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.     

Testing inferences from palaeocurrents: application of zircon double‐dating to Miocene sediments from the Hengchun Peninsula,Taiwan

Detrital zircon provenance studies that combine low‐temperature fission‐track and high‐temperature U–Pb single‐grain age dating are powerful in constraining sediment provenance by documenting the tectonothermal evolution of the sediment source(s). We apply these techniques to Miocene (12–6 Ma) sandstones of the Hengchun Peninsula, southern Taiwan, which, based on diametrically opposite palaeocurrents, have a controversial provenance. U–Pb grain ages range from the Miocene (8 Ma) to Archaean (2.5 Ga). Cretaceous thermal cooling is recorded by detrital zircon fission tracks at Loshui and Lilongshan. Permian fission‐track grain ages account for <33% of zircon ages from Loshui, while at Lilongshan, Jurassic/Triassic grain ages account for 33–66% of all zircon fission‐track ages. Minor (<12%) Miocene age components are detected in both formations. These new data suggest that the primary sources of these Miocene sediments were similar. A simple model is proposed invoking sediment reworking in this complex tectonic setting. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Sedimentary response to the paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the southern North China Craton during the late Paleozoic and Mesozoic

With the aim of constraining the influence of the surrounding plates on the Late Paleozoic–Mesozoic paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the southern North China Craton (NCC), we undertook new U–Pb and Hf isotope data for detrital zircons obtained from ten samples of upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic sediments in the Luoyang Basin and Dengfeng area. Samples of upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic strata were obtained from the Taiyuan, Xiashihezi, Shangshihezi, Shiqianfeng, Ermaying, Shangyoufangzhuang, Upper Jurassic unnamed, and Lower Cretaceous unnamed formations (from oldest to youngest). On the basis of the youngest zircon ages, combined with the age-diagnostic fossils, and volcanic interlayer, we propose that the Taiyuan Formation (youngest zircon age of 439 Ma) formed during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian, the Xiashihezi Formation (276 Ma) during the Early Permian, the Shangshihezi (376 Ma) and Shiqianfeng (279 Ma) formations during the Middle–Late Permian, the Ermaying Group (232 Ma) and Shangyoufangzhuang Formation (230 and 210 Ma) during the Late Triassic, the Jurassic unnamed formation (154 Ma) during the Late Jurassic, and the Cretaceous unnamed formation (158 Ma) during the Early Cretaceous. These results, together with previously published data, indicate that: (1) Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian sandstones were sourced from the Northern Qinling Orogen (NQO); (2) Lower Permian sandstones were formed mainly from material derived from the Yinshan–Yanshan Orogenic Belt (YYOB) on the northern margin of the NCC with only minor material from the NQO; (3) Middle–Upper Permian sandstones were derived primarily from the NQO, with only a small contribution from the YYOB; (4) Upper Triassic sandstones were sourced mainly from the YYOB and contain only minor amounts of material from the NQO; (5) Upper Jurassic sandstones were derived from material sourced from the NQO; and (6) Lower Cretaceous conglomerate was formed mainly from recycled earlier detritus.The provenance shift in the Upper Carboniferous–Mesozoic sediments within the study area indicates that the YYOB was strongly uplifted twice, first in relation to subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean Plate beneath the northern margin of the NCC during the Early Permian, and subsequently in relation to collision between the southern Mongolian Plate and the northern margin of the NCC during the Late Triassic. The three episodes of tectonic uplift of the NQO were probably related to collision between the North and South Qinling terranes, northward subduction of the Mianlue Ocean Plate, and collision between the Yangtze Craton and the southern margin of the NCC during the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian, Middle–Late Permian, and Late Jurassic, respectively. The southern margin of the central NCC was rapidly uplifted and eroded during the Early Cretaceous.     

