Apatite fission-track dating and low-temperature history of the Bavarian Forest (southern Bohemian Massif)

Apatite fission-track (AFT) dating applied to uplifted Variscan basement blocks of the Bavarian Forest is employed to unravel the low-temperature history of this segment of the Bohemian Massif. Twenty samples were dated and confined track lengths of four samples were measured. Most samples define Cretaceous APT ages between 110 and 82 Ma (Albian to Campanian) and three samples give older ~148–140 Ma (Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary) ages. No discernible regional age variations exist between the areas north-east and south-west of the Pfahl shear zone, but >500 m post-Jurassic and post-Cretaceous vertical offsets along this and other faults can be inferred from elevation profile analyses. The AFT ages clearly postdate the Variscan exhumation history of the Bavarian Forest. Thermal modeling reveals that the ages are best explained by a slight reheating of the basement rocks to temperatures within the apatite partial annealing zone during the middle and late Jurassic and/or by late Cretaceous marine transgression causing burial heating, which affected marginal low-lying areas of the Bohemian Massif and the Bavarian Forest. Late Jurassic period was followed by enhanced cooling through the 120–60 °C temperature interval during the subsequent exhumation phase for which denudation rates of ~100 m myr^?1 were calculated. On a regional scale, Jurassic–Cretaceous AFT ages are ubiquitous in marginal structural blocks of the Bohemian Massif and seem to reflect the exhumation of these zones more distinctly compared to central parts.     

Mesozoic exhumation history and palaeolandscape of the Iberian Massif in eastern Galicia from apatite fission-track and (U+Th)/He data

Apatite fission-track (AFT) and (U+Th)/He (AHe) data, combined with time–temperature inverse modelling, reveal the cooling and exhumation history of the Iberian Massif in eastern Galicia since the Mesozoic. The continuous cooling at various rates correlates with variation of tectonic boundary conditions in the adjacent continental margins. The data provide constraints on the 10⁷ timescale longevity of a relict paleolandscape. AFT ages range from 68 to 174 Ma with mean track lengths of 10.7 ± 2.6 to 12.6 ± 1.8 μm, and AHe ages range from 73 to 147 Ma. Fastest exhumation (≈0.25 km/Ma) occurred during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous main episode of rifting in the adjacent western and northern margins. Exhumation rates have decreased since then and have been approximately one order of magnitude lower. Across inland Galicia, the AFT data are consistent with Early Cretaceous movement on post-Variscan NE trending faults. This is coeval with an extensional episode offshore. The AHe data in this region indicate less than 1.7 km of denudation in the last 100 Ma. This low exhumation suggests the attainment of a mature landscape during Late Cretaceous post-rift tectonic stability, whose remains are still preserved. The low and steady rate of denudation prevailed across inland Galicia despite minor N–S shortening in the northern margin since ≈45 Ma ago. In north Galicia, rock uplift in response to NW strike-slip faulting since Early Oligocene to Early Miocene has caused insufficient exhumation (<3 km) to remove the Mesozoic cooling signal recorded by the AFT data.     

Apatite fission track geochronology of the Southern Hunan province across the Shi-Hang Belt: insights into the Cenozoic dynamic topography of South China

The Shi-Hang Belt is a Mesozoic tectonic zone and has always been regarded as the boundary between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks. It occupies a key tectonic location and attracts considerable attention due to its dynamic formation mechanism. However, its Cenozoic dynamic process is poorly constrained. The Cenozoic activation of the Shi-Hang Belt, as well as its cooling and exhumation, aids in dating the onset time of the formation of the mountain ranges and reveals the deformation process of the South China Block. To uncover the history of its Cenozoic cooling and denudation, apatite fission-track (AFT) thermochronology was applied to batholiths and strata spread across the Shi-Hang Belt in the Hunan Province. Twenty-three samples are dated with ages ranging from 23.6 ± 1.5 to 45.8 ± 3.0 Ma. Except for two older ages (42.1 ± 2.6 and 45.8 ± 3.0 Ma), the other ages range from 23 to 36 Ma with less variation on both sides of the Chenzhou–Linwu fault. The thermochronological modelling of 15 measured samples demonstrates that rocks rapidly passed through the AFT partial annealing zone to the near surface at different onset times from 36 to 23 Ma. The regional AFT cooling pattern is unrelated to the internal structures of the Shi-Hang Belt characterized by a Mesozoic fold-thrust feature. We attribute the Cenozoic exhumation of the Shi-Hang Belt to the dynamic topography of the South China Block, which is related to mantle downwellings and upwellings due to several episodes of quick subduction of the Pacific Plate underneath Eurasia during the Late Cretaceous–early Cenozoic and the Oligocene–early Miocene. The far-field effect of the India–Tibet collision may have contributed to the exhumation of the Shi-Hang Belt.     

