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Cenozoic tectonic uplift history of Western Qinling: Evidence from sedimentary and fission-track data

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Abstract

The western Qinling (秦岭) orogenic belt is one of the outermost ranges in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Its tectonic uplift history is therefore essential to insight on the evolution history of the plateau. However, the timing of deformation and uplift history is still poorly known. Fortunately, its Cenozoic orogenic history is recorded in an excellent synorogenic sedimentary sequence exposed in the Tianshui (天水) Basin, the northeastern foot of western Qinling. According to sedimentary-tectonic analysis of the Yaodian (尧店) and Lamashan (喇嘛山) sections based on the previous magnetostratigraphy studies, we speculated that two stages (occurred at 9.2–7.4 and ∼3.6 Ma) of variation in depositional facies were attributed to the uplift and deformation of the western Qinling, and the modern structure geomorphic frame of the northeastern Tibet formed after 2.6 Ma. Furthermore, four stages of active processes along the western Qinling occurred at 49–41, 34–27, 25–19 and ∼13 Ma, are deciphered from an integrated detrital apatite fission-track data of the Ganquan (甘泉), Yaodian main sections and seven small ones. The former two are represents the exhumation episodes triggered by tectonism and the others attributed to the volcanic signals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education) & Research School of Arid Environment and Climate Change, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Xiuxi Wang  (王修喜), Jijun Li  (李吉均), Cheng Yang  (杨成) & Shengda Zhang  (张盛达)

  2. Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, Via Giotto 1, 35137, Padova, Italy

    Massimiliano Zattin

  3. School of Earth Sciences, Key Laboratory of Western China’s Mineral Resources of Gansu Province, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Chunhui Song  (宋春晖), Shu Chen  (陈述) & Jiwei Yang  (杨积伟)

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  1. Xiuxi Wang  (王修喜)
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  2. Massimiliano Zattin
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  3. Jijun Li  (李吉均)
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  6. Cheng Yang  (杨成)
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  7. Shengda Zhang  (张盛达)
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  8. Jiwei Yang  (杨积伟)
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Correspondence to Xiuxi Wang  (王修喜).

Additional information

This study was supported by the “Strategic Priority Research Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDB03020402), the National Basic Research Program (973) of China (No. 2013CB956403), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41201005, 41272128), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. lzujbky-2013-122) and the NSFC National Innovative Research Team Project (No. 41021091).

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Wang, X., Zattin, M., Li, J. et al. Cenozoic tectonic uplift history of Western Qinling: Evidence from sedimentary and fission-track data. J. Earth Sci. 24, 491–505 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-013-0345-y

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