Unravelling the multi-stage burial history of the Swiss Molasse Basin: integration of apatite fission track, vitrinite reflectance and biomarker isomerisation analysis

A complex basin evolution was studied using various methods, including thermal constraints based on apatite fission‐track (AFT) analysis, vitrinite reflectance (VR) and biomarker isomerisation, in addition to a detailed analysis of the regional stratigraphic record and of the lithological properties. The study indicates that (1) given the substantial amount of data, the distinction and characterisation of successive stages of heating and burial in the same area are feasible, and (2) the three thermal indicators (AFT, VR and biomarkers) yield internally consistent thermal histories, which supports the validity of the underlying kinetic algorithms and their applicability to natural basins. All data pertaining to burial and thermal evolution were integrated in a basin model, which provides constraints on the thickness of eroded sections and on heat flow over geologic time. Three stages of basin evolution occurred in northern Switzerland. The Permo‐Carboniferous strike–slip basin was characterised by high geothermal gradients (80–100°C km^?1) and maximum temperature up to 160°C. After the erosion of a few hundreds of metres in the Permian, the post‐orogenic, epicontinental Mesozoic basin developed in Central Europe, with subsidence triggered by several stages of rifting. Geothermal gradients in northern Switzerland during Cretaceous burial were relatively high (35–40°C km^?1), and maximum temperature typically reached 75°C (top middle Jurassic) to 100°C (base Mesozoic). At least in the early Cretaceous, a stage of increased heat flow is needed to explain the observed maturity level. After erosion of 600–700 m of Cretaceous and late Jurassic strata during the Paleocene, the wedge‐shaped Molasse Foreland Basin developed. Geothermal gradients were low at this time (≤20°C km^?1). Maximum temperature of Miocene burial exceeded that of Cretaceous burial in proximal parts (<35 km from the Alpine front), but was lower in more distal parts (>45 km). Thus, maximum temperature as well as maximum burial depth ever reached in Mesozoic strata occurred at different times in different regions. Since the Miocene, 750–1050 m were eroded, a process that still continues in the proximal parts of the basin. Current average geothermal gradients in the uppermost 2500 m are elevated (32–47°C km^?1). They are due to a Quaternary increase of heat flow, most probably triggered by limited advective heat transport along Paleozoic faults in the crystalline basement.     

Thermal history analysis by integrated modelling of apatite fission track and vitrinite reflectance data: application to an inverted basin (Buller Coalfield, New Zealand)

Integrated analysis and modelling of apatite fission track with vitrinite reflectance (VR) data allows the timing, magnitude and pattern of Palaeogene subsidence and Neogene inversion to be established for an uplifted and largely denuded basin: the Buller Coalfield, New Zealand. At the time of maximum subsidence in the late Oligocene, the basin consisted of an extensional half graben, bounded to the west by the Kongahu Fault Zone (KFZ), with up to 6 km of upper Eocene to Oligocene section adjacent to it; currently, only a few tens of metres of basal coal measures on basement are preserved on top of a range 800–1000 m above sea level. Integrated modelling of the VR and fission track data show that the deepest parts of the basin were inverted during two Miocene compressional phases (24–19 Ma and 13–8 Ma), and are consistent with a further phase of inversion during the Quaternary that formed the present topography. Palinspastic restoration of the three phases of inversion shows that the basin was not inverted in a simple way: most of the rock uplift/denudation adjacent to the KFZ occurred during the early Miocene phase, and at the same time burial occurred in the south-eastern part of the basin (maximum temperatures were experienced at different times at different places in the basin); during the middle to late Miocene there was broad uplift in the central and eastern parts of the coalfield. Because the timing and magnitude of uplift have been derived from the zone of inversion, they can be compared independently with the timing of unconformity development and rapid subsidence in the adjacent foredeeps, particularly the Westport Trough. For the middle to late Miocene phase of inversion, we show that during the first 1–2 million years of compression, the uplift within the coalfield also involved the margins of the Westport Trough, contributing to unconformity development; subsequently, uplift continued on the inversion structure but the margins of the Westport Trough subsided rapidly. This is explained by a model of stick slip behaviour on the boundary faults, especially for the KFZ. When compression started the fault zone has locked and uplift extends into the basin, whereas subsequently the fault zone unlocks, and the inversion structure overrides the basin margin, thereby loading it and causing subsidence.     

