Paleomagnetic and Magnetic Studies of Quaternary Units in Tierra del Fuego, the South Atlantic Islands and Southern Patagonia

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the results obtained applying paleomagnetic and rock magnetic techniques to late Cenozoic rocks and sediments from Patagonia and Isla Grande Tierra del Fuego. A large number of studies were carried out in upper Cenozoic basaltic lava flows, glaciolacustrine sediments, Lake sediments and sediments from archaeological locations. Many paleomagnetic and chronostratigraphic studies have contributed to the determination of the ages of different glaciations, as well as to the correlation between the different localities. Moreover, during the last decades, several paleomagnetic projects in lake sediments allowed reconstructing the behavior of the Holocene geomagnetic field from southwestern Argentina. These results are decisive for determining regional and global patterns of longer period secular variations, and for having a better understanding of the physics of the Earth’s core. More recently, several environmental magnetism studies have been carried out on eolian sediments and lake sediments. Some results from these studies are presented in this chapter.