Exhumation history of the Peake and Denison Inliers: insights from low-temperature thermochronology

Multi-method thermochronology applied to the Peake and Denison Inliers (northern South Australia) reveals multiple low-temperature thermal events. Apatite fission track (AFT) data suggest two main time periods of basement cooling and/or reheating into AFT closure temperatures (～60–120°C); at ca 470–440 Ma and ca 340–300 Ma. We interpret the Ordovician pulse of rapid basement cooling as a result of post-orogenic cooling after the Delamerian Orogeny, followed by deformation related to the start of the Alice Springs Orogeny and orocline formation relating to the Benambran Orogeny. This is supported by a titanite U/Pb age of 479 ± 7 Ma. Our thermal history models indicate that subsequent denudation and sedimentary burial during the Devonian brought the basement rocks back to zircon U–Th–Sm/He (ZHe) closure temperatures (～200–150°C). This period was followed by a renewal of rapid cooling during the Carboniferous, likely as the result of the final pulses of the Alice Springs Orogeny, which exhumed the inlier to ambient surface temperatures. This thermal event is supported by the presence of the Mount Margaret erosion surface, which indicates that the inlier was exposed at the surface during the early Permian. During the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic, the inlier was subjected to minor reheating to AFT closure temperatures; however, the exact timing cannot be deduced from our dataset. Cretaceous apatite U–Th–Sm/He (AHe) ages coupled with the presence of contemporaneous coarse-grained terrigenous rocks suggest a temporally thermal perturbation related with shallow burial during this time, before late Cretaceous exhumation cooled the inliers back to ambient surface temperatures.     

Jurassic uplift and erosion of the northeast Queensland continental margin: evidence from (U–Th)/He thermochronology combined with U–Pb detrital zircon age spectra

Abstract

The Jurassic–Cretaceous Great Artesian Basin is the most extensive, and largest volume, sedimentary feature of continental Australia. The source of its mud-dominated Cretaceous infill is attributed largely to contemporary magmatism along the continental margin to the east, but the source of its Jurassic infill, dominated by quartz sandstone, remains unconstrained. This paper investigates the question of a Jurassic sediment source for the northern part of the basin. Jurassic uplift and exhumation of the continental margin crustal sector to the east provided the primary Jurassic sediment source. (U–Th)/He data are presented for zircon and apatite from Pennsylvanian to mid Permian granitoids of the Kennedy Igneous Association distributed within the northern Tasmanides between the Townsville and Cairns regions and for coeval granites of the Urannha batholith from the Mount Carlton district (N Bowen Basin), also within the northern Tasmanides. The data from zircon indicate widespread Jurassic exhumation of a crustal tract located to the east of the northern Great Artesian Basin and largely occupied by rocks of the Tasmanides. Detrital zircon age spectra for samples of the Jurassic Hutton and Blantyre sandstones from the northeastern margin of the Great Artesian Basin show their derivation to be largely from rocks of the northern Tasmanides. In combination, the detrital age spectra and (U–Th)/He data from zircon indicate exhumation owing to uplift generating appreciable physiographic relief along the north Queensland continental margin during the Jurassic, shedding sediment westward into the Great Artesian Basin during its early development. A portion of (U–Th)/He data for zircon are consistent with late Permian–mid Triassic exhumation within the Tasmanides, attributable to the influence of the Hunter--Bowen Orogeny. Evidence of Cretaceous and Paleocene exhumation episodes is also indicated for some samples, mainly by apatite (U–Th)/He analysis, consistent with data previously published from fission track studies. Overall, new data from the present study reveal that the exhumation related to Jurassic regional uplift and the subsequent erosional reworking of the northeast Australian continental margin is critical for the evolution and development of the northern side of the Great Artesian Basin in eastern Australia. Apart from this, another two previously suggested Permian–Triassic and Cretaceous exhumation and uplift episodes along the northeast Australian continental margin are also confirmed by the dataset of this study.

