Discussion and Reply: Shaping the Australian crust over the last 300 million years: Insights from fission track thermotectonic imaging and denudation studies of key terranes

Ellis Fjord is a small, fjord‐like marine embayment in the Vestfold Hills, eastern Antarctica. Modern sediment input is dominated by a biogenic diatom rain, although aeolian, fluvial, ice‐rafted, slumped and tidal sediments also make a minor contribution. In areas where bioturbation is significant relict glaciogenic sediments are reworked into the fine‐grained diatomaceous sediments to produce poorly sorted fine sands and silts. Where the bottom waters are anoxic, sediments remain unbioturbated and have a high biogenic silica component. Three depositional and non‐depositional facies can be recognised in the fjord: an area of non‐deposition around the shoreline; a relict morainal facies in areas of low sedimentation and high bioturbation; and a basinal facies in the deeper areas of the fjord.     

Denudation history of the Snowy Mountains: Constraints from apatite fission track thermochronology

Apatite fission track thermochronology from Early Palaeozoic granitoids centred around the Kosciuszko massif of the Snowy Mountains, records a denudation history that was episodic and highly variable. The form of the apatite fission track age profile assembled from vertical sections and hydroelectric tunnels traversing the mountains, together with numerical forward modelling, provide strong evidence for two episodes of accelerated denudation, commencing in Late Permian—Early Triassic (ca 270–250 Ma) and mid‐Cretaceous (ca 110–100 Ma) times, and a possible third episode in the Cenozoic. Denudation commencing in the Late Permian—Early Triassic was widespread in the eastern and central Snowy Mountains area, continued through much of the Triassic, and amounted to at least ～2.0–2.4 km. This episode was probably the geomorphic response to the Hunter‐Bowen Orogeny. Post‐Triassic denudation to the present in these areas amounted to ～2.0–2.2 km. Unambiguous evidence for mid‐Cretaceous cooling and possible later cooling is confined to a north‐south‐trending sinuous belt, up to ～15 km wide by at least 35 km long, of major reactivated Palaeozoic faults on the western side of the mountains. This zone is the most deeply exposed area of the Kosciuszko block. Denudation accompanying these later events totalled up to ～1.8–2.0 km and ～2.0–2.25 km respectively. Mid‐Cretaceous denudation marks the onset of renewed tectonic activity in the southeastern highlands following a period of relative quiescence since the Late Triassic, and establishes a temporal link with the onset of extension related to the opening of the Tasman Sea. Much of the present day relief of the mountains resulted from surface uplift which disrupted the post‐mid‐Cretaceous apatite fission track profile by variable offsets on faults.     

Uplift and denudation of Mt Sanqingshan Geopark,Jiangxi Province,China

Mt Sanqingshan, a global Geopark and world natural heritage site located in Jiangxi Province, China, is famous for its eroded granite peaks. The uplift and denudation history of the area has been reconstructed using fission track methods for the first time. Apatite fission track ages (AFTAs) cluster into three groups at ca. 25 Ma, 45–55 Ma, and 70 Ma. These ages can be related to ancient multilevel denudation planes at about 900, 1200, and 1500 m above sea level, respectively. The apatite data also reveal four cooling stages for the Mt Sanqingshan region, from ca. 90 to 65–60 Ma, 65–60 to 45 Ma, 45 to 20–15 Ma, and 20–15 Ma to the present, with cooling rates of 1.96°C, 1.18°C, 0.37°C, and 3.78°C per million years, respectively, and an average cooling rate of 1.80°C per million years. Calculated uplift rates are 0.055, 0.034, 0.011, and 0.11 mm year^?1 in the four stages, yielding uplifts of 4140, 570, 290, and 1940 m, respectively. The uplift rate of the last stage was significantly faster than that of the other three preceding stages, reflecting rejuvenation of Mt Sanqingshan, as a result of new tectonism. The average uplift rate at Mt Sanqingshan is 0.053 mm year^?1, and the average denudation rate is 0.048 mm year^?1, resulting in 3550 m of uplift and 2540 m of denudation relative to eustatic sea level. The 1010 m difference is very close to the average elevation of about 1000 m at present. A comparison of uplift–denudation histories for Mt Sanqingshan and Mt Huangshan shows that fission track results can be useful for defining geomorphological development stages.     

