Multiple episodes of Cenozoic denudation in the northeastern Brooks Range: fission-track data from the Okpilak batholith, Alaska

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1106-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. O'sullivan ◽  
Catherine L. Hanks ◽  
Wesley K. Wallace ◽  
Paul F. Green
Keyword(s):  
Fission Track ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Late Oligocene ◽  
Brooks Range ◽  
Rapid Cooling ◽  
Zircon Fission Track ◽  
Fault Bend ◽  
Thrust Sheets ◽  
Uplift And Erosion

The northeastern Brooks Range of Alaska is a complex Mesozoic to Cenozoic northward-verging fold and thrust belt. In response to regional compression, shortening in the upper crust has occurred through the duplexing of thrust sheets and formation of associated fault-bend folds. Apatite and zircon fission-track data from the Okpilak batholith and adjacent sedimentary rocks exposed within the northeastern Brooks Range provide new constraints on the timing, magnitude, and rate of cooling of these thrust sheets as they were rapidly denuded in response to uplift during Cenozoic time. Fission-track results indicate that a previously recognized episode of Paleocene cooling was followed by at least two younger episodes of rapid cooling during Middle Eocene and Late Oligocene time. The two younger episodes of rapid cooling are interpreted to reflect denudation in response to uplift resulting from Cenozoic thrusting and related folding. As a result of structural thickening, up to 8 km of material was eroded from the top of the batholith between ~41–45 Ma (Middle Eocene). Renewed shortening and emplacement of an underlying thrust sheet at ~25 Ma (Late Oligocene) resulted in at least 2 km of uplift and erosion of sedimentary rocks immediately north of the batholith. These results suggest that, even though Paleocene uplift and erosion may have occurred across the northeastern Brooks Range, the major episode of thrust faulting, responsible for structural emplacement of the batholith into its present position and kilometre-scale denudation, most likely occurred during Middle Eocene time.

Early Tertiary thermotectonic history of the northern Yukon and adjacent Northwest Territories, Arctic Canada

1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1366-1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. O'Sullivan ◽  
Larry S. Lane
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Fission Track ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Crystalline Rock ◽  
Early Eocene ◽  
Channel Formation ◽  
Rapid Cooling ◽  
Early Tertiary ◽  
History Of

Apatite fission-track data from 16 sedimentary and crystalline rock samples indicate rapid regional Early Eocene denudation within the onshore Beaufort–Mackenzie region of northwestern Canada. Rocks exposed in the area of the Big Fish River, Northwest Territories, cooled rapidly from paleotemperatures of >80–110 °C to <6 0°C at ca. 56 ± 2 Ma, probably in response to kilometre-scale denudation associated with regional structuring. The data suggest the region experienced a geothermal gradient of ~28 °C/km prior to rapid cooling, with ~2.7 km of section having been removed from the top of the exposed section in the Moose Channel Formation and ~3.8 km from the top of the exposed Cuesta Creek Member. Farther to the west, rocks exposed in the headwaters of the Blow River in the Barn Mountains, Yukon Territories, were exposed to paleotemperatures above 110 °C in the Late Paleocene prior to rapid cooling from these elevated paleotemperatures due to kilometre-scale denudation at ca. 56 ± 2 Ma. Exposure of these samples at the surface today requires that a minimum of ~3.8 km of denudation occurred since they began cooling below ~110 °C. The apatite analyses indicate that rocks exposed in the northern Yukon and Northwest Territories experienced rapid cooling during the Early Eocene in response to kilometre-scale denudation, associated with early Tertiary folding and thrusting in the northern Cordillera. Early Eocene cooling–uplift ages for onshore sections are slightly older than the Middle Eocene ages previously documented for the adjacent offshore foldbelt and suggest that the deformation progressed toward the foreland of the foldbelt through time.

scholarly journals Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic Exhumation of the Western Brooks Range, Alaska, Revealed From Apatite and Zircon Fission Track Data

Tectonics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 4714-4751 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Craddock ◽  
Thomas E. Moore ◽  
Paul B. O'Sullivan ◽  
Christopher J. Potter ◽  
David W. Houseknecht
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Fission Track ◽  
Brooks Range ◽  
Zircon Fission Track

