Convergent plate margins and subduction zones are first order features shaping the Earth. Convergent continental margins combine the majority of processes that affect the internal architecture thermal and geochemical character of continental lith- phere. In addition, the close relationships between active deformation and uplift, m- matism and associated crustal growth, ore formation, the release of more than 90% of global seismic energy at convergent margins, make these plate boundaries imp- tant natural laboratories where mass and energy flux rates can be studied at various scales. Since the advent of plate tectonic theory, it has been recognized that all of these phenomena are intimately related and often governed by feedback mechanisms. Accordingly, subduction orogeny has become an international, high-priority theme in process-oriented, earth-system analysis. In this context, Dewey and Bird (1970) have defined the Andes as the type representative for orogeny and associated p- cessesat convergent margins in their benchmark paper. The Andes, therefore, p- vide an excellent natural laboratory for studying the above processes.

From the reviews:

"This beautifully produced book is a comprehensive summary of the main findings and their implications in an easily accessible format. Overall the book reflects the enormous investment in geophysical data represented by this long-term project, and the resulting geophysical interpretations of crustal structure and processes. I recommend this book as an indispensable resource for serious researchers interested in the structure of this unique, active, subduction-related mountain system." (R. J. Pankhurst, Geological Magazine, Vol. 145, 2008)

Inhalt
The Big Picture.- Deformation of the Central Andean Upper Plate System Facts, Fiction, and Constraints for Plateau Models.- The Time-Space Distribution of Cenozoic Volcanism in the South-Central Andes: a New Data Compilation and Some Tectonic Implications.- Crustal Evolution at the Central Andean Continental Margin: a Geochemical Record of Crustal Growth, Recycling and Destruction.- Long-Term Signals in the Present-Day Deformation Field of the Central and Southern Andes and Constraints on the Viscosity of the Earth's Upper Mantle.- Tectonic Processes along the Chile Convergent Margin.- Elements of the Subduction System.- Oblique Convergence along the Chilean Margin: Partitioning, Margin-Parallel Faulting and Force Interaction at the Plate Interface.- Seismic Images of Accretive and Erosive Subduction Zones from the Chilean Margin.- Geophysical Signatures and Active Tectonics at the South-Central Chilean Margin.- Latitudinal Variation in Sedimentary Processes in the Peru-Chile Trenchoff Central Chile.- Subduction Erosion the Normal Mode of Fore-Arc Material Transfer along the Chilean Margin?.- Subduction Channel Evolution in Brittle Fore-Arc Wedges a Combined Study with Scaled Sandbox Experiments, Seismological and Reflection Seismic Data and Geological Field Evidence.- Tectonics and Surface Processes Responses to Change.- Tectonics, Climate, and Landscape Evolution of the Southern Central Andes: the Argentine Puna Plateau and Adjacent Regions between 22 and 30°S.- Exhumation and Basin Development Related to Formation of the Central Andean Plateau, 21° S.- The Salar de Atacama Basin: a Subsiding Block within the Western Edge of the Altiplano-Puna Plateau.- Upper-Crustal Structure of the Central Andes Inferred from Dip Curvature Analysis of Isostatic Residual Gravity.- Central and Southern Andean Tectonic Evolution Inferred from Arc Magmatism.- The Segmented Overriding Plate and Coupling at the South-Central Chilean Margin (3642°S).- Episodic Neogene Southward Growth of the Andean Subduction Orogen between 30°S and 40°S Plate Motions, Mantle Flow, Climate, and Upper-Plate Structure.- Long-Term Geological Evolution and Mass-Flow Balance of the South-Central Andes.- Links between Mountain Uplift, Climate, and Surface Processes in the Southern Patagonian Andes.- The System at Depth: Images and Models.- Seismological Studies of the Central and Southern Andes.- Partial Melting in the Central Andean Crust: a Review of Geophysical, Petrophysical, and Petrologic Evidence.- Controls on the Deformation of the Central and Southern Andes (1035° S): Insight from Thin-Sheet Numerical Modeling.- Numerical Study of Weakening Processes in the Central Andean Back-Arc.- Mechanism of the Andean Orogeny: Insight from Numerical Modeling.- The Andean Information System: Data, Maps and Movies.- Data Management of the SFB 267 for the Andes from Ink and Paper to Digital Databases.- Digital Geological Map of the Central Andes between 20°S and 26°S.- Bouguerand Isostatic Maps of the Central Andes.- Digital Geological Map of the Southern and Central Puna Plateau, NW Argentina.- Morphotectonic and Geologic Digital Map Compilations of the South-Central Andes (36°42°S).- to the Attached DVD.