In their overview of Eastern Sierras Pampeanas, Steenken et al.
(2011) assumed a series of collisions of either Pampia or Western
 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364 359

Fig. 5. Geologic map of the northern Sierra de Comechingones. Mafic complexes with OIB signature intruding migmatites and granulite (kinzigite) outcrops are shown (after Tibaldi
et al., 2008).

Fig. 6. Cathodo-luminescence image of zircons from kinzigite sample, a restite left Fig. 7. UePb concordia diagram of kinzigite sample, sample, a restite left after anatexis
after anatexis in granulitic rocks from Atos Pampa Migmatitic Massif. in granulitic rocks from Atos Pampa Migmatitic Massif.
360 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364

Northrup et al. (1998).

It also accounts for the apparent spatial and temporal associa-
600 tion of mafic magmatism with high-grade metamorphism and
0,098
peraluminous magmatism (Ottamendi et al., 2004). These charac-
teristic features of the Pampean Orogen are explained by Schwartz
0,094 580 et al. (2008), who infer early subduction between 555 and 525 Ma
to produce an accretionary prism and a calc-alkaline magmatic arc,
followed by subduction of a mid-ocean spreading center to produce
560
0,090 the short-lived pulse of high grade metamorphism and per-
aluminous/mafic magmatism in the accretionary prism (Fig. 9b).
540 Steenken et al. (2011) accepted this ridge collision, but combined it
0,086 with previous and later terrane collisions.
520
Mean 206 Pb/238Ufor the least 5.3. Terrane accretion and strike-slip
0,082
discordant analyses
500
This model, advanced by Rapela et al. (2007), has two stages
+
- (Fig. 10c). During the first stage where an accretionary prism is
0,078
0,60 0,64 0,68 0,72 0,76 0,80 0,84 0,88 developed in the forearc in a subduction zone setting beneath the
Kalahari Craton and the Pampean deformation is related to an
oblique ridge collision (550-540 Ma). The second stage is associated
with a right-lateral strike-slip transform that displaced the
Fig. 8. UePb ID-TIMS analysis concordia diagram of zircons from kinzigite sample. Pampean belt around the Río de La Plata Craton from an east-west
position at 540 Ma to a northeast-southwest (present coordinates)
position at 520 Ma. Subsequent collision with the Western Sierras
Pampeanas (at 520-510 Ma) produced the final deformation of the
Eastern Sierras Pampeanas (Rapela et al., 2007; Drobe et al., 2009).
A more recent study by Siegesmund et al. (2010) presented more
precise time-constraints on the deformation in the Eastern Sierras
Pampeanas following this model. The main advantage of this model
is that it has a straight forward explanation for the Grenville-age
peaks in the clastic protolith of Sierra de Co
rdoba, which is inter-
preted as being derived from the Natal-Namaqua belt southern
Kalahari Craton and Neoproterozoic zircons from the Brasiliano-
Panafrican granites from southern Africa and SE Brazil (Rapela
et al., 2015).
The main drawback is that Western Sierras Pampeanas (part of
eastern Cuyania terrane of Ramos, 2004) collided against Gond-
wana at 520 Ma according to Rapela et al. (2007), making it difficult
to explain the Laurentian carbonate platform preserved in the
eastern Cuyania terrane. Several authors that postulate the collision
of the Western Sierras Pampeanas terrane assume that this
Fig. 9. UePb ID-TIMS analysis concordia diagram of monazite from kinzigite sample. Grenville-age basement is the lower plate of that collision and
underlies most of Sierras Pampeanas following the proposal of
Casquet et al. (2006). However, it is well established that what they
Sierras Pampeanas terranes, but included the ridge collision and call Western Sierras Pampeanas terrane has a typical Laurentia-
transfer from the Kalahari to the Río de La Plata Craton of an derived carbonate platform of Cambrian and Ordovician age
accretionary prism apron following alternative models of previous (Ramos, 2004). About the Neoproterozoic zircon ages populations
authors. the authors dismiss the metamorphic event on the Eastern Sierras
Pampeanas basement dated at 588-560 Ma (Sims et al., 1998;
5.2. Ridge-trench collisional model Guereschi and Martino, 2014 and references therein) considering
that the Pampean Arc and its related orogeny started as late as
The ridge-trench collisional model was advanced by Gromet and 540 Ma (confront Rapela et al., 2015).
Simpson (2000). In this model (Fig. 10 b), the Eastern Sierra Pam- In addition, the rounded southern limit of the Río de La Plata
peanas orogen is considered to have formed by mainly orthogonal Craton is difficult to reconcile with the evidence presented by
contraction of a Cambrian accretionary complex on the margin of Thover et al. (2012), which extend this boundary south of the
Gondwana (e.g. Simpson et al., 2003). Ventania system (see Ramos et al., 2014b). The structural and
The occurrence of a high temperature/low pressure meta- microtectonic studies of Simpson et al. (2003) and Pin ~ an-Lamas
morphism that resulted in migmatization and the emplacement of and Simpson (2006) demonstrate dominantly orthogonal contrac-
S-type granites is related to ridge collision. This model explains the tion of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas at that time, which is difficult
relatively short duration of peraluminous/mafic magmatism and to reconcile with large-scale strike slip required by the model.
high-grade metamorphism in the metasedimentary belt (Gromet
and Simpson, 2000), the late-tectonic nature of the per- 6. Discussion
aluminous/mafic magmatic-metamorphic episode (Simpson et al.,
2003), and the high-temperature/low-medium-pressure character The new geochronological data indicate that after the main
of metamorphism recognized by Otamendi and Rabbia (1996) and Pampean orogenic metamorphism, which according to the new
 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364
Fig. 10. Different models proposed for the formation of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas (see Ramos et al., 2014a; for further details): a) Terrane collisional model of Escayola et al. (2007), and Steenken et al. (2010); b) Ridge-trench
collisional model of Schwartz et al. (2008); c) Oblique accretion and strike-slip deformation model of Rapela et al. (2007) and Siegesmund et al. (2010).