Thermal effects of intrusion below the Taranaki Basin (New Zealand): evidence from combined apatite fission track age and vitrinite reflectance data

A high surface heat-flow anomaly on the northern Taranaki Peninsula in the Taranaki Basin (New Zealand) coincides spatially with Quaternary volcanic edifices, but the temporal aspects of heating of the sedimentary column associated with volcanism and any related plutonism have been unclear. A combined analysis of fission track age and vitrinite reflectance data, in particular comparing data from within the high heat-flow anomaly to calibration wells elsewhere in the Taranaki Basin, provides important new constraints. Within the high heat-flow region, apatite fission track (AFT) ages are older and vitrinite reflectance ( R _o) values are lower than in samples from elsewhere in the basin that have undergone similar burial histories. Modelled AFT ages and R _o values suggest gradual heating to within about 20  °C of maximum temperature followed by rapid heating of sedimentary strata in the last 1 Myr, perhaps as recently as the last 0.1 Myr. The inferred age of this heating event is younger than the age of the volcanic edifice on which it is centred, suggesting that volcanism precedes heating that may be related to plutonism under the northern peninsula. These results suggest that, if the heating is caused by intrusion, then the intrusion is probably in the upper crust.
     

Thermal history and exhumation of the Northern Apennines (Italy): evidence from combined apatite fission track and vitrinite reflectance data from foreland basin sediments

ABSTRACT Apatite fission track ages of 20 samples collected from turbidite successions deposited in foreland basins adjacent to the Northern Apennines range between ∼3 and ∼10 Ma. The youngest fission track ages are concentrated in a NW–SE elongated belt, which approximately runs through the centre of the study area, while gradually increasing ages are distributed towards the south-western and north-eastern borders. Integration of apatite fission track data and published vitrinite reflectance values indicate this region of the Apennines experienced continuous but variable exhumation starting from ∼14 Ma. The extent of exhumation and uplift range between 5 and 6 km at the south-western and north-eastern borders of the study area, and ∼7 km in the central part. Exhumation was driven mainly by erosion, with minor faulting in response to structural readjustment related to differential exhumation. Regional exhumation and erosion are interpreted as the result of isostatic rebound following crustal thickening in the lower part of the orogen.     

Joint inversion of temperature,vitrinite reflectance and fission tracks in apatite with examples from the eastern North Sea area

As sediment accumulation indicates basin subsidence, erosion often is understood as tectonic uplift, but the amplitude and timing may be difficult to determine because the sedimentary record is missing. Quantification of erosion therefore requires indirect evidence, for example thermal indicators such as temperature, vitrinite reflectance and fission tracks in apatite. However, as always, the types and quality of data and the choice of models are important to the results. For example, considering only the thermal evolution of the sedimentary section discards the thermal time constant of the lithosphere and essentially ignores the temporal continuity of the thermal structure. Furthermore, the types and density of thermal indicators determine the solution space of deposition and erosion, the quantification of which calls for the use of inverse methods, which can only be successful when all models are mutually consistent. Here, we use integrated basin modelling and Markov Chain Monte Carlo inversion of four deep boreholes to show that the erosional pattern along the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone (STZ) in the eastern North Sea is consistent with a tectonic model of tectonic inversion based on compression and relaxation of an elastic plate. Three wells in close proximity SW of the STZ have different data and exhibit characteristic differences in erosion estimates but are consistent with the formation of a thick chalk sequence, followed by minor Cenozoic erosion during relaxation inversion. The well on the inversion ridge requires ca. 1.7 km Jurassic-Early Cretaceous sedimentation followed by Late Cretaceous–Palaeocene erosion during inversion. No well demands thick Cenozoic sedimentation followed by equivalent significant Neogene exhumation. When data are of high quality and models are consistent, the thermal indicator method yields significant results with important tectonic and geodynamic implications.     

