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Studies on40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of strike-slip time of the Tan-Lu fault zone and their tectonic implications

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Abstract

Samples of mylonite, ultramylonite and phyllonite were collected from 5 localities in the Anhui part of the Tan-Lu fault zone for40Ar/39Ar chronological studies. Among them 4 samples from 3 localities on the eastern margin of the Dabie orogenic belt yielded40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 128 —132 Ma; and 2 samples from the western margin of the Zhangbalin uplift and eastern margin of the Bengbu uplift gave the same40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 120 Ma. Isochron analyses and other lines of evidence suggest that the data are reliable. The data are interpreted as cooling ages of sinistral strike-slip deformation of the Tan-Lu fault zone. The younger ages from the north might be related to slower strike-slip rising. These results indicate that the large-scale left-lateral displacement in the Tan-Lu fault zone took place in the Early Cretaceous, rather than in Late Triassic (Indosinian) as proposed by some geologists. Therefore, this fault zone is an intracontinental wrench fault rather than a transform fault or suture line developed during formation of the Dabie orogenic belt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Resource and Environment Science, Hefei University of Technology, 230009, Hefei, China

    Guang Zhu, Chuanzhong Song, Daoxuan Wang, Guosheng Liu & Jiawei Xu

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  1. Guang Zhu
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  2. Chuanzhong Song
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  3. Daoxuan Wang
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  4. Guosheng Liu
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  5. Jiawei Xu
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Correspondence to Guang Zhu.

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Zhu, G., Song, C., Wang, D. et al. Studies on40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of strike-slip time of the Tan-Lu fault zone and their tectonic implications. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 44, 1002–1009 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02875393

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02875393

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