High-precision U-Pb calibration of Carboniferous glaciation and climate history, Paganzo Group, NW Argentina

Abstract

The duration and geographic extent of Carboniferous glacial events in southern Gondwana remain poorly constrained despite recent evidence for a more dynamic glacial history than previously considered. We report 10 high-precision (2 <0.1%) U-Pb ages for the Permian-Carboniferous Paganzo Group, NW Argentina, that redefi ne the chronostratigraphy of the late Paleozoic Paganzo and Ro Blanco Basins, and significantly refi ne the timing of glacial events and climate shifts in the western region of southern Gondwana. Radiometric calibration of the Paganzo Group indicates three pulses of Carboniferous glaciation in the mid-Visean, the late Serpukhovian to earliest Bashkirian, and between the latest Bashkirian to early Moscovian.