Ernesto Cristallini

• Doctor in Geologicla Sciences
• Professor at University of Buenos Aires

Geological evidence indicates that the deformation along the southwest Gondwana margin began during the Middle-to-Late Devonian (the Acadian-Cháñica orogenic phase in Argentina). It has been interpreted that this deformation occurred as a consequence of the collision of Chilenia from the west and Patagonia from the south-southwest with Gondwana. As...

Understanding the mechanics, geometry, and kinematics of fault-propagation folding has become a major research field. Laboratory experiments have provided useful insights because they allow observing in real-time the progressive development of folding. We perform 2D analogue modelling to study the velocity field during fault-propagation folding and...

EstereograficaWeb is a free and open-use web application that allows all common operations in stereonet and fault kinematic analysis. You will be able to: Project lines in stereonet. Project planes in stereonet. Project faults (with striae and movement direction) in stereonet. Measure of angles between lines. Calculate bisectors between lines and...

Through the analysis of topographic data and thickness of volcanic rocks, it was possible to verify that the Auca Mahuida volcanic field sits on a dome structure of similar diameter. The absence of the Malargüe Group (Campanian-Danian) below most of this massif, together with the presence of an erosive angular unconformity which separates the Creta...

Fault-propagation folding occurs when a shallow fold is created by an underlying propagating thrust fault. These structures are common features of fold and thrust belts and hold key economic relevance as groundwater or hydrocarbon reservoirs. Reconstructing a fault-propagation fold is commonly done by means of the trishear model of the forelimb, a...

Estudios de fábrica magnética en modelos análogos: comparación entre distintas mineralogías RESUMEN Los procesos de adquisición de fábrica magnética durante la sedimentación y posterior deformación compresiva continúan siendo ambiguos y al día de hoy debatidos. Con el objetivo de simular estos mecanismos, se realizaron tres modelos análogos con aco...

The Chachil depocenter is located in the Andean foreland, at ∼39°S. Its origin relates to the syn-rift phase of the Neuquén Basin, a large marine embayment developed along the southwestern margin of Gondwana (30–40°S). In this contribution, we characterize the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic extensional architecture of the Chachil depocenter, based on...

Analog modeling of a flat-ramp-flat fault system was performed and its geometry and displacement field were compared to those of different kinematic models such as classical fault bend folding, fault parallel flow, incline-shear, curvilinear hinge, and backlimb trishear. To obtain the displacement vectors of the analog experiment, a Particle Image...

The present-day “Andean” configuration of the Neuquén Basin has been classically used in most paleogeographic reconstructions of the existing literature as a consequence of the compressive deformation episode of the Andean orogeny, which resulted in a foreland stage initiated during the Late Cretaceous. The configuration displays its classic struct...

The evolution of fold and thrust belts requires time data restrictions to determine the rates related to the interaction of surface and subsurface processes and to quantify the time relationship between the components of the petroleum system: reservoir, seal, source rock and trap. The sub-Andean fold-and-thrust belt in the Bolivian territory in gen...

We present the development of thermochronological tools for Andino 3D® software, that integrates Fetkin (Finite Element Temperature Kinematics). These tools allow the user to work on both the structural and the thermochronological model at the same time, providing a user-friendly environment that overcomes the need to work with different programs....

The present-day “Andean” configuration of the Neuquén basin has been classically used in most paleogeographic reconstructions of the existing literature, consequence of the compressive deformation episode of the Andean orogeny which resulted in the foreland stage initiated in the Late Cretaceous. It displays its classic structural elements and morp...

To improve the knowledge about the Quaternary tectonic landforms, their potential level of activity, and the associated inherent seismic hazards in the Cordillera Oriental of northwestern Argentina we analyzed the Lomas de Carabajal area along the western border of the Lerma valley. In this region, Pliocene to Pleistocene synorogenic conglomerates...

This supporting information provides the Visual Basic.NET subroutines of the Monte-Carlo simulation study.

The Subandean system along Argentina and Bolivia conforms a fold and thrust belt developed from 9 Ma until today, due to an east-northeast verging compressive stress field. Depending on the area considered, thin or thick skinned deformation characterizes the structural style along this orogenic system. The differences in the structural styles depen...

The fitting of a plane to data points is essential to the geosciences. However, it is recognized that the reliability of these best‐fit planes depends upon the point set distribution and geometry, evaluated in terms of the eigen based parameters derived from the moment of inertia analysis. Despite its significance, few studies have addressed the un...

