Thermal evolution of inverted basins: Constraints from apatite fission track thermochronology in the Cuyo Basin, Argentine Precordillera

Apatite fission track thermochronology (AFTT) was applied to derive the thermal history of formation and inversion of the oil-bearing Triassic-Cretaceous Cuyo Basin, Argentine Precordillera. The obtained central fission track ages range from 13 to 163 Ma, and the mean track lengths from 8.2 to 13.1 mu m. Based on the integration of AFTT, stratigraphic and structural data, five evolutionary phases are here proposed for the studied area: I-Late Permian cooling related to the extrusion of basement volcanics, and initial extensional regime responsible for the Cuyo Basin formation, II-Triassic-Jurassic heating linked with the filling, and consequent burial, of the Cuyo Basin, III-Jurassic-Paleogene tectonic stabilization, IV-Early Miocene heating related to the load of foreland sedimentation, V-Late Miocene rapid cooling related to the Cuyo Basin inversion. During the Late Miocene, rock units formed in different crustal levels were juxtaposed through thrust, reverse and normal faulting, resulting in contrasting old and very young central fission track ages in closely spaced samples. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.