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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">EGUsphere</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>EGUsphere</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
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<issn pub-type="epub"></issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/egusphere-2025-4801</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>U-Pb dating of chrysocolla from supergene copper deposits in the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile, Atacama Desert</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ríos-Contesse</surname>
<given-names>Juan</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Albert</surname>
<given-names>Richard</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0185-8581</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ritter-Prinz</surname>
<given-names>Benedikt</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Gerdes</surname>
<given-names>Axel</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3823-2125</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Dunai</surname>
<given-names>Tibor</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8858-2401</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Campos</surname>
<given-names>Eduardo</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Departmento de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, 1240000, Chile</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, 60438, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Department of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, 60438, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Cologne, Cologne, 50674, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>14</day>
<month>10</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2025</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>29</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2025 Juan Ríos-Contesse et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4801/">This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4801/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4801/egusphere-2025-4801.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4801/egusphere-2025-4801.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>The dating of supergene copper minerals has been widely used as a proxy to investigate the evolution and onset of hyperaridity in the Atacama Desert. However, investigation of supergene copper mineralisation in the Atacama Desert has been restricted to two physiographic units favourable for the industrial extraction of copper: the Central Depression and the Precordillera. Furthermore, these studies dated the timing of supergene mineralisation by secondary non-copper minerals like alunite. In this study, we present new results of LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of chrysocolla from supergene deposits hosted in the western part of the Coastal Cordillera of northern Chile. The obtained U-Pb ages range from 8.4 &amp;plusmn; 1.2 Ma to 0.046 &amp;plusmn; 0.027 Ma. Supergene mineralisation ages point to significantly reduced precipitation, necessary for leaching and mineral precipitation process, since the Late Miocene to Pleistocene in the Coastal Cordillera, later than the secondary supergene mineralisation ages from the Precordillera. Post-Mid-to-Late Miocene ages point to repeated phases of sufficient moisture along the Coastal Cordillera that promotes chrysocolla mineralisation during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. We propose that due to the position of the study areas near the coastal escarpment, and the predominant hyperarid environment in this part of the Coastal Cordillera since at least the Mid-Miocene, pluvial periods and/or intensification of coastal fog events caused alternating phases of supergene activity.</p>
</abstract>
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<funding-source>Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft</funding-source>
<award-id>268236062</award-id>
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<award-group id="gs2">
<funding-source>Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo</funding-source>
<award-id>21242202</award-id>
</award-group>
</funding-group>
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