Abstract

GARZON-CASTRO, Yanidth Fernanda; BERMUDEZ-CELLA, Mauricio Alberto; HERNANDEZ-VARGAS, Karen Daniela  and  ALARCON-BONILLA, Andrés Felipe. Thermal history of intrusive bodies using quantitative geothermochronology: Applications to the Central Cordillera of Colombia. Bol. geol. [online]. 2025, vol.47, n.2, pp.13-41.  Epub Sep 16, 2025. ISSN 0120-0283.  https://doi.org/10.18273/revbol.v47n2-2025001.

The thermal history of five intrusive igneous bodies representative of the main Mesozoic tectono-magmatic events in the Central Cordillera of Colombia, located north of the Ibagué Fault, is presented. Previously published thermochronological data were integrated using inverse numerical modeling with the 4DTherm code, taking into account the thermal properties of the rocks. The results reveal an initial magmatic cooling pulse during the Late Cretaceous, lasting several hundred thousand years, followed by a more prolonged post-magmatic cooling phase after the Paleoceneexcept for the Ibagué Batholith, which records significant exhumation since the Late Jurassic. The highest cooling (5.67°C/km) and exhumation rates (0.13 km/Ma) were observed in the Córdoba Stock, located within the Romeral Fault System. The average exhumation rate (0.1 km/Ma) is consistent with values reported further north in the Cordillera, suggesting a regional tectonic control since the Late Cretaceous. The average cooling rate due to exhumation (~4.2°C/km) is higher than previous estimates based on lower-temperature data. Estimated heat flow values (~100 mW/m2) and surface geothermal gradients (3140°C/km) are consistent with magmatically active regions, highlighting the geothermal potential of the Central Cordillera.

Keywords : Magmatic; Post-magmatic; Erosion; Cooling; Thermal histories: Numerical modeling; Geothermochronological data.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )