Detrital zircon geochronology: enhancing the quality of sedimentary source information through improved methodology and combined U–Pb and fission‐track techniques

ABSTRACT Zircon is the most widely used mineral in detrital dating studies because it is common to multiple rock types, is chemically and physically resistant, and can endure successive cycles of burial, metamorphism and erosion. Zircon also has the advantage that single grains may be dated by either the fission‐track (FT) or U–Pb method, which, because of their contrasting thermal sensitivities (total resetting occurs at temperatures > 320 °C for FT and > 700–900 °C for U–Pb), can provide unique information about both the age structure and the thermal evolution of a sediment source. However, single method‐based bias and difficulties associated with interpreting measured ages can influence both the quality and the level of useful provenance information. For example, the zircon FT system is sensitive to metamorphic overprinting and hence measured ages alone cannot be interpreted as unambiguously dating formation age of the source rock. In contrast, U–Pb zircon data have high resistance (700–900 °C) to thermal overprinting and therefore recorded formation ages may not relate to an immediate source but may instead reflect a polycyclical history. The focus of this paper is to examine, from a practical standpoint, the provenance potential of detrital zircon fission track data and to investigate the method's complementary role as an aide to the interpretation of high‐temperature detrital U–Pb zircon data by combining U–Pb and FT methods in a single study.     

Linking hinterland evolution and continental basin sedimentation by using detrital zircon thermochronology: a study of the Khorat Plateau Basin, eastern Thailand

The effectiveness of detrital zircon thermochronology as a means of linking hinterland evolution and continental basin sedimentation studies is assessed by using Mesozoic continental sediments from the poorly understood Khorat Plateau Basin in eastern Thailand. New uranium lead (U‐Pb) and fission‐track (FT) zircon data from the Phu Kradung Formation identify age modes at 141 ± 17 and 210 ± 24 Ma (FT) and 2456 ± 4, 2001 ± 4, 251 ± 3, and 168 ± 2 Ma (U‐Pb), which are closely similar to data from the overlying formations. The FT data record post‐metamorphic cooling, whereas the U‐Pb data record zircon growth events in the hinterland. Comparison is made between detrital zircon U‐Pb data from ancient and modern sources across Southeast Asia. The inherent stability of the zircon U‐Pb system means that 250 Myr of post‐orogenic sedimentary recycling fails to change the regional zircon U‐Pb age signature and this precludes use of the U‐Pb approach alone for providing unique provenance information. Although the U‐Pb zircon results are consistent with (but not uniquely diagnostic of) the Qinling Orogenic Belt as the original source terrane for the Khorat Plateau Basin sediments, the zircon FT cooling data are more useful as they provide the key temporal link between basin and hinterland. The youngest zircon FT modes from the Khorat sequence range between 114 ± 6 (Phra Wihan Formation) and 141 ± 17 Ma (Phu Kradung Formation) that correspond to a Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous reactivation event, which affected the Qinling Belt and adjacent foreland basins. The mechanism for regional Early Cretaceous erosion is identified as Cretaceous collision between the Lhasa Block and Eurasia. Thus, the Khorat Plateau Basin sediments might have originated from a reactivation event that affected a mature hinterland and not an active orogenic belt as postulated in previous models.     

Thermo‐tectonic evolution of the south‐central Pyrenees from rifting to orogeny: insights from detrital zircon U/Pb and (U‐Th)/He thermochronometry