A long-standing debate regarding the configuration of Pangea during the Late Paleozoic has been going on among the paleomagnetic community concerning the validity of one of two significantly different Pangea reconstructions (Pangea A vs Pangea B) since the proposal of Pangea B. Although, Pangea B avoids any continental overlap marring classical Pan...

To study the system of normal faults “Las Salinas” in the western flank of the Chihuidos high, Neuquén, Argentina, analogue models were performed. From digitalized serial sections of these models it was possible to develop a 3D box using the Software Andino 3D. This program allows to observe the generated structures and follow the different phases...

RESUMEN La Formación Lolén, de edad devónica, aflora en el ámbito geológico de las Sierras Australes de la provincia de Buenos Aires. La evolución geológica de esta región sigue siendo en la actualidad motivo de debate. En este trabajo se presentan los resul-tados de anisotropía de susceptibilidad magnética y paleomagnetismo. Los muestreos se reali...

Given the already documented bias in the determination of intersecting remagnetization great circles as a function of the parallelism of the circles, resulting in an elongated bias in that direction, we found that rotational symmetry assumptions around the intersection would seem to be insufficient. In this contribution, we address the intersection...

The Lolén Formation, of Devonian age, outcrops in the Sierras Australes area of the Buenos Aires Province. Paleomagnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) studies were carry out in rocks from Las Acacias farm (38° 04.2´S2´S, 61° 52.7´W7´W). Its results are integrated with others obtained along the Southwest Gondwana margin from the Si...

Morphostructural configuration of the Neuquén Basin for the Vaca Muerta-Quintuco System This contribution presents a regional thickness map of the Tithonian to Early Valanginian interval that describes the triangular geometry of the basin. This map allows the recognition of four morpho-structural domains (eastern, western, southern flanks and centr...

Tectono - sedimentary evolution of the Vaca Muerta - Quintuco System (Tithonian to Lower Valanginian) at the Neuquén Embayment, Argentina. This contribution presents a tectono-sedimentary evolution scheme for the region of the Neuquén Embayment during the Tithonian to Lower Valanginian. This scheme was developed based on reference surfaces mapped i...

Doubly vergent contractional structures are common features in many regions of the Central Andes. They represent the first-order structural style observed in the inverted Mesozoic basins located along the flat-slab subduction segment of northern Chile. Here, we present a comparative analyses based on geological data previously published and a serie...

The paleogeography of pre break-up Pangea at the beginning of the Atlantic Spreading has been a subject of debate for the past 50 years. Reconciling this debate involves theoretical corrections that cast doubt on available data and paleomagnetism as an effective tool for performing paleoreconstructions. This 50-year-old debate focuses specifically...

The Lolén Formation, of devonian age, outcrops in the Sierras Australes area of the Buenos Aires Province. The geological evolution of this region is still a subject of debate. In this work, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and paleomagnetism results are presented. The samples were taken from the Las Acacias farm. The geographic position is 38...

The Vaca Muerta Formation consists of marine, dark, fine-grained mudstones, marls and limestones, and it is the main proven source rock for conventional reservoirs in the Neuquén Basin. In recent years, it has also been intensely studied and tested as an unconventional shale reservoir. The main objective of this contribution is to define and evalua...

We performed a quantitative comparison of brittle thrust wedge experiments to evaluate the variability among analogue models and to appraise the reproducibility and limits of model interpretation. Fifteen analogue modeling laboratories participated in this benchmark initiative. Each laboratory received a shipment of the same type of quartz and coru...

Analogue models combining different sets of preexisting structural weaknesses were developed to understand their evolution during regional ~ENE shortening. Strain analysis of simulations was performed with the GEODEF 1.1 software, a tool that allows to quantify deformation in plan view on the basis of displacement fields. Results showed up that reg...

Se llevó a cabo un estudio preliminar de fábrica magnética y petrofábrica en areniscas de la Formación Cuculí (Mioceno) en dos localidades de la Precordillera de San Juan y sus resultados fueron comparados con datos obtenidos a partir de estudios cinemáticos de otros autores en el mismo sector. El estudio de la anisotropía de susceptibilidad magnét...

The goal of this study was to determine the main factors that controlled the kinematic evolution and the structural architecture developed during the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic rifting that led to the opening of the Neuquén basin in the southwestern sector of Gondwana. We carried out a series of analog models to simulate an extensional system...

