Rapid terrace incision and Quaternary landscape evolution in central Patagonia

A study of the Río Pinturas in Argentine Patagonia reveals that rapid terrace incision, exceeding regional uplift rates, was driven by discharge and sediment dynamics during Quaternary climate transitions. Analysis of a 250-meter relief terrace sequence identified 22 levels, some dated to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 32–36, MIS 16, MIS 8, and MIS 2. The research demonstrates that terrace formation was episodic, with the fastest incision (~11.7 meters per thousand years) occurring during a transitional warming climate around 18 ka, linked to glacier recession and proglacial lake formation. This challenges traditional views on isostatic uplift as the primary driver of landscape evolution in this region.

Thorndycraft, V. R. (2023). Rapid terrace incision and Quaternary landscape evolution in central Patagonia. Journal of Quaternary Science, 39(2), 208–223. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3578