Basin tectonic history and paleo‐physiography of the pelagian platform,northern Tunisia,using vitrinite reflectance data

Constraining the thermal, burial and uplift/exhumation history of sedimentary basins is crucial in the understanding of upper crustal strain evolution and also has implications for understanding the nature and timing of hydrocarbon maturation and migration. In this study, we use Vitrinite Reflectance (VR) data to elucidate the paleo‐physiography and thermal history of an inverted basin in the foreland of the Atlasic orogeny in Northern Tunisia. In doing so, it is the primary aim of this study to demonstrate how VR techniques may be applied to unravel basin subsidence/uplift history of structural domains and provide valuable insights into the kinematic evolution of sedimentary basins. VR measurements of both the onshore Pelagian Platform and the Tunisian Furrow in Northern Tunisia are used to impose constraints on the deformation history of a long‐lived structural feature in the studied region, namely the Zaghouan Fault. Previous work has shown that this fault was active as an extensional structure in Lower Jurassic to Aptian times, before subsequently being inverted during the Late Cretaceous Eocene Atlas I tectonic event and Upper Miocene Atlas II tectonic event. Quantifying and constraining this latter inversion stage, and shedding light on the roles of structural inheritance and the basin thermal history, are secondary aims of this study. The results of this study show that the Atlas II WNW‐ESE compressive event deformed both the Pelagian Platform and the Tunisian Furrow during Tortonian‐Messinian times. Maximum burial depth for the Pelagian Platform was reached during the Middle to Upper Miocene, i.e. prior to the Atlas II folding event. VR measurements indicate that the Cretaceous to Ypresian section of the Pelagian Platform was buried to a maximum burial depth of ~3 km, using a geothermal gradient of 30°C/km. Cretaceous rock samples VR values show that the hanging wall of the Zaghouan Fault was buried to a maximum depth of <2 km. This suggests that a vertical km‐scale throw along the Zaghouan Fault pre‐dated the Atlas II shortening, and also proves that the fault controlled the subsidence of the Pelagian Platform during the Oligo‐Miocene. Mean exhumation rates of the Pelagian Platform throughout the Messinian to Quaternary were in the order of 0.3 mm/year. However, when the additional effect of Tortonian‐Messinian folding is accounted for, exhumation rates could have reached 0.6–0.7 mm/year.     

Thermal history of the Cretaceous Sindong Group, Gyeongsang Basin, Korea based on fission track analysis

ABSTRACT Apatite and zircon fission track (FT) analyses were carried out to reconstruct the thermal history of the Lower Cretaceous Sindong Group, which is the lowermost stratal unit of the Gyeongsang Basin, Korea. Zircon FT central ages show a wide range from 83 ± 5 to 157 ± 18 Ma, and single-grain age spectra have multiple age populations, whereas all apatites have very consistent FT ages of c . 60 Ma, suggesting a totally reset cooling age. Co-existence of both older and younger ages compared with the depositional age and relatively short mean track length indicate that the Sindong zircons were partially annealed. The Sindong Group was heated into the zircon partial annealing zone (ZPAZ) around 80 Ma, and cooled below the apatite closure temperature at c . 60 Ma. Based on the zircon FT results combined with vitrinite reflectance data, the maximum palaeotemperature to which the Sindong Group had been subjected can be inferred to be about 260 °C. Zircon FT data from a granite body that is in contact with the Sindong Group and sandstones close to the granite body indicate that thermal influence caused by Upper Cretaceous intrusive rocks was limited in close vicinity of the intrusion and that the major heat source of the Sindong Group was burial. The thickness of uplifted and eroded section is estimated to be about 7 km.     

Constraining basin thermal history and petroleum generation using palaeoclimate data in the Piceance Basin,Colorado