361
362 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364
Fig. 11. Slab break-off associated with the final stages of the Pampean Orogeny (based on Escayola et al., 2007, and references in the text).
data took place close to the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian boundary
(Escayola et al., 2007; Siegesmund et al., 2010; Ianizzotto et al.,
2013), an important extensional event occurred. Most of the au-
thors agree that this extension took place between 540 and 515 Ma,
although others relate this episode recorded in different igneous
intrusions in the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas, to the strike-slip
deformation (Rapela et al., 2007).
The 531 ± 3.5 Ma age for the Los Burros Rhyodacite is inter-
preted as a crystallization age, which agrees with the 530 ± 1.8 Ma
age of Ianizzotto et al. (2013) for their late leucocratic granites that
unconformably cut the mylonites (Fig. 2).
These granites as well as the rhyodacites are cut by rhyolitic and
aplitic dikes. These dikes are, in part, related to the Onc
an Rhyolite
and have a zircon age of 521.1 ± 1.6 Ma, which is close to the PbePb
ages in galena of about 515 Ma reported by Millone et al. (2003).
KeAr ages of 514 ± 14 Ma for dacitic, andesitic and andesite-basaltic
dikes in the northern part of the batholith have been reported by
Koukharsky et al. (2003).The Burros Rhyodacite is affected by a late
hydrothermal effect dated at 483.5 ± 2.4 Ma, which has a wide-
spread distribution in the northern sector of Eastern Sierras Pam-
peanas (Lira et al., 2009). Mineralization ages in galena obtained by
Millone et al. (2003) also indicate an Ordovician age between 466.2
and 444.6 Ma. The latter activity could be related to the develop-
ment of convergent regional shear zones (Martino, 2003) origi-
nated during the final stages in the Pampean Orogen as a result of
the collision of Cuyania terrane against the Gondwana margin
(Dalla Salda et al., 1992; Astini et al., 1995; Thomas and Astini, 2003;
Dalziel, 1997).
These widespread acidic volcanic rocks and peraluminous
granites with ages of ca. 520 to 515 Ma are interpreted to be related
to oceanic slab break-off, associated with the final extensional ep-
isodes of the main Pampean Orogeny. The detailed studies of
Steenken et al. (2010) in the basement of the Sierras de Co
rdoba
show that the post-Pampean cooling took place in Cambrian to
Early Ordovician times. The 513 to 474 Ma ages they report were
recorded by KeAr mineral dating of large pegmatitic muscovite-
booklets and hornblende. These authors assume a geothermal
gradient of 35  C/km, which give an exhumation rate of 0.1 mm/a.
This is in accordance with uplift rates in Palaeozoic mobile belts,
and comparable with the rate of 0.13 mm/a calculated for the
Eastern Sierras Pampeanas by Ramos (1988).
In the southern sector, small mafic bodies with OIB-like signa-
tures are associated with the last igneous episodes. UePb TIMS
analyses on igneous monazite in peraluminous granitic bodies
found as aureoles of the mafic bodies gave ages between 520 and
517 Ma (Tibaldi et al., 2008). The new UePb SHRIMP and TIMS
UePb data in zircon and monazite presented here yielded ages
between ca. 519 to 515 Ma (Figs. 7 to 9), within the age span of the
volcanic rocks of the northern sector. These data suggest that
granulites, migmatites and peraluminous granites may represent
the formation of a local thermal high related to mafic magmatism at
~518 Ma.The origin of this alkaline magmatism had been also
related by Escayola et al. (2007) to post-collisional processes here
interpreted as associated with slab break-off following the main
Pampean deformation.
Fig. 11 depicts the different processes associated with the
extensional collapse and the slab break-off that followed the main
Pampean contraction at 540-535 Ma, and led to the widespread
