Lake formation, characteristics, and evolution in retroarc deposystems: A synthesis of the modern Andean orogen and its associated basins

Lake deposystems are commonly associated with retroarc mountain belts in the geological record. These deposystems are poorly characterized in modern retroarcs, placing limits on our ability to interpret environmental signals from ancient deposits. To address this problem, we have synthesized our existing knowledge about the distribution, morphometrics, and sedimentary geochemical characteristics of tectonically formed lakes in the central Andean retroarc. Large, active mountain belts such as the Andes frequently create an excess of sediment, to the point that modeling and observational data both suggest their adjacent retroarc basins will be rapidly overfi lled by sediments. Lake formation, requiring topographic closure, demands special *[email protected] Current address: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0053, USA. Cohen, A., McGlue, M.M., Ellis, G.S., Zani, H., Swarzenski, P.W., Assine, M.L., and Silva, A., 2015, Lake formation, characteristics, and evolution in retroarc deposystems: A synthesis of the modern Andean orogen and its associated basins, in DeCelles, P.G., Ducea, M.N., Carrapa, B., and Kapp, P.A., eds., Geodynamics of a Cordilleran Orogenic System: The Central Andes of Argentina and Northern Chile: Geological Society of America Memoir 212, p. 309–335, doi:10.1130/2015.1212(16). For permission to copy, contact [email protected]. © 2014 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved. on December 5, 2014 memoirs.gsapubs.org Downloaded from