Pb-Pb single-zircon ages of granitoid boulders from the Vendian tillite of Wahlenbergfjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

There are three areas in eastern Svalbard where Vendian tillites are exposed: eastern Ny Friesland, western Nordaustlandet (north and south of Murchisonfjorden) and further east in inner Wahlenbergfjorden, near Aldousbreen. Clasts within the massive unmetamorphosed clay-mica-carbonate matrix of the tillites include carbonates, sandstones, siltstones, metavolcanics, schists and different granitoids, the metamorphic and igneous rock types being more frequent in the upper levels of the formation. Large granite boulders, up to 1 m in diameter, are known from the easternmost outcrop at Aldousbreen. Three granitoid boulders from the Aldousbreen outcrop, differing in petrography and chemistry. have been dated by the Pb-Pb singlezircon method. They yield ages of 2830 ± 5 Ma, 1802 ± 4 Ma and 1497 ± 26 Ma. These clasts also differ in petrography, chemistry and age from all known granitic rocks on Nordaustlandet, which have recently yielded Grenvillian (950-960 Ma) and Caledonian (ca. 410 Ma) ages. The concentration of large granitic clasts in the easternmost known tillite outcrops suggests derivation from the east and/or south. Possible areas include those beneath the ice of Austfonna and below the Carboniferous strata of southeastem Nordaustlandet. The apparent lack of a significant Grenvillian overprint suggests the possibility of a more distant source.     

Single-grain zircon dating of the metamorphic and granitic rocks from the Biscayarhalvøya-Holtedahlfonna zone, north-west Spitsbergen

The Biscayarhalvøya-Holtedahlfonna zone (BHZ) in north-western Spitsbergen is a north-south trending, narrow horst, with crystalline basement rocks exposed under a Devonian unconformity. Previous K-Ar, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Rb-Sr analyses have confirmed the occurrence of Caledonian thermal events, and Grenvillian ages have been obtained by conventional zircon U-Pb and single-zircon Pb evaporation methods. A total of 55 zircon grains from three samples (an augen metagranite, a micaceous schist and a granitic neosome of migmatite) have been analysed by the single-zircon Pb evaporation method. The grains with the age range of ca. 950-1100 My (million years) are the major component in all three samples, suggesting tectono-thermal activity in that period. The detrital versus resorption orgin of the rounded shapes of these grains from the granitic neosome is not clear yet. Therefore, the ages of the migmatization and of the sedimentary protoliths are not concluded. The youngest presumed detrital grain from the granitic neosome is 1060 My old. The metagranite, cutting the Richarddalen unit, yielded grains with an age of ca. 950 Mya. A granite dyke with an age range of 955-968 My cuts the Biscayarhuken unit in the northern Liefdefjorden area. These indicate the sedimentary protoliths of the Richarddalen and Biscayarhuken units are pre-Neoproterozoic. The youngest detrital zircon ages of ca. 940 My indicate Neoproterozoic sedimentary protoliths of the Solanderfjellet micaceous schists. A significant population of zircon grains with an age range of 1600-1900 My in all three samples suggests a wide exposure of these rocks in the source areas during Meso- and Neoproterozoic times. Several Archean ages have also been obtained. The results are generally conformable with those obtained from north-western Spitsbergen.     

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.     

Neoproterozoic–Devonian stratigraphic evolution of the eastern Murzuq Basin,Libya: a tale of tilting in the central Sahara

The Murzuq Basin is one of the most petroliferous basins of North Africa. Its remote eastern flank has been largely ignored since early reconnaissance work in the 1950s and 1960s. This article presents new stratigraphic and sedimentological data on the Neoproterozoic through Devonian succession from the Mourizidie and Dor el Gussa regions. The Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Mourizidie and Hasawnah formations in the eastern part of the Mourizidie region dip to the east and north‐east, resting directly on late Precambrian metasediments and granitoids. These strata record the initial progradation of sand‐dominated braidplain systems upon peneplained Precambrian basement. Rhyolite clasts in the Hasawnah Formation may record tectonically driven uplift and unroofing in the southern Tibesti Massif or tectonomagmatic rejuvenation to the south of this massif. In the western part of the Mourizidie region, Late Ordovician through Silurian strata (Mamuniyat and Tanezzuft–Akakus formations) directly overlie late Precambrian metasediments and granitoids, and dip at a low angle towards the west into the Murzuq Basin. Elsewhere at the eastern Murzuq Basin flank, in Dor el Gussa, Late Ordovician glaciogenic sediments rest with angular unconformity upon shallow marine sandstones of Cambrian–Ordovician age. This angular unconformity may also occur in the Mourizidie region and indicates widespread tectonism, either as a result of a Middle–Late Ordovician orogenic event, far‐field tectonism related to the opening of the Rheic Ocean along the northern margin of Gondwana or alternatively crustal depression associated with the growth of Late Ordovician ice sheets. Unconformity development was also probably associated with glacial incision. Following ice sheet retreat, isostatic rebound during deglaciation resulted in uplift of tens to hundreds of metres, locally removing all Cambrian and Ordovician formations. Rising sea levels in the Silurian led to deposition of the Tanezzuft Formation on Precambrian basement in the northwestern Mourizidie region.     