Las Lomas de Carabajal se ubican en el sector centro-oeste del valle de Lerma en la Cordillera Oriental, poseen bajo relieve y se encuentran alineadas en sentido NO-SE. El valle de Lerma es una cuenca intermontana pliocuaternaria limitada por láminas de corrimiento que exponen al basamento en sus núcleos (García et al. 2013). El borde de esta parte...

We use analogue modelling to investigate the response of compresional deformation superimposed on an extensional basin with along-strike changes in width. Parameters described include extension and shortening distribution and directions, orientation of structures and degree of basin inversion. Two types of models are presented: in the first (Type I...

Detailed structural, kinematic and geophysical data on the foreland of the Pampean flat- slab segment (Hualilán area, Andean Precordillera of Argentina) have shown that cross-strike structures have had an important role in the evolution of this Andean segment since Miocene times. These structures represent pre-existing crustal fabrics reactivated du...

Detailed structural and geological mapping was carried out in the Lomas de Carabajal region. In this area the Plio-Pleistocene Piquete Formation appears intensely folded and faulted, being unconformably overlain by the Upper Pleistocene alluvial conglomerates of the La Viña Formation. These conglomerates are folded and show growth strata geometries...

The Southern Patagonian Andes between 48° and 53° SL offers a unique opportunity to study the results of orogenic growth superimposed over a previously rifted region. In this sector the northern Austral or Magallanes basin was affected by late to middle Jurassic extension followed by Late Cretaceous to Neogene tectonic compression. The resultant fo...

Continuity and evolution in time of the horizontal stress direction in the Neuquen Basin area, derived from the analysis of recent borehole data and orientation of volcanic dykes measured in outcrop in the Cara Cura and Reyes Ranges is presented. The bitumen dykes along the Neuquén Basin were formed during Paleocene - Eocene in a context where the...

Horizontal Stress Field Evolution from Eocene to Present in Neuquen Basin. Continuity and evolution in time of the horizontal stress direction in the Neuquen Basin area, derived from the analysis of recent borehole data and orientation of volcanic dykes measured in outcrop in the Cara Cura and Reyes Ranges is presented. The bitumen dykes along the...

El frente orogénico andino en la Precordillera sanjuanina, se encuentra localizado en la Precordillera Oriental, desarrollándose de norte a sur desde el límite con la provincia de Mendoza, hasta la provincia de La Rioja. Las estructuras de corrimiento que conforman este cordón montañoso son de vergencia occidental y el frente de levantamiento princ...

The Lerma valley is an intermontane basin elongated in N-S sense and located between 24°30’ - 25°35’ SL at Eastern Cordillera geological province. The basin is limited by basement blocks uplifted during Miocene to Plio-Pleistocene times (Monaldi et al., 1996). The neotectonic basement of the region is composed by diverse rocks from Precambrian meta...

The Atuel depocenter of the Neuquén basin originated as an Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic rift system, later inverted during the Andean contractional deformation. In order to study the extensional architecture and the kinematic evolution of this depocenter, we collected a large amount of field and sub-surface data, consisting of slip data from ou...

Foreland basin deposits involved in the Fueguian foreland fold and thrust belt were studied on the Atlantic coast of Tierra del Fuego. More specifically, growth strata developed in middle Eocene sequences deposited in the wedge top depozone were analyzed. Restoration methods and kinematics forward modeling were applied, revealing folding kinematics...

Analogue model experiments are widely used to gain insights into the evolution of geological structures. In this study, we present a direct comparison of experimental results of 14 analogue modelling laboratories using prescribed set-ups. A quantitative analysis of the results will document the variability among models and will allow an appraisal o...

We present a direct comparison of experimental results of 16 analogue modelling laboratories for three thrust experiments. Our quantitative analysis of the results documents the variability among models and will allow an appraisal of reproducibility and limits of interpretation. This has direct implications for comparisons between structures in ana...

We investigate through natural examples from the Malargüe fold and thrust belt the manner in which the basement structures interact with the cover in a thick-skinned fold and thrust belt. Our work suggests that there is a broad spectrum of basement–cover interaction mechanisms with two end-members: coupled and uncoupled interactions. The kind of bo...

En el presente trabajo se analizan los mecanismos de deformación de estructuras de piel gruesa en el sector sur de la faja plegada y corrida Malargüe, entre los 35º y 36º S. A partir de la confección de 15 secciones estructurales balanceadas seriadas de 75 km de longitud y su comparación, se pudo analizar la compleja interacción espacial entre la d...

