Cenozoic Exhumation and Thrusting in the Northern Qilian Shan, Northeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau: Constraints from Sedimentological and Apatite Fission-Track Data

Abstract: The Qilian Shan lies along the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. To constrain its deformation history, we conducted integrated research on Mesozoic–Cenozoic stratigraphic sections in the Jiuxi Basin immediately north of the mountain range. Paleocurrent measurements, sandstone compositional data, and facies analysis of Cenozoic stratigraphic sections suggest that the Jiuxi Basin received sediments from the Altyn Tagh Range in the northwest, initially in the Oligocene (~33 Ma), depositing the Huoshaogou Formation in the northern part of the basin. Later, the source area of the Jiuxi Basin changed to the Qilian Shan in the south during Late Oligocene (~27 Ma), which led to the deposition of the Baiyanghe Formation. We suggest that uplift of the northern Qilian Shan induced by thrusting began no later than the Late Oligocene. Fission-track analysis of apatite from the Qilian Shan yields further information about the deformation history of the northern Qilain Shan and the Jiuxi Basin. It shows that a period of rapid cooling, interpreted as exhumation, initiated in the Oligocene. We suggest that this exhumation marked the initial uplift of the Qilian Shan resulting from the India–Asia collision.     

锆石裂变径迹(ZFT)年代学:进展与应用

裂变径迹技术是解决各种与时间-温度相关的地质问题的一种低温年代学手段.与磷灰石相比,锆石裂变径迹具有较高的封闭温度和退火区间,有其特定的地质意义和应用.自20世纪90年代以来,开展了大量锆石裂变径迹退火的研究,包括退火特性、径迹测量、退火模型,以及来自露头和钻孔样品的退火研究.首先介绍了锆石裂变径迹的分析程序、测量标准...     

盆山沉积耦合原理在定量恢复造山带隆升剥蚀过程中的应用

造山带的隆升剥蚀过程研究一直是地学界研究的热点和难点,而与造山带毗邻的沉积盆地则真实地记录了造山带隆升剥蚀演化历史。因此,通过对沉积盆地中沉积物的研究可以反演山地隆升剥蚀历史。基于这种思路,介绍了两种定量恢复造山带隆升剥蚀的方法,即裂变径迹热年代学方法和质量平衡法。前者利用样品碎屑单颗粒的裂变径迹年龄的统计分析确定其源区,并量化源区的抬升剥露及热演化历史,但要求对样品的沉积时代有很好的年代学控制,沉积后样品没有遭受热重置。后者则假定在一定时间间隔内,盆山耦合系统中物源区的地形变化总和与沉积区的碎屑沉积质量总和成正比,即隆升过程中产生侵蚀总量与毗邻盆地的沉积总量之间质量守恒,从而通过研究盆地中相应时间段的沉积总量、沉积速度来定量恢复古地形,反演造山带的演化,但盆山系统的界定以及地层定年的精度直接影响到恢复造山带隆升剥蚀过程的可靠性。     

青藏高原西北缘高原面与陡坡地貌形成过程的裂变径迹热年代学约束

对青藏高原西北缘高原内部和陡坡地貌带2个花岗岩体10件磷灰石裂变径迹年龄测定表明,高原内部大红柳滩—郭扎错逆冲断裂上盘磷灰石裂变径迹年龄为24.8±4.9～14.0±1.3Ma,此外,一个玄武岩烘烤的热事件年龄为7.9±0.8Ma;而陡坡地貌带的西昆仑中间逆冲断裂上盘的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄为2.9±0.5～0.9±0.3Ma。进一步的热历史模拟结果显示,高原内部自渐新世以来经历了2期隆升-剥露,分别是渐新世—早中新世(30～16Ma)和上新世以来(≤5Ma),而陡坡带只记录了晚中新世以来(≤8Ma)的隆升-剥露,暗示他们经历了不同的热演化历史。结合前人在该区的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄数据和野外地质现象,认为现今高原边缘陡坡地貌带可能是自晚中新世以来(≤8Ma)高原边界断裂伴有向塔里木盆地后展式叠瓦逆冲产生的构造抬升的结果;现今高原面有可能是由高原边界断裂系于大约5～2Ma以来强烈活动逐渐形成的,其隆升-剥蚀幅度>2000～3000m。这对自晚中新世以来青藏高原西北缘高原面与陡坡地貌形成过程提供了磷灰石裂变径迹热年代的重要约束。     