Devonian–Carboniferous slivers within the basement area of north-east Oscar II Land, Spitsbergen

Formed during an early compressional period in the opening of North Atlantic Ocean, a Tertiary fold-thrust belt extends along the mid-to- southern part of the western coast of Spitsbergen. Complex thrust structures involve the basement (Caledonian and older) and many shallow dipping thrust faults dissect the overlying cover rocks (Devonian and younger) in Oscar II Land in the northern part of the belt. Some of these faults occur within the basement rocks with slivers or fault blocks of the cover rocks from south-western Brøggerhalvøya to innermost St. Jonsfjorden in north-eastern Oscar II Land. Six of the slivers contain Carboniferous rocks and one is a fault-bounded block with Devonian rocks. These steeply west-dipping faults form a complex fault system- EOFC (Engelskbukta-Osbornbreen Fault Complex) - within the basement area. The lithological units of the basement are separated by faults within the EOFC, which is structurally continuous with the Brøggerhalvøya fold-thrust zone to the north and is thought to continue to the fold-thrust zone on the south-eastern coast of St. Jonsfjorden. Some previous authors considered that the two lithologically contrasting Vendian diamictites and intervening Moefjellet Formation are stratigraphically continuous and defined two separate tilloid successions in the present area. This interpretation has been extended over the whole of western Spitsbergen. However, the present study indicates that these two tilloid formations and the Moefjellet Formation are separated by the faults, probably thrusts, within the EOFC and are not in a continuous stratigraphic relation. Therefore, the two-stage history of Vendian glaciation seems questionable.     

A Neoproterozoic glacially influenced basin margin succession and 'atypical' cap carbonate associated with bedrock palaeovalleys, Mirbat area, southern Oman

The Ayn Formation of the Neoproterozoic Mirbat Group comprises <400 m of little‐deformed, glacially influenced basin margin deposits. These deposits are preserved in several palaeovalleys eroded in crystalline basement and overlain by a discontinuous cap carbonate. The Ayn Formation and the cap carbonate, which are superbly exposed along a 20 km SW–NE‐striking escarpment in south Oman, provide important insights into the processes operating on a basin margin during a Neoproterozoic glaciation and its demise. The Ayn Formation comprises units of glacimarine rain‐out diamictite and sediment gravity flow deposits, alternated with units of fluvial and deltaic sandstones and conglomerates, which may have formed by proglacial outwash. The stratigraphic evolution of the Ayn Formation indicates a highly active hydrological cycle during a phase of overall (glacio‐eustatic?) low stand when glaciers advanced into and receded upon bedrock valleys. The transgressive cap carbonate was deposited primarily in shallow marine or shallow lacustrine environments over palaeohighs during the deglaciation, and was partly reworked into deeper parts of the basin through sediment gravity flow processes. Locally, the cap carbonate transgresses over crystalline basement containing a network of fissures filled with carbonate originating from the cap. The δ¹³C isotopic composition of the cap carbonate varies systematically between ?3.5 and +5.8‰ Pee Dee Belemnite standard, in common with other older Cryogenian examples.     

