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International Geology Review

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Detrital apatite fission track analyses of the Subeibasin: implications for basin-range structure of thenorthern Tibetan Plateau

Jianfeng Li, Zhicheng Zhang, Yue Zhao, Junling Pei, Wenhao Tang & Ke Li

To cite this article: Jianfeng Li, Zhicheng Zhang, Yue Zhao, Junling Pei, Wenhao Tang &Ke Li (2016): Detrital apatite fission track analyses of the Subei basin: implications forbasin-range structure of the northern Tibetan Plateau, International Geology Review, DOI:10.1080/00206814.2016.1219880

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2016.1219880

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Detrital apatite fission track analyses of the Subei basin: implications forbasin-range structure of the northern Tibetan PlateauJianfeng Lia,b, Zhicheng Zhangb, Yue Zhaoa, Junling Peia, Wenhao Tangb and Ke Lib

aKey Laboratory of Paleomagnetism and Tectonic Reconstruction of Ministry of Land and Resources, Institute of Geomechanics, ChineseAcademy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China; bKey Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, Ministry of Education, School ofEarth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China

ABSTRACTThe northern Tibetan Plateau has evolved a unique basin-range structure characterized byalternating elongated mountain ranges and basins over a history of multiple tectonic and faultactivities. The Subei basin recorded evolution of this basin-range structure. In this study,detailed detrital apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronological studies in conjunction withpreviously documented data reveal provenance of the Subei basin, important informationabout the Indo-Eurasia collision, and two Miocene uplift and exhumation events of thenorthern Tibetan Plateau. Detrital AFT analyses combined with sedimentary evidences demon-strate that the Danghenanshan Mountains is the major provenance of the Subei basin. Inaddition, very old age peaks indicate that part sediments in the Subei basin are recyclingsediments. Age peak populations of 70–44 Ma and 61–45 Ma from the lower and upperBaiyanghe formations record the tectono-thermal response to the Indo-Eurasia collision.Combined detrital AFT thermochronology, magnetostratigraphy and petrography resultsdemonstrate the middle Miocene uplift and exhumation event initiated 14–12 Ma in theSubei basin, which may resulted from the Miocene east-west extension of the TibetanPlateau. Another stronger uplift and exhumation event occurred in the late Miocene resultedfrom strengthened tectonic movement and climate. A much younger AFT grain age, breccia ofdiluvial facies and boulders of root fan subfacies record the late Miocene unroofing in theDanghenanshan Mountains.

ARTICLE HISTORYReceived 3 January 2016Accepted 30 July 2016

KEYWORDSNorthern Tibetan Plateau;basin-range structure; Subeibasin; detrital apatite fissiontrack

Introduction

The northern Tibetan Plateau bounded by Kunlunfault, Hexi Corridor and Altyn Tagh fault (Peltzer andTapponnier 1988; Wittlinger et al. 1998; Jolivet et al.2001; Xu et al. 2011), displays a unique basin-rangestructure characterized by alternating elongatedmountain ranges and basins. These mountain rangesinclude Eastern Kunlun Range, Altyn Tagh Range andQilian mountain belt (Jolivet et al. 2001). The Qilianmountain belt, which evolved from the ancient QilianOcean, plays an important role in the northeastwardgrowth of the Tibetan Plateau and absorbs >250 kmdisplacement of the Altyn Tagh fault by thrustingunder the Qaidam basin with NE–SW crustal short-ening, varying from 20% to 60% (Meyer et al. 1998;Jolivet et al. 2001; Yin et al. 2008; Song et al. 2014;Zhang et al. 2014; Cheng et al. 2015a). Bounded bythe Eastern Kunlun fault, Altyn Tagh fault and southQilian Shan thrust fault, Qaidam basin is the largestintracontinental basin in the northern Tibetan Plateau.

Studies from the terranes near the Qaidam basin havedemonstrated that displacement of Altyn Tagh faultin the Cenozoic is about 400 km (Yue et al. 2005;Cheng et al. 2015b, 2016a). Qaidam basin widenedsouthward from the early Palaeocene and increasedexhumation of Eastern Kunlun and Altyn Tagh Ranges,shaping the Qaidam basin from the Miocene (Chenget al. 2014, 2016b). A number of smaller basins asidefrom Qaidam basin, including Subei basin, have beendefined in relation to the tectonic evolution of thisregion (Ritts et al. 2004; Figure 1).

