Pleistocene littoral uplift of northern Chile: 21Ne age of the upper marine terrace of Caldera-Bahía Inglesa area

Abstract

The age of the uppermost emerged marine terrace in the Caldera-Bahía Inglesa area, located at 224±6 m a.s.l. is presented herein. The methodology applied is based on the exposure ages in clasts of quartz using cosmogenic ²¹Ne. The age obtained was 0.86±0.11 My. Three strong sealevel highstands corresponding to isotopic stages MIS 19 (780 ky), MIS 21 (860 ky) and MIS 25 (950 ky) were developed during this age interval. In each one this marine terrace could have been formed. The average uplift rate considering these three cases is 0.28± 0.02 mm/y, that is smaller than the value determined by previous authors for the last 400 ky. No marine terraces exist in the study area between 750 and 400 ky, and this could be an indicator of small uplift rates, weak interestadials during this interval and the stronger sealevel highstand developed during MIS 11 (400 ky) that provoked a significative erosion of the littoral topography, including the marine terraces that could have been formed between 750 and 400 ky. The littoral uplift in the study area is regional and could be related to processes generated due to the interaction of the Nazca and South American plates; e.g., subduction earthquakes.