U-Pb ages and Hf isotope compositions of detrital zircons from the sandstone in the early cretaceous Wawukuang formation in the Jiaolai Basin,Shandong Province and its tectonic implicationsEI北大核心CSCD

LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating and in situ Hf isotope analysis were carried out for the detrital zircons to constrain the depositional age and provenance of the Wawukuang Formation, which is believed as the earliest unit of the Laiyang Group in the Jiaolai Basin, and its implications. Most of these detrital zircons from the feldspar quartz sandstone in the Wawukuang Formation are magmatic in origin, which are euhedral-subhedral and display oscillatory zoning in CL images; whereas few Late Triassic detrital zircons are metamorphic in origin and structureless in CL images. U-Pb isotopic dating of 82 zircon grains yields age populations at ca. 129 Ma, 158 Ma, 224 Ma, 253 Ma, 461 Ma, 724 Ma, 1851 Ma and 2456 Ma. U-Pb dating and Hf isotopic results indicate that: 1) the Wawukuang Formation deposited during the Early Cretaceous (129-106 Ma); 2) the detrital zircons with the ages of 1851 Ma and 2456 Ma mainly sourced from the Precambrian basement rocks of the North China Craton; the Neoproterozoic (729-721 Ma) magmatic zircons and the Late Triassic (226-216 Ma) metamorphic zircons sourced from the Su-Lu terrane; The Late Paleozoic detrital zircons could source from the Late Paleozoic igneous rocks in the northern margin of the North China Craton; the Late Triassic (231-223 Ma) magmatic zircons and the 158-129 Ma zircons sourced from the coeval igneous rocks in the Jiaobei and Jiaodong; 3) the deposition age and provenance of the Jiaolai Basin are different from those of the Hefei Basin; 4) the recognition of clastic sediments from the Su-Lu terrane in the Wawukuang Formation suggests that the Su-Lu terrane was under denudation in the Early Cretaceous. ©, 2015, Science Press. All right reserved.     

鄂尔多斯盆地中新生代峰值年龄事件及其沉积-构造响应

通过锆石-磷灰石裂变径迹年龄分布及其与粗碎屑沉积建造和地层不整合关系的综合分析,提供了鄂尔多斯盆地中新生代构造事件的年代学约束及其沉积响应特点。印支期构造事件主要发生在230～190Ma,包含215Ma和195Ma两个峰值年龄,在盆地西南缘发育晚三叠世粗碎屑类磨拉石建造及其与上覆地层的平行不整合。燕山期构造事件主要发生在燕山中晚期的150～85Ma,包含145Ma、120Ma和95Ma等3个峰值年龄,在盆地西南缘发育燕山中期的晚侏罗世和早白垩世的粗碎屑类磨拉石建造及其地层间的角度不整合。喜山期构造事件主要表现为盆地区域的多旋回构造隆升,至少包含55Ma、25Ma和5Ma等3个幕次的峰值年龄事件。其中,锆石和磷灰石叠合分布的峰值年龄(145Ma)和其相关的角度不整合、逆冲推覆和区域岩浆活动等,共同指示了鄂尔多斯盆地中新生代的一次关键构造变革事件。     

Detrital zircon geochronology analysis of the Late Mesozoic deposition in the Turpan‐Hami basin: Implications for the uplift history of the Eastern Tian Shan,north‐western China

Analysing the provenance changes of synorogenic sediments in the Turpan‐Hami basin by detrital zircon geochronology is an efficient tool to examine the uplift and erosion history of the easternmost Tian Shan. We present detrital zircon U‐Pb analysis from nine samples that were collected within marginal lacustrine Middle‐Late Jurassic and aeolian‐fluvial Early Cretaceous strata in the basin. Middle‐Early Jurassic (159–172 Ma) zircons deriving from the southern Junggar dominated the Middle Jurassic sample from the western Turpan‐Hami basin, whereas Permian‐Carboniferous (270–330 Ma) zircons from the Bogda mountains were dominant in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous samples. Devonian‐Silurian (400–420 Ma) and Triassic (235–259 Ma) zircons from the Jueluotage and Harlik mountains constituted the subordinate age groups in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous samples from the eastern basin respectively. These provenance transitions provide evidence for uplift of the Bogda mountains in the Late Jurassic and the Harlik mountains since the Early Cretaceous.     

