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。     

Late Cretaceous‐Cenozoic Multi‐Stage Denudation at the Western Ordos Block: Constraints by the Apatite Fission Track Dating on the Langshan

The apatite fission track dating of samples from the Dabashan(i.e., the Langshan in the northeastern Alxa Block) by the laser ablation method and their thermal history modeling of AFT ages are conducted in this study. The obtained results and lines of geological evidence in the study region indicate that the Langshan has experienced complicated tectonic-thermal events during the the Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic. Firstly, it experienced a tectonic-thermal event in the Late Cretaceous(~90–70 Ma). The event had little relation with the oblique subduction of the Izanagi Plate along the eastern Eurasian Plate, but was related to the Neo-Tethys subduction and compression between the Lhasa Block and Qiangtang Block. Secondly, it underwent the dextral slip faulting in the Eocene(~50–45 Ma). The strike slip fault may develop in the same tectonic setting as sinistral slip faults in southern Mongolia and thrusts in West Qinling to the southwest Ordos Block in the same period, which is the remote far-field response to the India-Eurasia collision. Thirdly, the tectonic thermal event existed in the late Cenozoic(since ~10 Ma), thermal modeling shows that several samples began their denudation from upper region of partial annealing zone(PAZ), and the denudation may have a great relationship with the growth of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to the northeast. In addition, the AFT ages of Langshan indicate that the main body of the Langshan may be an upper part of fossil PAZ of the Late Cretaceous(~70 Ma). The fossil PAZ were destroyed and deformed by tectonic events repeatedly in the Cenozoic along with the denudation.     

Exhumation History of the Xining Basin Since the Mesozoic and Its Tectonic Significance

The Xining Basin is located in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, and its continuous Cenozoic strata record the entire uplift and outgrowth history of the Tibetan Plateau during the Cenozoic. The newly obtained apatite fission track data presented here shows that the Xining Basin and two marginal mountain ranges have experienced multiphase rapid cooling since the Jurassic, as follows. In the Middle–Late Jurassic, the rapid exhumation of the former Xining Basin resulted from collision between the Qiangtang Block and the Tarim Block. During the Early–Late Cretaceous, the former Xining Basin underwent a tectonic event due to marginal compression, causing the angular unconformity between the Upper and Lower Cretaceous. In the Late Cretaceous to the Early Cenozoic, collision between the Qiangtang Block and the Lhasa Block may have resulted in the rapid exhumation of the Xining Basin and the Lajishan to the south. In the Early Cenozoic(ca. 50–30 Ma), collision between the Indian and Eurasia plates affected the region that corresponds to the present northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. During this period, the central Qilian Block rotated clockwise by approximately 24° to form a wedge-shaped basin(i.e., the Xining Basin) opening to the west. During ca. 17–8 Ma, the entire northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau underwent dramatic deformation, and the Lajishan uplifted rapidly owing to the northward compression of the Guide Basin from the south. A marked change in subsidence occurred in the Xining Basin during this period, when the basin was tectonically inverted.     

青藏高原中-南部新生代构造演化的热年代学制约

青藏高原新生代以来的隆升过程及特征长期以来广存争议.岩体中不同单矿物所记录的中低温热年代学信息适用于揭示较新年代地质体的隆升过程,可以为之提供有效制约.在青藏高原部分岩浆岩与变质岩露头区原位采集15块样品,利用锆石与磷灰石裂变径迹等热年代学结果为青藏高原中生代末期以来的隆升过程提供约束.其中,所获10块样品的锆石裂变径迹数据年龄范围为182~33 Ma,分别记录了渐新世之前青藏高原内不同块体间相互碰撞及高原内不同地区的构造热事件.特别是沿雅鲁藏布江缝合带分布的3个样品,锆石裂变径迹年龄结果一致显示始新世末期-渐新世早期该带存在一期显著的构造热事件.该构造热事件暗示在约36~33 Ma沿雅江缝合带发生过强烈的陆-陆硬碰撞.所获14块样品的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄范围为70.4~5.0 Ma,综合热史反演结果显示青藏高原南部中新世中晚期以来存在整体性隆升,特别是从上新世开始隆升速率显著加快.磷灰石裂变径迹年龄在空间分布上具有向高原东南部变年轻的趋势,表明青藏高原东南部在上新世以来的构造隆升较其他地区要强烈,暗示印度-亚洲板块碰撞驱动机制对该时期的高原隆升具有控制作用.此外,青藏高原中部在白垩纪末期-始新世可能即已隆升至相当高度,此后至今保持了相当低的剥蚀速率.      

