Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/266796712
READS
45
2 AUTHORS:
Mariano S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez
Franck A. Audemard
9 PUBLICATIONS 13 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
SEE PROFILE
Departamento de Geofsica, Escuela de Geologa, Minas y Geofsica, Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela
n de Investigaciones Simolo
gicas (FUNVISIS), Caracas, Venezuela
Departamento de Ciencas de la Tierra, Fundacio
c
Departamento de Geologa, Escuela de Geologa, Minas y Geofsica, Facultad de Ingeniera, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela
b
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 14 May 2014
Accepted 8 September 2014
Available online 30 September 2014
We estimate the lateral variations of the elastic thickness of the Maracaibo block with a 3D numerical
approach by using centered nite differences. The calculation is based on solving the fourth-order partial
differential equation that governs the bending of a thin plate xed on its boundaries (zero displacement)
with variable thickness (or elastic thickness for this particular case). An initial plate-load model is built
and is iteratively modied to t the general basement conguration and gravity data. The nal result is
an elastic thickness map that covers the Maracaibo block and the surrounding sections of the South
American plate. It shows that the elastic thickness ranges from 30 km to 18 km with a mean value of
23.6 km and a mode of 26 km. The largest elastic thickness values are associated with the location of the
rida AndesSanta Marta Mountains and the Barinas Apure Basin, while the smallest ones with the Me
Maracaibo Basin exural system. The current basement conguration within the Maracaibo basin,
formed as a result of its geodynamic evolution, has affected the mechanical properties of the Maracaibo
rida Andes position. The load of the Perija
Range is compensated by a complex
block near the current Me
stress tensor, and that of the Santa Marta Mountains does not have an isostatic root as it is held by a
relatively strong lithosphere.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Maracaibo block
Lithosphere exure
Finite differences
Gravity
1. Introduction
A sedimentary basin is a depressed region in the Earth surface
that has been lled by sediments (Turcotte and Schubert, 2002). A
exural basin or foreland basin is a sedimentary one formed in
response to subsidence driven by vertical stress over the elastic
lithosphere (e.g. DeCelles and Giles, 1996; Watts, 2001). These basins are characterized by: (1) a thrust front of an adjacent orogen
(or load), which is responsible for the vertical stress that bends the
plate; (2) a sediment ll with a wedge shape in transverse section;
(3) the depocenter located contiguous to the thrust belt that generates the depression (e.g. Jordan, 1995); and (4) a exural bulge, or
forebulge, that marks the end of the basin and separates it from the
undeformed craton or plate (e.g. Karner and Watts, 1983). Typical
foreland basins are divided in four discrete sections: (a) the wedgetop depozone that buries the active thrust front; (b) the foredeep
depozone formed by the subsidence driven by the load of the thrust
belt; (c) the forebulge, a region of exural uplift which is the result
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: marianoarnaiz@gmail.com,
(M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2014.09.014
0895-9811/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
marianoarnaiz@hotmail.com
of a damped sinusoidal deformation; and (d) the backbulge depozone, a broad region of shallow secondary exural subsidence
(DeCelles, 2012).
In Venezuela there are three foreland basins: the Eastern
Venezuela basin, the Barinas-Apure basin and the Maracaibo basin.
The two last basins are part of a double exural system driven by
rida Andes load. The Maracaibo basin (Fig. 1) is located
the Me
within an independent piece of crust known as the Maracaibo
block, while the Barinas-Apure Basin is situated in the South
American plate. These basins have been largely studied because of
their natural resources. Nonetheless little is known about the
behavior of the lithosphere in this region.
Audemard and Audemard (2002) pointed out that both, the
Maracaibo basin and the Barinas-Apure basin, have different mechanical behavior, as the depocenter in the Maracaibo basin
dwhich have a major inuence over the study aread is at least
2 km deeper that in the Barinas-Apure basin. Chacn et al. (2005)
calculated the elastic thickness for the Barinas-Apure basin in
25 km, whereas Medina (2009) afrmed that the effective elastic
thickness variations within it ranged from 30 km near the craton
rida Andes. Arnaiz(Guayana Shield) to 10 km near the Me
Rodrguez et al. (2011) considered that the elastic thickness for
the Barinas-Apure basin was around 24 2 km, and estimated that,
252
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
Fig. 1. (a) Shaded relief topography of the study area showing the major tectonic features in northwestern Venezuela. The red box represents the modeled study area. Abbreviations
rida Andes; PR, Perija
Range; SMM, Santa Marta Mountain Range; NCA, Northern Colombia Andes; MBa, Maracaibo Basin; BABa, Barinas-Apure Basin, BF, Bocono
stand for: MA, Me
n fault. Quaternary faults from Audemard et al. (2000) (b) Structural map of the Maracaibo block. Major structures are
fault; IF, Icotea fault; SMF, Santa Marta fault; O-AF, Oca-Anco
the same as in Fig. 1a; thin gray lines represent minor faults (French and Schenk, 2004). Red dashed lines represent sediment thickness to the top of the basement in km (Di Croce,
n et al., 2007). Blue shapes denote half-graben and basement troughs while orange shapes denote basement uplifts (Erlich
1995; Parnaud et al., 1995; Laske and Masters, 1997; Cero
et al., 1999). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).