1. KEY POINTS

2. U–Pb detrital zircon ages of sandstone samples from the northeastern Eromanga Basin reveal Paleozoic (480–280 Ma) and Proterozoic (1800–1400 Ma) age clusters.

3. (U–Th)/He zircon and apatite dating results of granitoids samples from Cairns, Townsville and the Mount Carlton districts are dominated by Jurassic (198–164 Ma) and Permian–Triassic (272–238 Ma) age clusters.

4. Combination of above two datasets proves the regional uplift-driving Jurassic exhumation episode in the northeast Australian continental is vital for the development of the northern Great Artesian Basin.

     

An Upper Cretaceous paleo-aquifer system in the Eromanga Basin of the central Gawler Craton,South Australia: evidence from apatite fission track thermochronology

An apatite fission track (AFT) study of crystalline basement in the central Gawler Craton reveals apparent ages in the range of ca 430–58 Ma. The majority of samples underwent protracted monotonic cooling related to regional Paleozoic exhumation, consistent with long-term crustal stability as expected for cratonic interiors. However, multiple samples show evidence of Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene reheating, indicating a more dynamic low-temperature history. Inverse time–temperature modelling of AFT data indicates varying degrees of thermal overprinting between ～60 and 110°C, with substantially overprinted and negligibly overprinted samples in close proximity (<1 km). Time–temperature histories for samples that experienced thermal overprinting reveal localised Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene (ca 100–50 Ma) heating that is significantly younger than the Paleozoic–early Mesozoic exhumation recorded regionally. The highly localised nature and non-systematic patterns of overprinting combined with the lack of major Mesozoic or Cenozoic fault structures are not consistent with a regional thermal event associated with substantial reburial and later exhumation. Rather, localised reheating was most likely caused by heated groundwater from the once-overlying Mesozoic Eromanga Basin aquifer system, whose modern discharge margin (～400 km north of the study area) is marked by thermal mound springs that produce fluids with temperatures up to 100°C. Only basement rocks in close proximity to fluid pathways in the overlying aquifer would have recorded reheating, resulting in the observed sporadic distribution of partially overprinted samples. Thermal history modelling indicates rejuvenated apatite grains cooled to near-surface temperatures in the latest Cretaceous–Paleogene. This was likely in response to local removal of the overlying Eromanga Basin aquifer unit due to a relatively minor degree of exhumation (≤1 km) recorded regionally, which consequently disrupted the anomalous heating mechanism. These results show that the flow of heated groundwater is a feasible reheating mechanism for low-temperature thermochronometers, resulting in cooling patterns that may become decoupled from exhumation in cratonic interiors.     

Late Mesozoic Thermotectonic Evolution of the Jueluotage Range,Eastern Xinjiang, Northwest China: Evidence from Apatite Fission Track Data

Although many authors have emphasized the Cenozoic history of deformation, exhumation and cooling in the Tiaushan area related to the India-Asia collision, very little is known about the Mesozoic history of compression and uplift within the Tianshan. In order to obtain information about the Mesozoic exhumation history and processes of cooling in eastern Tianshan, fission track methods on apatite were used. Sampling was made in the Jueluotage Range. Three samples （Z001-Z003） were taken from granite in borehole ZK6301 of Yandong pluton; the ages range from 97.0 to 87.6 Ma that are much younger than the pluton age which was dated by U-Pb zircon at 334±2 Ma. Two samples in northern piedmont of the Jueluotage Range were collected from Jurassic strata in Dikaner （DK001） and Dananhu （D001） whose ages are 91.5 and 93.4 Ma respectively. The average apparent exhumation rate is 0.039 nun/a calculated by extrapolation on the basis of Yandong samples, indicating an extremely slow exhumation in the Jueluotage Range since the Late Cretaceous. Two Jurassic samples reached the maximum depths after deposition and experienced the maximum temperatures of ca. 105 and 108℃ until the late Early Cretaceous before a period of cooling and exhumation occurred at 114 and 106 Ma.     