Fission track thermotectonic imaging of the Australian continent

Fission track analyses of apatites from a very large data set across Australia provide a first look at the patterns of low-temperature thermochronology over an entire continent. The rock samples are mostly of granitic rocks, or their metamorphic equivalents, of Palaeozoic or older age from the exposed basement regions. Sample chemical analyses indicate that the apatite suite is overwhelmingly of fluorapatite composition. Approximately 2750 fission track analyses have been completed, of which >1700 are of sufficient quality to form a coherent data set that can be interpolated to show the variation of central fission track age and mean confined track length on a continental scale. The resulting images exhibit some features which are well known, such as the trend towards young apatite ages along the eastern and southeastern rifted continental margins, but others that are more surprising, such as the lack of clear differentiation, in terms of the range of ages and lengths, between the older Precambrian cratonic areas in the west, and younger Phanerozoic mobile belts to the east. The Precambrian rocks from the western two-thirds of the continent do, however, show distinctly different cooling histories to those in the eastern Phanerozoic mobile belts when the relationships between track lengths and fission track ages are considered. The western craton everywhere shows patterns of prolonged slow cooling, whereas all major regions of the eastern part of the continent show discrete episodes of rapid cooling, mostly from the Jurassic to the Palaeogene. Significant areas of unusually young apatite ages (<50 Ma) are found in Tasmania and in Precambrian rocks from the northern Gawler Block in South Australia. The most obvious regional cause of the overall fission track patterns across Australia is variation in surface denudation over time scales of hundreds of Ma. However, in some areas, such as the northern Gawler Block, other mechanisms such as the movement of hydrothermal fluids in former cover sequences must be invoked.     

内蒙古大青山基底晚中生代以来的差异隆升-剥蚀过程及其构造意义 ——来自磷灰石裂变径迹低温热年代学的约束

地形地貌和沉积学研究表明,在内蒙古大青山地区发生过早白垩世晚期、晚白垩世和新生代三期隆升-剥蚀事件,但在大青山北部前寒武纪基底岩石中,磷灰石裂变径迹研究仅识别出晚白垩世早期和中新世以来等两期隆升-剥蚀事件.为了探讨大青山南部晚中生代以来的隆升-剥蚀过程,本文报道了6件古元古代花岗岩样品的AFT结果.这6件样品的最大高差...     

大兴安岭北段中新生代隆升与剥露历史的磷灰石裂变径迹证据

对采自大兴安岭北段漠河盆地及盆地西南缘10个中酸性侵入岩样品进行了磷灰石裂变径迹年代学测试。测试结果显示,样品的径迹年龄介于72±7~99±5Ma之间,平均径迹长度介于12.5±1.5~13.7±1.8μm之间。利用热史模拟软件AFTSovle对样品进行热史模拟,结果表明,大兴安岭北段中新生代主要经历了2个重要的构造运动阶段,分别为白垩纪(120~90Ma)快速隆升剥蚀阶段及古新世(约60Ma)以来快速隆升剥蚀阶段。由此推测,这2个构造运动事件的形成分别主要受中生代末古太平洋俯冲及新生代太平洋俯冲的影响。     

秦岭-大别-苏鲁造山带白垩纪以来的抬升冷却史——低温年代学数据约束

总计100个新的磷灰石裂变径迹数据提供了从整体上探讨晚中生代以来抬升冷却史的年代学数据。这些切过东秦岭至黄陵背斜、穿过桐柏至扬子前陆冲断带以及大别和苏鲁超高压变质岩带,南秦岭的裂变径迹年龄与扬子内的黄陵背斜相似,而北秦岭则与桐柏-大别-苏鲁相当。从北秦岭到大别,裂变径迹年龄趋于减小,但过郯庐断裂到苏鲁则略有增加。与我国西部造山带裂变径迹年龄格局相较,桐柏-大别-苏鲁带与西部各造山带显然不是处于同一挤压变形体制下。相对于超高压岩石早期快速的阶段性抬升,即岩浆活动期（～120Ma）后的抬升要和缓得多;相对于其它地质单元,扬子前陆冲断带、黄陵背斜和南秦岭在岩浆活动期后即抬升冷却到了磷灰石裂变径迹封闭温度（～110℃）对应的深度。基于裂变径迹数据和相关Ar／Ar和K-Ar数据进行的冷却史模拟结果显示：全区均表现为相似的三阶段冷却过程：（1）白垩纪早期开始快速抬升至磷灰石裂变径迹退火带的冷却阶段;（2）随后的处于部分退火带的缓慢冷却阶段;（3）上新世以来的加速抬升过程。现今的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄格局基本上受控于白垩纪的快速抬升冷却事件,但最后为晚期活动断裂所定格。     

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.     