Constraints on the paleogeographic evolution of the North China Craton during the Late Triassic–Jurassic

This paper reports U–Pb–Hf isotopes of detrital zircons from Late Triassic–Jurassic sediments in the Ordos, Ningwu, and Jiyuan basins in the western-central North China Craton (NCC), with the aim of constraining the paleogeographic evolution of the NCC during the Late Triassic–Jurassic. The early Late Triassic samples have three groups of detrital zircons (238–363 Ma, 1.5–2.1 Ga, and 2.2–2.6 Ga), while the latest Late Triassic and Jurassic samples contain four groups of detrital zircons (154–397 Ma, 414–511 Ma, 1.6–2.0 Ga, and 2.2–2.6 Ga). The Precambrian zircons in the Late Triassic–Jurassic samples were sourced from the basement rocks and pre-Late Triassic sediments in the NCC. But the initial source for the 238–363 Ma zircons in the early Late Triassic samples is the Yinshan–Yanshan Orogenic Belt (YYOB), consistent with their negative zircon ε_Hf(t) values (−24 to −2). For the latest Late Triassic and Jurassic samples, the initial source for the 414–511 Ma zircons with ε_Hf(t) values of −18 to +9 is the Northern Qinling Orogen (NQO), and that for the 154–397 Ma zircons with ε_Hf(t) values of −25 to +12 is the YYOB and the southeastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). In combination with previous data of late Paleozoic–Early Triassic sediments in the western-central NCC and Permian–Jurassic sediments in the eastern NCC, this study reveals two shifts in detrital source from the late Paleozoic to Jurassic. In the Late Permian–Early Triassic, the western-central NCC received detritus from the YYOB, southeastern CAOB and NQO. However, in the early Late Triassic, detritus from the CAOB and NQO were sparse in basins located in the western-central NCC, especially in the Yan’an area of the Ordos Basin. We interpret such a shift of detrital source as result of the uplift of the eastern NCC in the Late Triassic. In the latest Late Triassic–Jurassic, the southeastern CAOB and the NQO restarted to be source regions for basins in the western-central NCC, as well as for basins in the eastern NCC. The second shift in detrital source suggests elevation of the orogens surrounding the NCC and subsidence of the eastern NCC in the Jurassic, arguing against the presence of a paleo-plateau in the eastern NCC at that time. It would be subsidence rather than elevation of the eastern NCC in the Jurassic, due to roll-back of the subducted paleo-Pacific plate and consequent upwelling of asthenospheric mantle.     

松潘-甘孜褶皱带南部上三叠统物源及构造抬升:碎屑锆石年代学和Hf同位素证据

碎屑锆石年代学不但能够限定地层沉积开始的最大时限,还能为示踪沉积物源区提供关键信息。中国西南部的松潘-甘孜褶皱带广泛出露一套巨厚的三叠纪复理石沉积,其物源区和可能存在的同期抬升与剥蚀历史并未得到很好约束。本文获得的松潘-甘孜褶皱带南部雅江地区上三叠统四套地层（由老至新分别为侏倭组、新都桥组、两河口组和雅江组）5件砂岩样品的碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄和锆石Hf同位素数据表明,最年轻锆石年龄指示侏倭组从~229Ma后开始沉积,新都桥组则从~223Ma后开始沉积。碎屑锆石年龄频谱图显示四套地层都具有中奥陶世-早泥盆世（465~398Ma）和中二叠世-晚三叠世（271~225Ma）的年龄峰。除两河口组外的其他三套地层还具有较强的古元古代（1.90~1.86Ga）和新元古代（872~712Ma）的年龄峰。锆石Hf同位素显示松潘-甘孜褶皱带南部上三叠统小于300Ma的锆石颗粒主要来自峨眉山大火成岩省和义敦岩浆弧。本文物源区示踪结果表明,华南板块和义敦地体可能为松潘-甘孜褶皱带南部地层的主要物源区。晚三叠世由于周缘地体的强烈汇聚,松潘-甘孜褶皱带在小于~18Myr的时间内经历了快速的隆升和剥蚀作用,剥蚀产生的碎屑物质被搬运至四川盆地的西缘再沉积。     

