Pre-Cenozoic evolution of the Aghil Range (western Tibetan Plateau): A missing piece of the Tibet-Pamir-Karakorum geopuzzle |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Torino, Torino, Italy;2. CNR-IGG, Torino, Italy;3. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA;4. Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;1. Department of Geosciences, Biogeology, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany;2. Senckenberg Research Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;3. Instituto de Investigaciones Arqueológicas y Paleontológicas del Cuaternario Pampeano (INCUAPA-CONICET), Universidad Nacional del Centro de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Del Valle 5737, B7400JWI Olavarría, Buenos Aires, Argentina;4. Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales Pachamama, Santa Clara del Mar, Argentina;5. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina;6. Div. Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, 1900 La Plata, Argentina;7. Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR), Provincia de La Rioja, UNLaR, SEGEMAR, UNCa, CONICET, Entre Ríos y Mendoza s/n, 5301 Anillaco, La Rioja, Argentina;1. School of Earth Science and Resources, Chang''an University, Xi''an 710054, China;2. Key Laboratory of Western China''s Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Xi''an 710054, China;1. Department of Geology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland;2. Dipartimento di Geoscienze, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy;3. ENSER srl, viale Baccarini 29, 48018 Faenza, RA, Italy;4. Italferr S.p.A., via V. G. Galati, 71, 00155 Roma, Italy;5. Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, School of Engineering and Architecture, Viale del Risorgimento 2, Bologna, Italy;1. The Institute for Geoscience Research (TIGeR), School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia;2. Centre for Exploration and Targeting (CET), Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia;3. School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia;4. John de Laeter Center, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia;5. Geological Survey of Western Australia, 100 Plain St., East Perth, WA 6004, Australia |
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| Abstract: | The Tibetan Plateau, largely derived from the accretion of several Gondwana microplates to the southern margin of Asia since the late Palaeozoic, is the highest and largest topographic relief on Earth. Although the first order geodynamic processes responsible for its pre-Cenozoic evolution are quite well-known, many issues are still debated, among which is the timing of collision of each terrane with the southern margin of Asia. Even more uncertain is the pre-Palaeozoic history of these terranes, due to the lack of basement exposures. As a contribution to understanding the pre-Cenozoic evolution of the Tibetan Plateau, this paper focuses on the Aghil Range, a remote and poorly investigated area close to the Karakorum Fault between Kunlun and Karakorum (Xinjiang, China) in western Tibet. The tectono-metamorphic and magmatic evolution of the Aghil Range is investigated using a multidisciplinary approach that combines field mapping, petrology and geochronology (U Pb on titanite, zircon, monazite and xenotime using SHRIMP-RG). We demonstrate that the Aghil Range preserves a coherent slice of Neoproterozoic crystalline basement with a late Palaeozoic sedimentary cover deposited on a passive continental margin during the Gondwana break-up. This represents the westernmost exposure of Precambrian crystalline basement known so far in the Tibetan Plateau. Furthermore, petrological and geochronological results allow reconstructing the Mesozoic poly-metamorphic evolution of this sector of the Tibetan Plateau, which records the evidence of Middle Jurassic (ca. 170 Ma) and Late Cretaceous (66 Ma) collisional events, as well as of the Late Jurassic (ca. 150 Ma) early subduction of an accretionary complex developed on its southern margin. Evidence of Late Cretaceous subduction-related magmatism preceding the last collisional event is also recorded. These results allow tentative correlation of the different terranes of Central Tibet with those of the Pamir-Karakorum Range on both sides of the Karakorum fault. |
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