广西佛子冲铅锌矿田火成岩的时空序列及其对成矿时限的约束

广西佛子冲铅锌矿田火成岩的主要岩石类型有花岗岩、花岗斑岩、花岗闪长岩（石英闪长岩）、花岗闪长斑岩、少斑花岗斑岩、英安斑岩和凝灰岩等。本文共进行了14件火成岩样品的LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年,其中大冲石英闪长岩侵位于海西期二叠纪（（256.8±2.0）Ma）,糯垌岩体（（152.6±1.2）Ma）和广平岩体（（152.9±2.9）Ma）形成于燕山早期晚侏罗世,花岗斑岩、少斑花岗斑岩、花岗闪长斑岩、英安斑岩和火山角砾凝灰岩形成于燕山晚期早白垩世（约100 Ma）。结合前人的研究成果及14件火成岩样品的测年结果,构建该区火成岩的年代学序列,确定其侵位时代主要集中在志留纪（约440 Ma）、二叠纪末期（约256 Ma）、晚侏罗世（约152 Ma）、早白垩世晚期（约100 Ma）。根据佛子冲铅锌矿的空间展布、矿体特征以及与火成岩的关系,确定花岗斑岩为成矿地质体,进而限定其成矿时代为早白垩世晚期（约100 Ma）。     

Burial and exhumation history of the Xigaze forearc basin,Yarlung suture zone. Tibet

The Cretaceous-Eocene Xigaze forearc basin is a crucial data archive for understanding the tectonic history of the Asian continental margin prior to and following collision with India during the early Cenozoic Era. This study reports apatite and zircon(U-Th)/He thermochronologic data from fourteen samples from Albian-Ypresian Xigaze forearc strata to determine the degree and timing of heating(burial) and subsequent cooling(exhumation) of two localities along the Yarlung suture zone(YSZ) near the towns of Saga and Lazi. Thirty-seven individual zircon He ages range from 31.5 ± 0.8 Ma to6.06 ± 0.18 Ma,with the majority of grains yielding ages between 30 Ma and 10 Ma. Twenty apatite He ages range from 12.7 ± 0.5 Ma to 3.9 ± 0.3 Ma,with the majority of grains yielding ages between 9 Ma and 4 Ma. These ages suggest that the Xigaze forearc basin was heated to 140-200 ℃ prior to cooling in Oligocene-Miocene time. Thermal modeling supports this interpretation and shows that the samples were buried to maximum temperatures of ～140-200 0 C by 35-21 Ma, immediately followed by the onset of exhumation. The zircon He and apatite He dataset and thermal modeling results indicate rapid exhumation from ～21 Ma to 15 Ma, and at ～4 Ma. The 21-15 Ma thermochronometric signal appears to be regionally extensive, affecting all the lithotectonic units of the YSZ, and coincides with movement along the north-vergent Great Counter Thrust system. Thrusting, coupled with enhanced erosion possibly related to the paleo-Yarlung River, likely drove Early Miocene cooling of the Xigaze forearc basin.In contrast, the younger phase of rapid exhumation at ～4 Ma was likely driven by enhanced rock uplift in the footwall of north-striking rifts that cross-cut the YSZ.     