Detrital minerals in basins record the uplift historyof the surrounding mountains and provide a historyof fault activity (Zheng et al. 2000; Jolivet et al. 2001;Glotzbach et al. 2011; Lin et al. 2015). The Subei areais one of a number of triple junctions by which theloss of strike-slip rate of Altyn Tagh fault is trans-formed into the shortening rate of the branch thrustfaults (Figure 1) in the northern Tibetan Plateau(Dickinson and Snyder 1979; Peltzer and Tapponnier

CONTACT Zhicheng Zhang zczhang@pku.edu.cn

INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW, 2016http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2016.1219880

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

1988; Xu et al. 2005; Raterman et al. 2007). The Subeiarea is a popular study area for both Altyn Tagh faultand the northern Tibetan Plateau, due to its advan-tageous location on Altyn Tagh fault (Wang 1997;Gilder et al. 2001; Jolivet et al. 2001; van der Woerdet al. 2001; Yin et al. 2002; Wang et al. 2003; Rittset al. 2004; Sun et al. 2005; Xu et al. 2005; Zhuanget al. 2011; Zhang et al. 2012; Li et al. 2014; Lin et al.2015).

Past studies focused on tectonic evolution, sedimen-tology, magnetostratigraphy and provenance analysis ofthe Subei basin (Wang 1997; Gilder et al. 2001; van derWoerd et al. 2001; Wang et al. 2003; Ritts et al. 2004; Sunet al. 2005; Xu et al. 2005; Zhuang et al. 2011; Li et al.2014). Detrital apatite fission track (AFT) ages have onlybeen acquired from the northern part of the Subei basin(Yin et al. 2002; Lin et al. 2015). To better define therelationship between the Subei basin and the surround-ing mountains, as well as fault activities in this area, thisarticle reports new detrital AFT data obtained from thenorthern and southern parts of the Subei basin.

Geological setting and sampling strategy

Geological setting

Over a history of multiple tectonic and fault activ-ities, the northern Tibetan Plateau has evolved aunique basin-range structure, characterized by alter-nating elongated mountain ranges and basins (Xuet al. 2011). These mountain ranges include EasternKunlun Range, Altyn Tagh Range and Qilian moun-tain belt (Jolivet et al. 2001). Aside from the intra-continental sedimentary Qaidam basin, a series ofsmaller intermontane basins have grown with thetectonic evolution of this region (Ritts et al. 2004;Figure 1). These smaller basins include Xorkol, Sugan,Subei, Danghe River, Shibaocheng, Changma andJiuquan basins (Figure 1). It is widely accepted thata combination of Altyn Tagh fault, Kunlun fault andseveral branch faults within Qilian mountain belthave controlled the tectonic evolution of the north-ern Tibetan Plateau (Meyer et al. 1996; Jolivet et al.1999, 2001; Yin et al. 2008; Cheng et al. 2015a).

Figure 1. (a) Digital topographic map of the northern Tibetan Plateau with major basins and ranges. The tectonic settings in EastAsia related to the Indo-Eurasia collision were modified after Chung et al. (2005). (b) Cross-section A–B displays the topographicrelief and the distribution of major basins and ranges across the northern Tibetan Plateau.

2 J. LI ET AL.

The Subei area, located in the northern TibetanPlateau (Figure 1), is one of a number of triple junctionsby which the loss of strike-slip rate of the Altyn Taghfault is transformed into shortening rate of branchthrust faults in Qilian mountain belt (Dickinson andSnyder 1979; Peltzer and Tapponnier 1988; Xu et al.2005; Raterman et al. 2007). Altyn Tagh fault is one ofthe longest strike-slip faults in the world (similar to theSan Andreas Fault), and defines the northern edge ofthe Tibetan Plateau, running for more than 1500 kmalong the margin of the northern Tibetan Plateau. TheDanghe River, originating from Hala Lake in Qilianmountain belt and with a drainage area of 16.8 km2,runs for over 350 km in this area (Figure 2).

The pre-Jurassic strata in this area are composed ofProterozoic metamorphic crystalline rock series andPalaeozoic epizonal metamorphic clastic rock, lime-stone, grey shale and sandstone. Jurassic clastic rocks

are exposed in the southern Subei area (Figure 2). TheCenozoic Subei basin is composed of strata from thelower and upper Baiyanghe, and the Shulehe forma-tions. The early Palaeozoic granitic plutons are abun-dant in the Yemashan and Danghenanshan Mountains(Figure 2). In particular, the Subei granitic pluton, whichis 5 km south of Subei County in the YemashanMountains, has a post-collisional Sensitive HighResolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U–Pb ageof 415 ± 3 Ma (Li et al. 2010). In the DanghenanshanMountains, Sangewatang island–arc granitic plutonacquired zircon U–Pb ages of 443 ± 5 Ma and444 ± 1 Ma (Luo et al. 2015).