This study focuses on the evolution of the Southern Patagonian Andes fold-thrust belt and the adjacent non-deformed foreland of the Austral basin between 49°45' and 52°00'SL. This sector involves mainly Late Cretaceous sequences of the first regressive cycle (Lago Viedma Cycle) of the Austral basin foreland stage, and Campanian to Paleogene sequenc...

This study focuses on the evolution of the Southern Patagonian Andes fold-thrust belt and the adjacent non-deformed foreland of the Austral basin between 49°45' and 52°00'SL. This sector involves mainly Late Cretaceous sequences of the first regressive cycle (Lago Viedma Cycle) of the Austral basin foreland stage, and Campanian to Paleogene sequenc...

An integrated map of the Upper Triassic - Lower Jurassic structures (Precuyano) developed in the eastern region of the Neuquén Basin is presented. The principal grabens, half-grabens, faults and transference zones developed south of Río Colorado are mapped based on 2D and 3D seismic information and previous published works. The general direction of...

The deformational mechanisms for basement-involved structures are analyzed in the southern sector of the Malargüe fold and thrust belt between 35° and 36°S. We constructed 15 balanced cross-section, of 75 km length that allow us to study the complex spatial interaction between deformation in the Late Triassic to Cenozoic sedimentary cover and the s...

The main aim of the present study is to model the interplay between neotectonic growth folds and fluvial-alluvial processes in piedmont areas using an original numerical modeling platform (ERSEDE). ERSEDE allows the quantifying of topographic changes in the model along its evolution. The model outputs can be used to carry out detailed analysis on g...

Horizontal stress directions have been determined in the southernmost flat-slab boundary Andean retroarc between 32°44′ and 33°40′S within Cuyo Basin, Argentina. These directions were obtained from the borehole breakout analysis of 42 wells using four-arm caliper data. The mean maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) direction for the whole region is 104...

RESUMEN En este trabajo se presenta un mapa integrado de las estructuras de edad precuyana (Triásico Superior -Jurásico Inferior) de la región del engolfamiento de la cuenca Neuquina. En él se cartografían los principales grábenes, hemigábenes, fallas y zo-nas de transferencia de la etapa extensiva de la cuenca, al sur del río Colorado. El mismo se...

The application of a forward numerical model capable to quantify values of erosion and deposition is presented. This model is here applied to monolithological mountain drainage sub-basins in the Central and Ligurian Alps (N-Italy). The work aims to verify the location and quantity of erosion and that of deposition obtained with the model output....

The Malargüe fold and thrust belt, located in the Andean mountains between 34°S and 36°30′S, formed in response to contraction during Cenozoic times. Its structural style and geometry was controlled by the Mesozoic rift system that formed the Neuquén basin in west-central Argentina. The rift architecture in the southern sector of this belt was prev...

In this paper we present the results of the analysis of borehole breakouts from 115 wells drilled within Neuquén Basin in the Andean retroarc between 34° and 39°S (Argentina). The first-order present-day stress orientation in the Andean retroarc is expected to be mainly controlled by the plate boundary forces (azimuth 80°) and the topographic force...

1] We document a new model of crustal structure of the Andean front in Argentina where numerous historic earthquakes destroyed the cities of Mendoza in 1861 (M s = $7) and San Juan in 1944 (M w = 7.0). The Cerro Salinas anticline is formed above the west directed Cerro Salinas thrust. An east facing monocline with an amplitude of about 2 km folds t...

INTRODUCCION La geometría y la cinemática de la deforma-ción en sistemas de inversión tectónica son significativamente diferentes a las halladas en cuñas de corrimientos donde no se regis-tran controles extensionales previos; algu-nos ejemplos de modelos análogos de cu-ñas de corrimientos sin controles preexis-tentes pueden consultarse en los traba...

INTRODUCCIÓN La faja plegada y corrida ubicada al sur de la provincia de Mendoza, en la localidad de Bardas Blancas, corresponde a un frente orogénico de importante complejidad es-tructural. En las investigaciones preceden-tes se han desarrollado numerosos estudios geológicos, modelos e interpretaciones estructurales, sin embargo no existe un con-s...

The kinematic evolution of the enigmatic arc-shaped southernmost Andes of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego has been a subject of debate for most of the past century. We compared the results from analog sandbox experiments with the tectonic evolution and actual confi guration of the mountain chain in order to elucidate whether oroclinal bending took p...