Constraining the thermal and denudational evolution of continental margins from extensional episodes to early orogenic stages is critical in the objective to better understand the sediment routing during the growth of orogenic topography. Here, we report 160 detrital zircon U/Pb ages and 73 (U‐Th)/He ages from Albian, Upper Cretaceous and Eocene sandstones from the south‐central Pyrenees. All samples show dominant zircon U/Pb age peaks at 310–320 Ma, indicating a primary contribution from Variscan granites of the central Pyrenean Axial Zone. A secondary population at 450–600 Ma documents zircon grains sourced from the eastern Pyrenees. Zircon (U‐Th)/He ages recovered from older samples document, a Triassic age peak at ca. 241 Ma, corresponding to denudation coeval with the initiation of Atlantic rifting. An Early Cretaceous cooling event at ca. 133 Ma appears consistent with rift‐related exhumation and thermal overprint on the Iberian margin. The (U‐Th)/He age peaks from ca. 80 Ma to ca. 68 Ma with decreasing depositional ages are interpreted to reflect the southward‐migrating thrust‐related exhumation on the pro‐wedge side of the Pyrenean orogen. The increase in lag times, from ca. 15 Ma in the Tremp Formation (ca. 65 Ma) to 28 Ma in the Escanilla Formation (ca. 40 Ma), suggests decreasing exhumation rates from 0.4 km Myr^–1 to 0.2 km Myr^–1. The apparent inconsistency with convergence rates is used to infer that rocks cooled at 68 Ma may have resided in the crust before final exhumation to the surface. Finally, the cooling event observed at 68 Ma provides support to the inferred acceleration of convergence, shortening and exhumation during Late Cretaceous times.     

Additional Rb-Sr and single-grain zircon datings of Caledonian granitoid rocks from Albert I Land, northwest Spitsbergen

Previous K-Ar and Rb-Sr datings of the metamorphic and granitic rocks from the northwestern basement region of Spitsbergen mainly show the cooling time of the rocks, except for a Rb-Sr isochron age of the Hornemantoppen granitoid. New samples were collected during several years of geological mapping in the area and the Rb-Sr whole rock isochron and single-grain zircon evaporation methods were applied to the Hornemantoppen granitoids and the grey granites. A dioritic dyke was also dated by the latter method. The bulk rock chemistry study shows that most of both granitic rocks are of the S-type and probably post orogenic, with distinctive incorporation of crustal materials. The isotopic data also support this interpretation. The results of the Rb-Sr isotope analyses, 412 ± 4.8 Ma and the zircon Pb evaporation age of 424 ± 56 Ma, confirm the previous age of the Hornemantoppen granitoid, 414 ± 10 Ma. An older zircon age of 547 ± 19 Ma is considered to be the minimum age of inherited zircon. Zircons from the grey granites suggest an age of ca. 420 Ma with a large error. Field relations demonstrate that the grey granites are older than the Hornemantoppen granitoids. A minimum inherited zircon age, 952 ± 20 Ma, has been obtained from the grey granites. Three multi-grain Pb ages, 423 ± 22 Ma (2 grains), 461 ± 42 Ma and 561 ± 93 Ma (the last two 3 grains) were considered to be mixed ages. Although no definitive evidence for the presence of Grenvillian granites in this area has been obtained in the present study, preliminary results from the multi-grain zircon evaporation method, carried out in the Russian laboratory at Apatity, infer Paleo- and Mesoproterozoic protoliths for the metamorphic rocks of northwestern Spitsbergen.     

Sediment provenance and routing evolution in the Late Cretaceous–Eocene Ager Basin,south-central Pyrenees,Spain