for the Maracaibo basin, it was around 16 2 km. Further, ArnaizRodrguez et al. (2011) pointed out that the formation of the Maracaibo basin and the exural system in the Maracaibo block are not
rida Andes, but also by the Perij
only controlled by the Me
a Range
and the Santa Marta Mountains, recommending that a 3D approach
to study the exure of this microplate was necessary.
Seismic anisotropy analysis suggested that SKKS split orientations at ~N45 E was most likely to be caused by lithospheric
deformation parallel to the Bocono fault (Masy et al. (2011). Curie
Point Depth analysis reported that Maracaibo block was a thermally
stable continental basin, and that a Curie Point Depth anomaly was
rida Andes, or to the graben
due to the exure produced by the Me
systems located within the Barinas-Apure basin (Arnaiz-Rodriguez
and Orihuela, 2013). The studies previously referred assert that the
Maracaibo block and the South American lithospheres behave
differently.
The present research is part of an ongoing multidisciplinary
rida Andes, its adjacent
effort to understand the dynamics of the Me
basins, structures and terranes using different approaches: GIAME
rida-Integral Geoproject (Geociencia Integral de los Andes de Me
rida Andes; Schmitz et al., 2013). It focuses upon
science of the Me
the Maracaibo block with the purpose of estimating the lateral
variations of elastic thickness of the block and its adjacent regions
by using a 3D numerical method.
2. Tectonic setting
The Maracaibo block (Fig. 1a), an independent piece of continental crust localized in northwestern Venezuela, is limited by
three fault systems (e.g., Mann and Burke, 1984; Taboada et al.,
and Oca-Anco
n fault sys2000; Audemard et al., 2005): Bocono
tems, both with dextral strike slip; and Santa Marta-Bucaramanga
with sinistral strike slip. Its formation and expulsion (in NNE direction relative to South America) are related to the compression
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
253
50
11
10
5
450 5
350
25
2000
15
0
50
50
0
5
0
30
50
10
50
100
10
50
20
0
5
40
200
10
0
50
8
0
50
10 150
0
200
50
25
00
50
50
0 00
35 3
1
0
20
0
150
100
50
100
250
50
250
50
150
1
00
00
1
10500
50
200
15
10
(a)
7
74
(b)
73
72
71
70
7
74
73
72
71
70
Gravity Anomaly
(mGal)
10050 0 50 100 150 200 250
Fig. 2. (a) Free air anomaly map of the studied region (Sandwell and Smith, 2009). (b) Complete Bouguer anomaly map of the studied region, reduced with 2.67 g/cm3 Bouguer
n, 2012). Quaternary faults from Audemard et al. (2000). Both contour maps are colored in the same color scale and contours are every
density (BA; Arnaiz-Rodrguez and Garzo
50 mGal. Gravimetric positive anomalies in the Santa Marta and Perija mountains indicate absence of isostatic compensation, while displacement to the northwest of the
rica Andes isostatic root reveals a complex regional compensation system. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this
gravimetric low that could be associated with the Me
gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).
254
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
15
45 5 km (Moho depth)
10
log (Power)
0.05
0.25
0.2
0.15
-5
-10
Wavenumber(Radians/km)
Fig. 3. Radially averaged power spectrum of the complete Bouguer anomaly -BA-showing the source depths estimated from the slopes of the curve. The largest wavelength
component is most likely associated with the Moho discontinuity, the mid wavelength component with the lower crusteupper crust boundary and, the shortest one, with the
basement.
rida Andes
Rodrguez et al., 2011), and not to the position of the Me
isostatic root.
Fig. 3 exhibits the radially averaged power spectrum of the
Bouguer anomaly. From the slopes of this spectrum we estimate the
depth to three mayor sources of gravimetric anomalies: the Moho,
the upper crust-lower crust boundary and the basement, using a
horizontal prism model (e.g. Spector and Grant, 1970). The longest
wavelength is associated with interfaces between 50 and 40 km,
which limit the gravimetric interpretation to crustal depth. Filtering
all but the longest wavelength with a band-pass algorithm (Fig. 4),
we produce a regional map (Fig. 4a) and a residual map (Fig. 4b).
