Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology of Granite from the Xiazhuang Uranium Ore Field,South China:Implications for Exhumation History and Ore Preservation

Xiazhuang uranium ore field,located in the southern part of the Nanling Metallogenic Belt,is considered one of the largest granite-related U regions in South China.In this paper,we contribute new apatite fission track data and thermal history modeling to constrain the exhumation history and evaluate preservation potential of the Xiazhuang Uranium ore field.Nine Triassic outcrop granite samples collected from different locations of Xiazhuang Uranium ore field yield AFT ages ranging from 43 to 24 Ma with similar mean confined fission track lengths ranging from 11.8±2.0 to 12.9±1.9μm and Dpar values between 1.01 and 1.51μm.The robustness time-temperature reconstructions of samples from the hanging wall of Huangpi fault show that the Xiazhuang Uranium ore field experienced a time of monotonous and slow cooling starting from middle Paleocene to middle Miocene(~60-10 Ma),followed by relatively rapid exhumation in the late Miocene(~10-5 Ma)and nearly thermal stability in the Pliocene-Quaternary(~5-0 Ma).The amount of exhumation after U mineralization since the Middle Paleogene was estimated as~4.3±1.8 km according to the integrated thermal history model.Previous studies indicate that the ore-forming ages of U deposits in the Xiazhuang ore field are mainly before Middle Paleocene and the mineralization depths are more than 4.4±1.2 km.Therefore,the exhumation history since middle Paleocene plays important roles in the preservation of the Xiazhuang Uranium ore field.

Exhumation and Preservation of the Jinchuan Ni-Cu-PGE Deposit under the East Longshou Mountain Thermal Evolution,Revealed by Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology

Uplift and exhumation are important factors affecting the preservation of deposits.The anatomy of uplift-cooling evolution and exhumation in the East Longshou Mountain is of significant research value in understanding changes in the Jinchuan Ni-Cu-PGE deposit since its formation.This study uses apatite fission track(AFT)thermochronology to reconstruct the thermal history of the East Longshou Mountain,including the Jinchuan mine,revealing the uplift and exhumation history of the East Longshou Mountain and elucidating the preservation status of the Jinchuan deposit.The AFT ages in the East Longshou Mountain are distributed from 62.3±3.0 Ma to 214.7±14 Ma,with significant differences in ages in distinct areas,the central and pooled ages being consistent within the margin of error.Inverse thermal history models reveal two rapid cooling events associated with exhumation from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous(200–100 Ma)and since the Miocene(15–0 Ma),the former attributable to the far-afield response to the closure of the PaleoTethys Ocean and plate assembly at the southern margin of Eurasia,the latter associated with the initial India-Eurasia plate collision.A slow cooling event from the Early Cretaceous to the Miocene(100–15 Ma)is thought to be related to the arid environment in northwest China since the Cretaceous.These cooling events have diverse responses and cooling rates in different blocks of the East Longshou Mountain:the southwest and centre of which are mainly cooled over 200–120 Ma and 120–0 Ma,with cooling rates of~0.25 and~0.33°C/Ma(~1.25 and~0.33°C/Ma in the centre);the Jinchuan mine primarily cooled over 160–100 Ma,100–15 Ma and 15–0 Ma,with cooling rates of~1.33,~0.25 and~2.00°C/Ma.These differentiated coolings imply that the uplift of the East Longshou Mountain before the Miocene(~15 Ma)was integral.Strong uplift then occurred in the vicinity of the mining area,which is a critical period for the uplift of the Jinchuan deposit to the surface,meaning that the Jinchuan deposit was exposed no earlier than the Miocene(~15 Ma).Based on mineralization depth information obtained by previous researchers,in conjunction with the calculation and simulation results of this study,it can be seen that the bulk of the Jinchuan intrusion may still be preserved at depth.

