New thermo and geochronological constraints on the Pliocene-Pleistocene eruption history of the Paipa-Iza volcanic complex, Eastern Cordillera, Colombia

Abstract The Paipa-Iza volcanic complex is the only volcanic edifice in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. Zircon fission-track and U Pb data from deposits of two eruption epochs presented in this study constrain the time of volcanic activity between 5.9 Ma in the late Miocene and at least 1.8 Ma during the early Pleistocene. These ages correspond to 3.6 to 4.7 Ma zircon fission-track ages reported from tephra deposits of the Tierra Negra region to the southwest of the Paipa-Iza volcanic complex in the Eastern Cordillera. A 4 Myr period of volcanic activity is longer than the previously documented 2.5 Ma to 1.9 Ma activity in the Paipa-Iza area. Therefore, our data show that the Paipa-Iza volcanic complex was active during the entire Pliocene phase of rapid surface uplift, when the Eastern Cordillera reached its present-day elevation. Unclear is if the magma chamber of the Paipa-Iza volcanic complex was passively uplifted with the rest of the Eastern Cordillera, or if magmatism contributed to surface uplift. Hydrothermal activity and steep thermal gradients in the study area today indicate that a magma chamber is still present at depth. In both the zircon fission-track and U Pb data of this study the recycling of zircon from underlying Mesozoic sedimentary rocks is evident in the wide age spectra. The fission-track data show that many recycled zircons were affected at least by partial annealing, but further research is needed for constraining the thermal impact of the Paipa-Iza volcanism on the Eastern Cordillera.