11
11
10
50
50
50
10
5
0
1
00
1
0
50
50
50
(a)
7
74
(b)
73
72
71
7
74
70
73
72
71
70
Gravity Anomaly
(mGal)
100
50
50
100
Fig. 4. (a) Regional map from ltering the longest wavelength of the complete Bouguer anomaly map showing gravimetric anomalies due to Moho and basement variations. (b)
Residual map from ltering the longest wavelengths of the complete Bouguer anomaly map showing the gravimetric anomalies due to the density contrast in the upper crust and to
some structures shown in Fig. 1b (half-graben and basement troughs). Quaternary faults from Audemard et al. (2000).
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
In exural studies, the lithosphere is usually represented as a 2D elastic beam that lays over a viscous medium (Watts, 2001). This
beam is then deformed by vertical stresses linked to the existence
of a vertical column of mass laying over it (thrust belts, ice caps,
sedimentary layers, etc). Assuming the absence of horizontal stress,
two models have been largely applied: the innite plate model (e.g.
Watts et al., 1985) and the broken plate model (e.g. Karner and
Watts, 1983a,b). The rst one is applied in cases where the load is
located relatively far away from a plate margin, while the second
one is applied when the loads are set near the limit of the plate. In
the rst scenario, the deformation is computed by solving the
fourth-order differential equation (Equation (1))
d4 w
pq 0
dx4
p rm wg
(1)
q rin wg
where:
w is the deection of the beam
p Winkler foundation term
q Sedimentary load term
rm Mantle density
rin Sediments density
g Gravity aceleration
D Flexural rigidity
D, in Equation (2), depends on the efcient elastic thickness (Te,
how much of the lithosphere behaves elastically), the Young
modulus (E) and the Poisson radius (y) of the beam (Watts, 2001).
ETe3
12 1 y2
(2)
vD v 2
vD v 2
V w 2
V w V2 D V2 w
DV2 V2 w 2
vx vx
vy vy
!
!
v2 D v2 w
v2 D v2 w v2 D v2 w
2
P
1y
vxvy vxvy vy2 vx2
vx2 vy2
(3)
255
ETex; y3
12 1 y2
(4)
256
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
Compute gravity
of the model
Initial model
YES!
Initial Loads:
downs-sampled topographic grid
(Sandwell and Smith, 2009)
Mrida Andes
Perij Range
Santa Marta Mountains
Northern Colombian Andes
Parameters:
Mantle Density: 3.3 g/cm3
Sediments Density: 2.4 g/cm3
Poissons Ratio: 0.25
Youngs Modulus: 100e9 Pascal
Initial constant Te: 25 km
YES!
NO
End
modelling!
Modify
Loads
and/or Te
Input model
Fig. 5. Flowchart describing modeling approach. First, an initial model is created with assumed parameters (downsampled topography and mechanical parameters) and constant
elastic thickness (25 km). Then, the model is tested in the nite difference code (Cardozo, 2009). Flexure of the plate is compared to the basement morphology and residual
topography is compared to the real downsampled topography. The model is updated and tested until it ts the geological data. The gravimetric response of the best model is
computed and compared to the regional gravimetric anomaly; if the model roughly ts the data, the modeling is nished, if not the model is modied again.
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
Topographic
Load
257
Elastic Thickness
500
10
10
00
100
1500
0
2000
(I)
00
20
00
1000
1500
10
00
15
2500
0
00
0
00
2500
74
72
70
2000
2500
15
1000
00
200
1500
3000
10
25
00
24
3000
20
3500
00
(II)
350
0
30
00
2500
0
400
0
2500
25
00
400
2000
24
1500
450
00
35
00
45
4500
00
20
5000
30
00
00
1
40
30
00
0
50
3500
74
72
70
200
2000
4000
10
(III)
6000
10000
80
00
8000
10000
00
40
60
74
10
0
00
12
00
60
00
Loads Height
(km)
(km)
15
20
00
6 4 2
400
6000
4000
25
72
70
30
Fig. 6. Some steps of the exural model. From top to bottom three examples are presented: (I) is the initial model where the load is the same as the down-sample topography, Te is
25 km, the exure does not t the basement conguration. (II) is an intermediate step where the load is larger than the topography in the mountains and the same in the basins, Te
is different for SA (24e26 km) and for the MB (18e22 km), the exure has a similar shape to the basement conguration but the depth does not t. (III) is the nal model where the
topographic load is larger than the topography (dark red squares represents regions where the load is at least 3 km larger than the topography), Te gradients exist in all the area and
the exure roughly ts the depth and shape of the basement conguration. Quaternary faults from.Audemard et al. (2000). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this
gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).