东昆仑东段哈拉郭勒-哈图一带中生代的岩石隆升剥露--锆石和磷灰石裂变径迹年代学证据

根据对东昆仑地区东段哈拉郭勒—哈图一带不同高度基岩的系列锆石裂变径迹年龄分析，结合磷灰石裂变径迹年龄分析和中酸性侵入岩角闪石压力计分析揭示了东昆仑东段中生代的岩石隆升剥露冷却历史．巴隆哈图一带中酸性侵入岩角闪石压力计分析结果反映晚海西—印支期以来的总体剥露幅度约8～9km，早二叠世至晚三叠世初剥蚀作用极为缓慢，大约为20～40m／Ma．不同高程样品的锆石裂变径迹年龄分析结果揭示了东昆仑地区东段在中晚侏罗世处于缓慢的岩石隆升剥露阶段，其中中侏罗世相对较快，抬升速率77～88m／Ma，晚侏罗世相对较慢，抬升速率小于37m／Ma，且呈减慢趋势，这种减慢趋势反映了早中侏罗世之交强构造抬升期后的逐渐衰退．锆石裂变径迹—磷灰石裂变径迹年龄分析结果反映了中侏罗世以来的剥蚀速率一般不超过55m／Ma，岩石的剥蚀速率与岩石的抬升速率基本为同一量级，中侏罗世—白垩纪剥蚀作用与岩石抬升作用基本处于平衡状态。     

Two phases of Paleoproterozoic orogenesis in the Tarim Craton: Implications for Columbia assembly

Paleoproterozoic orogenic pulses associated magmatism and metamorphism provide important constraints on the assembly of Columbia. New zircon UPb ages and whole-rock geochemistry results are reported from the Tarim craton, an externally positioned landmass within the Columbia supercontinent. Two samples of low-grade metagranites collected from borehole samples yielded crystallization ages of 1851 ± 9 Ma and 1850.4 ± 9.1 Ma. High-grade metamorphosed granites yielded discordia with upper intercept ages of 1822 ± 52 Ma and 1843 ± 58 Ma, and amphibolitic rocks yielded a concordant age of 1915 ± 30 Ma from the outcrops in southwestern Tarim. Together with previously published data, we propose the following sequence of events in Tarim. Magmatism in the Tarim craton took place during two narrow time intervals. The first phase of magmatism occurred between 1.96 and 1.90 Ga and was followed by a slightly younger magmatic pulse between 1.86 and 1.80 Ga. The latter intrusive phase was followed immediately by ca. 1.8 Ga metamorphism, which is widespread throughout the Tarim craton. We are unable to discriminate any regional age differences between the northern and southern regions of the Tarim Craton. Elemental and zircon Hf isotopes suggest that the magmatic sources were mainly derived from partial melting of the Paleoproterozoic-Neoarchean reworked crust, while variable mantle-derived magma involved in the earliest 1.96–1.90 Ga igneous rocks. The earliest magmatic phase is geodynamically related to subduction setting, whereas the younger phase (1.86–1.80) formed in a continental collisional setting. This process suggests an orogeny at ca. 1.96–1.90 Ga with the amalgamation between the southern and northern terranes, and a collisional orogeny between 1.86 and 1.80 Ga as Tarim becomes a peripheral part of the Columbia supercontinent. The two stages of orogenic activities argue for the amalgamation of the Tarim craton followed by the assembly of Columbia.     

Thermal and exhumation history of the central Rwenzori Mountains, Western Rift of the East African Rift System, Uganda

The Rwenzori Mountains (Mtns) in west Uganda are the highest rift mountains on Earth and rise to more than 5,000 m. We apply low-temperature thermochronology (apatite fission-track (AFT) and apatite (U–Th–Sm)/He (AHe) analysis) for tracking the cooling history of the Rwenzori Mtns. Samples from the central and northern Rwenzoris reveal AFT ages between 195.0 (±8.4) Ma and 85.3 (±5.3) Ma, and AHe ages between 210.0 (±6.0) Ma to 24.9 (±0.5) Ma. Modelled time–temperature paths reflect a protracted cooling history with accelerated cooling in Permo-Triassic and Jurassic times, followed by a long period of constant and slow cooling, than succeeded by a renewed accelerated cooling in the Neogene. During the last 10 Ma, differentiated erosion and surface uplift affected the Rwenzori Mtns, with more pronounced uplift along the western flank. The final rock uplift of the Rwenzori Mtns that partly led to the formation of the recent topography must have been fast and in the near past (Pliocene to Pleistocene). Erosion could not compensate for the latest rock uplift, resulting in Oligocene to Miocene AHe ages.     

