The Cenozoic deformation of the Tianshan Mountain Range within the framework of the India-Eurasia collision has been extensively studied. Previous thermochronologic studies of bedrocks in this range suggest a complex Triassic-Early Cretaceous tectonic evolution and subsequent tectonic quiescence in the Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene. Thus, constraining the exhumation and topographic growth of the Tianshan Mountain Range during the Cenozoic remains a challenge. In this study we report new detrital apatite fission-track ages for a Cenozoic sedimentary succession on the northern margin of the Tarim Basin (Kuqa River section). Thermochronologic age trends along the analyzed succession reveal two major age-shifts in sediments deposited at ∼ 23 Ma and ∼ 10 Ma, which we ascribe to major drainage reorganizations in response to uplift of the South Tianshan Mountain Range, an interpretation corroborated by published detrital zircon U-Pb and heavy mineral data. By comparing detrital apatite fission-track data with existing bedrock data, we infer that both North Tianshan, Yili-Central Tianshan and South Tianshan provided detritus to the Tarim Basin during the early and middle Miocene. At ∼ 10 Ma, the South Tianshan Mountain Range experienced rapid uplift and started forming a topographic barrier that blocked sediments flowing from North Tianshan and Yili-Central Tianshan into the Tarim Basin. We suggest that progressive topographic growth of the South Tianshan Mountain Range favored the aridification of the Tarim region by acting as a barrier to westerly winds.

Guo, C., Zhang, Z., Malusà, M., Chew, D., Xiang, D., Lin, W., et al. (2022). Late Cenozoic topographic growth of the South Tianshan Mountain Range: Insights from detrital apatite fission-track ages, northern Tarim Basin margin, NW China. JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES, 234(15 August 2022) [10.1016/j.jseaes.2022.105277].

Late Cenozoic topographic growth of the South Tianshan Mountain Range: Insights from detrital apatite fission-track ages, northern Tarim Basin margin, NW China

Malusà, Marco Giovanni;
2022

Abstract

The Cenozoic deformation of the Tianshan Mountain Range within the framework of the India-Eurasia collision has been extensively studied. Previous thermochronologic studies of bedrocks in this range suggest a complex Triassic-Early Cretaceous tectonic evolution and subsequent tectonic quiescence in the Late Cretaceous-Palaeogene. Thus, constraining the exhumation and topographic growth of the Tianshan Mountain Range during the Cenozoic remains a challenge. In this study we report new detrital apatite fission-track ages for a Cenozoic sedimentary succession on the northern margin of the Tarim Basin (Kuqa River section). Thermochronologic age trends along the analyzed succession reveal two major age-shifts in sediments deposited at ∼ 23 Ma and ∼ 10 Ma, which we ascribe to major drainage reorganizations in response to uplift of the South Tianshan Mountain Range, an interpretation corroborated by published detrital zircon U-Pb and heavy mineral data. By comparing detrital apatite fission-track data with existing bedrock data, we infer that both North Tianshan, Yili-Central Tianshan and South Tianshan provided detritus to the Tarim Basin during the early and middle Miocene. At ∼ 10 Ma, the South Tianshan Mountain Range experienced rapid uplift and started forming a topographic barrier that blocked sediments flowing from North Tianshan and Yili-Central Tianshan into the Tarim Basin. We suggest that progressive topographic growth of the South Tianshan Mountain Range favored the aridification of the Tarim region by acting as a barrier to westerly winds.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Detrital apatite fission track ages; Miocene topographic uplift; South Tianshan; Tarim aridification;
English
2022
12
Guo, C., Zhang, Z., Malusà, M., Chew, D., Xiang, D., Lin, W., et al. (2022). Late Cenozoic topographic growth of the South Tianshan Mountain Range: Insights from detrital apatite fission-track ages, northern Tarim Basin margin, NW China. JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES, 234(15 August 2022) [10.1016/j.jseaes.2022.105277].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/378772
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