阿尔金-祁连山晚新生代隆升-剥露过程——来自岩屑磷灰石裂变径迹热年代学的制约

阿尔金-祁连山位于青藏高原北缘, 其新生代的隆升-剥露过程记录了高原变形和向北扩展的历史, 对探讨高原隆升动力学具有重要意义。本文采用岩屑磷灰石裂变径迹测年分析, 利用岩屑的统计特征限定阿尔金-祁连山新生代的隆升-剥露过程。磷灰石裂变径迹测试结果表明, 阿尔金-祁连山地区存在4个阶段的抬升冷却: 21.1~19.4 Ma、13.5~10.5 Ma、9.0~7.3 Ma、4.3~3.8 Ma。其中, 4.3~3.8 Ma抬升冷却事件仅体现在祁连山地区, 9.0~7.3 Ma抬升冷却事件在区内普遍存在, 且9.0~7.3 Ma隆升-剥露造就了现代阿尔金-祁连山的地貌。区域资料分析表明, 9~7 Ma(或者8~6 Ma)期间, 青藏高原北缘、东缘, 甚至整个中国西部地区发生了大规模、区域性的抬升, 中国现今"西高"的构造地貌形态可能于当时开始形成。阿尔金-祁连山地区4期抬升冷却事件与青藏高原的隆升阶段有很好的对应关系, 应该是对印度-欧亚板块碰撞的响应。     

The Exhumation History of North Qaidam Thrust Belt Constrained by Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology: Implication for the Evolution of the Tibetan Plateau

Determining the spatio-temporal distribution of the deformation tied to the India-Eurasian convergence and the impact of pre-existing weaknesses on the Cenozoic crustal deformation is significant for understanding how the convergence between India and Eurasia contributed to the development of the Tibetan Plateau. The exhumation history of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau was addressed in this research using a new apatite fission track (AFT) study in the North Qaidam thrust belt (NQTB). Three granite samples collected from the Qaidam Shan pluton in the north tied to the Qaidam Shan thrust, with AFT ages clustering in the Eocene to Miocene. The other thirteen samples obtained from the Luliang Shan and Yuka plutons in the south related to the Luliang Shan thrust and they have showed predominantly the Cretaceous AFT ages. Related thermal history modeling based on grain ages and track lengths indicates rapid cooling events during the Eocene-early Oligocene and since late Miocene within the Qaidam Shan, in contrast to those in the Cretaceous and since the Oligocene-Miocene in the Luliang Shan and Yuka region. The results, combined with published the Cretaceous thermochronological ages in the Qaidam Shan region, suggest that the NQTB had undergo rapid exhumation during the accretions along the southern Asian Andean-type margin prior to the India-Eurasian collision. The Cenozoic deformation initially took place in the North Qaidam thrust belt by the Eocene, which is consistent with the recent claim that the deformation of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau initiated in the Eocene as a response to continental collision between India and Eurasia. The immediate deformation responding to the collision is tentatively attributed to the pre-existing weaknesses of the lithosphere, and therefore the deformation of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau should be regarded as a boundary-condition-dependent process.     

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.     

Cenozoic Stratigraphy Deformation History in the Central and Eastern of Qaidam Basin by the Balance Section Restoration and its Implication

The Qaidam Basin, located in the northern margin of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, is a large Mesozoic–Cenozoic basin, and bears huge thick Cenozoic strata. The geologic events of the Indian-Eurasian plate–plate collision since ~55 Ma have been well recorded. Based on the latest progress in high-resolution stratigraphy, a technique of balanced section was applied to six pieces of northeast–southwest geologic seismic profiles in the central and eastern of the Qaidam Basin to reconstruct the crustal shortening deformation history during the Cenozoic collision. The results show that the Qaidam Basin began to shorten deformation nearly synchronous to the early collision, manifesting as a weak compression, the deformation increased significantly during the Middle and Late Eocene, and then weakened slightly and began to accelerate rapidly since the Late Miocene, especially since the Quaternary, reflecting this powerful compressional deformation and rapid uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau around the Qaidam Basin.     