Latest Triassic to Early Jurassic Thrusting and Exhumation in the Southern Ordos Basin,North China: Evidence from LA‐ICP‐MS‐based Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology

The contractional structures in the southern Ordos Basin recorded critical evidence for the interaction between Ordos Basin and Qinling Orogenic Collage. In this study, we performed apatite fission track(AFT) thermochronology to unravel the timing of thrusting and exhumation for the Laolongshan-Shengrenqiao Fault(LSF) in the southern Ordos Basin. The AFT ages from opposite sides of the LSF reveal a significant latest Triassic to Early Jurassic time-temperature discontinuity across this structure. Thermal modeling reveals at the latest Triassic to Early Jurassic, a ~50°C difference in temperature between opposite sides of the LSF currently exposed at the surface. This discontinuity is best interpreted by an episode of thrusting and exhumation of the LSF with ~1.7 km of net vertical displacement during the latest Triassic to Early Jurassic. These results, when combined with earlier thermochronological studies, stratigraphic contact relationship and tectono-sedimentary evolution, suggest that the southern Ordos Basin experienced coeval intense tectonic contraction and developed a north-vergent fold-and-thrust belt. Moreover, the southern Ordos Basin experienced a multi-stage differential exhumation during Mesozoic, including the latest Triassic to Early Jurassic and Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous thrust-driven exhumation as well as the Late Cretaceous overall exhumation. Specifically, the two thrust-driven exhumation events were related to tectonic stress propagation derived from the latest Triassic to Early Jurassic continued compression from Qinling Orogenic Collage and the Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous intracontinental orogeny of Qinling Orogenic Collage, respectively. By contrast, the Late Cretaceous overall exhumation event was related to the collision of an exotic terrain with the eastern margin of continental China at ~100 Ma.     

From emplacement to unroofing: thermal history of the Jiazishan gabbro, Sulu UHP terrane, China

On the eastern extremity of the Jiaodong peninsula, China, shoshonitic magmas have been injected into the supracrustal rocks of the Sulu ultra-high pressure (UHP) terrane during the crustal exhumation phase. These granitoids (collectively termed the Shidao igneous complex or Jiazishan alkaline complex) show geochemical and isotopic signatures of an enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle and intruded soon after the subducted Yangtze crust had reached peak metamorphic pressure conditions (240–220 Ma). We have applied various geochronometers to an alkali-gabbro sample from the Jiazishan pluton and the results allow reconstruction of the Triassic-to-present thermal history. Initial rapid cooling of the gabbro at crustal depths is indicated by the close agreement between the Sm-Nd mineral isochron age (228?±?36 Ma) and the Rb-Sr biotite age (207?±?1) Ma. This interpretation is confirmed by previously published U-Pb zircon ages (225–209 Ma), and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar amphibole and K-feldspar ages (～214 Ma) from the Jiazishan syenites. A titanite fission-track age of 166?±?8 Ma (closure temperature range 285–240°C) records widespread Jurassic magmatism in the Jiaodong peninsula, indicating that the gabbro reached upper crustal levels before it was reheated by nearby Jurassic plutons. A subsequent cooling and reheating event is indicated by an apatite fission-track age of 106?±?6 Ma which coincides with the emplacement of the adjacent Weideshan pluton (108?±?2 Ma) and postdates a period of regional lithospheric thinning beneath eastern China. A period of slow cooling (or thermal stability) from late Cretaceous to early Tertiary, documented by an apatite (U-Th)/He age of 39?±?5 Ma, was followed by a final stage of more enhanced cooling since the late Eocene. Results of this work imply that the eastern Sulu terrane has experienced a complex cooling and reheating history. Our data are consistent with a model of initial rapid cooling (sudden exhumation) of the UHP terrane, driven by the release of buoyancy forces, followed by two progressively slower cooling intervals (both after renewed crustal reheating) during the Jurassic and Cretaceous.     