Grenvillian U-Pb zircon ages of quartz porphyry and rhyolite clasts in a metaconglomerate at Vimsodden, southwestern Spitsbergen

Proterozoic metasupracrustal rocks form a NNW-SSE trending basement zone along the western coast of Spitsbergen. The rocks show complex structures as a result of both Caledonian and Tertiary deformation, and most of the subordinate metaigneous rocks are not suitable for isotopic age determination. Some zircon-bearing rocks were found in the southwestern part of Spitsbergen and an attempt of U-Pb dating was performed.
U-Pb dating was carried out on zircon fractions from quartz porphyry and rhyolite clasts in a metaconglomerate unit of the Pyttholmen Formation northwest of Hornsund, southwestern Spitsbergen. The Pyttholmen Formation is considered to be a lateral equivalent of the upper part of the Gulliksenfjellet quartzite and in the same time as the upper part of the Skålfjellet metavolcanites. Therefore, the obtained ages are applicable to the age of the Skålfjellet igneous activities. Some of the dated samples are strongly schistose and their magmatic origin is difficult to confirm; the interpretation of the isotopic results is not well constrained; however, some explanations are possible which refer to the known geological conditions; an igneous age of siliceous volcanic rocks of ca. 1200 Ma, inherited zircon ages of ca. 2500 Ma and a regional metamorphic age of ca. 930 Ma. The last age belongs to the Grenvillian period and is conformable with the Rb/Sr whole rock age obtained from the garnet-biotite schists of the Isbjernhamna Group underlying the Skålfjellet metavolcanites.     

The nature of the Precambrian-Tertiary boundary at Renardodden, Bellsund, Svalbard

The previous literature on the occurrence of Tertiary strata at Renardodden provides contradictory information about the primary versus tectonic boundary with the Precambrian basement. Tertiary sandstones and shales overlie unconformably the basement rocks, which have been resedimented as boulder conglomerates prior to Caledonian metamorphism and weathered prior to the deposition of the Tertiary strata. The boundary relations are complicated by a repeatedly active fault system that may form part of the Inner Hornsund Fault Zone.     

Testing long-term patterns of basin sedimentation by detrital zircon geochronology, Centralian Superbasin, Australia

Detrital zircon geochronology of Neoproterozoic to Devonian sedimentary rocks from the Georgina and Amadeus basins has been used to track changes in provenance that reflect the development and inversion of the former Australian Superbasin. Through much of the Neoproterozoic, sediments appear to have been predominantly derived from local sources in the Arunta and Musgrave inliers. Close similarities between the detrital age signatures of late Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks in the two basins suggests that they were contiguous at this time. A dominant population of 1.2–1.0 Ga zircon in Early Cambrian sediments of the Amadeus Basin reflects the uplift of the Musgrave Inlier during the Petermann Orogeny between 560 and 520 Ma, which shed a large volume of detritus northwards into the Amadeus Basin. Early Cambrian sedimentary rocks in the Georgina Basin have a much smaller proportion of 1.2–1.0 Ga detritus, possibly due to the formation of sub‐basins along the northern margin of the Amadeus Basin which might have acted as a barrier to sediment transfer. An influx of 0.6–0.5 Ga zircon towards the end of the Cambrian coincides with the transgression of the Larapintine Sea across central Australia, possibly as a result of intracratonic rifting. Detrital zircon age spectra of sedimentary rocks deposited within this epicontinental sea are very similar to those of coeval sedimentary rocks from the Pacific Gondwana margin, implying that sediment was transported into central Australia from the eastern continental margin. The remarkably consistent ‘Pacific Gondwana’ signature of Cambro‐Ordovician sediments in central and eastern Australia reflects a distal source, possibly from east Antarctica or the East African Orogen. The peak of the marine incursion into central Australia in the early to mid Ordovician coincides with granulite‐facies metamorphism at mid‐crustal depths between the Amadeus and Georgina basins (the Larapinta Event). The presence of the epicontinental sea, the relative lack of a local basement zircon component in Cambro‐Ordovician sedimentary rocks and their maturity suggest that metamorphism was not accompanied by mountain building, consistent with an extensional or transtensional setting for this tectonism. Sediments deposited at ～435–405 and ～365 Ma during the Alice Springs Orogeny have detrital age signatures similar to those of Cambro‐Ordovician sedimentary rocks, reflecting uplift and reworking of the older succession into narrow foreland basins adjacent to the orogen.     