Detrital-zircon geochronology of the Jurassic coal-bearing strata in the western Ordos Basin,North China: Evidences for multi-cycle sedimentation

The western Ordos Basin(WOB), situated in a tectonic transition zone in the North China Craton, acts as an excellent example for studying the Mesozoic intraplate sedimentation and deformation in Asia. In this study, U-Pb ages for 1203 detrital zircons of 14 sandstone samples collected from 11 sections are presented to unravel the sediment source locations and paleogeographic environments of the Early-Middle Jurassic coal-bearing Yan'an Formation in the WOB. Data show that there are five prominent age groups in the detrital zircons of the Yan'an Formation, peaking at ca. 282 Ma, 426 Ma, 924 Ma, 1847 Ma, and2468 Ma. Samples from the northern, middle, and southern parts of the WOB contain these five age categories in various proportions. In the northern region, the Yan'an Formation exclusively contains Early Permian detrital zircons with a single age group peaking at 282 Ma, matching well with the crystallizing ages of the widespread Early Permian granites in the Yinshan Belt to the north and the Alxa Block to the northwest. While in the southern region, the Yan'an Formation mainly contains three groups of detrital zircons, with age peaks at 213 Ma, 426 Ma, and 924 Ma. These zircon ages resemble those of the igneous rocks in the Qilian-Qinling Orogenic Belt to the south-southwest. Samples in the middle region, characterized by a mixture age spectrum with peaks at 282 Ma, 426 Ma, 924 Ma, 1847 Ma and 2468 Ma, are previously thought to have mixed derivations from surrounding ranges. However, by referring to the detrital-zircon age compositions of the pre-Jurassic sedimentary successions and combining with paleontological and petrographic analysis, we firstly propose that the sediments of the Yan'an Formation in the middle region were partly recycled from the Triassic and Paleozoic sedimentary strata in the WOB.The occurrence of recycled sedimentation suggests that the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic intraplate compressional deformation was very intense in the WOB, especially for regions in front of the Qilian Orogenic Belt.     

鄂尔多斯盆地东南南召地区中生代以来的构造演化研究——来自低温热年代学的证据

有关鄂尔多斯三叠纪原型盆地的东南向展布情况不是非常明确,之前有研究表明其东南缘可能位于南召地区,对该区构造演化过程开展研究,可为鄂尔多斯三叠纪原型盆地研究提供重要信息。因此,为了研究南召地区中生代以来的构造演化史及其与鄂尔多斯盆地之间的关系,本文对研究区3条野外剖面上3件三叠系样品开展锆石、磷灰石裂变径迹研究。其锆石裂变径迹年龄为270±15~181±8Ma,与地层年龄相近或大于地层年龄,不能很好地反映地层经历的构造改造时限,可能更多地代表了物源区的信息。磷灰石裂变径迹年龄为57±3~47±5Ma,结合裂变径迹年龄和热史模拟,本文认为南召地区自三叠纪以来经历了4期较大规模的构造改造,早期是三叠纪末遭受了秦岭造山带强烈逆冲推覆对本区的影响;中期是中晚侏罗世到晚白垩世初;晚期是晚白垩世;末期是喜马拉雅期,4期构造改造均与秦岭造山带的构造演化息息相关。此外,通过与鄂尔多斯盆地周缘地区展开对比,发现二者构造演化过程具有相似的时限性,从构造演化的角度支持南召地区属于鄂尔多斯原型盆地的观点。     

