Sedimentary evidence for late Messinian uplift of the SE margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau: Adana Basin,southern Turkey

The Adana Basin of southern Turkey, located at the SE margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau in the vicinity of the Arabia‐Eurasia collision zone, is ideally suited to record Neogene and Quaternary topographic and tectonic changes in the easternmost Mediterranean realm. On the basis of our correlation of 34 seismic reflection profiles with corresponding exposed units along the margins of the Adana Basin, we identify and characterize the seismic facies that corresponds to the upper part of the Messinian Handere Formation (ca. 5.45 to 5.33 Ma), which consists mainly of fluvial conglomerates and marls. The seismic reflection profiles indicate that ca. 1100 km³ of the Handere Formation upper sub‐unit is distributed over ca. 3000 km², reflecting local sedimentation rates of up to 12.5 mm year^?1. This indicates a major increase in both sediment supply and subsidence rates at ca. 5.45 Ma. Our provenance analysis of the Handere Formation upper sub‐unit based on clast counting and palaeocurrent measurements reveals that most of the sediment is derived from the Taurus Mountains at the SE margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau and regions farther north. A comparison of these results with the composition of recent fluvial conglomerates and the present‐day drainage basins indicates major changes between late Messinian and present‐day source areas. We suggest that these changes in drainage patterns and lithological characteristics result from uplift and ensuing erosion of the SE margin of the plateau. We interpret the tectonic evolution of the southern flank of the Anatolian Plateau and the coeval subsidence and sedimentation in the Adana Basin to be related to deep lithospheric processes, particularly lithospheric delamination and slab break‐off.     

Provenance and tectonic implications of Orán Group foreland basin sediments,Río Iruya canyon,NW Argentina (23° S)

Foreland basins are important recorders of tectonic and climatic processes in evolving mountain ranges. The Río Iruya canyon of NW Argentina (23° S) exposes ca. 7500 m of Orán Group foreland basin sediments, spanning over 8 Myr of near continuous deposition in the Central Andes. This study presents a record of sedimentary provenance for the Iruya Section in the context of a revised stratigraphic chronology. We use U‐Pb zircon ages from six interbedded ash layers and new magnetostratigraphy to constrain depositional ages in the section between 1.94 and 6.49 Ma, giving an average sedimentation rate of 0.93 ± 0.02 (2σ) km Myr^?1. We then pair U‐Pb detrital zircon dating with quartz trace‐element analysis to track changes in sedimentary provenance from ca. 7.6 to 1.8 Ma. Results suggest that from ca. 7.6 to ca. 6.3 Ma, the Iruya watershed did not tap the Salta Group or Neogene volcanics that are currently exposed in the eastern Cordillera and Puna margin. One explanation is that a long‐lived topographic barrier separated the eastern Puna from the foreland for much of the mid‐late Miocene, and that the arrival of Jurassic‐Neogene zircons records regional tectonic reactivation at ca. 6.3 Ma. A second major provenance shift at ca. 4 Ma is marked by changes in the zircon and quartz populations, which appear to be derived from a restricted source region in Proterozoic‐Ordovician meta‐sediments. Considered in conjunction with the onset of coarse conglomerate deposition, we attribute this shift to accelerated uplift of the Santa Victoria range, which currently defines the catchment's western limit. A third shift at ca. 2.3 Ma records an apparent disconnection of the Iruya with the eastern Puna, perhaps due to defeat of the proto Rio‐Iruya by the rising Santa Victoria range. This study is one of the first applications of quartz trace‐element provenance analysis, which we show to be an effective complement to U‐Pb detrital zircon dating when appropriate statistical methods are applied.     

Constraint on foreland basin migration in the Zagros mountain belt using Sr isotope stratigraphy

We have constrained the time‐space migration of the Zagros foredeep basin by performing Sr isotope stratigraphy on 31 samples of marine macrofossils from Neogene sediments now exposed in the Zagros mountain belt in southwest Iran. Our results show that these deposits (represented mainly by the Mishan Formation) are strongly diachronous, with ages ranging between 17.2 ± 0.2 and 1.1 ± 0.1 Ma. These deposits are older in the west (Dezful region) and become progressively younger towards the south and the south‐east (Fars region). Our results show that the marine foredeep was replaced by a fluvial sedimentary environment between ca. 14 and 12 Ma in the western sector, while this occurred between ca. 8 and 1 Ma in the eastern sector, becoming younger towards the south. These results enable us to show that the foreland basin migrated perpendicular to the orogen at rates of between 17.5 and 50 mm year^?1 throughout the Neogene, exceeding migration rates in the Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines and Himalayan foreland basins. The sporadically elevated rates in the Zagros appear to be related to times when major widely spaced pre‐existing basement faults became reactivated. Finally, our results, when combined with published data, have enabled us to establish a new chronostratigraphic diagram for the Neogene portion of the Zagros foreland basin. Our study highlights that foreland basins are extremely dynamic settings where depocentres and palaeoenvironments may change rapidly in both time and space in relation to migrating deformation.     

