Aeolian Landscapes and Paleoclimatic Legacy in the Southern Chacopampean Plain, Argentina

Enrique Fucks (), Yamile Rico, Luciano Galone, Malena Lorente, Sebastiano D’Amico and María Florencia Pisano
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Enrique Fucks: CEIDE (Centro de Estudios Integrales de la Dinámica Exógena), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), La Plata 1900, Argentina
Yamile Rico: CIC (Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas), La Plata 1900, Argentina
Luciano Galone: Department of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta
Malena Lorente: CEIDE (Centro de Estudios Integrales de la Dinámica Exógena), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), La Plata 1900, Argentina
Sebastiano D’Amico: Department of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta
María Florencia Pisano: CEIDE (Centro de Estudios Integrales de la Dinámica Exógena), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), La Plata 1900, Argentina

Geographies, 2025, vol. 5, issue 3, 1-24

Abstract: The Chacopampean Plain is a major physiographic unit in Argentina, bounded by the Colorado River to the south, the Sierras Pampeanas and Subandinas to the west, and the Paraná River, Río de la Plata Estuary, and the Argentine Sea to the east. Its subsurface preserves sediments from the Miocene marine transgression, while the surface hosts some of the country’s most productive soils. Two main geomorphological domains are recognized: fluvial systems dominated by alluvial megafans in the north, and aeolian systems characterized by loess accumulation and wind erosion in the south. The southern sector exhibits diverse landforms such as deflation basins, ridges, dune corridors, lunettes, and mantiform loess deposits. Despite their regional extent, the origin and chronology of many aeolian features remain poorly constrained, as previous studies have primarily focused on depositional units rather than wind-sculpted erosional features. This study integrates remote sensing data, field observations, and a synthesis of published chronometric and sedimentological information to characterize these aeolian landforms and elucidate their genesis. Our findings confirm wind as the dominant morphogenetic agent during Late Quaternary glacial stadials. These aeolian morphologies significantly influence the region’s hydrology, as many permanent and ephemeral water bodies occupy deflation basins or intermediate low-lying sectors prone to flooding under modern climatic conditions, which are considerably wetter than during their original formation.

Keywords: wind processes; Pampas Plain; paleoclimate; loess; geomorphology; Argentina (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q15 Q5 Q53 Q54 Q56 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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