Cretaceous-Neogene Exhumation of the Daqing Shan,North China Constrained by Apatite Fission Track Thermochronology

The Daqing Shan(DQS)located in the Yinshan-Yanshan Orogenic Belt plays an important role in the Mesozoic to Cenozoic evolution of the North China Craton.However,the cooling and exhumation history since the Cretaceous is still controversial.Integrating the apatite fission track(AFT)data in both this study and previous works,a three-stage exhumation history from Cretaceous to Neogene of the DQS is proposed.(1)The first stage is composed of the early exhumation during Early Cretaceous driven by the collision between the North China and Siberia cratons(ca.148-132 Ma)and the far-field effect of the subduction of the Pacific Plate(ca.132-114 Ma).(2)Due to the subsidence of the Hetao Basin and the subsequent compensation between the DQS and the Hetao Basin,the DQS experienced the second rapid exhumation from Early Eocene to Early Oligocene(ca.54-29 Ma).(3)Since the Late Miocene(ca.13.5 Ma),the third rapid cooling and exhumation of the DQS occurred due to the far-field effect of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the subduction of the Pacific Plate.

New Apatite Fission-Track Ages of the Western Kuqa Depression:Implications for the Mesozoic–Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of South Tianshan,Xinjiang

The Mesozoic–Cenozoic uplift history of South Tianshan has been reconstructed in many ways using thermochronological analyses for the rocks from the eastern Kuqa Depression. The main difference in the reconstructions concerns the existence and importance of Early Cretaceous and Paleogene tectonic activities, but the existence of a Cenozoic differential uplift in the Kuqa Depression remains enigmatic. Here, we present new apatite fission-track ages obtained for 12 sandstone samples from the well-exposed Early Triassic to Quaternary sequence of the Kapushaliang section in the western Kuqa Depression. The results reveal that there were four pulses of tectonic exhumation, which occurred during the Early Cretaceous(peak ages of 112 and 105 Ma), Late Cretaceous(peak age of 67 Ma), Paleocene–Eocene(peak ages at 60, 53, and 36 Ma), and early Oligocene to late Miocene(central ages spanning 30–11 Ma and peak ages of 23 and 14 Ma), respectively. A review of geochronological and geological evidence from both the western and eastern Kuqa Depression is shown as follows.(1) The major exhumation of South Tians Shan during the Early Cretaceous was possibly associated with docking of the Lhasa block with the southern margin of the Eurasian plate.(2) The Late Cretaceous uplift of the range occurred diachronically due to the far-field effects of the Kohistan-Dras Arc and Lhasa block accretion.(3) The Paleogene uplift in South Tianshan initially corresponded to the far-field effects of the India–Eurasia collision.(4) The rapid exhumation in late Cenozoic was driven by the continuous far-field effects of the collision between India and Eurasia plates. The apatite fission-track ages of 14–11 Ma suggest that late Cenozoic exhumation in the western Kuqa Depression prevailed during the middle to late Miocene, markedly later than the late Oligocene to early Miocene activity in the eastern segment. It can be hypothesized that a possible differential uplift in time occurred in the Kuqa Depression during the late Cenozoic.

Hydrocarbon accumulation history in Lower Cretaceous in northern slope of Bongor Basin in Chad,Central Africa

Based on the analysis of the fluid inclusion homogenization temperature and apatite fission track on the northern slope zone of the Bongor Basin in Chad,this paper studied the time and stages of hydrocarbon accumulation in the study area.The results show that:(1)The brine inclusions of the samples from the Kubla and Prosopis formations in the Lower Cretaceous coexisting with the hydrocarbon generally present two sets of peak ranges of homogenization temperature,with the peak ranges of low temperature and high temperature being 75–105℃ and 115–135℃,respectively;(2)The samples from the Kubla and Prosopis formations have experienced five tectonic evolution stages,i.e.,rapid subsidence in the Early Cretaceous,tectonic inversion in the Late Cretaceous,small subsidence in the Paleogene,uplift at the turn of the Paleogene and Neogene,and subsidence since the Miocene,in which the denudation thickness of the Late Cretaceous and after the turn of the Paleogene and Neogene are~1.8 km and~0.5 km,respectively.The cumulative denudation thickness of the two periods is about 2.3 km;(3)Using the brine inclusion homogenization temperature coexisting with the hydrocarbon as the capture temperature of the hydrocarbon,and combining with the apatite fission track thermal history modeling,the result shows that the Kubla and Prosopis formations in the Lower Cretaceous on the northern slope of the Bongor Basin have the same hydrocarbon accumulation time and stages,both of which have undergone two stages of hydrocarbon charging at 80–95 Ma and 65–80 Ma.The first stage of charging corresponds to the initial migration of hydrocarbon at the end of the Early Cretaceous rapid sedimentation,while the second stage of charging is in the stage of intense tectonic inversion in the Late Cretaceous.

New insights from low-temperature thermochronology into the tectonic and geomorphologic evolution of the south-eastern Brazilian highlands and passive margin

The South Atlantic passive margin along the south-eastern Brazilian highlands exhibits a complex landscape,including a northern inselberg area and a southern elevated plateau,separated by the Doce River valley.This landscape is set on the Proterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks of the region that once was the hot core of the Aracuai orogen,in Ediacaran to Ordovician times.Due to the break-up of Gondwana and consequently the opening of the South Atlantic during the Early Cretaceous,those rocks of the Araquai orogen became the basement of a portion of the South Atlantic passive margin and related southeastern Brazilian highlands.Our goal is to provide a new set of constraints on the thermo-tectonic history of this portion of the south-eastern Brazilian margin and related surface processes,and to provide a hypothesis on the geodynamic context since break-up.To this end,we combine the apatite fission track(AFT)and apatite(U-Th)/He(AHe)methods as input for inverse thermal history modelling.All our AFT and AHe central ages are Late Cretaceous to early Paleogene.The AFT ages vary between 62 Ma and90 Ma,with mean track lengths between 12.2μm and 13.6μm.AHe ages are found to be equivalent to AFT ages within uncertainty,albeit with the former exhibiting a lesser degree of confidence.We relate this Late Cretaceous-Paleocene basement cooling to uplift with accelerated denudation at this time.Spatial variation of the denudation time can be linked to differential reactivation of the Precambrian structural network and differential erosion due to a complex interplay with the drainage system.We argue that posterior large-scale sedimentation in the offshore basins may be a result of flexural isostasy combined with an expansion of the drainage network.We put forward the combined compression of the Mid-Atlantic ridge and the Peruvian phase of the Andean orogeny,potentially augmented through the thermal weakening of the lower crust by the Trindade thermal anomaly,as a probable cause for the uplift.

Different Burial-Cooling History of Triassic Strata between the Western Weibei Uplift and the Northwestern Weihe Basin in Northwest China

Analysis of tectonothermal history of the Yanchang Formation in the western Weibei Uplift and in the northwestern Weihe Basin can reconstruct the cooling history of the southwest most remained Upper Triassic source rock of the North China Plate. Apatite fission-track(AFT) and(U-ThSm)/He(AHe) analysis were used to recover the cooling and uplift history of the Upper Triassic here. Ten sandstones from the Middle–Upper Triassic strata yield AFT ages between 179.8 ± 7.4 and 127.6 ± 8.1 Ma. AHe ages of two sandstones have the value of 37.7 ± 2.3–131.1 ± 8.1 and 45.7 ± 2.8–83.5 ± 5.2 Ma. Time-temperature modeling results showed that tectonothermal history of the Yanchang Formation was initially different in time-space relationships but then became almost identical through time followed by different cooling rate. Modeling results of the Triassic strata in the Qianyang area and the Yaojiagou area revealed three different uplift-cooling stages commencing in the Late Jurassic at ~165 Ma and in Early Cretaceous at ~110 Ma, respectively, both followed by first similar cooling histories to the Early Miocene at ~20 – 23 Ma and then different since the Late Miocene. Uplift-cooling rate since the Late Miocene at ~8 Ma were different between the Western Weibei Uplift and the Northwestern Weihe Basin. The timing, cooling-uplift rates of the Yaojiagou area, which was mainly controlled by movements related to the Liupanshan Mountains, the Qinling Orogens and the Weibei Uplift, had the earliest onset of uplift-cooling for the Upper Triassic series compared to other regions within the Weibei Uplift. Cooling paths for the Upper Triassic series became uniform regionally in the Early Cretaceous marking a key time for the tectonothermal evolutionary history of Upper Triassic series in the southwestern North China Plate.