Fast extension but little exhumation: the Vari detachment in the Cyclades, Greece

2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
UWE RING ◽  
STUART N. THOMSON ◽  
MICHAEL BRÖCKER
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Fission Track ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Slip Rate ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Apatite Fission Track ◽  
Rapid Cooling ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Zircon Fission Track

Markedly different cooling histories for the hanging- and footwall of the Vari detachment on Syros and Tinos islands, Greece, are revealed by zircon and apatite fission-track data. The Vari/Akrotiri unit in the hangingwall cooled slowly at rates of 5–15 °C Myr−1 since Late Cretaceous times. Samples from the Cycladic blueschist unit in the footwall of the detachment on Tinos Island have a mean zircon fission-track age of 10.0±1.0 Ma, which together with a published mean apatite fission-track age of 9.4±0.5 Ma indicates rapid cooling at rates of at least ∼60 °C Myr−1. We derive a minimum slip rate of ∼6.5 km Myr−1 and a displacement of <∼20 km and propose that the development of the detachment in the thermally softened magmatic arc aided fast displacement. Intra-arc extension accomplished the final ∼6–9 km of exhumation of the Cycladic blueschists from ∼60 km depth. The fast-slipping intra-arc detachments did not cause much exhumation, but were important for regional-scale extension and the formation of the Aegean Sea.

Fission-track evidence for Cenozoic uplift of the Nelson batholith, southeastern British Columbia

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 1944-1952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald S. Sweetkind ◽  
Ian J. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Shear Zone ◽  
Fault Zone ◽  
Fission Track ◽  
Gneiss Dome ◽  
Rapid Cooling ◽  
Zircon Fission Track ◽  
Rapid Uplift

Apatite and zircon fission-track data from the Nelson batholith in southeastern British Columbia reveal that a significant amount of uplift has occurred since Paleocene time, including an episode of rapid uplift during Eocene time. Age versus elevation curves for apatite and zircon, combined with a calculated present depth to the 105 °C apatite-annealing isotherm, suggest that some 6 km of apparent uplift has occurred in the vicinity of the Nelson batholith since Paleocene time. A period of rapid cooling and uplift occurred from 59 to 45 Ma, when the bounding faults of the adjacent Valhalla gneiss dome, the Valkyr shear zone, and the Slocan Lake fault zone were active. The rapid uplift is interpreted as being related to Eocene extension and the rise of the adjacent Valhalla gneiss dome during Eocene time.

scholarly journals The Cenozoic Malaguide Basin from Sierra Espuña (Murcia, S Spain): An Example of Geological Heritage

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Santiago Moliner-Aznar ◽  
Manuel Martín-Martín ◽  
Tomás Rodríguez-Estrella ◽  
Gregorio Romero-Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Geological Heritage ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Late Oligocene ◽  
Deep Basin ◽  
Sedimentary Evolution ◽  
Early Oligocene ◽  
Upper Oligocene ◽  
Very High

The Cenozoic Malaguide Basin from Sierra Espuña (Internal Betic Zone, S Spain) due to the quality of outcropping, areal representation, and continuity in the sedimentation can be considered a key-basin. In the last 30 years, a large number of studies with very different methodological approaches have been done in the area. Models indicate an evolution from passive margin to wedge-top basin from Late Cretaceous to Early Miocene. Sedimentation changes from limestone platforms with scarce terrigenous inputs, during the Paleocene to Early Oligocene, to the deep basin with huge supplies of turbidite sandstones and conglomerates during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene. The area now appears structured as an antiformal stack with evidence of synsedimentary tectonics. The Cenozoic tectono-sedimentary basin evolution is related to three phases: (1) flexural tectonics during most of the Paleogene times to create the basin; (2) fault and fold compartmentation of the basin with the creation of structural highs and subsiding areas related to blind-fault-propagation folds, deforming the basin from south to north during Late Oligocene to Early Aquitanian times; (3) thin-skin thrusting tectonics when the basin began to be eroded during the Late Aquitanian-Burdigalian. In recent times some works on the geological heritage of the area have been performed trying to diffuse different geological aspects of the sector to the general public. A review of the studies performed and the revisiting of the area allow proposing different key-outcrops to follow the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Cenozoic basin from this area. Eight sites of geological interest have been selected (Cretaceous-Cenozoic boundary, Paleocene Mula Fm, Lower Eocene Espuña-Valdelaparra Fms, Middle Eocene Malvariche-Cánovas Fms, Lowermost Oligocene As Fm, Upper Oligocene-Lower Aquitanian Bosque Fm, Upper Oligocene-Aquitanian Río Pliego Fm, Burdigalian El Niño Fm) and an evaluation has been performed to obtain four parameters: the scientific value, the educational and touristic potential, and the degradation risk. The firsts three parameters obtained values above 50 being considered of “high” or “very high” interest (“very high” in most of the cases). The last parameter shows always values below 50 indicating a “moderate” or “low” risk of degradation. The obtained values allow us considering the tectono-sedimentary evolution of this basin worthy of being proposed as a geological heritage.

