Supplemental Material: Initial uplift of the Qilian Shan, northern Tibet since ca. 25 Ma: Implications for regional tectonics and origin of eolian deposition in Asia

Supplemental dataset: Detrital zircon U-Pb ages of the sandstone samples from the Lulehe and Hongshangou sections; Figure S1: SEM images of 129 grains from sandstone sample LLH-1 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S2: SEM images of 140 grains from sandstone sample LLH-2 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S3: SEM images of 123 grains from sandstone sample LLH-3 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S4: SEM images of 122 grains from sandstone sample HSG-7 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S5: SEM images of 123 grains from sandstone sample HSG-8 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S6: SEM images of 123 grains from sandstone sample HSG-9 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S7: SEM images of representative grains from the Lulehe and Hongshangou sections showing surface microtextures.

Supplemental Material: Initial uplift of the Qilian Shan, northern Tibet since ca. 25 Ma: Implications for regional tectonics and origin of eolian deposition in Asia

Supplemental dataset: Detrital zircon U-Pb ages of the sandstone samples from the Lulehe and Hongshangou sections; Figure S1: SEM images of 129 grains from sandstone sample LLH-1 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S2: SEM images of 140 grains from sandstone sample LLH-2 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S3: SEM images of 123 grains from sandstone sample LLH-3 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S4: SEM images of 122 grains from sandstone sample HSG-7 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S5: SEM images of 123 grains from sandstone sample HSG-8 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S6: SEM images of 123 grains from sandstone sample HSG-9 showing grain roundness characteristics; Figure S7: SEM images of representative grains from the Lulehe and Hongshangou sections showing surface microtextures.

Supplemental Material: Proterozoic–Phanerozoic tectonic evolution of the Qilian Shan and Eastern Kunlun Range, northern Tibet

Table S1: Summary of Geochronology Results of Intrusive rocks in the Qilian Shan; Table S2: Summary of Geochronology Results of Intrusive rocks in the East Kunlun Range; Table S3: LA-ICP-MS results for zircons U-Pb ages of igneous, sandstone, and metamorphic sedimentary samples in this study; Table S4: Geochemistry Data for Plots of age against crustal thickness of the Qilian Shan; Table S5: Geochemistry Data for Plots of age against crustal thickness of the Eastern Kunlun Range.

Supplemental Material: Proterozoic–Phanerozoic tectonic evolution of the Qilian Shan and Eastern Kunlun Range, northern Tibet

Table S1: Summary of Geochronology Results of Intrusive rocks in the Qilian Shan; Table S2: Summary of Geochronology Results of Intrusive rocks in the East Kunlun Range; Table S3: LA-ICP-MS results for zircons U-Pb ages of igneous, sandstone, and metamorphic sedimentary samples in this study; Table S4: Geochemistry Data for Plots of age against crustal thickness of the Qilian Shan; Table S5: Geochemistry Data for Plots of age against crustal thickness of the Eastern Kunlun Range.

Devonian to Triassic tectonic evolution and basin transition in the East Kunlun−Qaidam area, northern Tibetan Plateau: Constraints from stratigraphy and detrital zircon U−Pb geochronology

The late Paleozoic to Triassic was an important interval for the East Kunlun−Qaidam area, northern Tibet, as it witnessed prolonged subduction of the South Kunlun Ocean, a major branch of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean whose closure led to the formation of Pangea. However, the geologic history of this stage is poorly constrained due to the paucity of tectonothermal signatures preserved during a magmatic lull. This article presents a set of new provenance data incorporating stratigraphic correlation, sandstone petrology, and zircon U−Pb dating to depict changes in provenance that record multiple stages of topographic and tectonic transition in the East Kunlun−Qaidam area over time in response to the evolution of the South Kunlun Ocean. Devonian intra-arc rifting is recorded by bimodal volcanism and rapid alluvial-lacustrine sedimentation in the North Qaidam Ultra High/High Pressure Belt, whose sources include the Olongbuluke Terrane and southern North Qaidam Ultra High/High Pressure Belt. Southward transgression submerged the East Kunlun−Qaidam area during the Carboniferous prior to the rapid uplift of the Kunlun arc, which changed the provenance during the Early Permian. This shift in provenance for the western Olongbuluke Terrane and thick carbonate deposition throughout the North Qaidam Ultra High/High Pressure Belt in the late Early Carboniferous indicate that the North Qaidam Ultra High/High Pressure Belt should have been inundated, terminating an ∼95 m.y. erosion history. The closure of the South Kunlun Ocean in the late Triassic generated a retroarc foreland along the Zongwulong Tectonic Belt, which is represented by the development of a deep-water, northward-tapering flysch deposystem that was supplied by the widely elevated Kunlun−Qaidam−Olongbuluke Terrane highland. This new scenario allows us to evaluate current models concerning the assembly of northern Tibet and the tectonic evolution of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean.