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Short Communication |
Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, King's College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK (e-mail: a.hartley@abdn.ac.uk)
Sedimentological data indicate that a semi-arid/arid climate prevailed across the Central Andes from 15 Ma to 4 Ma. Between 4 and 3 Ma a switch to hyperaridity occurred along the western margin of South America. Palaeoaltitude data suggest that a substantial proto-Central Andean mountain range was in place between 15 and 9 Ma. These data support the idea that the Andean rain shadow existed by 15 Ma and that it reinforced the pre-existing climatic regime rather than changing it. The change to hyperaridity in western South America is attributed to a combination of global climate cooling and enhanced upwelling of the Humboldt current generated by closure of the Central American Seaway between 3.5 and 3 Ma, and not to the Andean rain shadow.
Keywords: Andes, Atacama, Humboldt current, climate, uplift.
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