鄂尔多斯盆地南缘中晚三叠世物源演变及其地质意义*

针对鄂尔多斯盆地南缘中晚三叠世物源构成转化及盆山耦合机制不清的问题,选取了铜川地区金锁关剖面和周至柳叶河剖面的延长组砂岩为研究对象,运用岩石学、碎屑锆石U-Pb年代学、地球化学的方法,探讨鄂尔多斯盆地南部延长组的物源构成和变化,并探寻其构造耦合机制。结果表明,金锁关剖面上三叠统碎屑锆石可分为5个年龄段,分别是237-330 Ma、390-480 Ma、870-1230 Ma、1740-1980 Ma、2070-2732 Ma,中三叠统碎屑锆石共具有4个年龄段,分别是240-290 Ma、1760-1840 Ma、2250-2300 Ma、2350-2700 Ma;盆地南端柳叶河地区上三叠统碎屑锆石共具有5个年龄段,分别是244-310 Ma、360-600 Ma、800-1300 Ma、1700-2100 Ma和2450-2550 Ma。通过物源对比发现,中三叠世鄂尔多斯盆地南缘的物源来自于华北克拉通、兴蒙造山带和阿拉善地区,晚三叠世沉积砂体的物源来自华北克拉通、阿拉善、兴蒙造山带、西秦岭、北秦岭以及祁连造山带,且岩石学特征和源区构造背景的转变均支持这一认识。这种物源的转变,与中三叠世盆地南部秦岭造山带的活化以及盆地样式的转变有关。     

Geochronology and geochemistry of Permo-Triassic sandstones in eastern Jilin Province (NE China): Implications for final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

In the eastern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) in northeastern (NE) China, scattered outcrops of molasse deposits mark the ending of an orogeny and are crucial for understanding the evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO). However, the timing of tectonic events and the relationships among these strata remain controversial. To better constrain these geologic events, a comprehensive study of the detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of the sandstones of the Kaishantun (KST) Formation and Kedao (KD) Group in eastern Jilin Province, NE China, was conducted. The KST Formation is traditionally considered a molasse deposit. The sandstones display low CIA, PIA and high ICV values and low Th/U and Rb/Sr ratios, which suggest that the rocks were derived from an immature intermediate-felsic igneous source and experienced a simple sedimentary recycling history with relatively weak chemical weathering. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of detrital zircons from two samples of the KST Formation yields ages of 748–252 Ma, suggesting that the KST Formation was deposited between 254.5 Ma and 252 Ma in Late Permian. The zircons were mainly derived from the continental northern part of the North China Craton (NCC). In contrast, the U-Pb dating of detrital zircons from five samples of the KD Group yields ages of 2611–230 Ma, suggesting that the KD samples were deposited in the Early to Middle Triassic (ca. 248–233 Ma). The detrital zircon ages for the KD samples can be divided into groups with peaks at 2.5 Ga, 1.8 Ga, 800–1000 Ma, 500 Ma and 440–360 Ma, which suggest that the samples were derived from bidirectional provenances in the Jiamusi-Khanka Block and the NCC. These new data, combined with previously published results, suggest that at least three orogenic events occurred in central-eastern Jilin Province during the Early Permian (270–262 Ma), Early Triassic (254–248 Ma) and Middle–Late Triassic (242–227 Ma). The final closure of the PAO occurred during 242–227 Ma in the Middle–Late Triassic along the Changchun-Yanji suture zone. The detrital zircon geochronological data clearly record plate convergence and the scissor-like closure of the PAO in the eastern CAOB.     

Episodic Late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic denudation of the southeastern highlands of Australia: Evidence from the Bogong High Plains,Victoria

The Bogong High Plains of eastern Victoria occur as plateau remnants in a highly dissected region of the Australian Alps. Results from apatite fission track analyses indicate that the Bogong region experienced multiple episodes of rapid low‐temperature cooling, most of which can be tentatively linked to a tectonic cause. Early episodes of cooling occurred during the Middle to Late Devonian (ca 400–370 Ma) and Late Carboniferous to Early Permian (ca 310–290 Ma), presumably during different stages of deformation associated with the development of the Lachlan Fold Belt and glacial erosion. Rapid cooling occurred during the Late Permian to Early Triassic (ca 260–240 Ma), presumably in response to the Hunter‐Bowen orogenic event along the eastern Australian continental margin. Since the Triassic, two major episodes of fault reactivation have further displaced fission track ages between sample groups on different structural blocks. The first episode occurred during the middle Cretaceous at ca 110–90 Ma, probably in response to initial extension and denudation along the eastern Australian passive margin prior to breakup. Subsequently during the Early to mid‐Tertiary at ca 65–45 Ma, large‐scale fault reactivation occurred along the Kiewa Fault, possibly in response to changes in intraplate stresses which occurred during the middle Tertiary.     

