滇西石鼓杂岩南部早白垩世以来剥露隆升的锆石和磷灰石裂变径迹证据

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

低温热年代对黄陵隆起中新生代古地形的约束

低温热年代技术已经广泛应用于造山带的剥露作用和古地形演化的研究。本文对黄陵隆起进行了裂变径迹和(U-Th)/He热年代学研究,分析计算其隆升剥露速率和厚度,恢复黄陵隆起中新生代古地形。依据岩石样品冷却历史计算出的剥露速率以及剥露厚度结果,综合黄陵隆起现今地形起伏,均衡回弹作用以及古海平面变化情况,获得了黄陵隆起早侏罗世、早白垩世、晚白垩世、晚始新世以及现今5个时期的古地形变化情况。结果表明黄陵隆起地形表现为持续降低的趋势,并存在两期剧烈的隆升剥露阶段。分析认为,白垩纪(140~80 Ma±),黄陵隆起的快速隆升剥露作用与秦岭大别造山带大规模的挤压作用密切相关,晚始新世以来(40~0 Ma)黄陵隆起的快速抬升剥露作用则是对喜山期构造运动的响应。     

哀牢山-红河剪切带渐新世的构造体制转换与剥露历史:来自哀牢山南段磷灰石裂变径迹的证据

哀牢山-红河剪切带是东南亚重要的构造边界,其记录了青藏高原东南缘新生代以来的陆内变形和地貌演化。本次研究对该剪切带哀牢山南段开展了基于LA-ICPMS法测试的磷灰石裂变径迹低温年代学分析。磷灰石裂变径迹年龄数据和热史反演模拟揭示哀牢山段存在晚始新世-早中新世(40～20Ma)的快速剥露事件,而早中新世(大约20Ma)之后处于稳定的慢速剥露过程。磷灰石裂变径迹年龄-海拔分布曲线特征暗示:快速剥露机制存在差异,早期阶段(40～26Ma)的剥露过程受控于伸展为主的左旋走滑体制影响;晚阶段(26～20Ma)的快速剥露归因于简单剪切为主的左旋走滑剪切体制,上述结果暗示哀牢山-红河构造带在晚渐新世发生了一次重要的构造体制转换,即从走滑伸展变形转换为简单剪切变形。哀牢山杂岩带北段、中段、南段冷却路径对比,表明北-中段可能存在两阶段快速冷却作用,而南段只发生单一快速冷却作用;结合青藏高原东南缘低温热年代学数据,暗示自中-晚中新世,青藏高原中、下地壳物质可能向东南缘扩展,并已到达哀牢山中段,同时诱发哀牢山杂岩带以北广大地区的抬升和快速冷却。     

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

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

No significant Alpine tectonic overprint on the Cimmerian Strandja Massif (SE Bulgaria and NW Turkey)

We provide the first comprehensive picture of the thermochronometric evolution of the Cimmerian Strandja metamorphic massif of SE Bulgaria and NW Turkey, concluding that the bulk of the massif has escaped significant Alpine-age deformation. Following Late Jurassic heating, the central part of the massif underwent a Kimmeridgian-Berriasian phase of relatively rapid cooling followed by very slow cooling in Cretaceous-to-Early Eocene times. These results are consistent with a Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Neocimmerian (palaeo-Alpine) phase of north-verging thrust imbrication and regional metamorphism, followed by slow cooling/exhumation driven by erosion. From a thermochronometric viewpoint, the bulk of the Cimmerian Strandja orogen was largely unaffected by the compressional stress related to the closure of the Vardar–?zmir–Ankara oceanic domain(s) to the south, contrary to the adjacent Rhodopes. Evidence of Alpine-age deformation is recorded only in the northern sector of the Strandja massif, where both basement and sedimentary rocks underwent cooling/exhumation associated with an important phase of shortening of the East Balkan fold-and-thrust belt starting in the Middle–Late Eocene. Such shortening focused in the former Srednogorie rift zone because this area had been rheologically weakened by Late Cretaceous extension.     

