Tectonic and paleoclimatic controls on the composition of inland wetland deposits, Chaco foreland basin, Central Andes

Abstract

In recent decades, the growing interest in wetlands highlights the fundamental role of these complex ecosystems. Integrated sedimentological and geochemical studies that refer to wetlands appear more frequently in the literature, since such approaches provide a window into understanding the functions they have played through geologic time. The Miocene Yecua Formation (Chaco foreland basin, Central Andes, Bolivia) presents sedimentological features that show how siliciclastic, chemical, and biological processes lead to lithofacies and compositional features that are distinctive of wetlands related to back-bulge settings. The succession is composed of shallowing-upward parasequences with various compositional characteristics controlled by tectonic and climatic factors. Data integration obtained from paleocurrents, petrography, and clay mineralogy show the influence of the Central Andes fold and thrust belt located to the west of the basin as a principal source area. The high compositional maturity of sandstones reflects the tectonic control as the main allocyclic variable associated with reworking of already mature sediment sources and transport factors in relation to the distal position of the basin (back-bulge), combined with climatic and paleoenvironmental conditions. XRD and SEM-EDS analyses show that illitic clays represent the main mineral phase of the clay assemblages, and have a detrital origin related to physical weathering processes in the source area. Al-rich smectitic minerals have an authigenic origin and were likely formed by alteration of volcanic detritus as well as from precursor minerals such as illite and feldspars. Kaolinite is determined to be detrital and likely derived from the erosion of floodplains with soil development. Throughout the parasequences, illite–smectite–kaolinite minerals are arranged in different proportions, showing a general vertical trend (from base to top) in which the illitic clays decrease at the expense of the increase in Al-rich smectite and kaolinite. The increase in smectite is accompanied by mixed siliciclastic–carbonate sedimentation, which points to a reduction in the clastic contribution linked to drier conditions. This vertical compositional arrangement reveals a paleoclimatic control, influenced by middle-term wet and dry periods. This work demonstrates that source-rock composition and transport distance (tectonic processes) are the key factors influencing quartz-rich sandstones and illite-rich clay mineral suites in distal positions of continental foreland basins. The long-term tropical to subtropical climate favored the development of inland wetlands and played a secondary role in the final composition of these depositional systems.