The Subei basin was dislocated into northern andsouthern parts by the Altyn Tagh and Yema faults (Liet al. 2014). The northern part of the Subei basin wastransformed into the fold-thrust belt of theDanghenanshan Mountains piedmont, while the

Figure 2. (a) Simplified geological map of the Subei area in the northern Tibetan Plateau (modified after Ritts et al. 2004; Li et al.2014). Sample locations and present main gulches are shown. NSB: northern part of the Subei basin; SSB: southern part of the Subeibasin. SG: Shengou section; YDT: Yandantu sectin; TJG: Tiejianggou section; XSG: Xishuigou section; LPG: Lapaigou section; SJDZ:Sijidianzhan section. 01–02: SUB10-01 and SUB10-02; 05: SUB10-05; 06–07: SUB10-06 and SUB10-07; 12–13: SUB10-12 and SUB10-13;35: SUB10-35; 39: SUB10-39; 45: SUB10-45; 68–69: SUB10-68 and SUB10-69; 78: SUB10-78; 79: SUB10-79; 81: SUB10-81. (b) Geologicalcross section of the Xishuigou section.

INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW 3

southern part developed into an intermontane basin inthe Danghenanshan Mountains (Figure 2). Detrital zir-con U–Pb ages, palaeocurrents and clast compositionsin the Subei basin indicate the DanghenanshanMountains are its main source, and terranes along thenortheastern margin are the minor provenance (Li et al.2014). Main detrital zircon U–Pb age peaks ranging from440 to 500 Ma record evolution of the ancient QilianOcean, while other age peaks show evolution of thebasement and intrusions after closure of the ancientQilian Ocean (Li et al. 2014). The drainage area of theproto-Subei basin is believed to be larger than thepresent drainage pattern of the inverted Subei basin.

The northern part of the Subei basin is composed of thelower and upper Baiyanghe formations. A series ofgulches, originating in the Danghenanshan Mountains,flow across the northern part of the Subei basin

(Figure 2(a)). The upward coarsening sequence is over3000 m thick and composed of reddish brown mudstone,siltstone and mudstone with conglomerate lenses. Itrepresents progressively more proximal environments,ranging from lacustrine-playa, through a fluvial channel–overbank complex, to alluvial fan facies (Ritts et al. 2004; Liet al. 2014; Figures 2(b) and 4(a)). Wang et al. (2003)determined deposition ages of 20–9.3 Ma in theXishuigou section by integrating fossil evidence(Platybelodon sp., Turcocerus sp., Amphimoschus cf. A. arte-nensis, mustelid Schultzogale) with other studies (GBGMR1989; Wang 1997; Gilder et al. 2001; Yin et al. 2002). Wanget al. (2003) showed that the coarse conglomerates(Figure 3(a,e,f)) in the Xishuigou were deposited approxi-mately 12 Ma ago. Sun et al. (2005) acquired magnetos-tratigraphy ages of 22.8–9 Ma from the Tiejianggousection, and demonstrated that the coarse conglomerates

Figure 3. Typical photographs in the Subei basin. (a) Syncline in the Xishuigou section. (b) Shulehe Formation (N2 s) outcropped inthe southern part of the Subei basin. (c) Gysum layer of the lower Baiyanghe Formation. (d) Breccia of alluvial-diluvial facies from theupper Baiyanghe Formation in the Sijidianzhan section. (e) and (f) Boulders from the upper Baiyanghe Formation in the Xishuigousection.

4 J. LI ET AL.

were deposited from ca. 13.7 to 9Ma. Detrital AFT analysesfrom the Tiejianggou section showed that the lag timeincreased from 14 Ma, which was interpreted as a prove-nance change caused by the uplift of the DanghenanshanMountains (Lin et al. 2015).

The southern part of the Subei basin is bounded inthe east, south and west by the DanghenanshanMountains and the Danghe River flows from its north-ern side. The strata composed of the Shulehe Formationand the lower and upper Baiyanghe formations crop outon the northern and eastern margin of the southernpart of the Subei basin. The lower Baiyanghe Formation,interbedded with a gypsum layer, mudstone, siltstoneand sandstone, is composed of grey-green and reddishbrown mudstone. The upper Baiyanghe Formation,interbedded with lenses of mudstone and sandstoneshowing alluvial fan facies, is composed of conglomer-ates and breccia (Figure 3(d–f)). The orange sandy

mudstone of the Shulehe Formation rests unconform-ably on the Baiyanghe Formation at a low angle(Figure 3(b)).

Sampling strategy

Seventeen samples were collected from the Subei basin,including five from the lower to middle part of thelower Baiyanghe Formation and two from the upperBaiyanghe Formation (Figure 2(b)) in the Xishuigou sec-tion. Quaternary river sand samples SUB10-35 andSUB10-52 were collected to trace the present-day AFTage pattern of their sources. Samples SUB10-12, SUB10-13, SUB10-39 and SUB10-45 from the lower BaiyangheFormation were collected from the margin of the south-ern part of the Subei basin. In cases where main rockswere conglomerates and breccia, samples were col-lected from sandstone lenses. Samples (SUB10-01,

Figure 4. (a) Detrital AFT analytical results from the Xishuigou section in the northern part of the Subei basin. The magnetostrati-graphic column is after Wang et al. (2003). (b) Detrital AFT analytical results from the Sijidianzhan section in the southern part of theSubei basin.