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

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

Age and significance of core complex formation in a very curved orogen: Evidence from fission track studies in the South Carpathians (Romania)

Twenty-four new zircon and apatite fission track ages from the Getic and Danubian nappes in the South Carpathians are discussed in the light of a compilation of published fission track data. A total of 101 fission track ages indicates that the Getic nappes are generally characterized by Cretaceous zircon and apatite fission track ages, indicating cooling to near-surface temperatures of these units immediately following Late Cretaceous orogeny.The age distribution of the Danubian nappes, presently outcropping in the Danubian window below the Getic nappes, depends on the position with respect to the Cerna-Jiu fault. Eocene and Oligocene zircon and apatite central ages from the part of the Danubian core complex situated southeast of this fault monitor mid-Tertiary tectonic exhumation in the footwall of the Getic detachment, while zircon fission track data from northwest of this fault indicate that slow cooling started during the Latest Cretaceous. The change from extension (Getic detachment) to strike-slip dominated tectonics along the curved Cerna-Jiu fault allowed for further exhumation on the concave side of this strike-slip fault, while exhumation ceased on the convex side. The available fission track data consistently indicate that the change to fast cooling associated with tectonic denudation by core complex formation did not occur before Late Eocene times, i.e. long after the cessation of Late Cretaceous thrusting.Core complex formation in the Danubian window is related to a larger-scale scenario that is characterized by the NNW-directed translation, followed by a 90° clockwise rotation of the Tisza-Dacia “block” due to roll-back of the Carpathian embayment. This led to a complex pattern of strain partitioning within the Tisza-Dacia “block” adjacent to the western tip of the rigid Moesian platform. Our results suggest that the invasion of these southernmost parts of Tisza-Dacia started before the Late Eocene, i.e. significantly before the onset of Miocene-age rollback and associated extension in the Pannonian basin.     

The Cretaceous crustal shortening and thickening of the South Qiangtang Terrane and implications for proto-Tibetan Plateau formation

The timing and magnitude of deformation across the central Tibetan Plateau, including the South Qiangtang Terrane (SQT), are poorly constrained but feature prominently in geodynamic models of the Tibetan Plateau formation. The Ejiu fold and thrust belt (EFTB), which is located in the SQT, provides valuable records of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic deformation history of the central Tibetan Plateau. Here we integrate geochronology of volcanic rocks, low-temperature thermochronology, geologic mapping and a balanced cross section to resolve the deformation history of the SQT. Geochronologic data suggest that major deformation that initiated in the early Cretaceous continued until at least 80 Ma and ceased by ∼40 Ma. The balanced cross section resolves ∼66 km upper crustal shortening (34%) mainly during the Cretaceous Qiangtang-Lhasa collision. However, the Cenozoic crustal shortening is not well constrained because of a lack of successive Cenozoic strata. We also discussed whether the observed crustal shortening can account for the modern crustal thickness and elevation in the SQT. Our observations indicate that crustal shortening and thickening within the central Tibetan Plateau was mostly accomplished during the Cretaceous Lhasa-Qiangtang collision. A thick crust could be maintained since the Cretaceous due to slow erosion rates since ∼40 Ma. Minor Late Cenozoic shortening also contributed to a small amount of crustal thickening in the central Tibetan Plateau. However, close to modern >4700 m elevation was finally attained by lithospheric mantle foundering in the Qiangtang Terrane at ∼25 Ma.     

A multi‐system geochronology in the Ad‐3 borehole,Pannonian Basin (Hungary) with implications for dating volcanic rocks by low‐temperature thermochronology and for interpretation of (U–Th)/He data

Independent geochronological and thermal modelling approaches are applied to a biostratigraphically exceptionally well‐controlled borehole, Alcsútdoboz‐3 (Ad‐3), in order to constrain the age of Cenozoic geodynamic events in the western Pannonian Basin and to test the efficacy of the methods for dating volcanic rocks. Apatite fission track and zircon U–Pb data show two volcanic phases of Middle Eocene (43.4–39.0 Ma) and Early Oligocene (32.72 ± 0.15 Ma) age respectively. Apatite (U–Th)/He ages (23.8–14.8 Ma) and independent thermal and subsidence history models reveal a brief period of heating to 55–70 °C at ~17 Ma caused by an increased heat‐flow related to crustal thinning and mantle upwelling. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to common perception, the apatite (U–Th)/He method is likely to record ‘apparent’ or ‘mixed’ ages resulting from subsequent thermal events rather than ‘cooling’ or ‘eruption’ ages directly related to distinct geological events. It follows that a direct conversion of ‘apparent’ or ‘mixed’ (U‐Th)/He ages into cooling, exhumation or erosion rates is incorrect.     