Denudation rates of a subequatorial orogenic belt based on estimates of sediment yields: evidence from the Paleozoic Appalachian Basin,USA

The Upper Mississippian (ca. 325 Ma) Pride Shale and Glady Fork Member in the Central Appalachian Basin comprise an upward‐coarsening, ca. 60‐m‐thick succession of prodeltaic‐delta front, interlaminated fine‐grained sandstones and mudstones gradational upwards into mouth‐bar and distributary‐channel sandstones. Analysis of laminae bundling in the Pride Shale reveals a hierarchy of tidal cycles (semi‐diurnal, fortnightly neap‐spring) and a distinct annual cyclicity resulting from seasonal fluvial discharge. These tidal rhythmites thus represent high‐resolution chronometers that can be used in basin analysis. Annual cycles average 10 cm in thickness, thus the bulk of the Pride Shale‐Glady Fork Member in any one vertical section is estimated to have accumulated in ca. 600 years. Progradational clinoforms are assumed to have had dips of 0.3–3° with a median dip of 1.7°; the latter infilled a NE‐SW oriented foreland trough up to 300 km long by 50 km wide in the relatively short time period of 90 kyr. The total volume of sediment in the Pride basin is ca. 900 km³ which, for an average sediment density of 2700 kg m^?3, equates to a total mass of ca. 2.4 × 10⁶ Mt. Thus, mass sediment load can be estimated as 27 Mt yr^?1. For a drainage basin area of 89 000 km², based on the scale of architectural channel elements and cross‐set thicknesses in the incised‐valley‐fill deposits of the underlying Princeton Formation, suspended sediment yields are estimated at ca. 310 t km^?2 yr^?1 equating to a mechanical denudation rate of ca. 0.116 mm yr^?1. Calculated sediment yields and inferred denudation rates are comparable to modern rivers such as the Po and Fly and are compatible with a provenance of significant relief and a climate characterized by seasonal, monsoonal discharge. Inferred denudation rates also are consistent with average denudation rates for the Inner Piedmont Terrane of the Appalachians based on flexural modelling. The integration of stratigraphic architectural analysis with a novel chronometric application highlights the utility of sedimentary archives as a record of Earth surface dynamics.     

Foredeep palaeobathymetry and subsidence trends during advancing then retreating subduction: the Northern Apennine case (Oligocene‐Miocene,Italy)

The Northern Apennines provide an example of long‐term deep‐water sedimentation in an underfilled pro‐foreland basin first linked to an advancing orogenic wedge and then to a retreating subduction zone during slab rollback. New palaeobathymetric and geohistory analyses of turbidite systems that accumulated in the foredeep during the Oligocene‐Miocene are used to unravel the basin subsidence history during this geodynamic change, and to investigate how it interplayed with sediment supply and basin tectonics in controlling foredeep filling. The results show an estimated ca. 2 km decrease in palaeowater depth at ca. 17 Ma. Moreover, a change in basin subsidence is documented during Langhian time, with an average decompacted subsidence rate, during individual depocentre life, that increased from <0.3 to 0.4–0.6 mm y^?1, together with the appearance of a syndepositional backstripped subsidence bracketed between 0.1 and 0.2 mm y^?1. This change prevented the basin from complete filling during late Miocene and is interpreted as the foredeep response to initial rollback of the downgoing Adriatic slab. Thus, the Northern Apennine system provides an example of a pro‐foreland basin that experienced both a slow‐ and high‐subsidence regime as a consequence of the advancing then retreating evolution of the collisional system.     