Cenozoic Exhumation and Thrusting in the Northern Qilian Shan, Northeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau: Constraints from Sedimentological and Apatite Fission-Track Data

Abstract: The Qilian Shan lies along the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. To constrain its deformation history, we conducted integrated research on Mesozoic–Cenozoic stratigraphic sections in the Jiuxi Basin immediately north of the mountain range. Paleocurrent measurements, sandstone compositional data, and facies analysis of Cenozoic stratigraphic sections suggest that the Jiuxi Basin received sediments from the Altyn Tagh Range in the northwest, initially in the Oligocene (~33 Ma), depositing the Huoshaogou Formation in the northern part of the basin. Later, the source area of the Jiuxi Basin changed to the Qilian Shan in the south during Late Oligocene (~27 Ma), which led to the deposition of the Baiyanghe Formation. We suggest that uplift of the northern Qilian Shan induced by thrusting began no later than the Late Oligocene. Fission-track analysis of apatite from the Qilian Shan yields further information about the deformation history of the northern Qilain Shan and the Jiuxi Basin. It shows that a period of rapid cooling, interpreted as exhumation, initiated in the Oligocene. We suggest that this exhumation marked the initial uplift of the Qilian Shan resulting from the India–Asia collision.     

青藏高原古大湖与夷平面的关系及高原面形成演化过程

青藏高原经过古近纪挤压缩短和增厚地壳均衡隆升,晚新生代形成了以走滑和伸展为主的相对稳定构造环境。中新世早期与晚更新世分别发育巨型古大湖,上新世-早更新世发育很多规模较大的古湖泊,古大湖对夷平面形成演化具有重要的控制作用。中新世早期(（24.1±0.6） ~（14.5±0.5）Ma)以古大湖的湖面为侵蚀基准面,经过隆起区剥蚀夷平和长期湖相沉积,在高海拔环境下形成早期夷平面。中新世晚期-第四纪以湖面与五道梁群湖相沉积顶面为基准,在高海拔环境下继续发生剥蚀夷平和准平原化,逐步形成主夷平面或高原面。第四纪河流溯源侵蚀导致内外流水系分界线自东向西迁移,在青藏高原东部形成高山峡谷地貌。     

青海东昆仑东山根矿区构造活动的磷灰石裂变径迹分析

对青海东昆仑东山根矿区所采集的7个磷灰石样品进行分析,所获得的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄分布在136~67 Ma,具体分为136~112 Ma、101~95 Ma和74~67 Ma 3个年龄组,这较好地体现了该地区所经历的构造隆升事件。东山根矿区热历史可分为4个阶段：第1阶段(160~80 Ma),是羌塘地块与拉萨地块发生向欧亚板块挤压拼贴作用的响应阶段;第2阶段(120~80 Ma),经历了阿尔金断裂走滑,青藏高原北部隆升,以及燕山晚期冈底斯地体向北俯冲运动,直到早白垩世晚期发生快速冷却抬升;第3阶段(80~23 Ma),构造事件相对平稳,整体呈轻微抬升,样品随地质体隆升缓慢降温;第4阶段(23 Ma至今),快速冷却抬升,对应印度板块对欧亚板块的碰撞作用。     

青藏高原西北缘盆山过渡带陡坡地貌的形成时代与成因

平均海拔大于4500 m的青藏高原,是通过高原边缘的陡坡地貌与海拔低于1500 m的周缘盆地或平原相连接的,这些围绕高原的陡坡地貌是何时、如何形成的呢？本文通过对西昆仑山中段北缘主逆冲断层上盘陡坡地貌区9件磷灰石样品的裂变径迹年龄与长度分析表明：在海拔3900～4635 m的陡坡地貌中的裂变径迹样品年龄为6.2±1.4 Ma～0.9±0.3 Ma,呈现“上新下老”的反序分布特征; 而通过热历史模拟显示约5 Ma,约3～2 Ma,约2～1 Ma 和约1 Ma该地区出现多阶段的隆升与剥露。结合前人研究成果和野外地质的观察认为,现今青藏高原西北缘陡坡地貌的形成是中新世晚期以来高原边界叠瓦状断裂系经历了约8 Ma、约5 Ma、约3～2 Ma、约2～1 Ma和约1 Ma多阶段后展式逆冲运动的结果,这为青藏高原周缘陡坡地貌的形成和青藏高原的隆升时代与型式提供了关键的热年代学约束。     