New thermochronometric constraints on the rapid Palaeogene exhumation of the Cordillera Darwin complex and related thrust sheets in the Fuegian Andes

Thermal modelling of new fission‐track and (U–Th–Sm)/He data from the Fuegian Andes reveals rapid cooling (～12–48 °C Ma^?1) during the middle and late Eocene followed by slow cooling ( ～ 1.5 °C Ma^?1) to the Recent. We interpret the rapid cooling as a result of exhumation from contractional uplift within the crystalline interior of the orogen. This interpretation is consistent with independent evidence of Eocene shortening, flexural subsidence and provenance changes in the study area, and is approximately coeval with marine geochemical evidence of the onset of Drake Passage opening. In light of the Palaeogene history of Nazca‐South American plate convergence and the differences in shortening magnitudes and exhumation histories between the Fuegian and Patagonian Andes, our data support Eocene development of the Patagonian orocline, which also provides a plausible explanation for early opening of Drake Passage.     

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.     

Orogenic evolution of the External Dinarides in the NE Adriatic region: a model constrained by tectonostratigraphy of Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene carbonates

Mesozoic to Cenozoic evolution of the central part of the Adriatic plate (External Dinarides and Adriatic foreland) is still a matter of debate. This is expressed by opposing paleogeographic models: single carbonate platform (Adriatic or Adriatic-Dinaridic) versus two carbonate platforms (Adriatic and Dinaridic) separated by the inter-platform Budva-Cukali basin. Estimates of shortening during Adria NE subduction, that resulted in the development of the Dinaric Alps, differ substantially. The single-platform model involves minor shortening achieved by folding and faulting along steep reverse faults. The two-platform model involves significant shortening achieved mainly by thrust stacking, which resulted in almost complete underthrusting of the intervening basinal deposits.Analysis of Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene stratigraphical data from both outcrops and boreholes allows regional correlation and the interpretation of major lithostratigraphic units. As a result, a few tectonostratigraphic units are recognized. The tectonostratigraphy is used as a basis for a new model on the late Mesozoic to Cenozoic evolution of the region.Generally, Adriatic and Dinaridic segments acted as major regional crustal entities of Adria. The upper portions of the sedimentary cover were differentially affected by progressive, southwestward verging thin-skinned deformations during the Paleocene to Eocene (Miocene?). The Adriatic foreland stayed out of the deformations, and is characterized predominantly by wrench and salt tectonics. The regional tectonic map shows arcuate thrust fronts of the External Dinarides. They could be a consequence of both, differential propagation of early-orogenic thin-skinned deformations over crustal fragments separated by transversal faults, and/or differential (isostatic?) movements of the fragments. The collision zone of the Adriatic and Dinaridic segments is characterized by late-orogenic (Oligocene to Miocene) thick-skinned compressional uplift (exhumation), related gravity gliding, and still active escape tectonics (wrenching). These processes masked primary thin-skinned deformations. A significant amount of shortening within and between the thin-skinned sedimentary covers is proposed. Therefore, the question of the general paleogeography of the region and the original NW extent of the Budva-Cukali basin (NE Adriatic trough) remains open.     

Two–stage Cretaceous Exhumation of Hengshan Complex in Hunan Province,SE China: Constraints Arising from ~(40)Ar–~(39)Ar Geochronology and Cretaceous Tectonic Implications

The Hengshan complex is located in the central part of SE China, which underwent rapid tectonic uplift in the Cretaceous just like many other complexes on the continent. (40)~Ar–(39)~Ar geochronological data from the Hengshan complex suggest that two episodes of crustal cooling/extension took place in this part of the continent during the Cretaceous time. The first stage of exhumation was active during ca. 136–125 Ma, with a cooling rate of 10 °C/Ma. The second stage of exhumation happened at ca. 98–93 Ma, with a cooling rate of 10 °C/Ma. Considering the folding in the Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and the regional unconformity underneath the Upper Cretaceous red beds, it is believed that the Cretaceous crustal extension in SE China was interrupted by a compressional event. The reversion to extension, shortly after this middle Cretaceous compression, led to the rapid cooling/exhumation of the Hengshan complex at ca. 98–93 Ma. The Cretaceous tectonic processes in the hinterland of SE China could be controlled by interactions between the continental margin and the Paleo–pacific plate.     

