Structural interplay between plutons during the construction of a batholith (Cerro Aspero batholith, Sierras de Córdoba, Argentina)

Magnetic fabric patterns and microstructures of granitic rocks provide evidence of structural modifications as a result of the coalescence of two plutons, Alpa Corral and Talita, during the construction of a large granitic batholith, Cerro Aspero, in the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba (Argentina). The Alpa Corral granite is a small and nearly circular pluton, while the larger Talita pluton displays a marked N–S elongation. The NW quadrangle of the Alpa Corral pluton underwent a deformation resulting in foliation trajectories that outline a crescent moon pattern whose inner arc is concordant with the Alpa Corral/Talita contact. The highest values for the magnetic susceptibility and its anisotropy are concentrated in the coalescence zone between both plutons. The magmatic and sub-magmatic nature of the microstructures demonstrates that such a deformation was caused by the southward overriding of the largest Talita pluton while the Alpa Corral pluton was not yet fully crystallized. Rb–Sr geochronology indicates that this process took place 369±9 Ma ago, long after the Famatinian (Ordovician to Early Devonian) deformation of the country rocks, which confirms a synmagmatic, rather than a regional, deformational event.