This study constrains the sediment provenance for the Late Cretaceous–Eocene strata of the Ager Basin, Spain, and reconstructs the interplay between foreland basin subsidence and sediment routing within the south-central Pyrenean foreland basin during the early phases of crustal shortening using detrital zircon (DZ) U-Pb-He double dating. Here we present and interpret 837 new DZ U-Pb ages, 113 of which are new DZ (U-Th)/He double-dated zircons. U-Pb-He double dating results allow for a clear differentiation between different foreland and hinterland sources of Variscan zircons (280–350 Ma) by leveraging the contrasting thermal histories of the Ebro Massif and Pyrenean orogen, recorded by the zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) ages, despite their indistinguishable U-Pb age signatures. Cretaceous–Paleocene sedimentary rocks, dominated by Variscan DZ U-Pb age components with Permian–Triassic (200–300 Ma) ZHe cooling ages, were sourced from the Ebro Massif south of the Ager Basin. A provenance shift occurred at the base of the Early Eocene Baronia Formation (ca. 53 Ma) to an eastern Pyrenean source (north-east of the Ager Basin) as evidenced by an abrupt change in paleocurrents, a change in DZ U-Pb signatures to age distributions dominated by Cambro-Silurian (420–520 Ma), Cadomian (520–700 Ma), and Proterozoic–Archean (>700 Ma) age components, and the prominent emergence of Cretaceous–Paleogene (<90 Ma) ZHe cooling ages. The Eocene Corçà Formation (ca. 50 Ma), characterized by the arrival of fully reset ZHe ages with very short lag times, signals the accumulation of sediment derived from the rapidly exhuming Pyrenean thrust sheets. While ZHe ages from the Corçà Formation are fully reset, zircon fission track (ZFT) ages preserve older inherited cooling ages, bracketing the exhumation level within the thrust sheets to ca. 6–8 km in the Early Eocene. These DZ ZHe ages yield exhumation rate estimates of ca. 0.03 km/Myr during the Late Cretaceous–Paleocene for the Ebro Massif and ca. 0.2–0.4 km/Myr during the Eocene for the eastern Pyrenees.     

Detrital zircon geochronology of Carboniferous–Cretaceous strata in the Lhasa terrane, Southern Tibet

Sedimentary strata in the Lhasa terrane of southern Tibet record a long but poorly constrained history of basin formation and inversion. To investigate these events, we sampled Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks in the Lhasa terrane for detrital zircon uranium–lead (U–Pb) analysis. The >700 detrital zircon U–Pb ages reported in this paper provide the first significant detrital zircon data set from the Lhasa terrane and shed new light on the tectonic and depositional history of the region. Collectively, the dominant detrital zircon age populations within these rocks are 100–150, 500–600 and 1000–1400 Ma. Sedimentary strata near Nam Co in central Lhasa are mapped as Lower Cretaceous but detrital zircons with ages younger than 400 Ma are conspicuously absent. The detrital zircon age distribution and other sedimentological evidence suggest that these strata are likely Carboniferous in age, which requires the existence of a previously unrecognized fault or unconformity. Lower Jurassic strata exposed within the Bangong suture between the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes contain populations of detrital zircons with ages between 200 and 500 Ma and 1700 and 2000 Ma. These populations differ from the detrital zircon ages of samples collected in the Lhasa terrane and suggest a unique source area. The Upper Cretaceous Takena Formation contains zircon populations with ages between 100 and 160 Ma, 500 and 600 Ma and 1000 and 1400 Ma. Detrital zircon ages from these strata suggest that several distinct fluvial systems occupied the southern portion of the Lhasa terrane during the Late Cretaceous and that deposition in the basin ceased before 70 Ma. Carboniferous strata exposed within the Lhasa terrane likely served as source rocks for sediments deposited during Cretaceous time. Similarities between the lithologies and detrital zircon age‐probability plots of Carboniferous rocks in the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes and Tethyan strata in the Himalaya suggest that these areas were located proximal to one another within Gondwanaland. U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from our samples and differences between the geographic distribution of igneous rocks within the Tibetan plateau suggest that it is possible to discriminate a southern vs. northern provenance signature using detrital zircon age populations.     