Careful assessment of basin thermal history is critical to modelling petroleum generation in sedimentary basins. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to constraining basin thermal history using palaeoclimate temperature reconstructions and study its impact on estimating source rock maturation and hydrocarbon generation in a terrestrial sedimentary basin. We compile mean annual temperature (MAT) estimates from macroflora assemblage data to capture past surface temperature variation for the Piceance Basin, a high‐elevation, intermontane, sedimentary basin in Colorado, USA. We use macroflora assemblage data to constrain the temporal evolution of the upper thermal boundary condition and to capture the temperature change with basin uplift. We compare these results with the case where the upper thermal boundary condition is based solely upon a simplified latitudinal temperature estimate with no elevation effect. For illustrative purposes, 2 one‐dimensional (1‐D) basin models are constructed using these two different upper thermal boundary condition scenarios and additional geological and geochemical input data in order to investigate the impact of the upper thermal boundary condition on petroleum source rock maturation and kerogen transformation processes. The basin model predictions indicate that the source rock maturation is very sensitive to the upper thermal boundary condition for terrestrial basins with variable elevation histories. The models show substantial differences in source rock maturation histories and kerogen transformation ratio over geologic time. Vitrinite reflectance decreases by 0.21%Ro, source rock transformation ratio decreases 10.5% and hydrocarbon mass generation decreases by 16% using the macroflora assemblage data. In addition, we find that by using the macroflora assemblage data, the modelled depth profiles of vitrinite reflectance better matches present‐day measurements. These differences demonstrate the importance of constraining thermal boundary conditions, which can be addressed by palaeotemperature reconstructions from palaeoclimate and palaeo‐elevation data for many terrestrial basins. Although the palaeotemperature reconstruction compiled for this study is region specific, the approach presented here is generally applicable for other terrestrial basin settings, particularly basins which have undergone substantial subaerial elevation change over time.     

Multiphase cooling and exhumation of the southern Adelaide Fold Belt: constraints from apatite fission track data

Data from apatite fission track analysis are presented for 20 outcrop samples collected in the southern Adelaide Fold Belt, South Australia. Interpretation of these data, with the aid of numerical models which allow inference of multiphase cooling histories, indicate three discrete cooling events that are likely to correlate with sedimentation events in surrounding depositional settings. An event beginning some time after 85 Ma (Late Cretaceous) was characterized by cooling throughout the study area from temperatures of roughly 50 to 70 °C. An event beginning at 300–270 Ma (Late Palaeozoic) was characterized by cooling from temperatures >120 °C in all areas except for the Mount Lofty Ranges and Murray Bridge region, where peak temperatures were only 95–115 °C prior to Palaeozoic cooling. Some samples from these subregions of relatively cool Late Palaeozoic temperatures also retain evidence for even earlier cooling from temperatures >120 °C, beginning prior to 350 Ma. We interpret the post 85-Ma event as the consequence of regional exhumation from a depth of 1.0–1.6 km. The Late Palaeozoic event (300–270 Ma) is interpreted as cooling associated with the termination of the Alice Springs Orogeny, while cooling prior to 350 Ma probably represents the final stages of Early Middle Palaeozoic unroofing of the southern Adelaide Fold Belt.
The results highlight the importance of regional, episodic postorogenic exhumation of Palaeozoic fold belts, where – in some cases – conventional methods have erroneously suggested relatively long-term stability.     

Thermotectonic evolution of the Ukrainian Donbas Foldbelt revisited: new constraints from zircon and apatite fission track data

The Donbas Foldbelt (DF) is the compressionally deformed segment of a large Late Palaeozoic rift cross‐cutting the southern part of the East European Craton and is traditionally described as a classic example of an inverted intracratonic rift basin. Proposed formational models are often controversial and numerous issues are still a matter of speculation, primarily due to the lack of absolute time constraints and insufficient knowledge of the thermal evolution. We investigate the low‐temperature thermal history of the DF by means of zircon fission track and apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology applied to Upper Carboniferous sediments. In all samples, the AFT chronometer was reset shortly after deposition in the Early Permian (～275 Ma). Samples contained kinetically variable apatites that are sensitive to different temperatures and using statistic‐based component analysis incorporating annealing characteristics of individual grains assessed by D_par , we identified several distinct age populations, ranging from the Late Permian (～265 Ma) to the Late Cretaceous (～70 Ma). We could thus constrain the thermal history of the DF during a ～200 Myr long period following the thermal maximum. We found that earliest cooling of Permian and Permo‐Triassic age is recorded on the basin margins whereas the central parts were residing in or slowly cooling through the apatite partial annealing zone during Jurassic and most of Cretaceous times, and then finally cooled to near‐surface conditions latest around the Cretaceous/Palaeogene boundary. Our data show that Permian erosion was less significant and Mesozoic erosion more significant than generally assumed. Inversion and pop‐up of the DF occurred in the Cretaceous and not in the Permian as previously thought. This is indicated by overall Cretaceous AFT ages in the central parts of the basin.     