Rapid grain size coarsening at sandstone/conglomerate transition: similar expression in Himalayan modern rivers and Pliocene molasse deposits

Radical grain size changes between two main units of a sedimentary megacycle in a foreland basin are commonly interpreted to result from changes in tectonic activity or climate in the adjacent mountain range. In central Nepal, the Cenozoic Siwalik molasse deposits exposed in the frontal Himalayan folds are characterized by such a radical grain size transition. Locally gravel deposits completely replace sands in vertical succession over approximately a hundred metres, the median grain size (D₅₀) displaying a sharp increase by a factor of ca. 100. Such a rapid gravel‐sand transition (GST) is also observed in present‐day river channels about 8–20 km downstream from the outlet of the Siwalik Range. The passage from gravel‐bed channel reaches (proximal alluvial fans) to sand‐bed channel reaches (distal alluvial fans) occurs within a few kilometres on the Gangetic Plain in central Nepal, and the D₅₀ ratio between the two types of channels equals ca. 100. We propose that the dramatic and remarkably similar increase in grain size observed in the Neogene Siwalik series and along modern rivers in the Gangetic foreland basin, results from a similar hydraulic process, i.e. a grain sorting process during the selective deposition of the sediment load. The sudden appearance of gravels in the upper Siwalik series would be related to the crossing of this sorting transition during progressive southward migration of the gravel front, in response to continuous Himalayan orogen construction. And as a consequence, the GST would be diachronous by nature. This study demonstrates that an abrupt change in grain size does not necessarily relate to a change in tectonic or climatic forcing, but can simply arise from internal adjustment of the piedmont rivers to the deposition and run out of coarse bedload. It illustrates, in addition, the genesis of quartz‐rich conglomerates in the Himalayan foreland through gravel selective deposition associated with differential weathering, abrasion processes and sediment recycling during thrust wedge advance and shortening of the foreland basin.     

Interplay between lithospheric flexure and river transport in foreland basins

ABSTRACT Foreland basins form by lithospheric flexure under orogenic loading and are filled by surface transport of sediment. This work readdresses the interplay between these processes by integrating in a 3D numerical model: the mechanisms of thrust stacking, elastic flexural subsidence and sediment transport along the drainage network. The experiments show that both crustal tectonic deformation and vertical movements related to lithospheric flexure control and organise the basin-scale drainage pattern, competing with the nonlinear, unpredictable intrinsic nature of river network evolution. Drainage pattern characteristics are predicted that match those observed in many foreland basins, such as the axial drainage, the distal location of the main river within the basin, and the formation of large, long-lasting lacustrine systems. In areas where the river network is not well developed before the formation of the basin, these lithospheric flexural effects on drainage patterns may be enhanced by the role of the forebulge uplift as drainage divide. Inversely, fluvial transport modifies the flexural vertical movements differently than simpler transport models (e.g. diffusion): Rivers can drive erosion products far from a filled basin, amplifying the erosional rebound of both orogen and basin. The evolution of the sediment budget between orogen and basin is strongly dependent on this coupling between flexure and fluvial transport: Maximum sediment accumulations on the foreland are predicted for a narrow range of lithospheric elastic thickness between 15 and 40 km, coinciding with the T _e values most commonly reported for foreland basins.     

Timing of Xunhua and Guide basin development and growth of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau,China

The Xunhua, Guide and Tongren intermontane basin system in the NE Tibetan Plateau, situated near the Xining basin to the N and the Linxia basin to the E, is bounded by thrust fault‐controlled ranges. These include to the N, the Riyue Shan, Laji Shan and Jishi Shan ranges, and to the S the northern West Qinling Shan (NWQ). An integrated study of the structural geology, sedimentology and provenance of the Cenozoic Xunhua and Guide basins provides a detailed record of the growth of the NE Tibetan Plateau since the early Eocene. The Xining Group (ca. 52–21 Ma) is interpreted as consisting of unified foreland basin deposits which were controlled by the bounding thrust belt of the NWQ. The Xunhua, Guide and Xining subbasins were interconnected prior to later uplift and damming by the Laji Shan and Jishi Shan ranges. Their sediment source, the NWQ, is constrained by strong unidirectional paleocurrent trends towards the N, a northward fining lithology, distinct and recognizable clast types and detrital zircon ages. Collectively, formation of this mountain–basin system indicates that the Tibetan Plateau expanded into the NWQ at a time roughly coinciding with Eocene to earliest Miocene continental collision between India and Eurasia. The Guide Group (ca. 21–1.8 Ma) is inferred to have been deposited in the separate Xunhua, Guide and Tongren broken foreland basins. Each basin was filled by locally sourced alluvial fans, braided streams and deltaic‐lacustrine systems. Structural, paleogeographic, paleocurrent and provenance data indicate that thrust faulting in the NWQ stepped northward to the Laji Shan from ca. 21 to 16 Ma. This northward shift was accompanied by E–W shortening related to nearly N–S‐striking thrust faulting in Jishi Shan after 11–13 Ma. A lower Pleistocene conglomerate (1.8–1.7 Ma) was deposited by a through‐flowing river system in the overfilled and connected Guide and Xunhua basins following the termination of thrust activity. All of the basin–mountain zones developed along the Tibetan Plateau's NE margin since Indian–Tibetan continental collision may have been driven by collision‐induced basal drag of old slab remnants in the manner of N‐dipping and flat‐slab subduction, and their subsequent sinking into the deep mantle.     