Cenozoic development of northern Svalbard based on thermochronological data

Northern Svalbard represents a basement high surrounded by the Norwegian‐Greenland Sea/Fram Strait, Eurasian Basin, the Barents Shelf and the onshore Central Tertiary Basin (CTB). Published apatite fission track (AFT) data indicate Mesozoic differential, fault‐controlled uplift and exhumation of the region. Thermal history modelling of published and new AFT and (U–Th–Sm)/He ages of 51–153 Ma in the context of regional stratigraphy and geomorphology implies at least two, possibly three, uplift and exhumation stages since late Mesozoic, separated by episodes of subsidence and sediment deposition. Late Cretaceous/Palaeocene exhumation and subsequent burial appear to be related with the transition of compressional to transpressional collision of Svalbard and Greenland during the Eurekan Orogeny. Renewed exhumation since the Oligocene probably results from passive margin formation after the separation of Svalbard and Greenland, when a new offshore sedimentary basin opened west of Svalbard. Final uplift since the Miocene eventually re‐exposed the palaeosurface of northern Svalbard.     

苏鲁地体折返与郯庐断裂活动:莱阳盆地中生界碎屑锆石年代学的制约

胶莱盆地位于苏鲁造山带的北缘,其莱阳群沉积对反演郯庐断裂和苏鲁造山带中生代的折返过程具有重要的制约作用。本文利用LA-ICP-MS方法对莱阳盆地的莱阳群碎屑岩和青山群火山岩进行锆石U-Pb年龄测定,分析其年龄谱特征,探讨其沉积物源区,进而为苏鲁造山带的折返机制提供依据。(1)莱阳盆地发育莱阳群和青山群为代表的中生代沉积岩,锆石年龄测试得到莱阳群形成时代为125±0.6Ma;青山群形成时代为119±1Ma,表明两者都是早白垩世中-晚期的沉积产物;(2)超高压带北缘莱阳盆地与合肥盆地的碎屑锆石年龄谱对比表明,莱阳盆地的沉积物无论沉积时代还是物源区均明显不同与郯庐断裂西侧的合肥盆地,表明郯庐断裂应该形成于两个盆地形成之前,可能为三叠纪-早侏罗世之间;(3)莱阳盆地内发育大量的华北型碎屑物质,进一步表明在扬子大陆板块俯冲过程中华北板块曾经仰冲到扬子板块之上;(4)莱阳盆地发育少量的新元古代岩浆和印支期变质锆石的年龄,表明早白垩世苏鲁超高压变质岩已经折返到地表;(5)超高压变质岩与中生代岩浆岩同时作为莱阳盆地的物源,结合五莲拆离断层的同期活动和莱阳盆地的同时代沉积,说明苏鲁超高压带中生代的折返具有与变质核杂岩类似的大型伸展构造背景。     

北大巴山凤凰山基底隆起晚中生代构造隆升历史

对采自于北大巴山凤凰山基底隆起8个样品的磷灰石裂变径迹年代学分析和热历史模拟表明,凤凰山基底隆起陆内造山运动结束后的隆升历史大致可以划分为2个阶段：早白垩世中晚期（135±5～95±5 Ma）缓慢隆升,晚白垩世（95±5～65±5 Ma）快速隆升。大巴山北缘韧性剪切带黑云母40Ar/39Ar坪年龄证实大巴山北缘中晚侏罗世（165.7±1.9 Ma～161.2 Ma）存在快速隆升剥蚀,其与大巴山强烈陆内造山作用阶段有关; 早白垩世中晚期缓慢隆升代表了陆内造山结束后的稳定阶段; 晚白垩世快速隆升为一次区域性隆升事件,在秦岭、大别和武当等地区均有反映,隆升过程中伴随着强烈的伸展垮塌作用,沿秦岭造山带发育一系列伸展断陷盆地。区域对比分析表明,凤凰山基底隆起隆升历史与黄陵、汉南地块接近,但与武当地块存在明显区别,反映了秦岭造山带的不均一隆升过程。南大巴山前陆带1个样品的热史模拟结果显示,南大巴山前陆带自早白垩世以来与凤凰山基底隆起经历了一致的隆升过程。     

Fission Track Thermochronology Evidence for the Cretaceous and Paleogene Tectonic Event of Nyainrong Microcontinent, Tibet