裂变径迹研究三峡九湾溪断裂带断裂时期

九湾溪断裂带位于三峡工程大坝西南 １８ ｋｍ处。利用从断裂带中的断层泥、断裂壁岩和断裂围岩内选出的 磷灰石,进行裂变径迹断代学研究,并对径迹长度的频率分布进行统计测量。研究证实：九湾溪断裂带发生断裂时期 为距今（０． ３３ ± ０． ０４） Ｍａ,与它周边围岩形成时代（２５． ７４±１． ９） Ｍａ截然不同。通过各种绝对年龄结果的对比分析, 均未见到全新世以来有明显的活动迹象,由此确认九湾溪断裂活动性对三峡枢纽工程并不构成威胁。     

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.     

The denudation history of the Argentera Alpine External Crystalline Massif (Western Alps,France-Italy): an overview from the analysis of fission tracks in apatites and zircons

Apatite/zircon fission track (FT) records of the Argentera external crystalline massif (Western Alps) show three tectonic pulses, respectively at 22 Ma (zircons), 6 and 3.5 Ma (apatites). The first pulse is consistent with the basement exhumation and initiation of the major deformation recorded in the foreland of the belt from Middle to early Upper Miocene. The two others might be respectively local expressions of the syncollisional extension mainly controlled by a westward sedimentary cover detachment and a Plio-Quaternary uplift acceleration. Zircon ages of 50-80 Ma in a limited NW area and evidence of an uplift elsewhere show that in a large fraction of the massif, temperatures in post-Variscan times never reached 320°C. Finally, FT data show that the Argentera massif did not behave as a single block during its denudation. First, in the NW of the massif, a small fault-limited block was already separated since the Cretaceous and later on recorded the 6 Ma denudation event, the 22 Ma pulse being recorded only in the remaining part of the massif. Second, less than 3.5 Ma ago, the northeastern part of the massif overthrust the southwestern block along the Bersézio-Veillos fault zone.     

赞比亚东北部班韦乌卢地块泛非期以来构造演化的裂变径迹约束

本文利用锆石和磷灰石裂变径迹方法探讨了班韦乌卢地块泛非期以来的主要构造演化时间。为研究班韦乌卢地块的构造活动,本文从班韦乌卢地块中部卡帕图地区的沉积盖层姆波罗科索群的姆巴拉组、萨马组和卡布韦卢马组中采集多件新鲜的岩石样品,并获得5件锆石和2件磷灰石样品裂变径迹分析结果。5件锆石裂变径迹年龄介于575±35～380±22 Ma之间,其峰值年龄组为600～572 Ma和420～390 Ma。2件磷灰石裂变径迹年龄介于59±6～27±4 Ma之间,其峰值年龄组为99～80 Ma和19～11 Ma。它们的峰值年龄组分别对应的主要时代为新元古代的埃迪卡拉纪、早泥盆世、晚白垩世和中新世。对比区域上已有的年龄数据可知,南部非洲地区新元古代的埃迪卡拉纪、早泥盆世和晚白垩世的构造活动是一个区域性的构造事件,仅中新世(19～11 Ma)的构造活动在区域上的表现尚不明确。综合前人成果资料,自泛非构造运动以来,班韦乌卢地块至少经历600～572 Ma、488～441 Ma、420～390 Ma、375～293 Ma、99～80 Ma及19～11 Ma六个构造事件。班韦乌卢地块泛非期以来的构造演化研究程度很低,...     

Age and Thermal History of the East Ore Section,Bayan,Obo Deposit—A Fission Track Study

Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the study of geothermal history by using spontaneous fission tracks of 238U recorded in minerals.Apatite and zircon were used for fission track study in this paper because apatitie has been widely used as a natural geothermometer(Wang Shicheng et al., 1994) to reveal the thermal evolution of sedimentary rocks based on its low annealing temperature of fission tracks and zircon is characterized by a closing temperature above 700℃,The samples were collected from ferruginous,siliceous slate wall rock at the upper levels of the orebody and Nb-REE-Fe ores from deep tunnels.The age and thermal evolution of the orebody were discussed in terms of fission track characters and their length variations observed in the coexisting apatite and zircon in the same specimen.     

