South American Adventure

October 22, 2014

A field trip to Argentina in March 2014 allowed a group of 20 Jackson School of Geosciences graduate students, professors and research collaborators specializing in sedimentology, stratigraphy and basin analysis to pursue various research modules in the Andes Mountains and Patagonia foreland basin.

The active research programs of trip leaders Brian Horton, Cornel Olariu and Ron Steel provided a platform for investigating the deepwater, deltaic, and fluvial depositional processes of the prolific Neuquen basin and the stratigraphic record of Andean mountain building. Students in the course logged stratigraphic sections, measured paleocurrents, interpreted detrital geochronological data, and integrated structural and seismic data to address current issues relevant to both academic and industry communities.

The trip culminated with a traverse through the Aconcagua fold-thrust belt, following the path of Charles Darwin on his 1835 geological investigation across the Andes. Financial support for the trip was provided by the Jackson School, Marathon Oil Corporation and Pluspetrol.