Palaeomagnetism and K-Ar Ages of the South-west African Basalts and their Bearing on the Time of Initial Rifting of the South Atlantic Ocean

Summary. Palaeomagnetic and isotopic results from the Kaoko lavas, Hoachanas basalts and dolerite sills of South-West Africa indicate that the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic Stormberg flows of South Africa may have extended into SW-Africa and that younger igneous events of Lower Cretaceous age were simultaneous with the Serra Geral volcanism in Brazil. Five analyses on three samples of the Keetmanshoop sills gave K-Ar ages between 178 ± 4 and 199 ± 4 Ma, four analyses of two samples of the Hoachanas basalts gave ages between 161 ± 3 and 173 ± 2 Ma and eight analyses of five samples of Kaoko basalt gave ages between 110±4 and 128 ± 2 Ma.
The components of remanent magnetization (RM) used to compute palaeomagnetic pole positions for the Kaoko lavas (48° N, 93° W, A95 = 3°) and for the Hoachanas basalts (61° N, 106° W, A95 = 7° are stable to alternating field (AF) and thermal demagnetization.
Correlation on a pre-drift map and on a map reconstructed for 112 Ma BP (before present) between the palaeomagnetic poles from the Kaoko and Serra Geral lavas suggests that the South Atlantic had not opened appreciably by 112 Ma BP. Cretaceous pole positions for S. America and Africa on a map reconstructed for 80 Ma BP are also discussed.     

U–Pb zircon and 40Ar–39Ar K-feldspar dating of syn-sedimentary volcanism of the Neoproterozoic Maricá Formation: constraining the age of foreland basin inception and inversion in the Camaquã Basin of southern Brazil

New U–Pb zircon and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar K-feldspar data are presented for syn-sedimentary volcanogenic rocks from the Neoproterozoic Maricá Formation, located in the southern Brazilian shield. Seven (of nine) U–Pb sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe analyses of zircons from pyroclastic cobbles yield an age of 630.2±3.4 Ma (2σ), interpreted as the age of syn-sedimentary volcanism, and thus of the deposition itself. This result indicates that the Maricá Formation was deposited during the main collisional phase (640–620 Ma) of the Brasiliano II orogenic system, probably as a forebulge or back-bulge, craton-derived foreland succession. Thus, this unit is possibly correlative of younger portions of the Porongos, Brusque, Passo Feio, Abapã (Itaiacoca) and Lavalleja (Fuente del Puma) metamorphic complexes. Well-defined, step-heating ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar K-feldspar plateau ages obtained from volcanogenic beds and pyroclastic cobbles of the lower and upper successions of the Maricá Formation yielded 507.3±1.8 Ma and 506.7±1.4 Ma (2σ), respectively. These data are interpreted to reflect total isotopic resetting during deep burial and thermal effects related to magmatic events. Late Middle Cambrian cooling below ca . 200 °C, probably related to uplift, is tentatively associated with intraplate effects of the Rio Doce and/or Pampean orogenies (Brasiliano III system). In the southern Brazilian shield, these intraplate stresses are possibly related to the dominantly extensional opening of a rift or a pull-apart basin, where sedimentary rocks of the Camaquã Group (Santa Bárbara and Guaritas Formations) accumulated.     

Single-zircon Pb-evaporation and 40Ar/39Ar dating of the metamorphic and granitic rocks in north-west Spitsbergen

North-west Spitsbergen consists of a complex of Caledonian and Grenvillian crystalline rocks, situated at the north-west corner of the Barents Shelf. The aim of this study is to understand the extent of pre-Caledonian basement rocks and their protoliths. Micas and zircon grains from six rocks from north-west Spitsbergen have been dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and single-zircon Pb-evaporation methods. Two grey granites yielded Late Caledonian mica ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and zircon ages of ca. 420-430 My, with inherited zircon grains as old as 1725 My. Zircon grains from a gneissose granite xenolith in a grey granites gave crystallization ages of ca. 960 My; some grains from a migmatite neosome show similar ages. Zircon grains yielding Archean and late Palaeoproterozoic ages (1600-1800 My) are interpreted as xenocrysts of detrital origin. The youngest ages obtained from detrital zircon grains from a greenschist facies quartzite of the Signehamna unit are ca. 1800 My. Similar schists are included as xenoliths in the 960 My old gneissose granite; therefore, the sedimentary protoliths of the unit are Mesoproterozoic. The dating results suggest a significant tectonothermal event during Grenvillian time; subsequent Caledonian events had less extensive thermal effects. However, it is still a matter of debate whether Grenvillian or Caledonian metamorphism produced the majority of the migmatites. A large population of zircon grains with Late Palaeoproterozoic ages suggests a wide surface exposure of rocks of this age in the source area, with some Archean zircons.     