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SUB10-02, SUB10-05, SUB10-06 and SUB10-07) from theupper Baiyanghe Formation were collected from theSijidianzhan section in the southern part of the Subeibasin (Figure 2(a)).

Analytical methods

Apatite crystals were separated following standard pro-cedures for mineral separation. Samples were preparedand analysed at the Fission Track Lab of the KeyLaboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution,Ministry of Education, at Peking University. AFT ageswere dated with the external detector method(Hurford and Green 1983), using low-U mica as externaldetectors covered on grain mounts and glass dosi-meters (CN5) before irradiation. AFTs were determinedby etching polished mounts in 5-mol/L HNO3 for 20 s,which revealed spontaneous fission tracks. Inducedtracks were then revealed by exposing micas for20 min to 40% hydrofluoric acid at 20°C (Li et al.2016). Fission tracks were counted on a Zeiss micro-scope using the Autoscan system (produced inAustralia) in manual mode with magnification of×1000. The zeta (ζ) calibration method (Hurford andGreen 1983), recommended by the Fission TrackWorking Group of the International Union ofGeological Sciences Subcommission on Geochronology(Hurford 1990), was used to calculate AFT ages. The zetavalue of 423.6 ± 12.1 was obtained using Durango andFish Canyon apatite standards (Naeser and Cebula1985). BINOMFIT software (Brandon 1992, 1996) wasused to decompose the measured age distribution

into age peaks and obtain statistically significant agepopulations.

Data presentation

Detailed detrital AFT analytical results of the 17 sam-ples from the Subei basin are shown in Table 1.Figures 4 and 5 summarize the decomposed fittedage peaks and single-grain AFT age distributions.Figure 6 indicates the detrital AFT single-grain agedata with radial plots. AFT age peaks range from14.6 ± 3.8/3.0 Ma to 480.9 ± 145.1/112.4 Ma(Table 1), all of which are older than the correspond-ing depositional ages.

Most samples have two age peaks, while samplesSUB10-02, SUB10-06 and SUB10-79 have three(Table 1). In Peak 1 (Table 1), age peaks obtainedfrom the lower Baiyanghe Formation in the Subeibasin are assigned to two populations, in which theage peaks of the first population range from 70 to44 Ma and those of the second population arebetween 36 and 33 Ma. Age peaks obtained fromthe upper Baiyanghe Formation are between 61 and45 Ma, falling into the first age peak population of thelower Baiyanghe Formation. Moreover, the upperBaiyanghe Formation has two younger age peaks of28 and 14.6 Ma. In addition to younger age peaksfalling into Peak 1, Peak 2 has age peaks older thanthose in Peak 1 (Table 1). The majority of older agepeaks in Peaks 2 and 3 vary from 76.9 to 141.4 Ma.Peaks 2 and 3 also have very old age peaks of 238.7,243.1 and 480.9 Ma.

Table 1. Detrital AFT analytical data from the Subei basin

Sample Era Rock type Grain NumberAge Range

(Ma) Peak 1 (Ma) Peak 2 (Ma) Peak 3 (Ma)

SUB10-01 N1bb Fault Gouge 5 46.5–88.7 61.0 ± 14.7/11.9 (100%) – –

SUB10-02 N1bb Fine Grained

Conglomerate35 7.3–156.7 14.6 ± 3.8/3.0 (17%) 52.7 ± 5.7/5.1 (73.6%) 109.0 ± 64.2/40.5 (9.4%)

SUB10-05 N1bb Sandstone 70 28.6–175.9 48.3 ± 3.3/3.1 (67.2%) 106.0 ± 11.3/10.2 (32.8%) –

SUB10-06 N1bb Coarse Sandstone 52 20.6–169.5 27.9 ± 13.8/9.2 (6.0%) 60.6 ± 5.8/5.3 (92.7%) 141.4 ± 146.1/72.2 (1.3%)

SUB10-07 N1bb Coarse Sandston 15 161.–252.7 53.1 ± 5.1/4.6 (92.9%) 243.1 ± 87.0/64.4 (7.1%) –

SUB10-12 N1ba Fine Sandstone 11 37.9–264.7 70.3 ± 10.9/9.4 (79.1%) 238.7 ± 45.3/55.6 (20.9%) –

