Evolution of the Yangtze River network, southeastern Tibet: Insights from thermochronology and sedimentology
Résumé
We performed apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He dating on a granitic pluton that has been offset by ~10 km by motion on the sinistral strikeslip
Xiangcheng fault in SW Sichuan, SE Tibetan plateau, where the Shuoqu River incises a deep valley before joining the upper Yangtze
River. Mean ZHe cooling ages range from 49.5 ± 2.2 Ma to 68.6 ± 6.0 Ma. Samples located above 3870 m yield mean apatite (U-Th)/He
ages ranging from 30.6 ± 1.4 Ma to 40.6 ± 2.7 Ma, whereas samples at lower elevations range from 9.8 ± 1.3 Ma to 14.6 ± 2.7 Ma. In the
same region, Cenozoic continental sediments are exposed on the flanks of deep valleys. They consist of unsorted conglomerates and
sandstones that partly fill a paleotopography. The sediments were deposited during an episode of rapid sedimentation, followed by incision
that varies between 0.5 and 1.2 km. Thermal and exhumational modeling of the granite thermochronometric data indicates rapid
cooling during the middle Miocene that was likely related to fluvial incision. Our findings suggest that the upper Yangtze River and its
tributary (Shuoqu) were connected by the middle Miocene. Our modeling also supports the idea that the exhumation pattern during the
Cenozoic in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is spatially and temporally heterogeneous.
Domaines
Géochimie
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
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