Australian provenance for Upper Permian to Cretaceous rocks forming accretionary complexes on the New Zealand sector of the Gondwanaland margin

U–Pb (SHRIMP) detrital zircon age patterns are reported for 12 samples of Permian to Cretaceous turbiditic quartzo‐feldspathic sandstone from the Torlesse and Waipapa suspect terranes of New Zealand. Their major Permian to Triassic, and minor Early Palaeozoic and Mesoproterozoic, age components indicate that most sediment was probably derived from the Carboniferous to Triassic New England Orogen in northeastern Australia. Rapid deposition of voluminous Torlesse/Waipapa turbidite fans during the Late Permian to Late Triassic appears to have been directly linked to uplift and exhumation of the magmatically active orogen during the 265–230 Ma Hunter‐Bowen event. This period of cordilleran‐type orogeny allowed transport of large volumes of quartzo‐feldspathic sediment across the convergent Gondwanaland margin. Post‐Triassic depocentres also received (recycled?) sediment from the relict orogen as well as from Jurassic and Cretaceous volcanic provinces now offshore from southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. The detailed provenance‐age fingerprints provided by the detrital zircon data are also consistent with progressive southward derivation of sediment: from northeastern Queensland during the Permian, southeastern Queensland during the Triassic, and northeastern New South Wales — Lord Howe Rise — Norfolk Ridge during the Jurassic to Cretaceous. Although the dextral sense of displacement is consistent with the tectonic regime during this period, detailed characterisation of source terranes at this scale is hindered by the scarcity of published zircon age data for igneous and sedimentary rocks in Queensland and northern New South Wales. Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic age components cannot be adequately matched with likely source terranes in the Australian‐Antarctic Precambrian craton, and it is possible they originated in the Proterozoic cores of the Cathaysia and Yangtze Blocks of southeast China.     

Paleozoic and Mesozoic Basement Magmatisms of Eastern Qaidam Basin,Northern Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau: LA‐ICP‐MS Zircon U‐Pb Geochronology and its Geological Significance

The eastern margin of the Qaidam Basin lies in the key tectonic location connecting the Qinling, Qilian and East Kunlun orogens. The paper presents an investigation and analysis of the geologic structures of the area and LA-ICP MS zircon U-Pb dating of Paleozoic and Mesozoic magmatisms of granitoids in the basement of the eastern Qaidam Basin on the basis of 16 granitoid samples collected from the South Qilian Mountains, the Qaidam Basin basement and the East Kunlun Mountains. According to the results in this paper, the basement of the basin, from the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin to the East Kunlun Mountains, has experienced at least three periods of intrusive activities of granitoids since the Early Paleozoic, i.e. the magmatisms occurring in the Late Cambrian (493.1±4.9 Ma), the Silurian (422.9±8.0 Ma-420.4±4.6 Ma) and the Late Permian-Middle Triassic (257.8±4.0 Ma-228.8±1.5 Ma), respectively. Among them, the Late Permian - Middle Triassic granitoids form the main components of the basement of the basin. The statistics of dated zircons in this paper shows the intrusive magmatic activities in the basement of the basin have three peak ages of 244 Ma (main), 418 Ma, and 493 Ma respectively. The dating results reveal that the Early Paleozoic magmatism of granitoids mainly occurred on the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin and the southern margin of the Qilian Mountains, with only weak indications in the East Kunlun Mountains. However, the distribution of Permo-Triassic (P-T) granitoids occupied across the whole basement of the eastern Qaidam Basin from the southern margin of the Qilian Mountains to the East Kunlun Mountains. An integrated analysis of the age distribution of P-T granitoids in the Qaidam Basin and its surrounding mountains shows that the earliest P-T magmatism (293.6-270 Ma) occurred in the northwestern part of the basin and expanded eastwards and southwards, resulting in the P-T intrusive magmatism that ran through the whole basin basement. As the Cenozoic basement thrust system developed in the eastern Qaidam Basin, the nearly N-S-trending shortening and deformation in the basement of the basin tended to intensify from west to east, which went contrary to the distribution trend of N-S-trending shortening and deformation in the Cenozoic cover of the basin, reflecting that there was a transformation of shortening and thickening of Cenozoic crust between the eastern and western parts of the Qaidam Basin, i.e., the crustal shortening of eastern Qaidam was dominated by the basement deformation (triggered at the middle and lower crust), whereas that of western Qaidam was mainly by folding and thrusting of the sedimentary cover (the upper crust).     