Proto-basement in Svalbard

Candidates for possible Precambrian proto-basement throughout Svalbard are considered and evaluated. The paper provides a tectono-stratigraphic framework for consideration of new data. Proto-basement, in the sense of basement in Proterozoic time, implies the occurrence of a Precambrian tectonic event. Vendian rocks are widespread in Svalbard and, because there is no known Vendian major tectonic event, the search is narrowed to pre-Vendian rocks. The approach is primarily tectono-stratigraphic, to identify a significant break by unconformity, contrast in metamorphic facies and isotopic age determinations.
The paper concludes that the following rock units are proto-basement: Isbjømhamna and (newly defined) Eimfjellet groups, Nordbukta Group, Magnethøgda Group, the Richarddalen Complex; the Atomfjella Complex, the Brennevinsfjorden Group and the granitoids related to the Kapp Hansteen Group and the Duvefjorden Complex. While considered unlikely to be proto-basement the following cannot be ruled out: the Mefonntoppane and Kistefjellet rocks and the Sigfredbogen unit, the blue-schist Vestgötabreen rocks, the Pinkie Formation and parts of the Kongsvegen Group.
Terrane implications are consistent with the three terrane model of Harland & Wright (1979), modified by Harland et al. (1993); but the data presented here hardly constrain such a model. In so far as the conclusions here are valid the effect is to subtract from, rather than add to, the outcrops commonly mapped as likely proto-basement.     

An Early Proterozoic U-Pb zircon age from an Eskolabreen Formation gneiss in southern Ny Friesland, Spitsbergen

A preliminary U/Pb zircon age determination has been carried out on a grey gneiss of the Eskolabreen Formation, the lowest observable lithostratigraphic unit of Precambrian metamorphic rocks in southern Ny Friesland, NE Spitsbergen. The obtained age, ca. 2, 400 Ma, is considered to be a metamorphic age and suggests an Early Proterozoic tectonothermal event.     

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.     

Rapid exhumation of basement rocks along the northern margin of the North China craton in the early Jurassic: evidence from the Xiabancheng Basin,Yanshan Tectonic Belt

Early Mesozoic Basins in the Yanshan Fold–Thrust Belt (YFTB), located along the northern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), record significant intraplate deformation of unknown age. In this article, we present evidence for the rapid exhumation of high‐grade basement rocks along the northern margin of the NCC in the Early Mesozoic. U–Pb geochronology of detrital zircons constrains the maximum depositional ages of syntectonic sedimentary units that formed during the unroofing of basement rocks and plutons in the Xiabancheng Basin. In the Early Mesozoic, the Xiabancheng Basin recorded a dramatic transformation in depositional environments, related to a significant change in the regional tectonic setting. In this study, the tectonic evolution of the YFTB is established from paleocurrent data and U–Pb zircon ages of sandstone and granitic gravels of the Xingshikou Formation, Xiabancheng Basin. The paleocurrent direction of meandering fluvial facies in the Triassic Liujiagou and Ermaying Formations are from east to west. In contrast, the overlying Xingshikou Formation consists of alluvial fan facies with paleocurrent directions from north‐northwest to south‐southeast. The lower and middle segments of the Xingshikou Formation record rapid exhumation of basement rocks along the northern margin of the NCC. U‐Pb ages of detrital zircons within the Xingshikou Formation are characterized by three major U–Pb age groups: 2.2–2.5 Ga, 1.7–1.8 Ga and 193–356 Ma. From 193 Ma to 356 Ma, a subsidiary peak occurs at 198 ± 5 Ma, constraining the sedimentation age of the Xingshikou Formation to the Early Jurassic. Zircon from the Wangtufang pluton in the northern portion of the Xiabancheng Basin yields U–Pb ages of 191 ± 1 Ma and 207 ± 1 Ma. Within error, these crystallization ages are identical to detrital zircon ages of 206 ± 1 Ma and 206 ± 2 Ma obtained for granitic gravel clasts in the Xingshikou Formation. Thus, the Wangtufang pluton and surrounding basement rocks must have experienced rapid uplift and exhumation during the Early Jurassic. The onset of exhumation along the northern margin of the NCC occurred at ca. 198–180 Ma.     

Palynological investigations of Permian rocks from Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

Palynological investigations of nine sections covering the upper part of the Nordenskioldbreen Formation, Gipshuken Formation, and the lower part of the Kapp Starostin Formation in the Wahlenbergfjorden area, Nordaustlandet. yielded palynomorphs in three sections. Three assemblages are recognized. A tentative correlation with the Sverdrup Basin suggests a Sakmarian to Artinskian age for the uppermost Nordenskioldbreen and lower Gipshuken Formations. Thermal maturity is low. The palynoflora is dominated by striate pollen suggesting an arid climate throughout the deposition of the Nordenskioldbreen and Gipshuken Formations.     