Structure and geological history of the Congo Basin: an integrated interpretation of gravity,magnetic and reflection seismic data

The stratigraphic, paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the intracratonic Congo Basin in Central Africa has been revised on the basis of an integrated interpretation of gravity, magnetic and reflection seismic data, together with a literature review of papers sometimes old and difficult to access, map compilation and partial reexamination of outcrop and core samples stored in the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA). The Congo Basin has a long and complex evolution starting in the Neoproterozoic and governed by the interplay of tectonic and climatic factors, in a variety of depositional environments.This multidisciplinary study involving 2D gravity and magnetic modeling as additional constraints for the interpretation of seismic profiles appears to be a powerful tool to investigate sedimentary basins where seismic data alone may be difficult to interpret. The tectonic deformations detected in the Congo Basin after the 1970–1984 hydrocarbon exploration campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been attributed to crustal contraction and basement uplift at the center of the basin, following a transpressional inversion of earlier graben structures. Two‐dimensional gravity and magnetic models run along key seismic lines suggest the presence of evaporite sequences in some of the deeper units of the stratigraphic succession, in the lateral continuity with those observed in the Mbandaka and Gilson exploration wells. The poorly defined seismic facies that led to the previous basement uplift interpretation of the crystalline basement is shown to correspond to salt‐rich formations that have been tectonically de‐stabilized. These features may be related to vertical salt‐tectonics connected to the near/far‐field effects of the late Pan‐African and the Permo‐Triassic compressive tectonic events that affected this African part of Gondwana.     

Tectonic brines and sedimentary basins: further applications of fission track analysis in understanding Karoo Basin evolution (South Africa)

Fission track analyses of detrital components in the Permo-Triassic Karoo Basin (South Africa), highlight the potency of tectono-magmatically driven fluids to penetrate wide and far in foreland basins. The data, together with the data published on Karoo tectonics and magmatism, support a model which requires that fluids were driven north out of the Cape-Karoo orogen during the Cape Orogeny (270–200 Ma). Later fluids were redistributed and aquifers rejuvenated during (and after) the final break-up of Gondwana (<200 Ma). The fission track data indicate that thermal annealing of fission tracks in zircon occurs non-uniformly between individual zircon grains. This model is in agreement with recent models applied to deformed foreland basins and implicates tectonic fluids in U metallogenesis.     

Supradetachment basin evolution unravelled by detrital apatite fission track analysis: the Gediz Graben (Menderes Massif,Western Turkey)

The Menderes Massif is a Tertiary metamorphic core complex tectonically exhumed in the late Oligocene–Miocene during coeval development of a series of E–W‐trending basins. This study analyses the source‐to‐sink evolution of the Gediz Graben and the exhumation pattern of the Central Menderes Massif at the footwall and hanging wall of the Gediz Detachment Fault. We use a comprehensive approach to detrital apatite fission track dating combining analysis of modern river sediments, analysis of fossil sedimentary successions and mineral fertility determinations. This approach allowed us to: (i) define the modern short‐term erosion pattern of the study area, (ii) unravel the long‐term exhumation history, (iii) identify major exhumation events recorded in the sedimentary basin fill and (iv) constrain the maximum depositional age of the sedimentary succession. Three main exhumation events are recorded in the analysed detrital samples: (i) a late Oligocene/early Miocene exhumation event involving the whole Menderes Massif; (ii) a late Miocene event involving the northern edge of the Central Menderes Massif; (iii) a Plio‐Quaternary more localized event involving only the western part of the southern margin of the basin (Salihli area) and bringing to the surface the Gediz Detachment and its intrusive footwall (Salihli granodiorite). The modern short‐term erosion pattern closely reflects this latter Plio‐Quaternary event. Single grain‐age distributions in the sedimentary basin fill highlight drainage pattern reorganizations in correspondence of the transition between different stratigraphic units, and allowed to better constrain the depositional age of the sedimentary units of the basin pointing to a possible onset of sedimentation in the basin during the middle Miocene.     

