Denudational response to surface uplift in east Tibet: Evidence from apatite fission-track thermochronology

Research Article| September 01, 2011 Denudational response to surface uplift in east Tibet: Evidence from apatite fission-track thermochronology Christopher J.L. Wilson; Christopher J.L. Wilson † 1School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton,Victoria 3800, Australia †E-mail: Chris.Wilson@Monash.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Andrew P. Fowler Andrew P. Fowler 2AMC Consultants, Level 19, 114 William Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Christopher J.L. Wilson † 1School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton,Victoria 3800, Australia Andrew P. Fowler 2AMC Consultants, Level 19, 114 William Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia †E-mail: Chris.Wilson@Monash.edu Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 13 May 2010 Revision Received: 10 Oct 2010 Accepted: 04 Nov 2010 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 © 2011 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2011) 123 (9-10): 1966–1987. https://doi.org/10.1130/B30331.1 Article history Received: 13 May 2010 Revision Received: 10 Oct 2010 Accepted: 04 Nov 2010 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Christopher J.L. Wilson, Andrew P. Fowler; Denudational response to surface uplift in east Tibet: Evidence from apatite fission-track thermochronology. GSA Bulletin 2011;; 123 (9-10): 1966–1987. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B30331.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract East Tibet preserves broad areas of low relief that occur at elevations >3000 m and are dissected by major strike-slip faults that have been repeatedly reactivated since the late Mesozoic. Apatite fission-track samples from these low-relief, high-elevation surfaces indicate Cretaceous cooling (ca. 90 Ma). Fast rock uplift of the 110 °C isotherm and a fossilized partial annealing zone began in the plateau interior of east Tibet in the Miocene. Low denudation rates in the plateau interior during the Cenozoic, which are constrained by thermal history modeling and a consistency in ages from apatite fission tracks, suggest that dip-slip displacement on faults has been minor. Some localized areas have experienced the effects of structurally enhanced rock uplift and denudation or fault-related hydrothermal reheating. Cooling ages in Eocene sediments deposited on the older plateau surface suggest that rapid denudation occurred from the Miocene to Holocene. Other evidence of significant Cenozoic denudation comes from river valleys, in particular, the Yalong River valley, where incision was initiated in the Oligocene to Miocene (28–12 Ma). Estimated mean denudation in east Tibet during the Cenozoic was ∼1–2 km in the low-relief, high-elevation plateau interior and at least 5 km at the high-relief plateau margin in the Longmen Shan. The region south of the Longmen Shan and the Sichuan Basin was not uplifted with the main Tibetan Plateau in the Miocene, but it has undergone enhanced denudation since the Eocene. Due to an orographic effect, most of the denudation in the east Tibetan Plateau interior has occurred in major river valleys. Incision in the major rivers of the Longman Shan occurred simultaneously and has kept pace with surface uplift that began in the middle–late Miocene (12 Ma), with acceleration of denudation rates in the late Miocene (>5 Ma). You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.