scholarly journals Late oligocene–early miocene shortening in the Thrace Basin, northern Aegean

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ümitcan Erbil ◽  
Aral I. Okay ◽  
Aynur Hakyemez
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Fold Axis ◽  
Late Oligocene ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Sedimentary Sequences ◽  
The North ◽  
Early Oligocene ◽  
Thrace Basin

AbstractLate Cenozoic was a period of large-scale extension in the Aegean. The extension is mainly recorded in the metamorphic core complexes with little data from the sedimentary sequences. The exception is the Thrace Basin in the northern Aegean, which has a continuous record of Middle Eocene to Oligocene marine sedimentation. In the Thrace Basin, the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene was characterized by north-northwest (N25°W) shortening leading to the termination of sedimentation and formation of large-scale folds. We studied the stratigraphy and structure of one of these folds, the Korudağ anticline. The Korudağ anticline has formed in the uppermost Eocene–Lower Oligocene siliciclastic turbidites with Early Oligocene (31.6 Ma zircon U–Pb age) acidic tuff beds. The turbidites are underlain by a thin sequence of Upper Eocene pelagic limestone. The Korudağ anticline is an east-northeast (N65°E) trending fault-propagation fold, 9 km wide and 22 km long and with a subhorizontal fold axis. It is asymmetric with shallowly-dipping northern and steeply-dipping southern limbs. Its geometry indicates about 1 km of shortening in a N25°W direction. The folded strata are unconformably overlain by Middle Miocene continental sandstones, which constrain the age of folding. The Korudağ anticline and other large folds in the Thrace Basin predate the inception of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) by at least 12 myr. The Late Oligocene–Early Miocene (28–17 Ma) shortening in the Thrace Basin and elsewhere in the Balkans forms an interlude between two extensional periods, and is probably linked to changes in the subduction dynamics along the Hellenic trench.

Downstream Changes of Alpine Zircon Fission-Track Ages in the Rhone and Rhine Rivers

2004 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bernet ◽  
M. T. Brandon ◽  
J. I. Garver ◽  
B. Molitor
Keyword(s):  
Fission Track ◽  
Zircon Fission Track ◽  
Fission Track Ages

Dickite in shallow oil reservoirs from Recôncavo Basin, Brazil: diagenetic implications for basin evolution

Clay Minerals ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. De Bona ◽  
N. Dani ◽  
J. M. Ketzer ◽  
L. F. De Ros
Keyword(s):  
Fission Track ◽  
Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Basin Evolution ◽  
Apatite Fission Track ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Entire Region ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Deep Burial ◽  
Uplift And Erosion ◽  
Scanning Electron

AbstractFluvial and aeolian sandstones of the Sergi Formation are the most important reservoirs of the Recôncavo Basin, Brazil. Optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy revealed the occurrence of dickite, a clay mineral indicative of deep burial conditions (T >100ºC), in the shallow Buracica (630–870 m) and Água Grande (1300–1530 m) oilfields. Vermicular dickite replaces K-feldspar and plagioclase grains, and fills intra- and inter-granular pores. Its vermicular habit is a product of pseudomorphic kaolinite transformation during burial. The presence of dickite is in accordance with the intensity of compaction, post-compactional quartz cementation and δ18O values of calcite cements (T up to 109ºC). These petrological features of deep burial, as well as apatite fission-track analyses, indicate that uplift and erosion of at least 1 km, and probably >1500 m, affected the central part of the Recôncavo Basin and possibly the entire region. This uplift has not been detected previously by conventional structural and stratigraphic models.