258
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
10
1
0
1
0
10
50
(b)
(a)
74
72
70
74
72
Residual Topography
(km)
70
Gravity Anomaly
(mGal)
4
100
Fig. 7. (a) Residual topography of the nal model; the largest value is 172 m, which represents 3.7% of the real topography. (b) Gravimetric anomalies due to the exure beam and
the masses of the modeled exural loads. The anomaly produced by the exure is similar to the regional gravimetric anomalies (Fig. 4a).
24
10
20
25
24
20
Frequency
20
24
15
10
20
5
0
7
74
73
72
71
15
20
20
25
30
(km)
15
25
Te (km)
70
30
15
Fig. 8. Contour map showing the lateral variations of the elastic thickness (Te) of the
MB. Largest values (>26 km) are associated with the undeformed shield to the SE and
the SMM to the NW. Small values (<20 km) area associated with the MA Northern
foothills, the MBa depocenter and the Uribante Trough. Quaternary faults from.Audemard et al. (2000).
20
25
30
Fig. 9. Frequency histogram of the elastic thicknesses in the studied region. Te values
range from 30 km to 18 km, with a mean value of 23.7 km and a mode of 26 km. The Te
values appear to be bimodal with one group ranging from 18 to 23 km and another
from 24 to 30 km.
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
259
Fig. 10. 3-D crustal image of the Maracaibo block showing, from top to bottom: topography, elastic thickness variations (Te) and Moho depth modeled from the regional gravity map
(Fig. 4a). (a) 3-D crustal view from N45E. (b) 3-D crustal view from S45W.
260
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
11
3.0
E
4.5
3.0
BA
ON
4.5
10
LG
U
KB
DE
NE
O
OZ
D
RE
FO
6.0
1.0
P
EE
EP
D
OP
-T
7.5
2.0
Z
PO
4.5
FOREBULGE
3.0
GE
ED
3.0
4.5
1.5
7.5
7
74
73
72
6.0
71
4.5
70
Gravity Anomaly
(mGal)
100
50
50
100
Fig. 11. Forebuldge position and depozones of the Maracaibo basin on top of the residual Bouguer anomaly and major structures in the study area. The forebulge is located within a
set of 4.5 km contours and associated to some positive residual anomalies within the basin.
the Icotea fault, a left-lateral strike slip fault, also distorts the
pattern of the elastic thickness contours in the direction of its
displacement. Therefore, the Icotea fault has, at least, a crustal inuence, as suggested by seismicity in its vicinities, with events up
to 40 km deep (Audemard and Audemard, 2002). Moreover, this
distortion has the appearance of continuing to the southeast, which
fault
is compatible with the idea of its convergence with the Bocono
n, 1994), or at least that it does not end in
at some point (e.g. Beltra
the Maracaibo Lake area as proposed by Castillo and Mann (2006).
As the loads within the Maracaibo block have different ages, we
will briey discuss the time dependent exure of the lithosphere.
Based on the viscoelastic plate model (Walcott, 1970), two characteristics of the load are important: the age and the width (Watts,
2001). Young loads are mostly correlated to high values of exural
rigidity, while older ones tend to produce lower exural rigidity
values. Wide loads cause the lithosphere to approach faster to a
hydrostatic state (Airy's isostasy model) than a narrow load. The
rida Andes, within the Maracaibo block exural system, can be
Me
considered as a relatively young and narrow load that produces a
short wavelength and deep exure over the lithosphere. Such circumstances would suggest that the instantaneous exural rigidity
of the plate (and therefore its elastic thickness) should be less than
the standards values for continental lithosphere. In fact, there is no
simple relationship between instantaneous exural rigidity, the
elastic thickness variations and the age of a load (Watts, 2001), so
we cannot directly determine how much of the subsidence and
rida Andes load,
elastic thickness variations are produce by the Me
nor how much is inherited from previous process.
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
261
Fig. 12. Geodynamic evolution of the MB, its orogens and basins, based on the reconstruction proposed by different authors, see text for details. The dotted red line shows the
variation of the elastic thickness (Te) through time (not at true vertical scale). MA current structure is based on Arnaiz-Rodrguez et al. (2011) and Monod et al. (2010) models. The
age of the stages described are as follow: (a) Pre-Jurassic, (b) Late Jurassic, (c) Cretaceous, (d) Paleocene, (e) Oligocene, (f) Middle Moicene, (g) Pliocene. In Fig. 12g, S stands for
shortening and Ot for overthusting. Thick arrows show the direction of stress (either compression or extension) and the small arrow marks the forebulge. (For interpretation of the
references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).