Late Eocene–Pliocene basin evolution in the Eastern Cordillera of northwestern Argentina (25°–26°S): regional implications for Andean orogenic wedge development

Important aspects of the Andean foreland basin in Argentina remain poorly constrained, such as the effect of deformation on deposition, in which foreland basin depozones Cenozoic sedimentary units were deposited, how sediment sources and drainages evolved in response to tectonics, and the thickness of sediment accumulation. Zircon U‐Pb geochronological data from Eocene–Pliocene sedimentary strata in the Eastern Cordillera of northwestern Argentina (Pucará–Angastaco and La Viña areas) provide an Eocene (ca. 38 Ma) maximum depositional age for the Quebrada de los Colorados Formation. Sedimentological and provenance data reveal a basin history that is best explained within the context of an evolving foreland basin system affected by inherited palaeotopography. The Quebrada de los Colorados Formation represents deposition in the distal to proximal foredeep depozone. Development of an angular unconformity at ca. 14 Ma and the coarse‐grained, proximal character of the overlying Angastaco Formation (lower to upper Miocene) suggest deposition in a wedge‐top depozone. Axial drainage during deposition of the Palo Pintado Formation (upper Miocene) suggests a fluvial‐lacustrine intramontane setting. By ca. 4 Ma, during deposition of the San Felipe Formation, the Angastaco area had become structurally isolated by the uplift of the Sierra de los Colorados Range to the east. Overall, the Eastern Cordillera sedimentary record is consistent with a continuous foreland basin system that migrated through the region from late Eocene through middle Miocene time. By middle Miocene time, the region lay within the topographically complex wedge‐top depozone, influenced by thick‐skinned deformation and re‐activation of Cretaceous rift structures. The association of the Eocene Quebrada del los Colorados Formation with a foredeep depozone implies that more distal foreland deposits should be represented by pre‐Eocene strata (Santa Barbara Subgroup) within the region.     

Cretaceous evolution of the Andean margin between 36°S and 40°S latitude through a multi‐proxy provenance analysis of Neuquén Basin strata (Argentina)

During the Cretaceous, the Neuquén Basin transitioned from an extensional back‐arc to a retroarc foreland basin. We present a multi‐proxy provenance study of Aptian to Santonian (125–84 Ma) continental sedimentary rocks preserved in the Neuquén Basin used to resolve changes of sediment drainage pattern in response to the change in tectonic regime. Sandstone petrology and U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology constrain the source units delivering detritus to the basin; apatite U–Pb and fission track dating further resolve provenance and determine the age and patterns of exhumation of the source rocks. Sandstone provenance records a sharp change from a mixed orogenic source during Aptian time (ca. 125 Ma), to a magmatic arc provenance in the Cenomanian (ca. 100 Ma). We interpret this provenance change as the result of the drainage pattern reorganisation from divergent to convergent caused by tectonic basin inversion. During this inversion and early stages of contraction, a transient phase of uplift and basin erosion, possibly due to continental buckling, caused the pre‐Cenomanian unconformity dividing the Lower from Upper Cretaceous strata in the Neuquén Basin. This phase was followed by the development of a retroarc foreland basin characterised by a volcanic arc sediment provenance progressively shifting to a mixed continental basement provenance during Turonian‐Santonian (90–84). According to multi‐proxy provenance data and lag times derived from apatite fission track analysis, this trend is the result of a rapidly exhuming source within the Cordillera to the west, in response to active compressional tectonics along the western margin of South America, coupled with the increasing contribution of material from the stable craton to the east; this contribution is thought to be the result of the weak uplift and exhumation of the foreland due to eastward migration of the forebulge.     