Transantarctic Basin: new insights from fission track and structural data from the USARP Mountains and adjacent areas (Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica)

The USARP Mountains comprise two N–S‐aligned mountain ranges (Daniels Range, Pomerantz Tableland) located along the western margin of the Rennick Glacier in Northern Victoria Land (NVL). Four zircon and titanite fission track (FT) ages from granitic samples from the Pomerantz Tableland fall in a common range of 369–392 Ma. The apatite FT ages from 20 Granite Harbour Intrusive rocks sampled throughout the USARP Mountains are distinctively younger (86–270 Ma); their mean track lengths (MTL) vary between 11.0 and 13.9 μm. Six samples from Renirie Rocks and the Kavrayskiy Hills east of the USARP Mountains have even younger, concordant apatite FT ages of 43–71 Ma, and MTL of 12.2–14.0 μm. Thermal history modelling of the thermochronological data indicate that both the Daniels Range and Pomerantz Tableland experienced a common Phanerozoic geologic history consisting of a mid‐Devonian pulse of rapid denudation, followed by a protracted denudation stage between the Carboniferous and Jurassic. This latter period of denudation was contemporaneous with the formation of the Transantarctic Basin to the east. We consequently suggest that the USARP Mountains were one of the major source areas for the Beacon Supergroup that formed the fill of the Transantarctic Basin. Subsequent to the deposition of the Beacon sequence, the now‐outcropping rocks of the USARP Mountains were buried to a maximum depth of 4.2 km. A palaeogeothermal gradient of 25±8°C km^?1 was inferred at the time of maximum burial. Inversion of the Transantarctic Basin due to the breakup of Gondwana, and in response to Cenozoic rifting and uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains, has triggered the final denudation stages recorded in NVL since the Cretaceous. Thereby, the amounts of denudation increase eastward. Whereas 2.4–4.2 km of crustal unloading are recognized for the USARP Mountains since the Cretaceous, more than 4 km of denudation has occurred towards the Rennick Graben alone since the Eocene. This denudation was associated with major fault activities involving early ENE–WSW to E–W‐directed extension. Related structures were reactivated by dominant NW–SE to NNW–SSE‐oriented right‐lateral shear genetically linked to the formation and inversion of the structural depression of the Rennick Graben in Cenozoic times.     

Basin modelling of the Limón Back-arc Basin (Costa Rica): burial history and temperature evolution of an island arc-related basin-system

The Limón back‐arc basin belongs to the southern Central American arc‐trench system and is situated at the east coast of Costa Rica. The basin‐fill consists of Late Cretaceous to Pleistocene sedimentary rocks. A northern and a southern sub‐basin can be defined, separated by the E–W‐trending Trans Isthmic Fault System. The North Limón Basin is nearly undeformed, whereas the South Limón Basin is characterized by a fold‐and‐thrust belt. Both sub‐basins have a very similar sedimentary fill and can act as a natural laboratory for reconstructing controlling factors of arc‐related sedimentary basins as well as the influence of deformation on a basin system. Modelling focused on burial history and temperature evolution. Two‐dimensional simulations were carried out with the software PetroMod^®. The geohistory curve of the North Limón Basin is overall linear, indicating continuous subsidence. The South Limón Basin is also characterized by continuous subsidence, but rates strongly increased at the beginning of the Neogene. Despite a rapid Plio‐Pleistocene deformation of the fold‐and‐thrust belt, the present‐day temperature field is not disturbed in that area. The modelling results indicate a mean heat flow of 60 mW m^?2 for the North Limón Basin and 41 mW m^?2 for the South Limón Basin. These values are low compared with other back‐arc basins. The lower values are attributed to the following effects: (1) underlying basaltic crust, (2) the lack of an initial rift phase, (3) the low extension rates, (4) absence of volcanic activity and (5) insulation effects of a thick sediment pile. The reasons for the locally lower heat flow in the southern sub‐basin can be found in the low‐angle subduction of the Cocos Ridge. Owing to the low subduction angle, the cool fore‐arc mantle‐wedge below the island‐arc is pushed backwards increasing the cooled area.     