北秦岭柳叶河盆地上三叠统物源区及其与鄂尔多斯盆地的关系——来自碎屑锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄的证据

对陕西省周至地区北秦岭晚古生代—中生代柳叶河盆地上三叠统石英砂岩进行单颗粒锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb同位素分析。以岩浆锆石为主的77个测试点给出的年龄值形成7个年龄组:256~475Ma、1500~1680Ma、1750~2190Ma、2190~2310Ma、2400~2650Ma、2700~2800Ma和2850~2960Ma。其中最年轻的锆石年龄为256±4Ma,最老的锆石年龄是2954±25Ma。峰值年龄以1750~2190Ma古元古代年龄组为代表(占总测点的64%)。将柳叶河盆地上三叠统与石炭系碎屑锆石年龄结构进行对比,前者新元古代年龄结构缺失,表明晚古生代介于柳叶河与鄂尔多斯盆地间的北秦岭北部具新元古代年龄结构的古陆,晚三叠世相对沉降,成为盆地次要物源区。结合与周缘地体年龄结构对比,北秦岭南部二郎坪群、秦岭群、丹凤群、南缘的沉积楔形体刘岭群及北秦岭与加里东期活动陆缘沟-弧-盆体系相关的岩浆作用产物此时则成为盆地主要物源区。北秦岭内部北降南升。柳叶河盆地上三叠统碎屑锆石与鄂尔多斯盆地西南缘上三叠统延长组砂岩碎屑锆石较好的可对比性,以及柳叶河盆地北侧源区(北秦岭北部)的构造变动、化石等证据表明,柳叶河盆地与鄂尔多斯盆地在晚三叠世很有可能连通,柳叶河盆地可能代表鄂尔多斯盆地的南部边缘。     

Meso‐Cenozoic Tectonothermal History of Permian Strata,Southwestern Weibei Uplift: Insights from Thermochronology and Geothermometry

This study provides an integrated interpretation for the Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonothermal evolutionary history of the Permian strata in the Qishan area of the southwestern Weibei Uplift, Ordos Basin. Apatite fission-track and apatite/zircon(U-Th)/He thermochronometry, bitumen reflectance, thermal conductivity of rocks, paleotemperature recovery, and basin modeling were used to restore the Meso-Cenozoic tectonothermal history of the Permian Strata. The Triassic AFT data have a pooled age of ～180±7 Ma with one age peak and P(χ2)=86%. The average value of corrected apatite(U-Th)/He age of two Permian sandstones is ～168±4 Ma and a zircon(U-Th)/He age from the Cambrian strata is ～231±14 Ma. Bitumen reflectance and maximum paleotemperature of two Ordovician mudstones are 1.81%, 1.57% and ～210°C, ～196°C respectively. After undergoing a rapid subsidence and increasing temperature in Triassic influenced by intrusive rocks in some areas, the Permian strata experienced four cooling-uplift stages after the time when the maximum paleotemperature reached in late Jurassic:(1) A cooling stage(～163 Ma to ～140 Ma) with temperatures ranging from ～132°C to ～53°C and a cooling rate of ～3°C/Ma, an erosion thickness of ～1900 m and an uplift rate of ～82 m/Ma;(2) A cooling stage(～140 Ma to ～52 Ma) with temperatures ranging from ～53°C to ～47°C and a cooling rate less than ～0.1°C/Ma, an erosion thickness of ～300 m and an uplift rate of ～3 m/Ma;(3)(～52 Ma to ～8 Ma) with ～47°C to ～43°C and ～0.1°C/Ma, an erosion thickness of ～500 m and an uplift rate of ～11 m/Ma;(3)(～8 Ma to present) with ～43°C to ～20°C and ～3°C/Ma, an erosion thickness of ～650 m and an uplift rate of ～81 m/Ma. The tectonothermal evolutionary history of the Qishan area in Triassic was influenced by the interaction of the Qinling Orogeny and the Weibei Uplift, and the south Qishan area had the earliest uplift-cooling time compared to other parts within the Weibei Uplift. The early Eocene at ～52 Ma and the late Miocene at ～8 Ma, as two significant turning points after which both the rate of uplift and the rate of temperature changed rapidly, were two key time for the uplift-cooling history of the Permian strata in the Qishan area of the southwestern Weibei Uplift, Ordos Basin.     

