Syn-rift to post-rift tectonic transition and drainage reorganization in continental rifting basins:Detrital zircon analysis from the Songliao Basin,NE China

Tectonic transition from a syn-rift stage to subsequent post-rift stage is an important mechanism in the evolution of extensional basins.The sedimentary infill records the crustal response to this process.We have obtained new detrital zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf signatures from the Lower Cretaceous stratigraphic successions encompassing the commonly accepted syn-to post-rift transition boundary,the T4 unconformity,in the Songliao Basin,NE China.These constrain the Songliao Basin’s evolution from its center to distal margins,providing insights into the sediment provenance and dispersal pattern over the tectonic transition.Analysis of zircons from the syn-rift(the Shahezi and Yingcheng formations)and immediate post-rift(the Lower and Middle Denglouku Formation)stages reveals Phanerozoic age populations with positiveƐHf(t)values,which were derived from the proximal juvenile mantle-derived melt origin bedrocks of the Songliao Block.In contrast,the overlying samples from the Upper Denglouku Formation deposited in the subsequent post-rift stage contain exotic and ancient zircon populations with ages of 2.5 Ga&1.8 Ga and complex hafnium signatures,characteristic of a mixed origin.These are interpreted to be transported from distant cratonic terranes via larger drainage networks.It is obvious that the sediment dispersal pattern switched from being a local and hydrologically closed“intraregional”pattern to a“transcontinental”pattern during the transition.The time lag between the development of the T4 unconformity and the drainage reorganization also ensures a distinguishable3 Myr(106103 Ma,Late Albian)transition period of regional extent.During this transition stage,syn-rift faulting was replaced by postrift thermal subsidence,exhibiting a uniform sag configuration.Our new findings are important for understanding other continental rift basins during syn-to post-rift transition,which often demonstrates a complex interaction between the linkage and integration of sub-basins,and the reorganization of fluvial drainages and catchment systems.

Tectonics induced switching of provenance during the Late Quaternary aggradation of the Indus River Valley, Ladakh, India

The Indus River flows through Ladakh, one of the driest and coldest places on earth, in a tectonically active domain. Fluvial, glaciofluvial, lacustrine and debris dominated sequences represent the Late Quaternary sedimentary record along the river course. Karakoram Fault, a major crustal scaled feature reported to be active during the Quaternary, is associated with the Indus River drainage. Linkages between a major, active fault and deposits formed during the activity period of the fault are explored using heavy mineral deduced provenance and Optically Stimulated Luminescence(OSL) chronology.Five deposits in a ~200 km long stretch of the Indus River have been examined for a ~80 ka period to decipher the climate linked aggradation history. Damming of the Indus River at ~79 ka and existence of the Spituk Lake for >30 ka is demonstrated. Using geology of the provenance in relation to the mineralogical attributes of the Quaternary deposits, the major drainage reorganization when the connection of the Tangtse Valley to the Indus was blocked, is inferred at ~73 ka. It is supported by the geologicalgeomorphological evidence. The study demonstrates the application of provenance linked mineralogy in terrestrial aggradation in a tectonically active region.