Late Paleogene syn-tectonic magmatic products are known from sandstones contained in the North Alpine (NAFB) and South Alpine (SAFB) foreland basins and in the South Alpine pelagic Trento Basin. The ...generally turbiditic and mass-flow deposits grade up from marly hemipelagic deeper water series. The source and amount of the reworked volcanic materials have been in debate for a long time. As a proxy for the magma-derived input we use the U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry
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and Eu/Eu* ratios of detrital zircons, and evaluate their temporal and genetic relationships with potential volcanic sources in the Periadriatic magmatic systems (Adamello, Bergell, Biella). The oldest volcanic sources (Lutetian–Priabonian) we identify are in the Trento Basin and Glarus NAFB. During most Rupelian, Bergell and Biella volcaniclastics were delivered to the NAFB in the Glarus, Alpe de Taveyanne and Haute-Savoie. Bergell and minor Adamello magmatic material were supplied to the Villa Olmo Conglomerate in the SAFB. During late Rupelian–Chattian in the entire NAFB, the influx of Paleogene volcanic material faded out. At the same time in the SAFB, the Como Conglomerate shows mixed input from Biella and Bergell. High numbers of old zircons (> 90%) in the NAFB document the asymmetry of the early Alpine orogenic wedge exposing large basement areas to the north of the Periadriatic intrusions. The syn-sedimentary right-lateral movement along the Periadriatic fault system is identified as the main driver of magmatic activity, uplift, and exposure to erosion and transport to the basins. On this base, the dynamics of the early Alpine drainage systems are reconstructed with new accuracy.
Late Palaeogene syn-tectonic volcanic products have been found in the Northern Alpine foreland basin and in the South Alpine hemipelagic basin. The source of abundant volcanic fragments is still in ...debate. We analyzed the geochronology and geochemistry of detrital zircons, and evaluated their temporal and genetic relationships with potential volcanic sources. The study shows that the detrital zircon U–Pb age patterns have two major age groups: a dominance (ca. 90%) of pre-Alpine zircons was found, as commonly observed in other Alpine flysch formations. These zircons apparently derived from erosion of the early Alpine nappe stack in South Alpine and Austroalpine units. Furthermore, a few Neo-Alpine zircons (ca. 10%) have ages ranging from Late Eocene to Early Oligocene (~ 41–29 Ma). Both source materials were mixed during long riverine transport to the basin margins before being re-deposited by gravity flows. These Palaeogene ages match with the activity of Peri-Adriatic magmatism, including the Biella volcanic suite as well as the Northern Adamello and Bergell intrusions. The values of REE and
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ratios of the Alpine detrital zircons are in line with the magmatic signatures. We observe an in time and space variable supply of syn-sedimentary zircons. From late Middle Eocene to Late Eocene, basin influx into the South Alpine and Glarus (A) basins from the Northern Adamello source is documented. At about 34 Ma, a complete reorganisation is recorded by (1) input of Bergell sources into the later Glarus (B) basin, and (2) the coeval volcaniclastic supply of the Haute-Savoie basin from the Biella magmatic system. The Adamello source vanished in the foreland basin. The marked modification of the basin sources at ~ 34 Ma is interpreted to be initiated by a northwestern shift of the early Alpine drainage divide into the position of the modern Insubric Line.
The late Eocene-to-early Oligocene Taveyannaz Formation is a turbidite series deposited in the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin (close to the Alpine orogenic front). Double dating of zircons with the ...fission-track and the U–Pb methods is applied on samples from the Taveyannaz Formation to reconstruct the exhumation history of the Central-Western Alps and to understand the syn-collisional magmatism along the Periadriatic lineament. Three samples from this unit show similar detrital zircon fission-track age populations that center at: 33–40 Ma (20%); 69–92 Ma (30–40%); and 138–239 Ma (40–50%). The youngest population contains both syn-volcanic and basement grains. Combined with zircon U–Pb data, it suggests that the basement rocks of Apulian-affinity nappes (Margna Sesia, Austroalpine) were the major sources of detritus, together with the Ivrea Zone and recycled Prealpine flysch, that contributed debris to the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin. Furthermore, the rocks of the Sesia–Lanzo Zone or of equivalent units exposed at that time presumably provided the youngest basement zircon fission-track ages to the basin. The Biella volcanic suite was the source of volcanogenic zircons. Oligocene sediment pathways from source to sink crossed further crystalline basement units and sedimentary covers before entering the basin from the southeast. The lag times of the youngest basement age populations (volcanic zircons excluded) are about 11 Myr. This constrains average moderate-to-high exhumation rate of 0.5–0.6 km/Myr in the pro-side of the orogenic wedge of the Central Alps during the late Eocene to early Oligocene.