670矿床火山围岩铀赋存状态及配分研究

670矿床是中国东南部中生代火山岩带内典型的火山岩型铀钼矿床;矿床具有叠加成矿特点.本文利用诱发裂变径迹的方法研究了矿床火山围岩中铀的赋存状态及配分.结果表明火山围岩中的铀主要有三种赋存状态:(一)分布在火山基质及晶屑内均匀分散的质点铀,其裂变径迹是弥散状或弧立星射状分布;(二)吸附在蚀变矿物表面、矿物隙间及微裂隙内的聚合态铀,其裂变径迹为密集带状及团块状;(三)分布在副矿物中或呈铀矿物存在的铀,其裂变径迹为聚合星射状及团块状.矿物的蚀变过程,如绿泥石化、碳酸盐化等可改变火山围岩铀的赋存状态,造成铀在岩石中的活化和预富集,从而有利于矿化.因此火山围岩中铀的含量虽然较低,但对火山岩型铀矿的形成仍有重要意义.     

Electrodynamic Disaggregation: Does it Affect Apatite Fission-Track and (U-Th)/He Analyses?

Apatite fission-track and (U-Th)/He analyses require the liberation of intact idiomorphic apatite grains from rock samples. While routinely being carried out by mechanical methods, electrodynamic disaggregation (ED) offers an alternative approach. The high-voltage discharges produced during the ED process create localised temperature peaks (10000 K) along a narrow plasma channel. In apatite, such high temperatures could potentially reduce the length of fission tracks, which start to anneal at temperatures > 60 °C, and could also enhance He diffusion, which becomes significant at 30–40 °C over geological time scales. A comparison of fission-track analyses and (U-Th)/He ages of apatites prepared both by mechanical (jaw crusher, disk mill) and ED processing provides a way of determining whether heating during the latter method has any significant effect. Apatites from three samples of different geological settings (an orthogneiss from Madagascar, the Fish Canyon Tuff, and a muscovite-gneiss from Greece) yielded statistically identical track length distributions compared to samples prepared mechanically. Additionally, (U-Th)/He ages of apatites from a leucogranite from Morocco prepared by both methods were indistinguishable. These first results indicated that during electrodynamic disaggregation apatite crystals were not heated enough to partially anneal the fission tracks or induce significant diffusive loss of He.     

祁连山中段白垩纪以来阶段性构造抬升过程的磷灰石裂变径迹证据

祁连山作为青藏高原的东北边界,是研究青藏高原隆升和扩展的重要区域,利用磷灰石裂变径迹分析反映的祁连山地区白垩纪以来阶段性隆升和扩展新认识对理解青藏高原的隆升过程有重要的意义。分别采自南祁连陆块、疏勒南山—拉脊山缝合带、中祁连陆块和北祁连缝合带22个样品的磷灰石裂变径迹年龄介于(124±11)Ma与(13±2)Ma之间,平均径迹长度介于(13.6±2.3)μm和(10.3±1.8)μm之间。时间-温度反演模拟结果表明祁连山地区至少经历了3个重要构造活动阶段:1)白垩纪早期((129±14)~(115±17)Ma)祁连山隆升,南祁连陆块和疏勒南山—拉脊山缝合带的冷却速率及剥蚀速率均较大,并且祁连山南部可能率先抬升而初步构成高原的东北边界;2)白垩纪中晚期—中新世((115±17)~(25±7)Ma)祁连山构造平静,南祁连陆块和疏勒南山—拉脊山缝合带冷却速率及剥蚀速率均较低;3)中新世以来祁连山由南向北逐渐扩展,构造活动强烈而最终形成盆-山构造地貌格局。祁连山白垩纪早期的快速冷却过程可能是受拉萨地块和羌塘地块碰撞的影响;中新世以来向北扩展则主要是受印度—欧亚板块碰撞的影响。     