Post‐orogenic evolution of the southern Pyrenees: constraints from inverse thermo‐kinematic modelling of low‐temperature thermochronology data

The late‐stage evolution of the southern central Pyrenees has been well documented but controversies remain concerning potential Neogene acceleration of exhumation rates and the influence of tectonic and/or climatic processes. A popular model suggests that the Pyrenees and their southern foreland were buried below a thick succession of conglomerates during the Oligocene, when the basin was endorheic. However, both the amount of post‐orogenic fill and the timing of re‐excavation remain controversial. We address this question by revisiting extensive thermochronological datasets of the Axial Zone. We use an inverse approach that couples the thermo‐kinematic model Pecube and the Neighbourhood inversion algorithm to constrain the history of exhumation and topographic changes since 40 Ma. By comparison with independent geological data, we identified a most probable scenario involving rapid exhumation (>2.5 km Myr^?1) between 37 and 30 Ma followed by a strong decrease to very slow rates (0.02 km Myr^?1) that remain constant until the present. Therefore, the inversion does not require a previously inferred Pliocene acceleration in regional exhumation rates. A clear topographic signal emerges, however: the topography has to be infilled by conglomerates to an elevation of 2.6 km between 40 and 29 Ma and then to remain stable until ca. 9 Ma. We interpret the last stage of the topographic history as recording major incision of the southern Pyrenean wedge, due to the Ebro basin connection to the Mediterranean, well before previously suggested Messinian ages. These results thus demonstrate temporally varying controls of different processes on exhumation: rapid rock uplift in an active orogen during late Eocene, whereas base‐level changes in the foreland basin control the post‐orogenic evolution of topography and exhumation in the central Pyrenees. In contrast, climate changes appear to play a lesser role in the post‐orogenic topographic and erosional evolution of this mountain belt.     

Basin evolution of Upper Cretaceous–Lower Cenozoic strata in the Malargüe fold‐and‐thrust belt: northern Neuquén Basin,Argentina

The Andean Orogen is the type‐example of an active Cordilleran style margin with a long‐lived retroarc fold‐and‐thrust belt and foreland basin. Timing of initial shortening and foreland basin development in Argentina is diachronous along‐strike, with ages varying by 20–30 Myr. The Neuquén Basin (32°S to 40°S) contains a thick sedimentary sequence ranging in age from late Triassic to Cenozoic, which preserves a record of rift, back arc and foreland basin environments. As much of the primary evidence for initial uplift has been overprinted or covered by younger shortening and volcanic activity, basin strata provide the most complete record of early mountain building. Detailed sedimentology and new maximum depositional ages obtained from detrital zircon U–Pb analyses from the Malargüe fold‐and‐thrust belt (35°S) record a facies change between the marine evaporites of the Huitrín Formation (ca. 122 Ma) and the fluvial sandstones and conglomerates of the Diamante Formation (ca. 95 Ma). A 25–30 Myr unconformity between the Huitrín and Diamante formations represents the transition from post‐rift thermal subsidence to forebulge erosion during initial flexural loading related to crustal shortening and uplift along the magmatic arc to the west by at least 97 ± 2 Ma. This change in basin style is not marked by any significant difference in provenance and detrital zircon signature. A distinct change in detrital zircons, sandstone composition and palaeocurrent direction from west‐directed to east‐directed occurs instead in the middle Diamante Formation and may reflect the Late Cretaceous transition from forebulge derived sediment in the distal foredeep to proximal foredeep material derived from the thrust belt to the west. This change in palaeoflow represents the migration of the forebulge, and therefore, of the foreland basin system between 80 and 90 Ma in the Malargüe area.     

Tectonics of the Xining Basin in NW China and its implications for the evolution of the NE Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau

The continuous Cenozoic strata in the Xining Basin record the growth and evolution of the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Here, the mechanisms and evolution of the Xining Basin during the Cenozoic were investigated by studying the sedimentary facies of 22 Cenozoic sections across the basin and detrital zircon U‐Pb ages of three Cenozoic sections located in the eastern, central and western basin, respectively. In the Eocene (ca. 50–44 Ma), the India‐Eurasia Collision affected the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The Central Qilian Block rotated clockwise by ca. 24° to form the Xining Basin. The Triassic flysch sediments surrounding the basin were the primary sources of sediment. Between ca. 44–40 Ma, the basin enlarged and deepened, and sedimentation was dominated by saline lake sediments. Between ca. 40–25.5 Ma, the Xining Basin began to shrink and dry, resulting in the deposition of saline pan and saline mudflat sediments in the basin. After ca. 20 Ma, the Laji Shan to the south of the Xining Basin was uplifted due to the northward compression of the Guide Basin to the south. Clasts that eroded from this range dominated the sediments as the basin evolved from a lacustrine environment into a fluvial system. The Xining Basin was an extensional basin in the Early Cenozoic, but changed into a compressive one during the Late Cenozoic, it was not a foreland basin either to the Kunlun Shan or to the western Qinling Shan in the whole Cenozoic. The formation and deformation of the Xining Basin are the direct responses of the India‐Eurasia Collision and the growth of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau.     

Sediment fluxes and buffering in the post‐glacial Indus Basin

The Indus drainage has experienced major variations in climate since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) that have affected the volumes and compositions of the sediment reaching the ocean since that time. We here present a comprehensive first‐order source‐to‐sink budget spanning the time since the LGM. We show that buffering of sediment in the floodplain accounts for ca. 20–25% of the mass flux. Sedimentation rates have varied greatly and must have been on average three times the recent, predamming rates. Much of the sediment was released by incision of fluvial terraces constructed behind landslide dams within the mountains, and especially along the major river valleys. New bedrock erosion is estimated to supply around 45% of the sedimentation. Around 50% of deposited sediment lies under the southern floodplains, with 50% offshore in large shelf clinoforms. Provenance indicators show a change of erosional focus during the Early Holocene, but no change in the Mid–Late Holocene because of further reworking from the floodplains. While suspended loads travel rapidly from source‐to‐sink, zircon grains in the bedload show travel times of 7–14 kyr. The largest lag times are anticipated in the Indus submarine fan where sedimentation lags erosion by at least 10 kyr.     

The evolution of the high‐elevated depocenters of the northern Sierras Pampeanas (ca. 28˚ SL), Argentine broken foreland,South‐Central Andes: the Pipanaco Basin

The Pipanaco Basin, in the southern margin of the Andean Puna plateau at ca. 28°SL, is one of the largest and highest intermontane basins within the northernmost Argentine broken foreland. With a surface elevation >1000 m above sea level, this basin represents a strategic location to understand the subsidence and subsequent uplift history of high‐elevation depositional surfaces within the distal Andean foreland. However, the stratigraphic record of the Pipanaco Basin is almost entirely within the subsurface, and no geophysical surveys have been conducted in the region. A high‐resolution gravity study has been designed to understand the subsurface basin geometry. This study, together with stratigraphic correlations and flexural and backstripping analysis, suggests that the region was dominated by a regional subsidence episode of ca. 2 km during the Miocene‐Pliocene, followed by basement thrusting and ca. 1–1.5 km of sediment filling within restricted intermontane basin between the Pliocene‐Pleistocene. Based on the present‐day position of the basement top as well as the Neogene‐Present sediment thicknesses across the Sierras Pampeanas, which show slight variations along strike, sediment aggradation is not the most suitable process to account for the increase in the topographic level of the high‐elevation, close‐drainage basins of Argentina. The close correlation between the depth to basement and the mean surface elevations recorded in different swaths indicates that deep‐seated geodynamic process affected the northern Sierras Pampeanas. Seismic tomography, as well as a preliminary comparison between the isostatic and seismic Moho, suggests a buoyant lithosphere beneath the northern Sierras Pampeanas, which might have driven the long‐wavelength rise of this part of the broken foreland after the major phase of deposition in these Andean basins.     

Sedimentology,provenance and geochronology of the upper Cretaceous–lower Eocene western Xigaze forearc basin,southern Tibet

