Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz South Tien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone : the role of inherited structures during deformation-propagation

Multimethod chronology was applied on intrusives bordering the Kyrgyz South Tien Shan suture (STSs) to decipher the timing of (1) formation and amalgamation of the suturing units and (2) intracontinental deformation that built the bordering mountain ranges. Zircon U/Pb data indicate similarities between the Tien Shan and Tarim Precambrian crust. Caledonian (similar to 440-410 Ma) and Hercynian (similar to 310-280 Ma) zircon U/Pb ages were found at the edge of the STSs, related to subduction and closure of the Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself. Permian-Triassic (similar to 280-210 Ma) titanite fission track and zircon (U-Th)/He data record the first signs of exhumation when the STSs evolved into a shear zone and the adjacent Tarim basin started to subside. Low-temperature thermochronological (apatite fission track, zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He) analyses reveal three distinct cooling phases, becoming younger toward the STSs center: (1) Jurassic-Cretaceous cooling ages provide evidence that a Mesozoic South Tien Shan orogen formed as a response to the Cimmerian orogeny; (2) Early Paleogene (similar to 60-45 Ma) data indicate a renewed pulse of STSs reactivation during the Early Cenozoic; (3) Neogene ages constrain the onset of the modern Tien Shan mountain building to the Late Oligocene (similar to 30-25 Ma), which intensified during the Miocene (similar to 10-8 Ma) and Pliocene (similar to 3-2 Ma). The Cenozoic signals may reflect renewed responses to collisions at the southern Eurasian border (i.e., the Kohistan-Dras and India-Eurasia collisions). This progressive rejuvenation of the STSs demonstrates that deformation has not migrated steadily into the forelands, but was focused on pre-existing basement structures

U-Pb memory behavior in Chicxulub's peak ring - Applying U-Pb depth profiling to shocked zircon

The zircon U-Pb system is one of the most robust geochronometers, but during an impact event individual crystals can be affected differently by the passage of the shock wave and impact generated heat. Unraveling the potentially complex thermal history recorded by zircon crystals that experienced variable levels of shock and heating, as well as additioanl pre- and post-impact thermal events, has been difficult using classical geochronological methods. The existing high-precision 40Ar/39Ar age constraints for the K-Pg Chicxulub event, and the previous U-Pb dating of the basement rocks from the impact site, make Chicxulub an ideal location to study impact-induced effects on the zircon U-Pb systematics and to evaluate potential 'memory effects' of pre-impact U-Pb signatures preserved within those individual zircon crystals. Recent IODP-ICDP drilling of the Chicxulub impact structure recovered 580 m of uplifted shocked granitoid and 130 m of melt and suevite, providing an unprecedented opportunity to study zircon crystals subjected to a range of shock pressures, thermal, and deformational histories. Zircon morphologies were classified using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging and then samples were depth profiled using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass-spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to document the range of preserved age domains from rim-to-center within individual crystals. The results show U-Pb ages range from 66 to 472 Ma, which are consistent with both inherited Carboniferous and Late Paleozoic basement ages as well as Pb loss ages in response to the K-Pg impact event. While the bulk of the zircon grains preserve Paleozoic ages, high U (metamict) zones within fractured zircon crystals exhibited an age within uncertainty (66 ± 6.2 Ma) of the impact age (66.038 ± 0.049 Ma), indicating that inherited intragrain U-Pb kinetics and/or hydrothermal fluid flow may have controlled age resetting those zircon crystals rather than impact-induced shock and heating alone. Moreover, the calculated α-decay doses suggest that the zircon crystals experienced Stage 1 or early Stage 2 radiation damage accumulation. Therefore, we suggest that the lowered crystal annealing temperature in crystals that previoulsy experienced radiation damage make the zircon U-Pb clock either more susceptible to the relatively short heat pulse of the impact event, the moderate pressure and temperature conditions in the peak ring, and/or to hot-fluid flow in the long-lasting post impact hydrothermal system

Applications and limitations of U-Pb thermochronology to middle and lower crustal thermal histories

Volume diffusion of Pb occurs over micron length scales in apatite and rutile at temperatures relevant to the evolution of the middle and lower crust. Continuous thermal history information can be resolved from inversion of intracrystalline U-Pb date profiles preserved within individual grains. Recent developments in microbeam analysis permit rapid measurement of these age profiles at sub-micron spatial resolution, thus heralding a new era for U-Pb thermochronology. Here, we review the theoretical, experimental and empirical basis for U-Pb thermochronology and show that rutile, in particular, presents an exceptional opportunity to obtain high-resolution thermal history information from the deep crust. We present a Bayesian procedure that is well suited to the inversion of U-Pb date profile datasets and balances computational efficiency with a full search of thermal history coordinate space. Complications relevant to accurate application of U-Pb thermochronology are discussed i) theoretically and ii) empirically, using a rutile U-Pb dataset from the lower crust of the Grenville orogeny. Purely diffusive date profiles are shown to be the exception to uniform, or step-like, young profiles, suggesting that processes other than thermally-activated volume diffusion may control U-Pb systematics in rutile residing in the lower crust. However, the data obtained from apparent diffusive profiles systematically match cooling histories inferred from other thermochronometers. This result emphasises the importance of integrating microtextural observations, and trace-element concentrations, with U-Pb age data in order to discriminate between diffusive and non-diffusive Pb transport mechanisms in accessory phases and thus minimize the risk of generating spurious thermal histories