SUB10-13 N1ba Medium

Sandstone17 19.7–93.2 32.5 ± 8.8/7.0 (55.8%) 62.7 ± 16.4/13.0 (44.2%) –

SUB10-35 Q Sand 12 13.2–78.2 35.1 ± 5.9/5.0 (100%) – –SUB10-39 N1b

a Reddish BrownSandstone

16 35.7–209.4 48.2 ± 15.2/11.6 (27.7%) 122.9 ± 14.8/13.2 (72.3%) –

SUB10-45 N1ba Fault Gouge 61 21.1–150.9 59.5 ± 15.1/12.0 (68.7%) 85.0 ± 34.4/24.0 (31.3%) –

SUB10-51 N1ba Sandstone 32 43.0–124.2 60.9 ± 22.1/16.2 (21.5%) 76.9 ± 11.6/10.1 (78.5%) –

SUB10-52 Q Sand 37 45.0–182.5 59.9 ± 13.3/10.9 (30.2%) 97.8 ± 11.1/9.9 (69.8%) –SUB10-68 N1b

b Sandstone 105 20.5–145.6 45.4 ± 2.3/2.1 (94.4%) 107.3 ± 16.7/14.5 (5.6%) –SUB10-69 N1b

b Sandstone 52 14.4–94.6 27.6 ± 4.6/4.0 (56.3%) 47.9 ± 8.3/7.1 (43.7%) –SUB10-78 N1b

a Coarse Sandstone 55 24.2–101.8 47.3 ± 3.2/3.0 (100%) – –SUB10-79 N1b

a Coarse Sandstone 51 24.0–480.4 36.1 ± 10.3/8.0 (28.9%) 60.7 ± 5.9/5.4 (67.1%) 480.9 ± 145.1/112.4 (3.9%)SUB10-81 N1b

a Coarse Sandstone 26 28.5–73.5 43.8 ± 3.8/3.5 (100%) – –

N1ba, lower Baiyanghe Formation; N1b

b, upper Baiyanghe Formation.

6 J. LI ET AL.

The following sections further describe the dataobtained from each part of the Subei basin in detail.

Southern part of the Subei basin

Ten samples were collected from the southern part ofthe Subei basin. Detrital AFT age peaks from theSijidianzhan section of the southern part of the Subeibasin range from 14.6 ± 3.8/3.0 Ma to 243.1 ± 87.0/64.4 Ma (Table 1 and Figure 4(b)). The main age peaksrange from 61.0 to 48.3 Ma, two younger age peaks are27.9 ± 13.8/9.2 Ma and 14.6 ± 3.8/3.0 Ma, and the older

age peaks are between 243.1 ± 87.0/64.4 Ma and106 ± 11.3/10.2 Ma.

The main age peaks of the five other samplesobtained from the southern part of the Subei basinrange from 32.5 ± 8.8/7.0 Ma to 122.9 ± 14.8/13.2 Ma.Main age peaks of 70.3 ± 10.9/9.4 Ma and 32.5 ± 8.8/7.0 Ma, obtained from samples SUB10-12 and SUB10-13, account for 79.1% and 55.8% of the total ages,respectively. Quaternary river sand sample SUB10-35from the Danghenanshan Mountains has an age peakof 35.1 ± 5.9/5.0 Ma. Sample SUB10-39 has a main agepeak of 122.9 ± 14.8/13.2 Ma (72.3%), which is con-siderably older than the main age peaks of other

Figure 5. Probability-density plots with best-fit peaks using BINOMFIT (Brandon 1992, 1996) of the analysed detrital samples. Blackcurves: binomially fitted peaks; red curves: measured age distributions.

INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW 7

samples. Sample SUB10-39 has a young age peak of48.2 ± 15.2/11.6 Ma (27.7%). Sample SUB10-45 hastwo age peaks of 59.5 ± 15.1/12.0 Ma and85.0 ± 34.4/24.0 Ma, accounting for 68.7% and31.3% of the total ages, respectively.

Northern part of the Subei basin

Seven samples from the northern part of the Subei basinhave detrital AFT age peaks ranging from 27.6 ± 4.6/4.0 Mato 480.9 ± 145.1/112.4 Ma (Table 1). Sample SUB10-51

Figure 6. Radial plots of the AFT single-grain age data for samples from the Subei basin. The left-hand bar represents uncertaintiesand detrital AFT age peaks are marked in the radial plot.

8 J. LI ET AL.

(lower Baiyanghe Formation) from the Lapaigou sectionhas a main age peak of 76.9 ± 11.6/10.1 Ma (78.5%) and aminor age peak of 60.9 ± 22.1/16.2 Ma (21.5%). Quaternaryriver sand sample SUB10-52 of the Lapaigou section in theDanghenanshan Mountains acquire age peaks of97.8 ± 11.1/9.9 Ma and 59.9 ± 13.3/10.9 Ma (69.8%and 30.2%).