Fission track dating was applied to analyze the 20 samples from Nyainrong microcontinent, and we obtained 20 apatite and 15 zircon fission track ages. The results show single population grain ages with a single mean age and associated central ages mainly ranging from 108±7Ma to 35±4Ma.Their mean track lengths are 12.2–13.9 μm with a single peak. Zircon fission track age range from 78±3 Ma to 117±4 Ma. The results represented the two tectonic uplift events in the study area, namely the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods. According to thermal history modeling results, uplifting rates of two tectonic events is 0.31–0.1 mm/a and 0.07–0.04 mm/a respectively. Combined with field condition and study results, it is suggested that the Cretaceous tectonic uplift event was related to the closure ocean basin caused by Qaingtang–Lhasa collision, and the Paleogene tectonic uplift event was related to the south to thrust system caused by Indo–Asian collision.     

New evidence on the Neogene uplift of South Tianshan: constraints from the (U–Th)/He and AFT ages of borehole samples of the Tarim basin and implications for hydrocarbon generation

We identified a Neogene rapid uplift-denudation event of the South Tianshan based on apatite (U–Th)/He and apatite fission track (AFT) ages in Tertiary rocks of the Tarim basin, using borehole samples. The (U–Th)/He thermochronology can be used to reveal the tectono-thermal events with lower temperature than that of AFT thermochronology and has not been used previously to study the uplift of the Tianshan Mountain. Using these data, we show the relationship between the uplift of the South Tianshan and the subsidence/deposition of the northern Tarim basin during the Neogene. The apatite helium ages reveal the migration of uplift, erosion and deposition in the northern Tarim basin. A rapid uplift of the South Tianshan during the Miocene and a corresponding rapid subsidence in the northern Tarim basin occurred. However, in the Pliocene, the Kuqa Depression and South Tianshan uplifted and eroded at the same time and in turn provided the detrital source rocks for the Northern Uplift of the Tarim basin. In contrast to earlier studies, we arrive at the conclusion that the South Tianshan experienced rapid uplift in the Miocene based on (U–Th)/He data of apatite obtained from borehole samples collected in the Tarim basin itself, and not from the bordering mountain chain. Combined apatite (U–Th)/He and fission track thermochronometry enables reconstruction of thermal histories of sedimentary rocks between 40 and 120°C, and this has implications for the generation of liquid hydrocarbon in the 65–120°C range in the basin. Thermal and burial histories of typical samples were also modelled to show the rapid uplift in our study. Our works not only provide a new evidence for the South Tianshan uplift but also indicate that there is a coupling between uplift and subsidence in the South Tianshan and adjacent northern part of the Tarim basin, which controlled hydrocarbon accumulation in the Kuqa Depression and Northern Uplift of the Tarim basin.     

龙门山冲断隆升及其走向差异的裂变径迹证据

大量的低温年代学研究用来讨论龙门山晚新生代的隆升,但很少涉及其走向差异和中生代隆升。本文分别沿龙门山北、中、南段3条剖面进行了锆石和磷灰石裂变径迹测试,结合已有的热年代学数据,以期揭示整个中-新生代期间龙门山隆升历史及其时空变化。中生代以来,龙门山主要有印支期(约200 Ma)、早白垩世末(约100 Ma)、早新生代(65～30 Ma)以及晚中新世(15～9 Ma)等或快或慢的冷却事件,总体上经历了中生代至早新生代的缓慢冷却和晚新生代快速冷却2个阶段,快速剥露开始于15～9 Ma,剥蚀速率由早期的0.1 mm/a增加到0.15～0.3 mm/a左右,局部可达0.9 mm/a左右。走向上,龙门山北段相对偏小的锆石裂变径迹年龄和相对偏大的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄反映其在中生代较中、南段隆升更快,而裂变径迹年龄总体上从北段向中、南段减小,表明中、南段在新生代发生了更快的隆升。倾向上,多种热年代学数据显示新生代期间在北川断裂和彭灌断裂两侧存在明显的差异剥露,这种差异在中、南段表现比北段更为突出。龙门山晚新生代快速隆升和剥露是青藏高原区域隆升背景上叠加的冲断活动所致,而非下地壳流动驱动。