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.     

Provenance and tectonic implications of Orán Group foreland basin sediments,Río Iruya canyon,NW Argentina (23° S)

Foreland basins are important recorders of tectonic and climatic processes in evolving mountain ranges. The Río Iruya canyon of NW Argentina (23° S) exposes ca. 7500 m of Orán Group foreland basin sediments, spanning over 8 Myr of near continuous deposition in the Central Andes. This study presents a record of sedimentary provenance for the Iruya Section in the context of a revised stratigraphic chronology. We use U‐Pb zircon ages from six interbedded ash layers and new magnetostratigraphy to constrain depositional ages in the section between 1.94 and 6.49 Ma, giving an average sedimentation rate of 0.93 ± 0.02 (2σ) km Myr^?1. We then pair U‐Pb detrital zircon dating with quartz trace‐element analysis to track changes in sedimentary provenance from ca. 7.6 to 1.8 Ma. Results suggest that from ca. 7.6 to ca. 6.3 Ma, the Iruya watershed did not tap the Salta Group or Neogene volcanics that are currently exposed in the eastern Cordillera and Puna margin. One explanation is that a long‐lived topographic barrier separated the eastern Puna from the foreland for much of the mid‐late Miocene, and that the arrival of Jurassic‐Neogene zircons records regional tectonic reactivation at ca. 6.3 Ma. A second major provenance shift at ca. 4 Ma is marked by changes in the zircon and quartz populations, which appear to be derived from a restricted source region in Proterozoic‐Ordovician meta‐sediments. Considered in conjunction with the onset of coarse conglomerate deposition, we attribute this shift to accelerated uplift of the Santa Victoria range, which currently defines the catchment's western limit. A third shift at ca. 2.3 Ma records an apparent disconnection of the Iruya with the eastern Puna, perhaps due to defeat of the proto Rio‐Iruya by the rising Santa Victoria range. This study is one of the first applications of quartz trace‐element provenance analysis, which we show to be an effective complement to U‐Pb detrital zircon dating when appropriate statistical methods are applied.     

Miocene to Recent exhumation of the central Himalaya determined from combined detrital zircon fission-track and U/Pb analysis of Siwalik sediments, western Nepal

Fission‐track (FT) analysis of detrital zircon from synorogenic sediment is a well‐established tool to examine the cooling and exhumation history of convergent mountain belts, but has so far not been used to determine the long‐term evolution of the central Himalaya. This study presents FT analysis of detrital zircon from 22 sandstone and modern sediment samples that were collected along three stratigraphic sections within the Miocene to Pliocene Siwalik Group, and from modern rivers, in western and central Nepal. The results provide evidence for widespread cooling in the Nepalese Himalaya at about 16.0±1.4 Ma, and continuous exhumation at a rate of about 1.4±0.2 km Myr^?1 thereafter. The ～16 Ma cooling is likely related to a combination of tectonic and erosional activity, including movement on the Main Central thrust and Southern Tibetan Detachment system, as well as emplacement of the Ramgarh thrust on Lesser Himalayan sedimentary and meta‐sedimentary units. The continuous exhumation signal following the ～16 Ma cooling event is seen in connection with ongoing tectonic uplift, river incision and erosion of lower Lesser Himalayan rocks exposed below the MCT and Higher Himalayan rocks in the hanging wall of the MCT, controlled by orographic precipitation and crustal extrusion. Provenance analysis, to distinguish between Higher Himalayan and Lesser Himalayan zircon sources, is based on double dating of individual zircons with the FT and U/Pb methods. Zircons with pre‐Himalayan FT cooling ages may be derived from either nonmetamorphic parts of the Tethyan sedimentary succession or Higher Himalayan protolith that formerly covered the Dadeldhura and Ramgarh thrust sheets, but that have been removed by erosion. Both the Higher and Lesser Himalaya appear to be sources for the zircons that record either ～16 Ma cooling or the continuous exhumation afterwards.     