262
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
5.
6.
7.
8.
with this structure, even though it is improbable the fault displaces the Moho.
Range barely distorts the pattern of the elastic
The Perija
thickness contours and lacks an isostatic root. There may be two
possible explanations for this: (a) horizontal stresses due to
Range load, or
compression and plate interaction hold the Perija
rida
(b) the large subsidence of the lithosphere caused by the Me
Andes could force the Maracaibo Block to tilt towards the SE;
this would have caused the west side of the block to be uplifted
Range and the Santa Marta Mountains prevent it
but the Perija
from rising. A mixture of both should not be discarded.
Contiguous 4.5 km contours and positive residual Bouguer
anomaly within the basin indicate the forebulge crest of the
Maracaibo basin. It shows no topographic expression as it is
buried by 4 km of sediments, which implies that the basin is in
an overlled state. Moreover, the distance between the forebulge and the northern thrust front support low elastic thickness values found within the basin.
The Santa Marta Mountains region has larger elastic thickness
values (from 26 km to 30 km). This could be related to the
convergence of South America and the Caribbean plate (CP) and
the coupling related to this process. The scenarios proposed for
Range might play a role on the Santa Marta Mountains
the Perija
isostatic equilibrium as well. Moreover, the fact that the Santa
Marta Mountains was uplifted far from the region affected by
graben formation suggests that elastic thickness values in this
region were unaffected by pre-orogenic processes.
When looking at the full picture of the geodynamic evolution of
rida
the Maracaibo block, it is clear that, even though the Me
Andes is the most important load in the system, its orogenesis is
not the only process that produced the current elastic thickness
gradients within it. Consequently, the Te values within the
Maracaibo basin (from 24 to 18 km) are likely the response to
different stages in the Maracaibo block history. Particularly
Jurassic extension could have affected and weakened the lithosphere. Subsequently, the uplift and overthrusting of the
rida Andes over the weak Maracaibo block lithosphere proMe
duced the deep Maracaibo block.
Further work
As noted previously in this paper, classic exural studies take
into consideration vertical stresses related to the loads over the
lithosphere. Horizontal (either compression or extension) stresses
are not, but are often mentioned in the interpretation of the results obtained. As the Maracaibo block represents a region with a
relatively complex stress eld, compressional stress must be
considered. Further work will include modeling the geodynamic
situation with the nite element method so the horizontal stress
eld can be taken into account, as well as viscoelastic
deformation.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Project GIAME and its team
for support during the research, Nestor Cardozo for designing algorithms freely available to the geoscientic community, and
Michael Schmitz and James Kellogg for their thoughts on previous
stages of the research and their motivation to nish the work.
Finally, we would like to thank the reviewers whose notes, comments, corrections, recommendations and thoughts greatly
improved the quality of the original manuscript, and once again to
James Kellogg Editor-in-Chief for his comments that helped us
improve the manuscript and interpretations.
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
References
n, Y., 2012. Anomalas gravime
tricas del Caribe.
Arnaiz-Rodrguez, M.S., Garzo
Interciencia 37 (3), 172e182.
Arnaiz-Rodriguez, M.S., Orihuela, N., 2013. Curie point depth in Venezuela and the
Eastern Caribbean. Tectonophysics 590, 38e51.
Arnaiz-Rodriguez, M.S., Rodriguez-Millan, I., Audemard, F., 2011. Analisis gravimetrico y exural del occidente de Venezuela. Rev. Mex. Cs. Geol. 28, 420e443.
Artyushkov, E.V., Baer, M.A., Morner, N.-A., 1996. The East-Carpathians: indications
of phase transitions, lithospheric failure and decoupled evolution of a thrust
belt and its foreland. Tectonophysics 262, 101e132.
Audemard, F.A., 2009. Key Issues on the Post-Mesozoic Southern Caribbean Plate
Boundary: Geological Society, London, Special Publications vol. 328 (1),
569e586. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/SP328.23.
Audemard, F.A., 1993. Neotectonique, Sismotectonique et Ale a Sismique du Nordouest du Ve ne zue la (Syste'me de failles dOca-Anco n). PhD Thesis. Universite Montpellier II, France, p. 369. appendix.