All five samples from the Xishuigou section werepreviously dated using magnetostratigraphy (Wanget al. 2003, Figure 4(a)), hence, the depositional agesof the samples are well constrained. Depositional agesand corresponding youngest age peaks from theXishuigou section are listed in Table 2. SamplesSUB10-68 and SUB10-79 have older age peaks of107.3 ± 16.7/14.5 Ma and 480.9 ± 145.1/112.4 Ma(5.6% and 3.9%), respectively. Samples SUB10-69 andSUB10-79 have young age peaks of 27.6 ± 4.6/4.0 Maand 36.1 ± 10.3/8.0 Ma (28.9% and 56.3%), respectively.In addition to samples SUB10-69 and SUB10-79, othersamples from the Xishuigou section have age peaksolder than 40 Ma (Table 1).

Interpretation and discussion

Here, detrital AFT data is integrated with previously pub-lished magnetostratigraphy and sedimentology studies todescribe the tectonic evolution of the Subei area (Figure 8)and deliver further implications for the Tibetan Plateau.

Source-to-sink relationship induced from thedetrital AFT analyses

Most detrital AFT age peaks in the Subei basin rangefrom 14.6 to 141.4 Ma (Table 1), in which younger agepeaks indicate Cenozoic fault activities in theDanghenanshan Mountains and older age peaks indi-cate pre-Cenozoic tectonic evolution. A previous studyacquired AFT ages of 17 ± 2 Ma and 147 ± 10 Ma fromthe Danghenanshan Mountains (Jolivet et al. 2001). Inaddition, detrital AFT analyses in the Subei basin indi-cate three very old age peaks of 238.7, 243.1 and480.9 Ma, suggesting that part of the source of theSubei basin has much older, non-buried sediments.

Cenozoic strata in the northern part of the Subeibasin are in fault contact with Precambrian meta-morphic crystalline rock series (Figure 2(a)). Pre-Cenozoic strata only outcrop in the local region, indicat-ing that many pre-Cenozoic strata in theDanghenanshan Mountains are eroded and some sedi-ments in the Subei basin are recycled sediments. Theproto-Subei basin is considered a strike-slip faultdepression basin, similar to the Shibaocheng basin (Liet al. 2014), hence, its initial drainage area must belarger than the present drainage pattern.

Detrital AFT analyses with age peaks between 25and 81.9 Ma in the Tiejianggou section demonstratedthat sediments in the northern part of the Subei basinoriginated in the Danghenanshan Mountains (Linet al. 2015). The main components of conglomerateclasts in the northern part of Subei basin are grani-toids, basement quartzite and schist, while clasts inthe southern part of the Subei basin include inheritedsandstone gravels and limestone (Li et al. 2014).Detrital zircon U–Pb dating of the Xishuigou sectionobtained main age peaks ranging from 440 to 500 Ma(Li et al. 2014). Combining this information withpalaeocurrents and clast compositions, it is deter-mined that Danghenanshan Mountains are the mainsource, and terranes along the northeastern marginare the minor provenance (Li et al. 2014).

Detrital AFT age peaks record tectono-thermalevolution about the Indo-Eurasia collision

The 10 samples from the lower and upper Baiyangheformations of the Subei basin with respective age peaksof 70–44 Ma and 61–45 Ma (Table 1) account for 59% ofthe total samples. These two age peak populations arethe tectono-thermal response of the Subei area to theIndo-Eurasia collision on the northern Tibetan Plateau.Most researchers agree that the Indo-Eurasia collisionoccurred at around 70–50 Ma (Molnar and Tapponnier1975; Patriat and Achache 1984; Searle et al. 1987;Klootwijk et al. 1992; Acton 1999; Hodges 2000; Yinand Harrison 2000; Ding et al. 2005; Yin 2006). Zirconfission track and AFT analyses of terranes around theQaidam basin placed the first response to the Indo-Eurasia collision at 40 ± 10 Ma on the northernTibetan Plateau (Jolivet et al. 2001). In addition, AFTand apatite helium ages of ca. 50 Ma in the Qinlingarea demonstrated the initial rapid cooling eventsrelated to the Indo-Eurasia collision (Clark et al. 2010;Liu et al. 2013).

Basins and mountains in the northern TibetanPlateau are a coupled system. Yuan et al. (2013) deter-mined from the Oligocene to middle Miocene

Table 2. Young AFT age peaks versus depositional age from theXishuigou section.