Provenance of Palaeo‐Rhine sediments from zircon thermochronology,geochemistry, U/Pb dating and heavy mineral assemblages

Sediments deposited in the Late Cenozoic basins of the Central European Rift System, including the Upper Rhine Graben (URG) and the Lower Rhine Embayment (LRE), document the drastic extension of the Rhine's catchment towards the Central Alps in the Late Pliocene by distinct heavy mineral assemblages. This outstanding change in principal sediment sources should be accompanied by a change towards distinctly younger (i.e. Tertiary) detrital mineral cooling ages. Therefore, it provides a particularly well‐suited framework to explore the thermochronological provenance record in relation to heavy mineral assemblages. In this multi‐proxy approach we (i) exploit and elaborate detrital zircon (U–Th)/He thermochronology (ZHe) for sediment provenance surveys, (ii) document shortcomings if only a single geochronological method is employed, and (iii) obtain tighter constraints on the sources of Paleo‐Rhine sediments. Our results are based on Pliocene and Pleistocene sediment samples from the northern URG (drill core Ludwigshafen P36) and the LRE (lignite mine Hambach). In a Late Pliocene URG sample, Variscan and Permo‐Triassic cooling ages dominate the age spectra of the ZHe and Zircon fission track (ZFT) thermochronometers. The youngest ages are Late Cretaceous and these zircons show rare earth element signatures that suggest derivation from hydrothermally affected basement rocks of the URG margins. In contrast, a Lower Pleistocene URG sample contains significant Tertiary age components that unequivocally indicate Alpine sources. This cardinal difference coincides well with a significant change in the heavy mineral assemblage. The extension of the catchment of the Rhine towards the Central Alps is considered to occur no earlier than the latest Pliocene (i.e. after ~3.0 Ma). Despite strongly contrasting heavy mineral compositions, the Pliocene and Pleistocene samples from the LRE show largely similar ZHe and ZFT age distributions dominated by Permo‐Triassic and Variscan ages. Admixture of zircon‐dominated, but overall heavy mineral‐poor sediment derived from local drainages of the Rhenish Massif likely explains this apparent contradiction in sediment provenance proxies. Tertiary cooling ages occur in both Pliocene and Pleistocene LRE samples. Zircon Th/U ratios and U/Pb ages reveal that the young age component in Late Pliocene sediments from the LRE is not derived from the Alps but from Oligocene trachytic members of the Central European volcanic centres of the Vogelsberg, Westerwald, and/or Siebengebirge. The integration of ZHe and ZFT techniques with zircon geochemistry and U/Pb geochronology adds the respective advantages of each method and allows for a very detailed picture of detrital zircon provenance.     

Thermochronometry and palaeomagnetism of the Archaean Nelshoogte Pluton, South Africa

²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb single-grain zircon, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar single-grain hornblende and biotite, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar bulk-sample muscovite and biotite ages from the Nelshoogte trondhjemite pluton located in eastern Transvaal, South Africa, show that this granitoid had a protracted thermal history spanning 3213±4  Ma to about 3000  Ma. Whole-rock ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages from cross-cutting dolerite dykes indicate that these were intruded at about 1900  Ma. There is no evidence of this or other, later events significantly affecting the argon systematics of the minerals from the pluton dated by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar method.
  The pluton has a well-defined palaeomagnetic pole which is dated at 3179±18 (2 σ ) Ma by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of hornblende. This pole (18°N, 310°E, A ₉₅=9°) yields a palaeolatitude of 0°, significantly different from other Archaean poles from the Kaapvaal Craton. The palaeolatitude difference implies that there was significant apparent polar wander during the Archaean. A second, overprinting magnetization seen in the pluton is also seen in the lower-Proterozoic dolerite dykes, and is consistent with other lower-Proterozoic (2150–1950  Ma) poles for southern Africa.     