Located on the southern margin of the Lhasa terrane in southern Tibet, the Xigaze forearc basin records Cretaceous to lower Eocene sedimentation along the southern margin of Asia, prior to and during the initial stages of continental collision with the Tethyan Himalaya in the Early Eocene. We present new measured stratigraphic sections, totalling 4.5 km stratigraphic thickness, from a 60 km E–W segment of the western portion of the Xigaze forearc basin, northeast of the Lopu Kangri Range (29.8007° N, 84.91827° E). In addition, we apply U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology to constrain the provenance and maximum depositional ages of investigated strata. Stratigraphic ages range between ca. 88 and ca. 54 Ma and sedimentary facies indicate a shoaling‐upward trend from deep‐marine turbidites to fluvial deposits. Depositional environments of coeval Cretaceous strata along strike include deep‐marine distal turbidites, slope‐apron debris‐flow deposits and marginal marine carbonates. This along‐strike variability in facies suggests an irregular paleogeography of the Asian margin prior to collision. Paleocene–Eocene strata are composed of shallow marine carbonates with abundant foraminifera such as Nummulites‐Discocyclina and Miscellanea‐Daviesina and transition into fluvial deposits dated at ca. 54 Ma. Sandstone modal analyses, conglomerate clast compositions and detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology indicate that forearc detritus in this region was derived solely from the Gangdese magmatic arc to the north. In addition, U–Pb detrital zircon age spectra within the upper Xigaze forearc stratigraphy are similar to those from Eocene foreland basin strata south of the Indus‐Yarlung suture near Sangdanlin, suggesting that the Xigaze forearc was a possible source of Sangdanlin detritus by ca. 55 Ma. We propose a model in which the Xigaze forearc prograded south over the accretionary prism and onto the advancing Tethyan Himalayan passive margin between 58 and 54 Ma, during late stage evolution of the forearc basin and the beginning of collision with the Tethyan Himalaya. The lack of documented forearc strata younger than ca. 51 Ma suggests that sedimentation in the forearc basin ceased at this time owing to uplift resulting from continued continental collision.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the Northern Tian Shan foreland,Taxi He section,China

The Tian Shan range formed in the late Cenozoic in response to the northward propagation of deformation related to the India–Eurasia continental collision. Precise timing of the Tian Shan uplift is required to understand possible mechanisms of continental lithosphere deformation and interactions between climate, tectonism and erosion. Here, we provide magnetostratigraphic age control on the northern Chinese Tian Shan foreland successions. A thorough rock magnetic analysis identifies haematite‐ and magnetite‐bearing alluvial fan deposits in the upper portion of the sampled strata as more reliable palaeomagnetic recorders than magnetite‐bearing fluvial and lacustrine deposits that are often maghaemitized in the lower part of the record. As a result, a robust correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time scale is obtained from 6 to 2 Ma while a tentative correlation is proposed from 6 to 16 Ma. Sediment accumulation rates increase from 155 to 260 m Myr^?1 at 3.9±0.3 Ma. This change coincides with a gradual lithologic transition from fluvial (sandstone‐dominated) to alluvial fan (conglomerate‐dominated) deposits that likely records an approaching erosional source related to tectonically increased subsidence rather than differential compaction. Clear evidence for growth strata starting at an estimated age of ～2 Ma provides a minimum age for folding. These results are compared with previous magneotstratigraphic studies from the same and other sections of the northern Tian Shan foreland basin fill, thus enabling a critical assessment of the reliability of magnetostratigraphic dating and the significance of sediment accumulation rate variations with respect to facies variations and growth strata. Our results in the Taxi He section provide a sequence of events that is consistent with enhanced tectonic forcing starting at ～4 Ma, although a climatic contribution must be considered given the close relationship of these ages with the Pliocene climate deterioration.     

Isotopic and thermochronologic evidence of extremely cold lithosphere associated with a slab flattening in the Central Andes of Argentina

We present mineralogic, isotopic and thermochronologic analyses on psammopelitic and tuffaceous levels from the Bermejo and Vinchina basins – both foreland depocentres of the Central Andes of Argentina – that define a low‐temperature regime for the crust akin to a slab shallowing and flattening process. The contents of illite in illite/smectite interstratified (I/S) show a progressive illitization into the deeper parts of both basins. The distribution of I/S is compatible with theoretical simulations and predicted heat flow values of ca. 26 mW m^?2 in the 8–3.4 Ma interval for the Vinchina Basin and ca. 42 mW m^?2 since 9 Ma for the Bermejo Basin. The latter shows heat flow values that are comparable to those reported by magnetotelluric analysis (36–40 mW m^?2) in agreement with previously published heat flow calculations along the modern Andean foreland. The Rb–Sr isochrones in psammopelites (<2 μm fractions) show ages between 125 and 165 Ma, whereas the K–Ar ages decrease as the grain size is smaller (136–224 Ma for 1–2 μm, 112–159 Ma for 0.2–1 μm, 76–116 Ma for <0.2 μ and 39.3–42 Ma for <0.1 μm). These ages are significantly older than the sedimentation in the basins (ca. 16 Ma for the Vinchina Basin; U–Pb age), and can be explained by the presence of a significant amount of detrital components, mainly illite, even in the finer fractions. The preservation of detrital ages is consistent with the shallow diagenesis related to a low‐temperature regime, proposed here for the basins. Younger K–Ar ages (21.3–12 Ma) were obtained for a basal tuffaceous level. Clay mineralogy and R0 ordering in the deepest part of the Vinchina Basin, together with the evolution model of I/S with depth, suggest that the burial temperatures would have not exceeded ca. 100°C in agreement with (U–Th)/He analyses performed on apatite extracted from two tuffaceous units. Thermal indicators from both studied basins confirm the existence of a low‐temperature regime during flat subduction.     