Audemard, F.A., 2003. Geomorphic and geologic evidence of ongoing uplift and
rida Andes, Venezuela. Quat. Int. 101e102, 43e65.
deformation in the Me
Audemard, F.A., Machette, M.N., Cox, J.W., Dart, R.L., Haller, K.M., 2000. Map and
Database of Quaternary Faults in Venezuela and Its Offshore Regions. US
Geological Survey Open-File Report 00-0018. include map at scale 1:2,000,000,
p. 78.
Audemard, F.A., Romero, G., Rendon, H., Cano, V., 2005. Quaternary fault kinematics
and stress tensors along the southern Caribbean from faulteslip data and focal
mechanism solutions. Earth Sci. Rev. 69, 181e233. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.earscirev.2004.08.001.
rida Andes, Venezuela:
Audemard, F.E., Audemard, F.A., 2002. Structure of the Me
relations with the South AmericaeCaribbean geodynamic interaction. Tectonophysics 345, 299e327.
Audemard, F.E., 1991. Tectonics of Western Venezuela. Doctorate Thesis. Rice University, Houston-Texas.
nical Report 1.
J., Beucler, E., Trampert, J., Ritzwoller,
M.H., Capdeville, Y.,
Burgos, G., Montagner,
N.M., 2011. Proxies of Lithosphere/Asthenosphere Boundary from
Shapiro,
global surface wave tomography. In: American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting
2011, Abstract #DI41A-2050.
Cardona, A., Valencia, V., Reiners, P., Duque, J., Montes, C., Nicoleus, S., Ojeda, G.,
Cruz, J., 2008. Cenozoic Exhumation of the Sierra Nevada de santa marta,
Colombia: implications on the interactions between the caribbean and south
american plate. In: 2008 Joint Annual Meeting. Houston, TX, GSA.
Cardozo, N., 2009. ex3dv [on-line] available at: http://www.ux.uis.no/~nestor/
Public/ex3dv.zip.
Castillo, M.V., Mann, P., 2006. Cretaceous to Holocene structural and stratigraphic
development in south Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, inferred from well and
three-dimensional seismic data. AAPG Bull. 90, 529e564.
Ceron-Abril, J., 2008. Crustal Structure of the Colombian Caribbean Basin and
Margins. Doctorate Thesis. University of South Carolina, p. 182.
Ceron, J., Kellogg, J., Ojeda, G., 2007. Basin conguration of the northwestern South
America-Caribbean margin from recent geophysical data. CTandF, Cienc. Tecnol.
Futuro 3 (3), 25e49. Bucaramanga, Colombia.
come, M., Izarra, C., 2005. Flexural and gravity modelling of the me
rida
Chacn, L., Ja
Andes and Barinas-Apure Basin, western Venezuela. Tectonophysics 405,
155e167.
Colletta, B., Roure, F., de Toni, B., Loureiro, D., Passalacqua, H., Gou, Y., 1997. Tectonic
inheritance, crustal architecture and contrasting structural styles in the
Venezuela Andes. Tectonics 16 (5), 777e794.
De Cizancourt, H., 1933. Tectonic structure of northern Andes in Colombia and
Venezuela. AAPG Bull. 17, 211e228.
DeCelles, P.G., Giles, K.A., 1996. Foreland basin systems. Basin Res. 8, 105e123.
DeCelles, P.G., 2012. Foreland basin systems revisited: variations in response to
rez, A. (Eds.), Tectonics of Sedimentary
tectonic settings. In: Busby, C., Azor Pe
Basins: Recent Advances. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, pp. 405e426.
De Toni, B., Kellogg, J.N., 1993. Seismic evidence for blind thrusting of the northwestern ank of the Venezuelan Andes. Tectonics 12, 1,393e1,409.
Di Croce, J., 1995. Eastern Venezuela Basin: Sequence Stratigraphy and Structural
Evolution. Doctorate Thesis. Rice University, Houston, Texas, p. 225.
rida Andes and
Duerto, L., Escalona, A., Mann, P., 2006. Deep structure of the Me
mountain fronts, Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela. Am. Assoc. Pet.
Sierra de Perija
Geolo. Bull. 90, 505e528.
Duerto, L., 1998. Principales zonas triangulares de Venezuela. M.Sc. thesis. Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, p. 176. dx.doi.org/10.1029/
2006JB004802.
Egbue, O., Kellogg, J., 2010. Pleistocene to present North andean escape. Tectonophysics 489, 248e257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2010.04.021.
263
Erlich, R., Macsotay, O., Nederbragt, A., Lorente, M., 1999. Palaecology, palaeogeography and depositional environments of Upper Cretaceous rocks of
western Venezuela. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 153, 203e238.
n geofsica integrada de un transecto
Escobar, I.A., Rodrguez, I., 1995. Interpretacio
s de Los Andes venezolanos. In: Ponencia presentada en el I
NW-SE a trave
Latinoamerican Geophysical Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, pp. 273e276.