塔北中新生代构造演化与砂岩型铀成矿作用关系——来自磷灰石裂变径迹的证据

塔里木盆地北部萨瓦甫齐及塔里克地区4个样品的磷灰石裂变径迹测年以及热史反演结果显示,两个地区的隆升时代不同,其中萨瓦甫齐地区裂变径迹年龄为3．5～3．9Ma,而塔里克地区的裂变径迹年龄为53～59Ma。热史分析揭示出岩体至少记录了自晚白垩世以来的3个显著冷却阶段。同时,结合前人对塔北中新生代隆升剥蚀研究结果,重点对塔北地区中新生代构造隆升阶段进行了详细研究与划分,结合新疆中新生代砂岩型铀成矿年龄,提出了对塔北地区中新生代构造演化与砂岩型铀成矿作用的新认识。     

Mesozoic regolith and palaeolandscape features in southeastern Australia: Significance for interpretations of denudation and highland evolution

The long‐term survival of regolith and landscape features of Mesozoic origins in southeastern Australia is supported by the sedimentary record, pre‐volcanic remnants, oxygen‐isotope signatures of secondary minerals, and the associated geomorphological context. The recognition of these ancient landscape remnants reflects the establishment of a major paradigm in Australian landscape studies after early interpretations emphasised a predominantly Late Cenozoic landscape history. The Mesozoic regolith and landscape remnants constrain interpretations of the evolution of the highlands in this region, indicating that Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic denudation did not extend beyond the complete removal of Mesozoic landscape features. Apatite fission track thermochronology interpretations invoke kilometre‐scale denudation levels across the southeastern highlands during the mid‐Cretaceous, which at first may appear contradictory to the geomorphological evidence of restricted denudation. Rather than necessarily being mutually exclusive interpretations, possible scenarios allowing for the preservation of Mesozoic palaeosurfaces along with kilometre‐scale denudation in the mid‐Cretaceous include: (i) exhumation of palaeosurfaces from beneath a thick sedimentary cover; (ii) truncation of formerly more extensive weathering profiles; and (iii) local‐scale variations in denudation. Local‐scale variations in denudation may not have been detected in previous studies due to dangers associated with overextending regional extrapolations and interpretations, as well as a tendency for the field basis of the different denudation models to emphasise different parts of the landscape. Field studies from areas where there has been localised deep incision into Mesozoic landscape remnants highlight the problem. Geomorphological studies have tended to emphasise areas of relative stability, featuring the preservation of regolith materials and the associated long‐term landscape record. In contrast, apatite fission track thermochronology interpretations may tend to emphasise a regional thermal history related to maximum denudation. Local variations in denudation leading to the preservation of Mesozoic palaeosurfaces have mainly been facilitated by localised lithological and structural controls on stream base‐levels and knickpoints, tectonic setting, and sedimentary and volcanic burial. When palaeolandscape interpretations are considered at the local scale, arguments proposing long‐term stability based on palaeolandscape remnants and apatite fission track thermochronology interpretations of large‐scale denudation may therefore not necessarily be contradictory.     

吐鲁番坳陷北部山前带地质热历史——磷灰石裂变径迹法研究实例

笔者应用磷灰石裂变径迹法对吐鲁番坳陷北部山前带的地质热历史进行了综合研究。重点对恰1井、照2井、大步1井的裂变径迹测试结果进行研究,得出北部山前带总体上磷灰石裂变径迹表观年龄随温度增高而逐渐减小,北部山前带的地温梯度古高今低和东高西低的认识。研究结果表明,三叠纪、侏罗纪的烃源岩在侏罗纪开始成熟,两套烃源岩均在侏罗纪末期达生烃高峰,从而得出北部山前带可成为油气勘探可选区的结论。     