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.     

鄂尔多斯盆地中新生代构造事件的峰值年龄及其沉积响应

通过锆石-磷灰石裂变径迹的峰值年龄与地层不整合事件的综合分析,提供了鄂尔多斯盆地中新生代构造事件的年代学约束及其沉积响应特点。印支期构造事件主要发生在230~190Ma,包含215Ma±和195Ma±两个峰值年龄,在盆地西南缘发育晚3叠世粗碎屑类磨拉石建造。燕山期构造事件主要发生在燕山中晚期的150~85Ma,包含145Ma±、120Ma±和95Ma±3个峰值年龄,在盆地西南缘发育燕山中期的芬芳河组和志丹群的粗碎屑类磨拉石建造。喜山期构造事件主要发生在65~5Ma,包含55Ma±、25Ma±和5Ma±3个峰值年龄。其中,锆石和磷灰石叠合分布的峰值年龄(145Ma±),指示了鄂尔多斯盆地中新生代的一次关键性构造变革事件。     

Provenance Variability of the Triassic Strata in the Turpan‐Hami Basin: Detrital Zircon Record of Indosinian Tectonic Reactivation in the Eastern Tianshan

The Triassic strata in the Turpan-Hami Basin potentially chronicled the missing sedimentary record of Indosinian tectonic evolution in the Eastern Tianshan. In this study, we conducted detrital zircon U-Pb geochronological analyses on subsurface Triassic samples collected from the Turpan-Hami Basin to unravel sedimentary response of Indosinian tectonic reactivation and its geodynamics. The detrital zircon age spectra of the Triassic samples are quite different, reflecting significant provenance variability. The zircon grains in the Lower Triassic sample were mainly from the Central Tianshan, while the Jueluotag acted as a minor provenance. By contrast, the Late Paleozoic rocks in Jueluotag act as the main provenance for the Middle-Upper Triassic samples, while the Central Tianshan acted as a minor provenance. Furthermore, zircon grains in the Middle Triassic sample were mainly from the Permian rocks in Jueluotag, while Indosinian strike-slip-driven rapid exhumation brought deeper Carboniferous rocks of Jueluotag as an important age population for the Upper Triassic sample. The inter-sample variability of age spectra of the Triassic samples provides sedimentary evidence for Indosinian tectonic reactivation in the Eastern Tianshan and its periphery, which could be attributed to differential exhumation of different sources driven by coeval strike-slip tectonics along deep faults. The Indosinian tectonic behavior in the Eastern Tianshan, which is characterized by partial melting of the pre-thickened crust and strike-slip deformation, acted as a far-field respond to the coeval continental accretion occurring along the southern Eurasian margin. Additionally, our new detrital zircon data, together with previously published data in the Turpan-Hami Basin, demonstrate that there are significant changes in source-to-sink system from the Permian to the Triassic, suggesting that the Permian-Triassic unconformity in the Eastern Tianshan and its periphery was generated by Late Permian-Early Triassic tectonic contraction and inversion rather than an increasingly arid climate.