Deckenschotter (‘Cover Gravels’) are proximal glaciofluvial gravels located in the northern Alpine Foreland mainly beyond the extent of the Last Glacial Maximum. They cover Tertiary Molasse or ...Mesozoic bedrock with an erosional unconformity. In Switzerland, Deckenschotter are referred to as Höhere (Higher) and Tiefere (Lower) Deckenschotter based on their topographical positions with a significant phase of incision that separates these two units. For this study, we performed sedimentological analyses to identify the provenance, transport mechanisms and depositional environment of these gravels. In addition, we established the chronology of the Höhere Deckenschotter gravels at Stadlerberg using cosmogenic 10Be depth-profile dating technique. The inherited 10Be concentration then allowed estimation of a catchment-wide palaeo-denudation rate. The results from clast fabric investigations indicate that braided rivers within a glaciofluvial environment transported these sediments to the study site mainly as bedload. In addition, the petrographic composition of the deposits shows that a large portion of the gravels was derived through erosional recycling of Miocene Molasse conglomerates. Some material was additionally sourced in the northern Central Alps. We then conclude that gravel accumulation in the Swiss Alpine Foreland was completed at 1.9±0.2Ma. This age, however, represents a minimum age and the oldest 10Be depth-profile age ever obtained for a geological unit. Furthermore, a palaeo-denudation rate of c. 0.3–0.4mm/a was estimated for the catchment of Stadlerberg gravels. Finally, elevation differences between the bedrock underlying the Höhere Deckenschotter and the modern base level imply a long-term regional incision rate of c. 0.12mm/a.
•1.9±0.2Ma 10Be depth-profile age for gravels in the northern Alpine Foreland•Provenance from the northern Central Alps and reworked from Miocene Molasse•Transport mainly as bedload in braided rivers in a glaciofluvial system•0.12mm/a long-term bedrock incision rate•0.3–0.4mm/a palaeo-denudation rate estimation for the palaeocatchment
Re-evaluation of the river history, palaeosurface levels and exhumation history in northern Switzerland for the last 10 million years reveals that distinct morphotectonic events about 4.2 and ...2.8 million years ago (Ma) caused major reorganisation of river networks and morphosculpture. As a result of the earlier formation of the Swiss Jura, potential relief energy in the piggy-back North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) of northern central Switzerland south of the Jura fold belt was built up after 11–10 Ma. It was suddenly released by river capture at about 4.2 Ma when the Aare-Danube was captured by a tributary of the Rhône-Doubs river system which rooted southeast of the Black forest. This event triggered rapid denudation of weakly consolidated Molasse sediments, in the order of about 1 km, as constrained by apatite fission track data from drillholes in the NAFB. Likely mechanisms of river capture are (a) headward erosion of Rhône-Doubs tributaries, (b) uplift and rapidly increasing erosion of the Swiss Alps after about 5.3 Ma, and (c) gravel aggradation at the eastern termination of the Jura fold belt in the course of eastward and northward tilt of the piggy-back NAFB. A morphotectonic event between 4.2 and 2.5 Ma, probably at about 2.8 Ma, caused a phase of planation, accompanied by local gravel aggradation and temporary storage of Alpine debris. Between 2.8 and 2.5 Ma, the Aare-Rhône river system is cannibalised by the modern Rhine River, the latter later connecting with the Alpine Rhine River.
The Himalayan crystalline core zone exposed along the Sutlej Valley (India) is composed of two high‐grade metamorphic gneiss sheets that were successively underthrusted and tectonically extruded, as ...a consequence of the foreland‐directed propagation of crustal deformation in the Indian plate margin. The High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence (HHCS) is composed of amphibolite facies to migmatitic paragneisses, metamorphosed at temperatures up to 750°C at 30 km depth between Eocene and early Miocene. During early Miocene, combined thrusting along the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and extension along the Sangla Detachment induced the rapid exhumation and cooling of the HHCS, whereas exhumation was mainly controlled by erosion since middle Miocene. The Lesser Himalayan Crystalline Sequence (LHCS) is composed of amphibolite facies para‐ and orthogneisses, metamorphosed at temperatures up to 700°C during underthrusting down to 30 km depth beneath the MCT. The LHCS cooled very rapidly since late Miocene, as a consequence of exhumation controlled by thrusting along the Munsiari Thrust and extension in the MCT hanging wall. This renewed phase of tectonic extrusion at the Himalayan front is still active, as indicated by the present‐day regional seismicity, and by hydrothermal circulation linked to elevated near‐surface geothermal gradients in the LHCS. As recently evidenced in the Himalayan syntaxes, active exhumation of deep crustal rocks along the Sutlej Valley is spatially correlated with the high erosional potential of this major trans‐Himalayan river. This correlation supports the emerging view of a positive feedback during continental collision between crustal‐scale tectono‐thermal reworking and efficient erosion along major river systems.