裂变径迹分析基础及其在盆地分析中的应用

本文介绍的裂变径迹分析是一种分析盆地热演化史的新方法。裂变径迹分析法与有机质成熟度指标或包裹体测温技术相比,具有其独特的优点,即同时提供盆地的受热时间和温度的信息。     

Cooling and inferred exhumation history of the Ryoke metamorphic belt in the Yanai district, south-west Japan: Constraints from Rb–Sr and fission-track ages of gneissose granitoid and numerical modeling

Abstract The Ryoke metamorphic belt in south-west Japan consists mainly of I-type granitoids and associated low-pressure/high-temperature metamorphic rocks. In the Yanai district, it has been divided into three structural units: northern, central and southern units. In this study, we measured the Rb–Sr whole-rock–mineral isochron ages and fission-track ages of the gneissose granodiorite in the central structural unit. Four Rb–Sr ages fall in a range of ca 89–87 Ma. The fission-track ages of zircon and apatite are 68.9 ± 2.6 Ma and 57.4 ± 2.5 Ma (1σ error), respectively. Combining the newly obtained ages with previously reported (Th–)U–Pb ages from the same unit, thermochronologic study revealed two distinctive cooling stages; 1) a rapid cooling (> 40°C/Myr) for a period (~7 Myr) soon after the peak metamorphism (~ 95 Ma) and 2) the subsequent slow cooling stage (~ 5°C/Myr) after ca 88 Ma. The first rapid cooling stage corresponds to thermal relaxation of the intruded granodiorite magma and its associated metamorphic rocks, and to the uplift by a displacement along low-angle faults which initiated soon after the intrusion of the magma. Uplift by the later stage deformation having formed large-scale upright folds resulted in progress of the exhumation during the first stage. The average exhumation velocity of the stage is ≥ 2 mm/yr. During the second stage, the rocks were not accompanied by ductile deformation and were exhumed with the rate of 0.1–0.2 mm/yr. The difference in the exhumation velocity between the first and second cooling stages resulted from the difference in the thickness of the crust and in the activity of ductile deformation between the early and later stages of the orogenesis.     

New age constraints on the cooling and unroofing history of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith (Kargil area), N. W. India

Thermotectonic history of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith in the Kargil area, N. W. India, is inferred from new age data obtained here in conjunction with previously published ages. Fission-track (FT) ages on apatite fall around 20±2 Ma recording cooling through temperatures of ∼100°C and indicating an unroofing of 4 km of the Ladakh Range since the Early Miocene. Coexisting apatite and zircon FT ages from two samples in Kargil show the rocks to have cooled at an average rate of 5–6°C/Ma in the past 40 Ma. Zircon FT ages together with mica K−Ar cooling ages from the Ladakh Batholith cluster around 40–50 Ma, probably indicating an Eocene phase of uplift and erosion that affected the bulk of the batholith after the continental collision of India with the Ladakh arc at 55 Ma. Components of the granitoids in Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene sediments of the Indus Molasse in Ladakh supports this idea. Three hornblende K−Ar ages of 90 Ma, 55 Ma, and 35 Ma are also reported; these distinctly different ages probably reflect cooling through 500–550°C of three phases of I-type plutonism in Ladakh also evidenced by other available radiometric data: 102 Ma (mid-Cretaceous), 60 Ma (Palaeocene), and 40 Ma (Late Eocene); the last phase being localised sheet injections. The geodynamic implications of the age data for the India-Asia collision are discussed.