SampleGrain

numberDepositionalage (Ma)

Young agepeaks (Ma)

Error(-1σ)

Error(+1σ)

SUB10-68 105 10.0 45.4 2.1 2.3SUB10-69 52 11.1 27.6 4 4.6SUB10-78 55 15.1 47.3 3 3.2SUB10-79 51 15.6 36.1 8 10.3SUB10-81 26 20 43.8 3.5 3.8

INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW 9

deformation of the northern Tibet Plateau that virtuallythe entire Tibetan Plateau became active and began togrow near the time of the Indo-Eurasia collision. Afterthe collision, Cenozoic sediments in the Xining andSubei basins began to accumulate in the northernTibetan Plateau. For example, the Xining basin wasreactivated, deposition of the Cenozoic red bed began55–52 Ma (Dai et al. 2006), and deposition of the Subeibasin began from ca. 34 Ma (Li et al. 2014; Figure 8(c)).Isopach maps, seismogeology and provenance studiesshowed the Qaidam basin received sediments andwidened southward from the early Palaeocene (Chenget al. 2014, 2016b). Qaidam basin began to take itscurrent shape in the Miocene, due to the increasedexhumation of the Eastern Kunlun and Altyn TaghRanges (Cheng et al. 2016b).

Middle Miocene uplift in the Subei area

The young detrital AFT age peaks decrease upwardthrough a section, while older detrital age peaks aregenerally more stable (Zheng et al. 2000; Bullen et al.2001), hence, young detrital age populations can beused to investigate uplift and exhumation of an orogen,linking the sedimentary basin to an active provenance(Zheng et al. 2000). Detrital AFT samples dated by mag-netostratigraphy in the Xishuigou section (Wang et al.2003) provide a good opportunity to study the relation-ship between sedimentation and AFT thermochronol-ogy of the Subei basin.

Figure 7 shows the relationship between deposi-tional age and the corresponding young AFT agepeaks in the Xishuigou section. Each AFT age peak isolder than its depositional age (Figure 7(a)), indicating

the samples were buried to a depth shallower than thepartial annealing zone (PAZ), and can be interpreted interms of lag time (van der Beek et al. 2006). Two trendscan be found in the AFT peak age vs. depositional ageplot (Figure 7(b)). One population of AFT age peaksremains invariant, whereas another population becomesyounger, in accordance with a younger depositionalage. In view of the large error found in sample SUB10-79 (Figure 7(b)), SUB10-69 has a much younger AFT agepeak of 27.6 ± 4.6/4 Ma, demonstrating that new tec-tonic movement in the Danghenanshan Mountains tookplace no later than ca. 11.1 Ma.

A combined study on magnetostratigraphy and bios-tratigraphy of the Xishuigou section (Wang et al. 2003)demonstrated that coarse conglomerates were depos-ited since ca. 12 Ma. Sun et al. (2005) used magnetos-tratigraphy to show that coarse conglomerate in theTiejianggou section began to appear 13.7 Ma. DetritalAFT thermochronology in the Tiejianggou section alsoshowed a distinct lag time break ca. 14 Ma (Lin et al.2015). During this process, sedimentary facies rangedfrom low-energy fluvial overbank and marginal lacus-trine facies to fluvial channel and alluvial fan facies (Rittset al. 2004). The change in sedimentary facies (Ritts et al.2004, Figure 8(b)) indicated significant altitude differ-ence between the Subei basin and the surroundingmountains.

Our study infers that the local uplift and exhuma-tion event 14–12 Ma in the Subei area, as demon-strated by studies on detrital AFT thermochronology,magnetostratigraphy and sedimentology, correspondsto the Miocene uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau.The Miocene exhumation was also demonstrated byAFT analyses from the northern Qilian Shan, HexiCorridor (George et al. 2001; Guo et al. 2009) and the

Figure 7. AFT lag time plots for samples from the Xishuigou section in the Subei basin. (a) Each AFT age peak is older than itsdepositional age. (b) Two types of trends exist in the AFT lag time plot. One population of AFT age peaks keeps invariant, whereasanother population of AFT age peaks is getting younger.

10 J. LI ET AL.

Eastern Kunlun Range (Yuan et al. 2006). It may haveresulted from the Miocene east–west extension of theTibetan Plateau (Yin 2000), ultimately leading to thrust-ing and mountain building in the northern and

northeastern Tibetan Plateau and the subsequentnortheastward growth of the Plateau. The age of theeast–west extension of the Plateau is expressed bycoeval north trending rifting at 18–11 Ma in the south-ern and central Tibetan Plateau (Blisniuk et al. 2001; Yinet al. 1994; Coleman and Hodges 1995; Harrison et al.1995; Edwards and Harrison 1997; Wu et al. 1998;Garzione et al. 2000; Williams et al. 2001). However,controversy remains on whether the north trendingrifting of the Tibetan Plateau resulted from gravita-tional collapse (Molnar and Tapponnier 1978;Tapponnier et al. 1981) or a convective event in themantle (England and Houseman 1989), and whether itinvolved the mantle lithosphere or only upper crustaldeformation (Masek et al. 1994; Yin 2000).