Status of the Atlantic walrus Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus in the Svalbard area

Observations of walrus in the Svalbard area in the period 1954-1982 indicate an increase since 1970 in the numbers summering in this area. The numbers of walrus observed show annual fluctuations. With the exception of 1973, when at least 300 animals were observed on one occasion at Kvitøya, the observations indicate a summering stock of about 100 animals. In 1982, when most walrus habitats in Svalbard were surveyed, observations of 248-274 animals were recorded. These observations were estimated to represent 82–85 individuals.
During summer, walrus are most frequently observed at Tusenøyane, in Murchisonfjorden and along adjacent coasts, along the northern coast of Nordaustlandet, at Kvitoya, and at Moffen. Apparently, the walrus re-established the use of Moffen as a summer haul-out site about the beginning of the 1970s.
An apparent under-representation of observations of females with dependent calves in Svalbard indicates that the area is mainly used as a summering area by males and that Svalbard is in the process of being repopulated by an extension of a population centred elsewhere. It is suggested that the walrus summering in Svalbard belong to a population with its main distribution in the Frans Josef Land archipelago, but at least some may be derived from a walrus population(s) occurring at Novaja Zemlja and in the Kara Sea.     

Geochemistry of the late Proterozoic Kapp Hansteen igneous rocks of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

Proterozoic igneous rocks occur in three areas in Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, and are found in the upper part of the Lower Hecla Hoek succession, the Botniahalvøya Supergroup. The rocks have been called porphyrites in Botniahalvøya, metadiabases in Prins Oscars Land and quartz porphyries in both areas as well as in the Sabinebukta area. All rocks have been metamorphosed under the greenschist facies conditions. The porphyrites are calc-alkaline acid andesites and dacites of medium to high K2O type, possibly showing a transition to tholeiitic series. The quartz porphyries are calc-alkaline rhyolites of high K20 type. The metadiabases are subdivided into two: the basic dykes of low K20 type and relatively high Fe tholeiite series, while the main bodies are acid andesites of medium to high K20 and low Fe tholeiite series. The basic dykes fall in the oceanic rock field of the Tiø2-K20-P20s diagram, and are most likely belonging to the island arc type volcanism. The metadiabases of main bodies and the porphyrites, and possibly the quartz porphyries, are chemically continuous. The medium to high K20 contents, and their Tiø2-K20-P2O5 ratios suggest that these three rock groups are non-oceanic and resemble the rock associations of the areas having thick continental crust. This conclusion agrees with the reported high initial Sr^87/86 ratios and the existence of a distinct unconformity at the base of this volcanogenic succession.     

Petrography of Lower Cretaceous sandstones on Spitsbergen

The sandstone petrography of sample suites from four sites spanning the Rurikfjellet (Hauterivian) to Carolinefjellet (Aptian-Albian) formations in central Spitsbergen was investigated. The sandstones show a distinct stepwise shift in composition from quartz arenites to sublitharenites and lithic arenites, typically within the upper part of the Helvetiafjellet Formation. This shift is related to the introduction of 10 - 25% (grain%) plagioclase grains and volcanic lithics, and a notable increase in basement and sedimentary lithics. Quartz grain character also changes, and grain shapes become more varied. The shift is also associated with the transgressive arrival of marine sediments in the area, and the introduction of sands from the east-northeast by shore-parallel transport. Regional regression and subsequent transgression, and the change in sandstone composition is attributed to the development of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province in the region. The relative constancy of sand composition and volume of volcanic detritus within the Carolinefjellet Formation suggests long term (∼20 M) stability of the sediment system and a large volcanic source area, consistent with LIP (Large Igneous Province) derivation, along with significant exposure of basement rocks. Sample spacing and sediment recycling and mixing do not allow detection of events that would have changed sandstone composition that were less than ∼1 M duration. Preservation of significant amounts of plagioclase in a sediment-starved shelf can be explained by relatively cold climatic conditions.     

Forebulge migration in the Cretaceous Western Interior basin of the central United States

