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- ItemOptical dating of alluvial deposits at the orogenic front of the andean precordillera (Mendoza, Argentina)(Warsaw : De Gruyter, 2012) Schmidt, Silke; Tsukamoto, Sumiko; Salomon, Eric; Frechen, Manfred; Hetzel, RalfWell constrained numerical ages of alluvial fan sediments are key to understanding the chronology of alluvial episodes and tectonic activity at the front of the Andean Precordillera. We test-ed the application of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating in the distal part of an alluvial fan five kilometers north of Mendoza. For OSL dating a large number of aliquots (n > 70)-each composed of ̃50 quartz grains-were measured in order to obtain reliable burial ages despite scattered dose distributions. Owing to a feldspar contamination in all samples, an infrared stimulation was inserted before each OSL measurement, which reduced the feldspar OSL signal suc-cessfully. By using the minimum age model we obtained stratigraphically consistent burial ages of al-luvial deposits in a depth profile. The uppermost ̃1 m of sediment is composed of debris flow depos-its buried 770±76 years ago. Three plant remnants used for radiocarbon dating from the same layer, however, yielded ages younger than 350 years, which are interpreted to underestimate the deposition-al age. Underneath the debris flow, a major unconformity cuts a series of distal alluvial fan sediments with interstratified floodplain deposits, which are composed of sandy and calcite-rich silt layers, re-spectively. Three samples from this unit which were distributed over one meter of sediment thickness yielded statistically concordant OSL ages of 12.3±1.2 ka, 12.3±1.2 ka, and 11.7±1.1 ka. The deposi-tion of these sediments during the latest Pleistocene coincides with a phase of cool and humid cli-mate, which occurred before the alluvial fan propagated farther into the foreland. The overlying de-bris flow sediments are associated with alluvial fan incision during the arid Late Holocene. © 2011 Silesian University of Technology.