scholarly journals Polyphase evolution of Pelagonia (northern Greece) revealed by geological and fission-track data

Solid Earth ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. L. Schenker ◽  
M. G. Fellin ◽  
J.-P. Burg
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Fission Track ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Recent Sediment ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Rapid Cooling ◽  
Fission Track Ages ◽  
Pelagonian Zone

Abstract. The Pelagonian zone, situated between the External Hellenides/Cyclades to the west and the Axios/Vardar/Almopias zone (AVAZ) and the Rhodope to the east, was involved in late Early Cretaceous and in Late Cretaceous–Eocene orogenic events whose duration and extent are still controversial. This paper constrains their late thermal imprints. New and previously published zircon (ZFT) and apatite (AFT) fission-track ages show cooling below 240 °C of the metamorphic western AVAZ imbricates between 102 and 93–90 Ma, of northern Pelagonia between 86 and 68 Ma, of the eastern AVAZ at 80 Ma and of the western Rhodope at 72 Ma. At the regional scale, this heterogeneous cooling is coeval with subsidence of Late Cretaceous marine basin(s) that unconformably covered the Early Cretaceous (130–110 Ma) thrust system from 100 Ma. Thrusting resumed at 70 Ma in the AVAZ and migrated across Pelagonia to reach the External Hellenides at 40–38 Ma. Renewed thrusting in Pelagonia is attested at 68 Ma by abrupt and rapid cooling below 240 °C and erosion of the gneissic rocks. ZFT and AFT in western and eastern Pelagonia, respectively, testify at ~40 Ma to the latest thermal imprint related to thrusting. Central-eastern Pelagonia cooled rapidly and uniformly from 240 to 80 °C between 24 and 16 Ma in the footwall of a major extensional fault. Extension started even earlier, at ~33 Ma in the western AVAZ. Post-7 Ma rapid cooling is inferred from inverse modeling of AFT lengths. It occurred while E–W normal faults were cutting Pliocene-to-recent sediment.

Low-temperature thermal history of the Gilmore Dome area, Fairbanks Mining District, Alaska

1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 764-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Murphy ◽  
Arne Bakke
Keyword(s):  
Gold Deposit ◽  
Fission Track ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluids ◽  
Mining District ◽  
Cooling Path ◽  
Alteration Assemblage ◽  
Zircon Fission Track ◽  
History Of ◽  
Maximum Temperatures ◽  
Fission Track Ages

Eight apatite and two zircon fission-track ages provide evidence of complex Tertiary thermal overprinting by hydrothermal fluids in the Gilmore Dome area. Five ages on apatite from the Fort Knox gold deposit average 41 Ma, one from the Stepovich prospect is 80 Ma, and two from Pedro Dome average 67 Ma. Elevations of these samples overlap but their ages do not, indicating that each area experienced a different thermal history.Ages of apatite from the Fort Knox gold deposit decrease with elevation from 42 to 36 Ma but have data trends indicative of complex cooling. Two ~51 Ma ages on zircon indicate that maximum temperatures approached or exceeded ~180 °C. An alteration assemblage of chalcedony + zeolite + calcite + clay in the deposit resulted from deposition by a paleo-hydrothermal system. The data suggest that the system followed a complex cooling path from > 180 to < 110 °C between 51 and 36 Ma, and that final cooling to below 60 °C occurred after ~25 Ma.The 80 Ma age from Stepovich prospect either resulted from cooling after intrusion of the underlying pluton (~90 Ma) or records postintrusion thermal overprinting sometime after ~50 Ma. The 67 Ma samples from Pedro Dome may also have experienced partial age reduction during later heating. The differences in the data from the different areas and the presence of a late alteration assemblage at Fort Knox suggest that the fluids responsible for heating were largely confined to the highly fractured and porous Fort Knox pluton.

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