Late Miocene uplift in Subei area

In the late Miocene, erosion along the margin of theTibetan Plateau was aggravated by the combinedeffects of tectonic movement, strengthened monsoonand strong unroofing (Molnar 2005). The late Miocene(ca. 8 Ma) exhumation has been demonstrated by multi-disciplinary studies (Jolivet et al. 1999, 2001; Wan et al.2001; Chen et al. 2002, 2006; Zheng et al. 2006; Fan et al.2006; Zhang et al. 2012; Song et al. 2001). AFT thermalmodelling of the terrains from Tula to Subei along theAltyn Tagh fault and around the Qaidam basin in thenorthern Tibetan Plateau showed an accelerated cool-ing event initiated from ca. 8 Ma (Jolivet et al. 2001;Zhang et al. 2012). AFT ages of 9–7 Ma in the DangjinShan (Wan et al. 2001) and ca. 8 Ma at the northwesternpart of the Qaidam basin near the Altyn Tagh fault(Chen et al. 2002) also indicated a strong exhumationin the late Miocene.

Our detrital AFT thermochronological data in theSubei basin indicate an AFT age peak of 14.6 Ma(upper Baiyanghe Formation) with youngest single-grain age of 7.3 ± 3.0 (1σ) Ma recording the lateMiocene faulting in the Danghenanshan Mountains.Breccia belonging to alluvial-diluvial facies from theSijidianzhan section (Figure 3(d)), and boulders of rootfan subfacies in the Xishuigou section (Figures 3(e,f), 8(a)) demonstrate that tectonic movement and climatewere strengthened in the late Miocene. In response tothe tectonic movement ca. 8 Ma, the proto-Subeibasin was dislocated into two parts by the Yemafault (Li et al. 2014); that is, the northern part wastransformed into the fold-thrust belt of theDanghenanshan Mountains piedmont and the south-ern part became an intermontane basin of theDanghenanshan Mountains.

Figure 8. Sketch map about the evolution of the Subei basinaccording to detrital AFT data. ATF: Altyn Tagh fault. (a) Higheraccumulation rate showed by boulders and breccia withyounger AFT age peaks of 27.6 and 14.6 Ma due to thrustingand mountain building of the Danghenanshan Mountains. (b)High accumulation rate indicated by conglomerates due tothrusting and mountain building in the Subei area. (c) Lowaccumulation rate demonstrated by gypsum, mudstone andlesser sandstone in the Subei basin with most young AFT agepeaks between 71 and 44 Ma.

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Conclusions

Our detrital AFT thermochronological studies, in con-junction with previously documented thermochronolo-gical, magnetostratigraphic and sedimentological data,reveal provenance evolution of the Subei basin, impor-tant information about the Indo-Eurasia collision, andtwo Miocene uplift and exhumation events occurred onthe northern Tibetan Plateau.

Detrital AFT analyses combined with sedimentaryevidences demonstrate that a majority of sediments inthe Subei basin originated in the DanghenanshanMountains. In addition, very old age peaks indicatethat some sediments in the Subei basin are recycledsediments.

Age peak populations of 70–44 Ma and 61–45 Mafrom the lower and upper Baiyanghe formations recordthe tectono-thermal response to the Indo-Eurasia colli-sion in the northern Tibetan Plateau.

The local uplift and exhumation event, which beganca. 14–12 Ma in the Subei basin, was determined bydetrital AFT thermochronology, magnetostratigraphyand sedimentology. It corresponds to the Miocene upliftof the northern Tibetan Plateau. The mid-Miocene upliftof the northern Tibetan Plateau may have resulted fromthe Miocene east–west extension of the Tibetan Plateau,ultimately leading to thrusting and mountain buildingin the northern and northeastern Tibetan Plateau andthe northeastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau.

The uplift and exhumation in the mid-Miocene lasteduntil the late Miocene, gaining intensity from thestrengthened tectonic movement and climate. DetritalAFT grain ages from the Sijidianzhan section in thesouthern part of the Subei basin reflect the lateMiocene unroofing in the Danghenanshan Mountains.Furthermore, breccia of diluvial facies from theSijidianzhan section and boulders of root fan subfaciesfrom the Xishuigou section also demonstrate strength-ened tectonic movement and climate.

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Natural Science Foundation ofChina (grant Nos. 41072148, 40672130, 40272085, 41201202).We thank Editor-in-Chief Dr Robert J. Stern for his constructiveand helpful comments. We gratefully acknowledge MarcJolivet and an anonymous reviewer whose detailed construc-tive and helpful comments and suggestions greatly improvethis paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural ScienceFoundation of China [grant numbers 40272085, 40672130,41072148, 41201202].

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