Mineralogy
Atacama Desert: a natural laboratory conducive to the study of astronomy and geology
The geologist and academic from the UCN Department of Geological Sciences, Dr. Millarca Valenzuela, who also participated as a speaker in the discussion "Exploring heaven and earth in the Antofagasta Region", commented that the Atacama desert is a unique place in the world, explaining that it is the most arid and oldest on a global level.
“It (the Atacama desert) has the peculiarity of having two mountain ranges: the coastal mountain range, which blocks the humidity that comes from the Pacific; and the Andes mountain range, which prevents the humidity that comes from the Atlantic. So, we have a center that generates the ideal conditions to maintain this hyperaridity, which has many repercussions on various topics, such as, for example, at a time in the geological history of this territory, the blocking of certain enrichments that were caused in rocks is generated. mineralized, which have generated an anomalous high concentration of metals such as copper, molybdenum and others, which have contributed in some way to the economy for years ”, he explained.
The scientist said that geology is a science that mainly studies the rocks of the earth's crust, to try to understand their processes and, therefore, it can be investigated anywhere on Earth.
“Precisely because of the conditions that the desert has and the absence of vegetation and the conditions in which the rocks erode and transform, the desert allows us to preserve as a snapshot some very old rocks that allow us to look at this history of the Earth, in a larger range of time, with different processes. In this sense, geology is more exposed in a place like the Antofagasta Region, in general northern Chile, ”she added.
Regarding mining, which has enabled the presence of numerous mining companies and the economic development of Chile, the scientist explained that precisely the Atacama desert has special concentrations of minerals, as a result of arid conditions. "And in addition to the tectonic conditions that allowed generating these metal-enriched magmas," she added.
Source: explora.cl