ABSTRACT This study combines stratigraphic evidence with geodynamic modelling to demonstrate that a forebulge played an identifiable role in Cenomanian–Turonian erosion and sediment accumulation in the North American Western Interior basin. The early to middle Turonian forebulge migrated progressively eastwards, and by the upper middle Turonian acted as a 'backstop' against which barrier islands formed in the axial basin.
This paper focuses on the progressive migration of an unconformity on the forebulge. The lengthwise orogen-parallel orientation and time-transgressive orogen-normal migration of the forebulge unconformity are characteristics that differentiate it from unconformities developed on reactivated basement structures. We present a conceptual model in which the unconformity formed as the seafloor was uplifted by forebulge-related flexure to a water depth at which submarine bypass and erosion occurred. A numerical model that describes forebulge migration in response to load dispersal by erosion of the orogenic front and sedimentation into the foredeep indicates that the distance from the thrust front to the forebulge is within reasonable bounds established using a flexural rigidity of 3×10²⁴ Nm.
We identify architecturally similar, coeval unconformities from Montana to New Mexico, and interpret the similar distance from the thrust front to a point where each unconformity dissipates as indicative of a uniform lithospheric flexural response along the orogenic front. Here we ascribe cratonward (west-to-east) forebulge migration to erosional load redistribution, whereas orogen-parallel (north–south) stratigraphic climb of the forebulge unconformities developed in response to depocentre migration. Inherited lithospheric inhomogeneities may have allowed the forebulge in central Colorado to crest farther from the orogen than to the north and south.     

Cenozoic evolution of the Altyn Tagh and East Kunlun fault zones inferred from detrital garnet,tourmaline and rutile in southwestern Qaidam Basin (Northern Tibetan Plateau)

This study focuses on the Cenozoic provenance and tectonic evolution of the southwestern Qaidam Basin through geochemical analysis of detrital garnet, tourmaline and rutile. The variation of detrital mineral compositions indicates that the Cenozoic evolution can be divided into three stages: (i) before the deposition of the upper Xiaganchaigou Formation (before 37.8 Ma); (ii) between the deposition of the upper Xiaganchaigou Formation and the Shangganchaigou Formation (from 37.8 to 22 Ma); (iii) since the deposition of the Xiayoushashan Formation (since 22 Ma). In the first stage, abundant garnets from high‐grade meta‐basic and ultramafic rocks in the sediments from the Ganchaigou area support a provenance from the South Altyn Tagh HP/UHP metamorphic zone. The low percentage of tourmalines from granitoid rocks in the sediments in the Kunbei‐Lücaotan area suggests a provenance from the East Kunlun fault zone, indicating that the Qimen Tagh Shan was not high enough to prevent the transport of sediments from the southern Qaidam Basin. The sediments in the Qigequan area were derived from both the Altyn Tagh fault zone and the East Kunlun fault zone. In the second stage, the tectonic activity consisted in the rapid uplift of the Altyn Shan. Changes in garnet composition indicate a lower detrital contribution from high‐grade metamorphic rocks. In the third stage, the disappearance of garnets from high‐grade metamorphic rocks and scattered temperatures of rutiles in the Ganchaigou area suggest that the source area shifted from the South Altyn Tagh HP/UHP metamorphic rocks to weakly metamorphosed Meso‐Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks. The increase in granitoid‐derived tourmalines in the Kunbei‐Lücaotan area is indicative of the rapid uplift of the Qimen Tagh Shan. The provenance evolution in the southwestern Qaidam Basin indicates that the tectonic activity along the Altyn Tagh fault zone can be divided into an early stage of Altyn Shan uplift and a later stage of left‐lateral slip. At the same time, tectonic movement along the East Kunlun fault zone initiated.     

Exhumation of the Huangling anticline in the Three Gorges region: Cenozoic sedimentary record from the western Jianghan Basin,China

Within the interior of the Yangtze Craton, the dome‐like Huangling anticline exposes ca. 1000 km² of Archaean basement and Neoproterozoic granitoid rocks in the Three Gorges region, providing a natural laboratory for studying the mechanism of intracontinental exhumation. Cretaceous shortening of the Qinling Orogen and Cenozoic reorganization of the Yangtze River have been considered by previous thermochronology studies to account for the two‐phase exhumation of the Huangling anticline. However, little is known about when and how the batholithic rocks were exposed to the surface. To fully reveal the exhumation history of the Huangling anticline, we focus on the Cenozoic sedimentary record in the western Jianghan Basin, downstream of the Three Gorges, and examined spatio‐temporal changes in sedimentation dynamic and provenance on the basis of sedimentary facies, palaeocurrents and clast compositions, as well as zircon U‐Pb geochronology. Our results indicate continuous unroofing of the Huangling anticline since the Eocene and provide a solid evidence for first exposure of the Huangling batholith during the Neogene. Cenozoic exhumation of the Huangling anticline is synchronous with incision of the Three Gorges, indicating a mechanism of intracontinental exhumation due to Yangtze River reorganization through which the Middle Yangtze River was progressively captured by the Lower Yangtze River with locally increased erosion rates in the Three Gorges.