Cenozoic low temperature cooling history of the eastern Lhasa terrane:Implications for high-relief topography of external drainage area in the southern Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau geographically contains internal and external drainage areas based on the distributions of river flows and catchments.The internal and external drainage areas display similar highelevations,while their topographic reliefs are not comparable;the former shows a large low-relief surface,whereas the latter is characterized by relatively high relief.The eastern Lhasa terrane is a key tectonic component of the Tibetan Plateau.It is characterized by high topography and relief,but the thermal history of its basement remains relatively poorly constrained.In this study we report new apatite fission track data from the eastern part of the central Lhasa terrane to constrain the thermo-tectonic evolution of the external drainage area in the southern Tibetan Plateau.Twenty-one new AFT ages and associated thermal history models reveal that the basement underlying the external drainage area in southern Tibet experienced three main phases of rapid cooling in the Cenozoic.The Paleocene-early Eocene(-60–48 Ma)cooling was likely induced by crustal shortening and associated rock exhumation,due to accelerated northward subduction of the NeoTethys oceanic lithosphere.A subsequent cooling pulse lasted from the late Eocene to early Oligocene(-40–28 Ma),possibly due to the thickening and consequential erosion of the Lhasa lithosphere resulted from the continuous northward indentation of the India plate into Eurasia.The most recent rapid cooling event occurred in the middle Miocene-early Pliocene(-16–4 Ma),likely induced by accelerated incision of the Lhasa River and local thrust faulting.Our AFT ages and published low-temperature thermochronological data reveal that the external drainage area experienced younger cooling events compared with the internal drainage area,and that the associated differentiated topographic evolution initiated at ca.30 Ma.The contributing factors for the formation of the high-relief topography mainly contain active surface uplift,fault activity,and the enhanced incision of the Yarlung River.

Post-Orogenic Tectonic Evolution of the Jiangnan-Xuefeng Orogenic Belt:Insights from Multiple Geochronometric Dating of the Mufushan Massif,South China

The Mufushan massif, as continental intra-plate magmatites located in the Jiangnan-Xuefeng orogenic belt of the South China. The Mufushan massif constitutes the largest Mesozoic intrusive complex, intruded the Mesoproterozoic Lengjiaxi Formation. Multiple geochronometric dating was used to reconstruct their evolution from emplacement to exhumation. The Mufushan granitoids were emplaced at ~150 Ma(U-Pb zircon) as post-orogenic magmatites contributing to Triassic crustal thickening. Onset of regional extension at ~128 Ma(40Ar/39Ar white mica and biotite) manifests a tectonic regime switch. Intense exhumation prior to ~55 Ma was followed by slow denudation and peneplanation for the next 37 Ma(~55–18 Ma). Accelerated cooling since ~18 Ma may have been caused by a far-field effect of the collision between IndiaAsia Plate or the Pacific-Plate subduction. Through a multi-geochronometric approach, this study provides a new comprehensive model for the cause of the intra-plate magmatism formation in the South China, and also established a reliable geochronological framework of the post-orogenic tectonic evolutions of the Jiangnan-Xuefeng orogenic belt.