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.     

Palaeomagnetic evidence for unification of the North and West Australian cratons by ca.1.7 Ga: new results from the Kimberley Basin of northwestern Australia

A palaeomagnetic study of the Elgee Formation red siltstones and shales in the Palaeoproterozoic Kimberley Basin of northwestern Australia has been carried out. All seven sampling sites revealed an extremely stable magnetic remanence carried by haematite. The age of the formation is confined by precise SHRIMP U–Pb ages of early diagenetic xenotime from rocks both above and below it to be 1704 + 7/−14 Ma, but this may represent a minimum age. The youngest detrital zircon grains in the underlying formation provide a maximum age of 1786 ± 14 Ma for the formation. The extreme stability of the remanence, the dissimilarity of the remanent direction from expected younger palaeomagnetic directions, and the lack of regional overprint in the 1790 ± 4 Ma Hart Dolerite just north of the study region support a primary origin for the remanence. A marginally positive fold test also supports a primary origin. The mean direction of D = 92.2°, I = 14.9°, α ₉₅ = 6.4° gives a palaeopole at 4.4°S, 210.0°E with dp = 3.3°, dm = 6.5°. This pole, a previously reported palaeopole from the Hart Dolerite and ca. 1700 Ma overprint poles from the Pilbara Craton all agree with palaeopoles of similar ages from the McArthur Basin of northern Australia. Palaeomagnetic results thus suggest that the North and West Australian cratons were possibly joined together by approximately 1.7 Ga.     

Newtontoppen granitoid rocks, their geology, chemistry and Rb-Sr age

A post-tectonic Caledonian granite in southern Ny Friesland has been fully mapped and the following new names are proposed: the Chydeniusbreen granitoid suite, consisting of the Raudberget granitoid body in the north; the Newtontoppen granitoid body in the middle; and the Ekkoknausane granitoid body in the south
The contact relationships, internal structures and distribution of various rock types infer an asymmetric lopolith or a harpolith-like body, a large sickle-shaped intrusion stretched in the direction of general tectonic transport, for the Newtontoppen granitoid body.
Seven rock types are described in the Newtontoppen granitoid and four emplacement stages are recognised. The major rock types seem to have an alkali-calcic to alkalic bulk rock chemistry and show a transition between I- and S-type granite derived from anatectic melting of various protoliths under relatively high temperature conditions. Possible later K₂0 introduction modified the earlier formed rock types.
A Rb-Sr whole rock age of 432 ± 10 Ma has been obtained by a seven point isochron with MSDW = 2.59 and an initial Sr isotope ratio = 0.715. This age is approximately 30 Ma older than the previously obtained K-Ar whole rock and Rb-Sr biotite ages, ca. 400 Ma, which represents the period of cooling. The high initial Sr isotope ratio supports the interpretation of an anatectic origin.     

Grenvillian single-grain zircon Pb age of a granitic rock from the southern island of Hesteskoholmen, Liefdefjorden, northwestern Spitsbergen, Svalbard