滇西石鼓杂岩南部早白垩世以来剥露隆升的锆石和磷灰石裂变径迹证据

石鼓杂岩位于青藏高原东南缘经历了多期变质变形作用叠加。为了揭示杂岩体的低温热演化与浅部剥露历史,采集了石鼓杂岩南段石鼓镇-拉巴支村剖面变质岩中的锆石和磷灰石,开展裂变径迹分析。结果表明,石鼓杂岩从早白垩世(133~145Ma)到渐新世(31Ma)经历了一次缓慢的剥露(1.08℃/Ma),而从渐新世开始,其南部经历了较快速的剥露过程(3.23℃/Ma)。磷灰石热史模拟也反映出第二阶段较为快速的冷却过程。结合区域构造分析认为,拉萨与羌塘板块碰撞的远程效应影响早白垩世以来藏东地区地壳结构的调整,导致石鼓杂岩南部出现了第一阶段的剥露作用;而印度与欧亚板块碰撞与后碰撞过程对于石鼓杂岩的新生代剥露具有重要影响。     

Cenozoic thermo-tectonic evolution of the Gangdese batholith constrained by low-temperature thermochronology

Gangdese batholith in the southern Lhasa block is a key location for exploring the Tibetan Plateau uplift and exhumation history. We present the new low-temperature thermochronological data from two north–south traverses in the central Gangdese batholith to reveal their cooling histories and corresponding controls. Zircon fission track ages show prominent clusters ranging from 23.7 to 51.6 Ma, apatite fission track ages from 9.4 to 36.9 Ma, apatite (U–Th)/He ages between 9.5 and 12.3 Ma, and one zircon (U–Th)/He age around 77.8 Ma. These new data and thermal modeling, in combination with the regional geological data, suggest that the distinct parts of Gangdese batholith underwent different cooling histories resulted from various dynamic mechanisms. The Late Eocene–Early Oligocene exhumation of northern Gangdese batholith, coeval with the magmatic gap, might be triggered by crust thickening followed by the breakoff of Neotethyan slab, while this stage of exhumation in southern Gangdese batholith cannot be clearly elucidated probably because the most of plutonic rocks with the information of this cooling event were eroded away. Since then, the northern Gangdese batholith experienced a slow and stable exhumation, while the southern Gangdese batholith underwent two more stages of exhumation. The Late Oligocene–Early Miocene rapid cooling might be a response to denudation caused by the Gangdese Thrust or related to the regional uplift and exhumation in extensional background. By the early Miocene, the rapid exhumation was associated with localized river incision or intensification of Asian monsoon, or north–south normal fault.     

湘鄂西褶皱带中-新生代剥蚀特征及其构造指示:来自磷灰石裂变径迹的证据

恢复湘鄂西褶皱带中-新生代以来的剥蚀历史, 探讨其变形的时空格架, 对于研究陆内褶皱造山以及指导该地区的油气勘探具有重要的意义.利用该地区磷灰石样品进行裂变径迹年龄测定与热史模拟, 对中-新生代的剥蚀厚度和速率进行分析.结果表明, 湘鄂西地区磷灰石裂变径迹的年龄为71~100 Ma, 与川东隔挡式褶皱带中的磷灰石样品年龄进行对比, 具有由SE到NW向递进变新的趋势; 中新生代以来的热史呈现出"三段式"的特征, 这3个阶段的转折时期为115~90 Ma和35~20 Ma, 分别对应了从晚侏罗世-早白垩世挤压造山到晚白垩世伸展成盆再到新生代整体抬升的构造转换; 燕山期为湘鄂西褶皱带的主变形期, 变形时序呈现出由SE到NW向递进变新的趋势, 剥蚀程度呈现出由SE到NW向变弱的趋势.这些认识为燕山期湘鄂西-川东褶皱带陆内递进变形的形成演化研究提供了有力的证据.      

上扬子西部地区新生代构造活动的低温热年代学特征

上扬子西部地区磷灰石裂变径迹年龄数据的统计为该区的新生代构造活动建立了宏观的图景,初步构建了区域上新生代构造活动和陆内变形的时空联系。揭示新生代构造活动在时间上存在大约61～43 Ma和大约24 Ma以来两个阶段的显著差异,约24 Ma是上扬子板块西部地区新生代构造活动显著增强的一个重要转折时期。在空间上大致以松潘-安县为界构成南、北分段。构造活动和区域抬升-剥露总体表现为南强北弱,西强东弱的格局。南段是新生代活动的主控区,以强烈地构造抬升和构造改造为主,而北段总体上受制于白垩纪的抬升-剥露,新生代以来主要表现出剥蚀和弱构造改造的特征。新生代的构造活动受制于青藏高原抬升作用向东扩展的影响。上扬子西部地区新生代构造活动在一定程度上制约了该区油气的圈闭环境和成藏条件。     