Source‐to‐sink analysis in an active extensional setting: Holocene erosion and deposition in the Sperchios rift,central Greece

We present a source‐to‐sink analysis to explain sediment supply variations and depositional patterns over the Holocene within an active rift setting. We integrate a range of modelling approaches and data types with field observations from the Sperchios rift basin, Central Greece that allow us to analyse and quantify (1) the size and characteristics of sediment source areas, (2) the dynamics of the sediment routing system from upstream fluvial processes to downstream deposition at the coastline, and (3) the depositional architecture and volumes of the Holocene basin fill. We demonstrate that the Sperchios rift comprises a ‘closed’ system over the Holocene and that erosional and depositional volumes are thus balanced. Furthermore, we evaluate key controls in the development of this source‐to‐sink system, including the role of pre‐existing topography, bedrock erodibility and lateral variations in the rate of tectonic uplift/subsidence. We show that tectonic subsidence alone can explain the observed grain size fining along the rift axis resulting in the downstream transition from a braided channel to an extensive meander belt (>15 km long) that feeds the fine‐grained Sperchios delta. Additionally, we quantify the ratios of sediment storage to bypass for the two main footwall‐sourced alluvial fan systems and relate the fan characteristics to the pattern and rates of fault slip. Finally, we show that ≥40% of the sediment that builds the Sperchios delta is supplied by ≤22% of the entire source area and that this can be primarily attributed to a longer‐term (~10⁶ years) transient landscape response to fault segment linkage. Our multidisciplinary approach allows us to quantify the relative importance of multiple factors that control a complex source‐to‐sink system and thus improve our understanding of landscape evolution and stratigraphic development in active extensional tectonic settings.     

Importance of predecessor basin history on sedimentary fill of a retroarc foreland basin: provenance analysis of the Cretaceous Magallanes basin,Chile (50–52°S)

An integrated provenance analysis of the Upper Cretaceous Magallanes retroarc foreland basin of southern Chile (50°30′–52°S) provides new constraints on source area evolution, regional patterns of sediment dispersal and depositional age. Over 450 new single‐grain detrital‐zircon U‐Pb ages, which are integrated with sandstone petrographic and mudstone geochemical data, provide a comprehensive detrital record of the northern Magallanes foreland basin‐filling succession (>4000‐m‐thick). Prominent peaks in detrital‐zircon age distribution among the Punta Barrosa, Cerro Toro, Tres Pasos and Dorotea Formations indicate that the incorporation and exhumation of Upper Jurassic igneous rocks (ca. 147–155 Ma) into the Andean fold‐thrust belt was established in the Santonian (ca. 85 Ma) and was a significant source of detritus to the basin by the Maastrichtian (ca. 70 Ma). Sandstone compositional trends indicate an increase in volcanic and volcaniclastic grains upward through the basin fill corroborating the interpretation of an unroofing sequence. Detrital‐zircon ages indicate that the Magallanes foredeep received young arc‐derived detritus throughout its ca. 20 m.y. filling history, constraining the timing of basin‐filling phases previously based only on biostratigraphy. Additionally, spatial patterns of detrital‐zircon ages in the Tres Pasos and Dorotea Formations support interpretations that they are genetically linked depositional systems, thus demonstrating the utility of provenance indicators for evaluating stratigraphic relationships of diachronous lithostratigraphic units. This integrated provenance dataset highlights how the sedimentary fill of the Magallanes basin is unique among other retroarc foreland basins and from the well‐studied Andean foreland basins farther north, which is attributed to nature of the predecessor rift and backarc basin.