Magnetostratigraphy and detrital apatite fission track thermochronology in syntectonic conglomerates: constraints on the exhumation of the South‐Central Pyrenees

The syntectonic continental conglomerates of the South‐Central Pyrenees record the late stages of thin‐skinned transport of the South‐Pyrenean Central Units and the onset of exhumation of the Pyrenean Axial Zone (AZ) in the core of the orogen. New magnetostratigraphic data of these syntectonic continental conglomerates have established their age as Late Lutetian to Late Oligocene. The data reveal that these materials were deposited during intense periods of tectonic activity of the Pyrenean chain and not during the cessation of the deformation as considered previously. The magnetostratigraphic ages have been combined with new detrital apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology from AZ‐derived granite cobbles within the syntectonic conglomerates. Distribution of the granitic cobbles with different AFT ages and track lengths combined with their depositional ages reveal information on the timing and rate of episodes of exhumation in the orogen. Some AFT ages are considerably older than the AFT ages of the outcropping AZ granitic massifs, indicating erosion from higher crustal levels within the massifs than presently exposed or from completely eroded plutons. Inverse thermal modelling reveals two well‐defined periods of rapid cooling in the hinterland at ca. 50–40 and ca. 30–25 Ma, with another poorly defined cooling episode at ca. 70–60 Ma. The lowest stratigraphic samples experienced postburial annealing caused by the deposition of younger syntectonic sediments during progressive burial of the south Pyrenean thrust and fold belt. Moreover, samples from the deeper stratigraphic levels also reveal postorogenic cooling during the Late Miocene as a response to the excavation of the Ebro River towards the Mediterranean Sea. Our data strongly support previous ideas about the burial of the South Pyrenean fold and thrust belt by Late Palaeogene syntectonic conglomerates and their subsequent re‐excavation and are consistent with other thermochronological data and thermal modelling from the interior part of the orogen.     

Application of multi‐kinetic apatite fission track and (U‐Th)/He thermochronology to source rock thermal history: a case study from the Mackenzie Plain,NWT, Canada

Shale of the Upper Cretaceous Slater River Formation extends across the Mackenzie Plain of the Canadian Northwest Territories and has potential as a regional source rock because of the high organic content and presence of both oil‐ and gas‐prone kerogen. An understanding of the thermal history experienced by the shale is required to predict any potential petroleum systems. Our study integrates multi‐kinetic apatite fission track (AFT) and apatite (U‐Th)/He (AHe) thermochronometers from a basal bentonite unit to understand the timing and magnitude of Late Cretaceous burial experienced by the Slater River Formation along the Imperial River. We use LA‐ICP‐MS and EPMA methods to assess the chemistry of apatite, and use these values to derive the AFT kinetic parameter r_mr0. Our AFT dates and track lengths, respectively, range from 201.5 ± 36.9 Ma to 47.1 ± 12.3 Ma, and 16.8 to 10.2 μm, and single crystal AHe dates are between 57.9 ± 3.5 and 42.0 ± 2.5 Ma with effective uranium concentrations from 17 ppm to 36 ppm. The fission track data show no relationship with the kinetic parameter D_par and fail the χ²‐test indicating that the data do not comprise a single statistically significant population. However, when plotted against their r_mr0 value, the data are separated into two statistically significant kinetic populations with distinct track length distributions. Inverse thermal history modelling of both the multi‐kinetic AFT and AHe datasets, reveal that the Slater River Formation reached maximum burial temperatures of ~65–90 °C between the Turonian and Paleocene, indicating that the source rock matured to the early stages of hydrocarbon generation, at best. Ultimately, our data highlight the importance of kinetic parameter choice for AFT and AHe thermochronology, as slight variations in apatite chemistry may have significant implications on fission track and radiation damage annealing in apatite with protracted thermal histories through the uppermost crust.     