Folinsbeei, R.A., 1972. The Gravity Field and Plate Boundaries in Venezuela.
Doctorate thesis. Mass. Inst. Techn. y Wodds Hole Oceanog. Inst., USA.
French, C.D., Schenk, C.J., 2004. Map Showing Geology, Oil and Gas Fields, and
Geologic Provinces of the Caribbean Region: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File
Report 97-470-K, 1 map. [CD-ROM]. [on-line] available at: http://pubs.usgs.
gov/of/1997/ofr-97-470/OF97-470K/.
Freymueller, J.T., Kellogg, J.N., Vega, V., 1993. Plate motions in the North Andean
region. J. Geophys. Res. 98 (B12), 21,853e21,863.
Garrity, C., Hackley, P., Urbani, F., 2004. Digital Shaded-relief Map of Venezuela: U.S.
Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004e1322.
Geosoft Inc, 2007. Oasis Montaj [on-line] available at: http://www.geosoft.com/
products/oasis-montaj.
lez de Juana, C., 1952. Introduccio
n al estudio de la geologa de Venezuela. (4
Gonza
Parte). Bol. Geol. Caracas 2 (5), 311e330.
Jordan, T.E., 1995. Retroarc foreland and related basins. In: Busby, C.J., Ingersoll, R.V.
(Eds.), Tectonics of Sedimentary Basins. Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp. 331e362.
Kaniuth, K., Drewes, H., Stuber, K., Tremel, H., Hernandez, N., Hoyer, M.,
Wildermann, E., Kahle, H.G., Geiger, A., Straub, C., 1999. Position changes due to
recent crustal deformations along the Caribbean - south American plate
boundary derived from the CASA GPS Project. In: General Assembly of International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), Bitmingham, U. K. Poster at
Symposium G1 of International Association of Geodesy.
Karner, G., Watts, A., 1983a. Gravity anomalies and exure of the lithosphere at
mountain ranges. J. Geophys. Res. 88 (B12), 10.449e10.477.
Karner, G.D., Watts, A.B., 1983b. Gravity anomalies and exure of the lithosphere at
mountain ranges. J. Geophys. Res. 88, 10449e10477.
, VenezuelaKellogg, J.N., 1984. Cenozoic tectonic history of the Sierra de Perija
Colombia, and adjacent basins. In: Bonini, W.E., Hargraves, R.B., Shagam, y R.
(Eds.), The Caribbean Ruth America Plate Boundary and Regional Tectonics, 162.
Geological Society of America Memoir, pp. 239e261.
Kellogg, J., Vega, V., 1995. Tectonic development of Panama, Costa Rica, and the
Colombian Andes: constraints from global positioning system geodetic studies
and gravity. Spec. Pap. Geol. Soc. Am. 295, 75e90.
n of the Caribbean plate and basement
Kellogg, J.N., Bonini, W.E., 1982. Subduccio
uplifts in the overriding South American plate. Tectonics 1, 251e276.
Laske, G., Masters, G., 1997. A global Digital map of sediment thickness. EOS Trans.
AGU 78, F483.
Lugo, J., Mann, P., 1995. Jurassic e eocene tectonic evolution of maracaibo Basin,
Venezuela. In: Tankard, A., Suarez, S., Welsink, H. (Eds.), Petroleum Basins of
South America, vol. 62. AAPG Memoir, pp. 699e725.
Mann, P., Burke, K., 1984. Neotectonics of the Caribbean. Rev. Geophys. Space Phys.
22 (4), 309e362.
Mann, P., Escalona, A., Castillo, V., 2006. Regional geologic and tectonic setting of
the Maracaibo supergiant basin, western Venezuela. AAPG Bull. 90, 445e477.
Masy, J., Niu, F., Levander, A., Schmitz, M., 2011. Mantle ow beneath northwestern
Venezuela: seismic evidence for a deep origin of the Merida Andes. Earth
Planet. Sci. Lett. 305, 396e404. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.03.024.
n de espesor ela
stico efectivo de la litosfera en zonas de
Medina, O., 2009. Estimacio
n
cuencas cntepas: Cuenca Barinas e Apure. M.Sc thesis. Universidad Simo
Bolivar, p. 236.
Monod, B., Dhont, D., Hervouet, Y., 2010. Orogenic oat of the Venezuelan Andes.
Tectonophysics 490, 123e135. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. tecto.2010.04.036.