Analogue modelling experiments were performed to simulate the evolution that results from the application of compressive stresses oblique to the axis of a pre-existing extensional system. Granular materials were used to represent brittle upper crustal rocks. Two asymmetric halfgrabens linked by a transfer fault were created in the base of the model...

Fluvial-erosion control over the structure of a growing thrust belt. Results from analogue models. Some strike changes in structures associated to thin-skinned fold and thrust belts are related to antecedent rivers. These variations are explained commonly as a response of pre-existent structural anisotropies to compressional deformation. In the pre...

The Ñirihuau basin is developed between 41°-43° S, in the Northern Patagonian Andes, Argentina, with a north-south trend along 200 km between the localities of Bariloche and Esquel. The basin infill is divided into two major lithostratigraphic units: El Foyel Group (EFG) of Paleogene age, and Nahuel Huapi Group (NHG) of mainly Neogene age. A new mo...

Introducción La zona abarcada en este estudio se encuentra ubicada en el borde oriental de la Cordillera Patagónica Septentrional (Fig. 1). El área está comprendida entre los paralelos 41°09 41°28, y entre los meridianos 70°56 71°20, al sureste de la localidad de San Carlos de Bariloche, provincia de Río Negro. Entre los 41 y 43º S, la Cordillera P...

A map of the principal grabens and half-grabens of the Neuquén Basin in the northeastern part of Neuquén Province, Argentina, was constructed based on two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) seismic information. The synrift structure of the region is characterized by high angle NW-trending normal faults. Two populations can be distinguish...

New paleomagnetic data from a section of the Co chi c6 Group (Lower Choiyoi) in the San Rafael Block (34­ 35°S), Mendoza, Argentina, improve the knowledge of this part of Gondwana during the late Paleozoic. This area is the westward part of an orogenie belt, known as Cord6n de las "Gondwanides'' (Keidel, 1916) or "Sam Frau geosincline" (Du Toit, 19...

Most structural/kinematic models are inherently two-dimensional; even several recent three-dimensional models are "pseudo-three-dimensional" in that they consist of a series of parallel two-dimensional cross sections. Lack of a true three-dimensional formulation hampers our abilities to simulate three-dimensional structures such as oblique- and str...

RESUMEN. Las Sierras Australes o Sierras de la Ventana están ubicadas en el sudoeste de la de la provincia de Buenos Aires, entre los 37°-39°S y los 61°-63°O y constituyen una faja plegada y corrida con rumbo general noroeste. Están formadas por rocas de edades precámbricas a pérmicas. Las sierras más viejas e intensamente deformadas son las occide...

The Sierras Australes or Sierras de la Ventana are in the southern part of Buenos Aires province, between 37o-39o S and 61o-63o W and constitute a curved fold and thrust belt with a general northwest strike. They are formed by Precambrian to Permian rocks. The oldest and more intensely deformed rocks outcrop in the western ranges, while the younger...

Sierras Australes or Sierras de la Ventana are in the southern part of Buenos Aires province, between 37°- 39° S and 61°- 63° W and constitute a curved fold and thrust belt with a general northwest strike. They are formed by Precambrian to Permian rocks. The oldest and more intensely deformed rocks outcrop in the western ranges, while the younger a...

The different segments of the Andean thrust system have distinctive topography and inferred crustal roots. These two characteristics both depend upon crustal shortening, and on this basis they provide independent constraints for evaluating estimates of Cenozoic shortening obtained by balanced structural cross-sections of different segments of the f...

Deep seismic reprocessing of industrial lines, combined with surface geologic and structural data, provides the basis of a new tectonic interpretation of the northern Sierras Pampeanas at 27°S latitude. These basement mountain blocks, uplifted during an episode of shallowing of the subduction zone, show an active double-wedge thrusting. Deep seismi...

Fueguian Andes foreland fold and thrust belt: structure and growth strata. Foreland basin deposits involved in the Fueguian foreland fold and thrust belt were studied on the Atlantic coast of Tierra del Fuego. More specifically, growth strata developed in middle Eocene sequences deposited in the wedge top depozone were analyzed. Restoration methods...

Fueguian Andes foreland fold and thrust belt: structure and growth strata. Foreland basin deposits involved in the Fueguian foreland fold and thrust belt were studied on the Atlantic coast of Tierra del Fuego. More specifically, growth strata developed in middle Eocene sequences deposited in the wedge top depozone were analyzed. Restoration methods...