Insights in the exhumation history of the NW Zagros from bedrock and detrital apatite fission‐track analysis: evidence for a long‐lived orogeny

We present the first fission‐track (FT) thermochronology results for the NW Zagros Belt (SW Iran) in order to identify denudation episodes that occurred during the protracted Zagros orogeny. Samples were collected from the two main detrital successions of the NW Zagros foreland basin: the Palaeocene–early Eocene Amiran–Kashkan succession and the Miocene Agha Jari and Bakhtyari Formations. In situ bedrock samples were furthermore collected in the Sanandaj‐Sirjan Zone. Only apatite fission‐track (AFT) data have been successfully obtained, including 26 ages and 11 track‐length distributions. Five families of AFT ages have been documented from analyses of in situ bedrock and detrital samples: pre‐middle Jurassic at ～171 and ～225 Ma, early–late Cretaceous at ～91 Ma, Maastrichtian at ～66 Ma, middle–late Eocene at ～38 Ma and Oligocene–early Miocene at ～22 Ma. The most widespread middle–late Eocene cooling phase, around ～38 Ma, is documented by a predominant grain‐age population in Agha Jari sediments and by cooling ages of a granitic boulder sample. AFT ages document at least three cooling/denudation periods linked to major geodynamic events related to the Zagros orogeny, during the late Cretaceous oceanic obduction event, during the middle and late Eocene and during the early Miocene. Both late Cretaceous and early Miocene orogenic processes produced bending of the Arabian plate and concomitant foreland deposition. Between the two major flexural foreland episodes, the middle–late Eocene phase mostly produced a long‐lasting slow‐ or nondepositional episode in the inner part of the foreland basin, whereas deposition and tectonics migrated to the NE along the Sanandaj‐Sirjan domain and its Gaveh Rud fore‐arc basin. As evidenced in this study, the Zagros orogeny was long‐lived and multi‐episodic, implying that the timing of accretion of the different tectonic domains that form the Zagros Mountains requires cautious interpretation.     

Thermal modelling of magmatic intrusions in the Gjallar Ridge, Norwegian Sea: implications for vitrinite reflectance and hydrocarbon maturation

Extensive magmatic activity took place in the Vøring Basin, offshore Norway, related to the Early Cenozoic rifting. The break‐up of the North‐Atlantic at the Palaeocene–Eocene transition induced strong volcanism. There are numerous magmatic sills below 3 km depth in the area. They are predominantly layer parallel and thin compared with their lateral extent. Igneous intrusions, sills and dykes affected the temperature history, and thus need to be taken into account in petroleum prospect analysis. We have calculated the temperature and maturity effects in the sedimentary layers in the Gjallar area associated with the emplacement of single sill and sill complexes. A 120‐m‐thick sill produces a theoretical vitrinite reflectance (%R₀) 0.8% higher than normal at a distance of 100 m from the sill. Vitrinite reflectance changes caused by a swarm of seven sills varying from 8 to 80 m in thickness were calculated. It is shown that the calculated thermal profile can account for the observed shift in vitrinite reflectance in the well. A two‐dimensional section crossing the Gjallar Ridge, consisting of numerous magmatic intrusions, is also modelled. The modelled geological development and temperature history over the profile show that there are significant maturation effects in the interval under investigation. Based on this work, the sill swarm observed in the area could more than double the fraction of the kerogen that has been transformed to petroleum at the (present) depth of 4 km.     

Burial and exhumation history of Pennsylvanian strata, central Appalachian basin: an integrated study

An inferred burial and exhumation history of Pennsylvanian strata in the central Appalachian foreland basin is constrained by integrating palaeothermometers, geochronometers and estimated palaeogeothermal gradients. Vitrinite reflectance data and fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures indicate that burial of Lower and Upper Pennsylvanian strata of the Appalachian Plateau in West Virginia exceeded ～4.4 km during the late Permian and occurred at a rate of ～100 m Myr^?1. Exhumation rates of ～10 m Myr^?1 from the late Permian to the early Cretaceous are constrained using maximum burial conditions and published apatite fission track (AFT) ages. AFT and radiogenic helium ages indicate exhumation rates of ～30–50 m Myr^?1 from the early to late Cretaceous. Radiogenic helium dates and present day sampling depths indicate that exhumation rates from the late Cretaceous to present were ～25 m Myr^?1. Exhumation rates for Upper and Lower Pennsylvanian strata within the Appalachian Plateau are remarkably similar. Early slow exhumation was possibly driven primarily by isostatic rebound associated with Triassic rifting. The later, more rapid exhumation can be attributed to thermal expansion followed by lithospheric flexure related to sediment loading along the passive margin.