缅甸中央盆地北部新生代隆升的裂变径迹证据

缅甸中央盆地北部新生代隆升作用的研究,不仅对全面认识西缅地块的演化具有重要的意义,而且对该地区的油气勘探也具有重要的指导意义.对采自研究区的2个碎屑岩样、1个钻井基底样品进行了磷灰石裂变径迹测年及热历史模拟分析.在弧前钦敦坳陷西缘冲断带、东缘冲起带和西缅岛弧带获得了逐渐变年轻的裂变径迹年龄（分别是70.6±9.3 Ma、53.4±7.5 Ma和22.7±3.0 Ma）,表明缅甸中央盆地北部在空间上存在自西向东的递进变形过程.磷灰石的热历史模拟分析显示,缅甸中央盆地北部自晚白垩世（80±1 Ma）开始,经历了隆升→快速隆升→平稳→缓慢隆升4个阶段.缅甸中央盆地29~20 Ma的快速隆升冷却事件是缅甸北部区域性隆升剥露作用的体现;4 Ma以来缅甸中央盆地缓慢隆升,这一构造事件是印度板块向东挤压碰撞作用的响应.研究表明缅甸中央沉积盆地的空间发育演化与递进式构造变形（隆升）是新特提斯洋/印度洋岩石圈在新生代期间向西缅地块下的多期次俯冲的直接响应.      

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.     

Detrital apatite fission track analyses of the Subei basin: implications for basin-range structure of the northern Tibetan Plateau

The northern Tibetan Plateau has evolved a unique basin-range structure characterized by alternating elongated mountain ranges and basins over a history of multiple tectonic and fault activities. The Subei basin recorded evolution of this basin-range structure. In this study, detailed detrital apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronological studies in conjunction with previously documented data reveal provenance of the Subei basin, important information about the Indo-Eurasia collision, and two Miocene uplift and exhumation events of the northern Tibetan Plateau. Detrital AFT analyses combined with sedimentary evidences demonstrate that the Danghenanshan Mountains is the major provenance of the Subei basin. In addition, very old age peaks indicate that part sediments in the Subei basin are recycling sediments. Age peak populations of 70–44 Ma and 61–45 Ma from the lower and upper Baiyanghe formations record the tectono-thermal response to the Indo-Eurasia collision. Combined detrital AFT thermochronology, magnetostratigraphy and petrography results demonstrate the middle Miocene uplift and exhumation event initiated 14–12 Ma in the Subei basin, which may resulted from the Miocene east-west extension of the Tibetan Plateau. Another stronger uplift and exhumation event occurred in the late Miocene resulted from strengthened tectonic movement and climate. A much younger AFT grain age, breccia of diluvial facies and boulders of root fan subfacies record the late Miocene unroofing in the Danghenanshan Mountains.     

Thermotectonic evolution of Precambrian basement rocks of the Kuruktag uplift,NE Tarim craton,China: evidence from apatite fission-track data

The Kuruktag uplift is located directly northeast of the Tarim craton in northwestern China. Neoarchaean-to-Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks and intrusive rocks crop out widely in the uplift; thus, it is especially suited for a more complete understanding of the thermal evolution of the Tarim craton. Apatite fission-track (AFT) methods were used to study the exhumation history and cooling of these Precambrian crystalline rocks. Nine apatite-bearing samples were collected from both sides of the Xingdi fault transecting the Kuruktag uplift. Pooled ages range from 146.0 ± 13.4 to 67.6 ± 6.7 Ma, with mean track lengths between 11.79 ± 0.14 and 12.48 ± 0.10 μm. These samples can be divided into three groups based on age and structural position. Group A consists of five samples with AFT apparent ages of about 100–110 Ma and is generally associated with undeformed areas. Group B comprises three specimens with AFT apparent ages lower than 80 Ma and is mostly associated with hanging wall environments close to faults. Group C is a single apatite sample with the oldest relative apparent age, 146.0 ± 13.4 Ma. The modelled thermal history indicates four periods of exhumation in the Kuruktag uplift: late-Early Jurassic (180 Ma); Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous (144–118 Ma); early-Late Cretaceous (94–82 Ma); and late Cenozoic (about 10 Ma). These cooling events, identified by AFT data, are assumed to reflect far-field effects from multi-stage collisions and accretions of terranes along the south Asian continental margin.