Víctor Alberto Ramos (born 1945) is an Argentine

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

who has contributed to the

paleogeography Palaeogeography (or paleogeography) is the study of historical geography, generally physical landscapes. Palaeogeography can also include the study of human or cultural environments. When the focus is specifically on landforms, the term pal ...

and

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. He has been a member of the

Chilean Academy of Science Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture * Chilean cuisine * Chilean Americans See also *List of Chileans This is a list of Chileans who ar ...

since 2001 and won in 2013 the

Premio México de Ciencia y Tecnología Premio México de Ciencia y Tecnología is an award bestowed in by the CONACYT to Ibero-American (Latin America plus the Iberian Peninsula) scholars in recognition of advances in science and/or technology. In the selection of the recipients the wo ...

. Ramos was the first to recognize the existence of Chilenia and the former sea that separated it from the rest of South America (then part of Gondwana). At the time of the discovery in the 1980s it was considered to be speculative. In a 1988 conference in Chile the discovery of Chilenia was not well received and a

payador The ''payada'' is a folk music tradition native to Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brasil, and south Paraguay as part of the ''Gaucho'' culture and literature. In Chile it is called ''paya'' and performed by '' huasos''. It is a performance of imp ...

at the conference ridiculed him. As the existence of Chilenia was recognized, he was made a member of the Chilean Academy of Sciences. Together with other researchers Ramos has proposed to change the age of the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

boundary from 145 Ma to 140 Ma making the Jurassic longer. This proposal derives from a 2014 study based on

biostratigraphy Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them.Hine, Robert. “Biostratigraphy.” ''Oxford Reference: Dictionary of B ...

and

radiometric dating Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares ...

of ash in the Vaca Muerta Formation in

Neuquén Basin Neuquén Basin ( es, Cuenca Neuquina) is a sedimentary basin covering most of Neuquén Province in Argentina. The basin originated in the Jurassic and developed through alternating continental and marine conditions well into the Tertiary. The bas ...

, Argentina. In Ramos' words the study would serve as a "first step" toward formally changing the age in the International Union of Geological Sciences. Ramos has proposed that the

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

n landmass originated as an

allochthonous River ecosystems are flowing waters that drain the landscape, and include the biotic (living) interactions amongst plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well as abiotic (nonliving) physical and chemical interactions of its many parts.Angelier ...

terrane In geology, a terrane (; in full, a tectonostratigraphic terrane) is a crust (geology), crust fragment formed on a tectonic plate (or broken off from it) and Accretion (geology), accreted or "Suture (geology), sutured" to crust lying on another pla ...

that separated from

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

and docked in

250 to 270 Ma in the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

period. A 2014 study by

Robert John Pankhurst Robert John Pankhurst is a British geologist who has contributed to the study of the evolution and plate tectonics of Antarctica and South America. He has been a member of the Chilean Academy of Science Chilean may refer to: * Something of, fro ...

and co-workers reject the idea of a far-travelled Patagonia claiming it is likely of parautochthonous (nearby) origin. Víctor Ramos has been a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at: * Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Brazil *

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, United States *

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, Chile * Universidad Nacional de Salta, Argentina *

Universidad Nacional de San Juan The National University of San Juan (in Castilian, ''Universidad Nacional de San Juan'', UNSJ) is a public university in Argentina. Its seat is located in the city of San Juan, capital of the province of the same name, in the Cuyo region. It was ...

, Argentina * Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Argentina *

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul ( pt, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS) is a Brazilian public federal research university based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. UFRGS is among the largest and highest-rated univers ...

, Brazil *

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...

, Brazil *

Universidad Nacional del Sur The National University of the South (in Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional del Sur'', UNS) is the largest national university in southern Argentina. Its motto is ''Ardua Veritatem'', which means "through the difficulties to the truth". The univers ...

, Argentina *

Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

, Argentina *

Universidad Nacional de Asunción The Universidad Nacional de Asunción or Mbo'ehaovusu Tetãgua Paraguaygua, abbreviated UNA, anglicized as, The National University of Asuncion, is a public university founded in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Founded in 1889, it is the oldest and most t ...

, Paraguay *

Universidad de la República The University of the Republic ( es, Universidad de la República, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is Uruguay's oldest public university. It is by far the country's largest university, as well as the second largest public university in South America and t ...

, Uruguay

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Victor Alberto Living people 1945 births Argentine geologists Tectonicists University of Buenos Aires alumni Academic staff of the University of Buenos Aires Cornell University faculty Academic staff of the University of Chile Fellows of the Geological Society of America Members of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences Members of the Chilean Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Servicio Geológico Minero personnel