acidic volcanism in the northern sector and the coeval emplace-
ment of small OIB mafic bodies in the southern Eastern Sierras
Pampeanas. It is interesting to note that the San Carlos Massif zir-
cons have igneous cores with Grenville ages (Escayola et al., 2007),
whereas in the eastern side of Sierra Norte de Co
rdoba, zircon
grains in the San Miguel Gneiss have Paleoproterozoic cores
(Siegesmund et al., 2010) (see locations in Figs. 1 and 2). These can
be explained by the underplating of mafic magmas beneath the
Pampia terrane on the western side of the Pampean orogen and the
Río de La Plata Craton in the eastern side that led to melting of the
lower crust.
Slab break-off produces mantle upwelling and magmatism that
generate a general rising of the geotherms on the break area. The
underplating of these mafic magmas produced decompression
melting of the crust and rhyolitic melts at shallow structural levels
as observed in the northern sectors, and also mafic magmas with
OIB signature at lower structural levels to the south. The OIB mafic
magmas and their ages help us to asseverate that the mantle up-
welling was coeval in both sectors and controlled this bimodal
magmatism (rhyolites and OIB mafic rocks).
6.1. Concluding remarks
The new geochronological data presented here for a series of
volcanic rocks of the northern sector of Eastern Sierras Pampeanas
allow bracketing the age of metamorphism and main deformation
in the region. The final penetrative deformation has occurred prior
to 530 Ma, and was followed by a period of uplift and subsequent
exhumation affecting most of the units of this northern sector of
the Sierra Norte de Co
rdoba. The widespread Onca
n Rhyolite and
associated leucocratic dikes are associated to an extensional regime
and they were emplaced in the type locality at about 520 Ma ac-
cording to the new UePb SHRIMP II ages. The climax of this episode
took place at ca. 515 Ma, at which time a general cooling of the
region is detected by KeAr mineral dating, with a second episode of
hydrothermal alteration at 490-465 Ma. The early RbeSr age for the
Onc
an Rhyolite (Rapela et al., 1991) seems to represent this last
episode.
 V.A. Ramos et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 64 (2015) 351e364
The final magmatic activity in the southern sector of the Eastern
Sierras Pampeanas, represented by small mafic bodies with OIB
signatures and related to a high temperature peak of meta-
morphism, is part of a similar process, but at deeper structural
levels. This magmatism, associated with partial melting of the crust
and peraluminous granites, is linked to the extensional collapse.
The new zircon and monazite SHRIMP and TIMS ages date the cli-
max of the episode at 519-515 Ma, with rapid exhumation related to
the slab break-off following the Pampean Orogeny.
The widespread occurrence of this episode all along the Eastern
Sierras Pampeanas testifies to first order extension, subsequent
cooling and uplift associated with extensive slab break-off
following the collision of Pampia against western Gondwana.
Acknowledgments
The authors want to thank Dr. Alina Tibaldi and an anonymous
reviewer for their constructive and thoughtful critics that contrib-
uted to a better comprehension of the manuscript. M. Pimentel
wants to express his gratitude to CNPq for continuous financial
support of research projects carried out at the Geochronology
Laboratory of the University of Brasília, and to Dr. Richard Amstrong
for his assistance in Canberra, Australian National University; and V.
Ramos acknowledges funding received from UBACyT for field work
and logistical support, as well as to Gabriela Mosconi for her pro-
fessional drafting. This is a contribution R-125 of the Instituto de
Estudios Andinos Don Pablo Groeber (UBA-CONICET).
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