Mesozoic–Tertiary structural evolution of an extensional gneiss dome—the Kesebir–Kardamos dome, eastern Rhodope (Bulgaria–Greece)

The tectonic evolution of the Rhodope massif involves Mid-Cretaceous contractional deformation and protracted Oligocene and Miocene extension. We present structural, kinematic and strain data on the Kesebir–Kardamos dome in eastern Rhodope, which document early Tertiary extension. The dome consists of three superposed crustal units bounded by a low-angle NNE-dipping detachment on its northern flank in Bulgaria. The detachment separates footwall gneiss and migmatite in a lower unit from intermediate metamorphic and overlying upper sedimentary units in the hanging wall. The high-grade metamorphic rocks of the footwall have recorded isothermal decompression. Direct juxtaposition of the sedimentary unit onto footwall rocks is due to local extensional omission of the intermediate unit. Structural analysis and deformational/metamorphic relationships give evidence for several events. The earliest event corresponds to top-to-the SSE ductile shearing within the intermediate unit, interpreted as reflecting Mid-Late Cretaceous crustal thickening and nappe stacking. Late Cretaceous–Palaeocene/Eocene late-tectonic to post-tectonic granitoids that intruded into the intermediate unit between 70 and 53 Ma constrain at least pre-latest Late Cretaceous age for the crustal-stacking event. Subsequent extension-related deformation caused pervasive mylonitisation of the footwall, with top-to-the NNE ductile, then brittle shear. Ductile flow was dominated by non-coaxial deformation, indicated by quartz c-axis fabrics, but was nearly coaxial in the dome core. Latest events relate to brittle faulting that accommodated extension at shallow crustal levels on high-angle normal faults and additional movement along strike-slip faults. Radiometric and stratigraphic constraints bracket the ductile, then brittle, extensional events at the Kesebir–Kardamos dome between 55 and 35 Ma. Extension began in Paleocene–early Eocene time and displacement on the detachment led to unroofing of the intermediate unit, which supplied material for the syn-detachment deposits in supra-detachment basin. Subsequent cooling and exhumation of the footwall unit from beneath the detachment occurred between 42 and 37 Ma as indicated by mica cooling ages in footwall rocks, and extension proceeded at brittle levels with high-angle faulting constrained at 35 Ma by the age of hydrothermal adularia crystallized in open spaces created along the faults. This was followed by Late Eocene–Oligocene post-detachment overlap successions and volcanic activity. Crustal extension described herein is contemporaneous with the closure of the Vardar Ocean to the southwest. It has accommodated an earlier hinterland-directed unroofing of the Rhodope nappe complex, and may be pre-cursor of, and/or make a transition to the Aegean back-arc extension that further contributed to its exhumation during the Late Miocene. This study underlines the importance of crustal extension at the scale of the Rhodope massif, in particular, in the eastern Rhodope region, as it recognizes an early Tertiary extension that should be considered in future tectonic models of the Rhodope and north Aegean regions.     

TECTONIC TRANSFER ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF PAMIR

TECTONIC TRANSFER ON THE EASTERN EDGE OF PAMIR     

Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic tectonics of the Malay Peninsula constrained by thermochronology

New thermochronological analyses of granites from the Malay Peninsula record the region’s thermal history during the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and (U–Th–Sm)/He analyses are combined with existing fission track data to provide a comprehensive set of temperature and time data. Fully and partially reset K-feldspar and biotite mica ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar analyses indicate a significant period of thermal perturbation between ∼100 and ∼90 Ma, and a second lesser perturbation between ∼51 and ∼43 Ma. Zircon (U–Th–Sm)/He analyses and existing fission track data indicate exhumation of the Malay Peninsula in the Cretaceous, and renewed, localised exhumation in the early Paleogene. Apatite (U–Th–Sm)/He and fission track data indicate rapid exhumation of the region in the Late Eocene and Oligocene. Late Cretaceous tectonism is linked to the reversal of a regional dynamic topographic low following the cessation of subduction along the Sundaland margin in the Late Cretaceous, causing regional uplift and exhumation and the addition of significant heat into the crust via mantle upwelling. Early Paleogene exhumation may reflect the continuation of Cretaceous tectonism or a discrete phase of Paleocene exhumation linked to localised transpressional tectonics. Eocene tectonism is coincident with major subsidence offshore of the Malay Peninsula, interpreted to reflect regional block faulting in response to north–south compression driven by the resumption of subduction along the southern margin of Sundaland in the Eocene.     