A N-S trending, narrow zone of crystalline basement occurs from Biscayarhalvøya to Holtedahlfonna in northwestern Spitsbergen and is composed of various metasedimentary and igneous rocks, including granites. Previous isotopic age determinations on these rocks are by the K-Ar. Rb-Sr, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and conventional zircon U-Pb method and yielded the Caledonian and Grenvillian ages. The single-grain zircon Pb evaporation method has recently been applied to solve complex problems and this is the first report by the method.
A granitic rock, syntectonically intruded into the phyllitic metasediments of the Biscayarhuken formation, which is the uppermost lithotectonic unit in the metamorphic rocks of the zone, was dated on four zircon grains, yielding a narrow age range from 955 ± 4 to 968 ± 9 Ma in average. This age of ca. 960 Ma is considered to be the age of intrusion, based on the occurrence and zircon morphology, which is roughly simultaneous with the formation of the phyllitic cleavages of the surrounding metasediments. The data obtained imply that the Caledonian events did not reset the Pb isotope system of zircon and major metamorphism occurred during the Grenvillian time in the Biscayarhuken formation, accordingly, the protolith age of the metasediments is Mesoproterozoic.     

Mesozoic–Cenozoic multistage tectonic evolution of the Pamir: Detrital fission-track constraints from the Tajik Basin

Knowledge of the tectonic history of the Pamir contributes to our understanding of both the evolution of collisional orogenic belts as well as factors controlling Central Asian aridification. It is, however, not easy to decipher the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonics of the Pamir due to extensive Neogene deformation in an orogen that remains largely understudied. This study reports detrital apatite and zircon fission-track (FT) ages from both the eastern Tajik Basin sedimentary rocks and Pamir modern river sands. These FT data, supported by vitrinite reflectance and zircon and apatite U–Pb double dating, suggest that the majority of the FT ages are unreset and record exhumation stages of the Pamir, which has served as the source terrane of the Tajik Basin since the Cretaceous. Furthermore, we combine the new data with a compilation of published detrital apatite and zircon FT data from both the Tajik Basin sedimentary rocks and Pamir modern river sands, to explore the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic history of Pamir. Deconvolved FT Peak Ages document two major Mesozoic exhumation events associated with the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic Cimmerian orogeny that reflects accretion of the Pamir terranes, as well as the Early–early Late Cretaceous deformation associated with the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean beneath Pamir. The compiled data also show significant Late Eocene–Neogene exhumation associated with the ongoing formation of the Pamir, which peaks at ca. 36, 25, 14 and 7 Ma.     

Rb-Sr whole rock and U-Pb zircon datings of the granitic-gabbroic rocks from the Skålfjellet Subgroup, southwest Spitsbergen

Recent remapping and new age determinations has shed light on the understanding of Precambrian rocks northwest of Hornsund, southwest Spitsbergen. The Skålfjellet Subgroup has been regarded as the eastern equivalent of the Vimsodden Subgroup, and both of these occur within the Precambrian Eimfjellet Group of southwest Spitsbergen. Although the Eimfjellet Group is considered to be older than the oldest unconformity in the area, the age of the rocks has not been known. The granitic-gabbroic rocks in the Skålfjellet Subgroup have been considered to be the products of granitisation for many years, but recent observations show that they are exotic blocks incorporated into the basic eruptive rocks which are the main constituents of the subgroup. These plutonic rocks have a wide range of compositions, from syenite via granite to gabbroic cumulates, which suggests the existence of a well-differentiated plutonic body at depth.
U-Pb zircon and Pb evaporation datings yielded magmatic ages of ca. 1,100 to 1,200 Ma, and a conformable age has been obtained by Rb-Sr whole rock dating. Detrital zircons from the micaceous schists of the Isbjørnhamna Group, which underlies the Skålfjellet Subgroup, show a poorly defined discordia with an upper intercept age of ca. 2,200 Ma and a lower intercept age of ca. 360 Ma. These dating results define the magmatic age of the granitic-gabbroic rocks as late Mesoproterozoic, early Grenvillian. This age is in broad agreement with that of the metavolcanic rock clasts of the Pyttholmen meta-pyroclastic-conglomeratic unit at Vimsodden, which is considered to be the westernmost occurrence of the Skålfjellet Subgroup.
A Rb-Sr whole rock age determination of the shaly phyllites from the Deilegga Group was performed in order to place constraints on the age of younger Precambrian event; however, no good isochron was obtained.