Interaction between a bubble plume and the near field in a stratified lake

A steady state bubble-plume model is evaluated using full-scale temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen data collected in a Swiss lake. The data revealed a plume-generated near-field environment that differed significantly from the ambient far-field water column properties. A near-field torus of reduced stratification developed around the plume, the extent of which is on the same lateral scale as the horizontal dislocations generated by persistent first-mode seiching. The plume fallback water was found to penetrate much deeper than expected, thereby maintaining reduced vertical gradients in the near-field torus. The plume entrains a portion of the fallback water leading to short-circuiting, which generates a complex plume-lake interaction and reduces far-field downwelling relative to the upward plume flow. As the integral plume model incorporates the entrainment hypothesis, it is highly sensitive to the near-field environmental conditions. After identifying appropriate near-field boundary conditions the plume model predictions agree well with the field observations

Detrital zircon record of Phanerozoic magmatism in the southern Central Andes

Abstract: The spatial and temporal distribution of arc magmatism and associated isotopic variations provide insights into the Phanerozoic history of the western margin of South America during major shifts in Andean and pre-Andean plate interactions. We integrated detrital zircon U-Th-Pb and Hf isotopic results across continental magmatic arc systems of Chile and western Argentina (28°S–33°S) with igneous bedrock geochronologic and zircon Hf isotope results to define isotopic signatures linked to changes in continental margin processes. Key tectonic phases included: Paleozoic terrane accretion and Carboniferous subduction initiation during Gondwanide orogenesis, Permian–Triassic extensional collapse, Jurassic–Paleogene continental arc magmatism, and Neogene flat slab subduction during Andean shortening. The ~550 m.y. record of magmatic activity records spatial trends in magma composition associated with terrane boundaries. East of 69°W, radiogenic isotopic signatures indicate reworked continental lithosphere with enriched (evolved) εHf values and low (<0.65) zircon Th/U ratios during phases of early Paleozoic and Miocene shortening and lithospheric thickening. In contrast, the magmatic record west of 69°W displays depleted (juvenile) εHf values and high (>0.7) zircon Th/U values consistent with increased asthenospheric contributions during lithospheric thinning. Spatial constraints on Mesozoic to Cenozoic arc width provide a rough approximation of relative subduction angle, such that an increase in arc width reflects shallower slab dip. Comparisons among slab dip calculations with time-averaged εHf and Th/U zircon results exhibit a clear trend of decreasing (enriched) magma compositions with increasing arc width and decreasing slab dip. Collectively, these data sets demonstrate the influence of subduction angle on the position of upper-plate magmatism (including inboard arc advance and outboard arc retreat), changes in isotopic signatures, and overall composition of crustal and mantle material along the western edge of South America

Evidence of Carboniferous arc magmatism preserved in the Chicxulub impact structure

Determining the nature and age of the 200-km-wide Chicxulub impact target rock is an essential step in advancing our understanding of the Maya Block basement. Few age constraints exist for the northern Maya Block crust, specifically the basement underlying the 66 Ma, 200 km-wide Chicxulub impact structure. The International Ocean Discovery Program-International Continental Scientific Drilling Program Expedition 364 core recovered a continuous section of basement rocks from the Chicxulub target rocks, which provides a unique opportunity to illuminate the pre-impact tectonic evolution of a terrane key to the development of the Gulf of Mexico. Sparse published ages for the Maya Block point to Mesoproterozoic, Ediacaran, Ordovician to Devonian crust are consistent with plate reconstruction models. In contrast, granitic basement recovered from the Chicxulub peak ring during Expedition 364 yielded new zircon U-Pb laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) concordant dates clustering around 334 ± 2.3 Ma. Zircon rare earth element (REE) chemistry is consistent with the granitoids having formed in a continental arc setting. Inherited zircon grains fall into three groups: 400–435 Ma, 500–635 Ma, and 940–1400 Ma, which are consistent with the incorporation of Peri-Gondwanan, Pan-African, and Grenvillian crust, respectively. Carboniferous U-Pb ages, trace element compositions, and inherited zircon grains indicate a pre-collisional continental volcanic arc located along the Maya Block's northern margin before NW Gondwana collided with Laurentia. The existence of a continental arc along NW Gondwana suggests southward-directed subduction of Rheic oceanic crust beneath the Maya Block and is similar to evidence for a continental arc along the northern margin of Gondwana that is documented in the Suwannee terrane, Florida, USA, and Coahuila Block of NE México