Niu, F., Bravo, T., Pavlis, G., Vermon, F., Rendon, H., Bezada, M., Levander, A., 2007.
Receiver function study of the crustal structure of the southeastern Caribbean
plate boundary and Venezuela. J. Geophys. Res. 112, B11308.
Parnaud, F., Gou, Y., Pascual, J.C., Truskowski, I., Gallango, O., Passalacqua, H., 1995.
Petroleum geology of the central part of the Eastern Venezuela Basin. In:
Tankard, A.J., Suarez, R., Welsink, H.J. (Eds.), Petroleum Basins of South America,
vol. 62. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, AAPG, Tulsa, Oklahoma,
pp. 741e756.
rez-Gussinye
, M., Lowry, A.R., Watts, A.B., 2007. Effective elastic thickness of
Pe
South America and its implications for intracontinental deformation. G3 8.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2006GC001511.
Pindell, J.L., y Kennan, L., 2009. Tectonic evolution of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean
and northern South America in the mantle reference frame: an update. In:
James, K., Lorente, M.A., Pindell, J. (Eds.), Origin and evolution of the Caribbean
Region, vol. 328. Geological Society of London, Special Publication, pp. 1e55.
Pennington, W., 1981. Subduction of the eastern Panama basin and seismotectonics
of northwestern South America. J. Geophys. Res. B 86, 10,753e10,770.
Pindell, J.L., Barrett, S.F., 1990. Geological evolution of the Caribbean regions; a plate
tectonic perspective. In: Dengo, G., Case, J.E. (Eds.), The Caribbean Region. Geological
Society of America. The Geology of North America, Boulder, Colorado, pp. 405e432.
Sandwell, D.T., Smith, W.H.F., 2009. Global marine gravity from retracked Geosat
and ERS-1 altimetry: ridge Segmentation versus spreading rate. J. Geophys. Res.
114, B01411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008JB006008.
Sarmiento, L.F., 2002. Relationships between stratigraphy, deformation and thermal
history in sedimentary basins; impact of geodynamic concepts in petroleum
exploration. CT&F e Cienc. Tecnol. Futuro 2 (3), 7e21.
264
M.S. Arnaiz-Rodrguez, F. Audemard / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 56 (2014) 251e264
Schmitz, M., Audemard, F.A., Orihuela, N., Klarica, S., Gil, E., Levander, A., Mazuera, F.,
Avila, J., 2013. Lithospheric scale model of Merida Andes, Venezuela (GIAME
project). In: Agu-meeting of the Americas, Cancn, Abstract T23B-08.
Smithson, S.B., Brewer, J., Hurich, C., Kaufman, S., Oliver, J., 1987. Nature of the Wind
River thrust, Wyoming, from COCORP deep - reection data and from gravity
data. Geology 6, 648e652.
Spector, A., Grant, F.S., 1970. Statistical models for interpreting aeromagnetic data.
Geophysics 35, 293e302.
Stephan, J.F., 1985. Andes et chan Caraibe sur la transversale de Barquisimeto
odinamique. In: Symposium Geodynamique des Car(Venezuela). Evolution ge
ditions Technip, Paris, pp. 505e529.
aibes. e
Stewart, J., Watts, A.B., 1997. Gravity anomalies and spatial variations of exural
rigidity at mountain ranges. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 5327e5352.
Taboada, A., Rivera, L.A., Fuenzalida, A., Cisternas, A., Philip, H., Bijwaard, H., Olaya, J.,
Rivera, C., 2000. Geodynamic of the northern Andes: subductions and intracontinental deformation (Colombia). Tectonics 19 (5), 787e813.
Turcotte, D.L., Schubert, G., 2002. Geodynamics. Cambridge University Press, New
York.
Van der Hilst, R.D., Mann, P., 1994. Tectonic implications of tomographic images of
subducted lithosphere beneath northwestern South America. Geology 22,
451e454.
Ventsel, E., Krauthammer, T., 2001. Thin Plates and Shells: Theory, Analysis and
Applications. M Dekker, New York, p. 666.
Walcott, R.I., 1970. Flexural rigidity, thickness, and viscosity of the lithosphere.
J. Geophys. Res. 75, 3941e3953.
Watts, A.B., 2001. Isostasy and Flexure of the Lithosphere. Oxford University Press,
Cambridge.
Watts, A.B., Lamb, S., Fairhead, J.D., Dewey, J.F., 1995. Lithospheric exure and
bending of the Central Andes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 134, 9e21.
Watts, A.B., ten Brink, U., Buhl, P., Brocher, T., 1985. A multi-channel seismic study of
lithospheric exure across the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. Nature 315
(6015), 105e111.