西藏冈底斯新生代以来的抬升过程——磷灰石裂变径迹热史模拟的证据

西藏冈底斯南缘中酸性侵入岩的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄在37~25Ma之间,热史模拟过程反映冈底斯经历了3个阶段的抬升演化。40~26Ma的快速冷却抬升阶段:受控于印度-欧亚大陆完全碰撞拼合的影响,并在37~26Ma抬升至现今海拔高度;26~8Ma的剥蚀阶段:受夷平和大型逆冲推覆活动的影响,出现剥蚀和抬升交替过程;8~0Ma的缓慢冷却阶段:受南北向裂谷作用影响,出现内部差异抬升。此外,北部墨竹工卡地区和南部泽当、桑耶地区,西部桑耶地区和东部泽当地区,均具有相似的抬升过程和历史,没有明显差异,暗示冈底斯经历了整体性、较均一的阶段性抬升过程。     

Absolute dating of the youngest sediments of the Swiss Molasse basin by apatite fission track analysis

A set of ash layer samples within the uppermost Upper Freshwater Molasse (OSM) sediments (N and E of Frauenfeld, Switzerland) was dated by apatite fission track (FT) means. The ages indicate an early Tortonian (perhaps latest Serravallian) eruption and sedimentation age of 11.5 ± 0.3 Ma. The age is in agreement with time constraints by Mammalian relicts which point to MN7-8. Due to the position of the ash layers close to the erosional gap and overlying Quaternary cover, the age represents a maximum age for the cessation of OSM sedimentation in the Swiss Molasse Basin. However, the end of Molasse sedimentation in this region had not stopped before the cover of OSM sediments by volcanic ash layers at the Höwenegg volcano (southern Germany), an event further constrained by an apatite FT age of 9.8 (?0.7/+0.8) Ma from a hornblende-bearing ash layer at Höwenegg. An isolated bentonitic ash layer occurring 25 km to the WSW of the main set of dated ashes (near Humlikon) has an age component identical to the OSM ash layers near Frauenfeld. The age suggests a source for this material within the Hegau, but is too young to be related to the volcanic activity at the Kaiserstuhl.The apatites from the ash layer samples show two distinct compositional populations, one very close to a Cl end member and one with apatites of equal proportions of Cl and OH end member. These populations are interpreted to have possibly originated from at least two distinct igneous sources for the ashes, separated by their eruption site or eruption time or both. The distinct compositional data on the volcanic apatites may provide a basis to clarify their origin in future work.     

西秦岭阳山金矿带成矿热年代学:锆石和磷灰石裂变径迹研究

阳山金矿带因其独特的构造位置、超大型金资源量以及成矿后区域发生大规模隆升剥蚀事件,成为矿床学领域研究热年代学的理想选区。本文针对金矿带成矿后热历史演化开展锆石和磷灰石裂变径迹研究,获得如下成果：（1）锆石裂变径迹年龄值分布范围为(287.0±21)～(101±3) Ma(1σ),且不同岩性的年龄值各有特征,砂板岩锆石裂变径迹年龄值跨度最大(287～107 Ma),千枚岩锆石裂变径迹值分布范围为177～101 Ma,斜长花岗斑岩中锆石裂变径迹年龄值为193～185 Ma;（2）磷灰石裂变径迹年龄值分布范围为(69±7)～(46±14) Ma(1σ),径迹长度及其分布特征显示金矿带在晚白垩世—古新世的地层冷却表现为单调且缓慢地通过磷灰石裂变径迹的封闭温度。根据金矿带热历史演化分析,结合研究区古地温梯度、成矿深度数据,得出泥山矿段先于葛条湾矿段剥蚀,阳山金矿带自白垩纪以来地层总剥蚀厚度约为12.24 km,矿体剥蚀厚度上限约为880 m,推测阳山金矿带北部地层剥蚀少的矿段有较大的找矿潜力。     

中新生代库车-南天山盆山系统隆升历史的裂变径迹证据

通过对库车河剖面中新生界砂岩中碎屑磷灰石裂变径迹分析测试,得出磷灰石样品可分为3组,分别反映库车盆地边缘或其物源区天山的剥露冷却。对测试数据分析和热史模拟表明,南天山及库车盆地在中新生代经历了3次主要隆升事件,且山盆隆升时间上具有差异性的特点。从142Ma南天山开始隆升,使天山地区从准平原化状态开始盆山分异;96~75Ma为晚白垩世开始的盆地与天山共同经历的区域性隆升;54~30Ma为天山与盆地边缘差异隆升阶段,是盆山边界处盆地基底向天山方向的阶梯式抬升所导致的。