Pressure–temperature evolution of blueschist facies rocks from Sifnos, Greece, and implications for the exhumation of high-pressure rocks in the Central Aegean

The blueschist and greenschist units on the island of Sifnos, Cyclades were affected by Eocene high‐pressure (HP) metamorphism. Using conventional geothermobarometry, the HP peak metamorphic stage was determined at 550–600 °C and 20 kbar, close to the blueschist and the eclogite facies transition. The retrograde P–T paths are inferred with phase diagrams. Pseudosections based on a quantitative petrogenetic grid in the model system Na₂O–CaO–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O reveal coeval decompression and cooling for both the blueschist and the greenschist unit. The conditions of the metamorphic peak and those of the retrograde stages conform to a similar metamorphic gradient of 10–12 °C km^?1 for both units. The retrograde overprint can be assigned to low‐pressure blueschist to HP greenschist facies conditions. This result cannot be reconciled with the (prograde) Barrovian‐type event, which affected parts of the Cyclades during the Oligocene to Miocene. Instead, the retrograde overprint is interpreted in terms of exhumation, directly after the HP stage, without a separate metamorphic event. Constraints on the exhumation mechanism are given by decompression‐cooling paths, which can be explained by exhumation in a fore‐arc setting during on‐going subduction and associated crustal shortening. Back‐arc extension is only responsible for the final stage of exhumation of the HP units.     

Post‐Eocene intensification of deep‐water circulation in the central South Pacific: Micropalaeontological clues from dredged sites along the eastern Manihiki Plateau margin

Reconstruction of early Cenozoic deep‐water circulation is one of the keys to modelling Earth's greenhouse‐to‐icehouse surface evolution, but it has long been hampered by the paucity of information from the central South Pacific. To help overcome this knowledge gap, we present new micropalaeontological data from dredged carbonates (R/V Sonne Expedition SO193) at several eastern volcanic salients of the Manihiki Plateau. Interestingly, despite appreciable longitudinal separations among the dredged sites, ages indicated by the foraminiferal assemblages are consistently around the Middle Eocene (including mixed Turonian [Late Cretaceous]/Eocene at a single site), suggesting widespread post‐Eocene cessation of the pelagic sedimentation. By integrating with independent seismic and chronostratigraphic data (Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 33) for large‐scale erosion of top‐Eocene–Oligocene sedimentary units on the eastern Manihiki Plateau, our results can be viewed as novel physical evidence for the intensification of central South Pacific deep‐water circulation since the Eocene/Oligocene climatic transition.     

Initiation of crustal shortening in the Himalaya

New monazite U/Th‐Pb petrochronological data from the Annapurna region of central Nepal outline a protracted thermal history spanning ~ 30 Ma from the early Eocene (c. 48 Ma) to the early Miocene (c. 18 Ma). Rare earth element data collected concomitant with the isotopic analyses are consistent with prograde metamorphism and crustal thickening between ~ 48 and 30 Ma and anatexis between ~ 28 and 18 Ma. The timing of metamorphism recorded in these rocks is consistent with records of crustal shortening derived from ultrahigh‐pressure rocks in the western Himalaya and exhumed metamorphic rocks in southern Tibet. Although previous records of early shortening/metamorphism related to the initial collision of India with Asia are spatially associated with the northern margin of the Indian plate, the ages presented in this study extend that early record south into the main Himalayan range. These new data provide important geological constraints on this early, poorly documented history.     

Exhumation history and timing of supergene copper mineralisation in an arid climate: New thermochronological data from the Centinela District,Atacama, Chile

Supergene copper mineralisation (SCM) processes occur during the unroofing of porphyry copper deposits. However, the geomorphological stage during which the main mineralisation occurs is still under debate. Here, we present 24 new thermochronological data from Cenozoic intrusives and compare them with the evolution of supergene mineralisation from the Centinela Mining District in the Atacama Desert. Our results indicate a two‐step cooling path: a rapid Late Eocene exhumation followed by a slow denudation. Previously published supergene mineralisation ages cluster after the main Upper Oligocene exhumation period. Ours is the first study that establishes the relationship between exhumation and supergene processes on the scale of a single mining district. It confirms that SCM took place during pediplanation, likely a required condition for efficient SCM under arid climatic conditions, in contrast to wet tropical environments where SCM occurs during rapid relief growth but has limited preservation potential.