A zircon fission track-annealing model is calculated on the basis of annealing experiments from the literature with induced tracks in α-decay event damage-free zircon samples. Empirically derived ...parallel and fanning equations for this "zero-damage" model yield an excellent fit to the data, with the fanning model providing slightly better statistical parameters. A comparison between annealing models with fanning iso-annealing lines but different α-decay event damage densities reveals that annealing temperatures and closure temperatures for the estimated partial annealing zone are highest for the zero-damage model. Compilations of existing geologic constraints on the zircon partial-annealing zone on one hand and the zircon closure temperature on the other show that these constraints do not or only partly overlap with curves of proposed models for the zircon partial-annealing zone and closure temperature. This finding is consistent with the fact that the annealing behavior of zircon from long-duration temperature evolutions is increasingly influenced by the accumulated α-decay event damage. Zircon samples of young age or low U content show a behavior closest to the predictions of the zero-damage model, and are in the predicted range of published models with low α-decay event damage density. For thermal events of more than 10 myr duration, however, constraints from field studies show marked differences from proposed partial-annealing zone boundaries of the zero-or low-damage models. The applicability of the zero-damage model is threefold. (1) It predicts correct closure temperatures in the case of very rapid cooling across the partial annealing zone where basically no α-decay event damage is accumulated. (2) It predicts an uppermost boundary for complete annealing of a mixture of zircon components of different age, as found in sedimentary samples, and in this case may be used as a thermometer. (3) It represents an important reference for the establishment of a more comprehensive model of zircon fission-track annealing that also includes the influence of α-decay event damage. For such a model, two different equations are discussed. However, additional detailed experimental and field data are needed for a more robust annealing model that includes the influence of α-decay event-damage annealing.
Construction of the new Gotthard rail base tunnel through the Central Alps provided a truly unique sample of a fissure assemblage, formed during exhumation and cooling of the Central Alps. The base ...of the tunnel is at 500m a.s.l. and the overburden at the sampling locality amounts to 2000m. The fissure assemblage apophyllite-(KF), laumontite and quartz occurs within the Southern Aar granite. It formed during exhumation and erosion of the Alpine orogen. Apophyllite and laumontite mark very late fissure minerals in the Central Swiss Alps, only followed by stilbite, hematite, and calcite. The data from a combined study of 40Ar/39Ar age dating of apophyllite, apatite fission-track analysis, and the petrology of rock samples from tunnel and the from the mountains above the tunnel reflect the late stages of an aging orogen. Apatite fission-track analysis yields an exhumation rate of 0.46mm/yr, a cooling rate of 12.3°C/m.y. and a geothermal gradient of 27°C/km at the time of apophyllite formation. Combining these data with the 40Ar/39Ar plateau age of 2Ma for the formation of apophyllite, a minimum formation temperature and depth of 68°C at 2550m below the present day erosion surface follow. At this time, the position of the sample location was 550m below the tunnel level. Assemblage stabilities and computed temperature–time evolution of fissures in the Aar Massif indicate that laumontite formed between 11 and 2Ma ago at temperatures between 180 and ~70°C. Chemical components for forming laumontite were provided from dissolution of minerals of the Alpine greenschist facies Variscan granitoid rocks of the Aar massif basement. Systematic variations in the composition of laumontite are an effect of decreasing temperature.
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► We present the first effort to date late stage minerals in Alpine fissures. ► Alpine fissures chronology: quartz–laumontite–apophyllite. ► Laumontite is formed at temperatures between 180 and ~70°C. ► Apophyllite age and fission-track data give a minimum formation temperature of 68°C. ► Unique apatite fission-track study of vertical aligned tunnel and surface sample.
ABSTRACT
Detrital fission‐track studies on sedimentary basins surrounding eroding mountain belts provide a powerful tool to reconstruct exhumation histories of the source area. However, examples from ...active arc‐trench systems are sparse. In this study, we report detrital apatite fission‐track (AFT) data from Holocene and Pleistocene turbiditic trench and modern river sediments at the Chilean margin (36°S‐47°S). Sediment petrography and detrital AFT data point to different major sediment sources, underlining the need for multidisciplinary studies: whereas sediment petrography indicates the erosion of large volumes of volcanic detritus, no such volcanic signal is seen in the detrital age pattern. Areally subordinate plutonic units are identified as the main, often unique sources. This result has important implications for studies of fossil systems, where the feeder areas are eroded, and where the youngest age population is often interpreted to indicate active volcanism. For the southernmost part of the study area in the Patagonian Andes, where the source area is mainly composed of granitoids, the sediment is derived from only small portions along the main divide, pointing to focused glacial erosion there. Our detrital AFT data show no exhumational signal that could be related to the subduction of the actively spreading Chile Ridge at c. 47°S and to the opening of a slab window beneath the South American Plate.
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