Permian depositional age of metaturbidites of the Duque de York Complex, southern Chile: U-Pb SHRIMP data and palynology

Abstract

The Duque de York Complex (DYC) is part of the low grade metamorphic accretionary complexes of the pre-Andean Patagonian 'basement'. It is a sedimentary succession exposed along the western margin of southernmost South America. New U-Pb zircon ages and palynological data restrict the maximum depositional age of the DYC to the limit between the early Permian (Kungurian) and the middle Permian (Roadian). The palynological association recorded in the DYC, characterized mainly by Gymnospermopsida pollen, indicates a humid environment of forest with an undergrowth of ferns. Regional paleogeographic correlations point out that an interpretation of DYC as an autochthonous terrane cannot be discarded, contrasting with previous hypotheses which suggest an allochthonous character for this complex.