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Drainage pattern as a tectonic footprint: A case study of Riedel conjugate systems in the Laguna del Maule Volcanic Complex, Southern Andean Volcanic Zone (Chile)
  • Alvar Pastor
Alvar Pastor
Universidad Católica de Temuco

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

The tectonic movement along faults is often reflected by geological lineaments, appearing as geomorphological features caused by relief. The detection and quantification of geological lineaments raises interest as it provides information on tectonic processes. During the last decade, remote sensing data has been used as a source of information for the detection of geological lineaments; however linear features acquired via different GIS techniques are usually not consistent. Based on the drainage pattern, this study provides a new approach to envisage the tectonic footprint on the Earth surface, that has been successfully tested and compared with field structural characterizations. The tectonic framework of the Laguna del Maule Volcanic Complex (LdMVC), in the Southern Andean Volcanic Zone, is distinguished by local structural domains characterized by diverse but coherent fault geometries and kinematics that accommodate bulk crustal deformation, coexisting with high local uplift rates related to magma ascend. The analysis of local lineament populations suggests the interaction between two conjugate Riedel systems sharing the LdMVC as a depocenter: An orogenic scale dextral system, that has favored the formation of wide ENE oriented extensional areas, is intersected by another sinistral WNW-NW Riedel system, likely favored by the reactivation of ancient Andean transverse faults (ATF). The coexistence of both Riedel systems creates a positive feedback for their related deformation areas, and therefore, favoring the formation of intense damage zones, which in turn, promote the structural conditions for the migration and emplacement of magma and geofluids.