Chunsheng Jin

Provenance change of sediment input in the northeastern foreland of Pamir related to collision of the Indian Plate with the Kohistan-Ladakh arc at around 47 Ma

The Pamir plateau forms a prominent tectonic salient that marks the western end of the Himalayan orogen containing several terranes that were accreted to Eurasia from the Late Paleozoic to Cenozoic. A detailed knowledge of the tectonic evolution of the Pamir salient during the Cenozoic is important for our understanding of the intracontinental deformation in the western Himalaya. Although the tectonic evolution of the Pamir salient has long been studied, the timing of collision between the Indian Plate and the Kohistan-Ladakh arc is still a matter of debate. We present new U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes of detrital zircons, magnetic fabrics, and stable isotopes from the foreland basin on the northeastern margin of the Pamir that indicate a change in sediment provenance started at about 47 Ma. Sediments in the southwest Tarim Basin were partially derived from the uplifted and eroded Karakoram and Kohistan terranes created by the collision between the Indian Plate and the Kohistan-Ladakh arc at circa 47 Ma, as a result of northward thrusting and propagation of the Indian Plate under Eurasia.

Magnetostratigraphy of a greigite-bearing core from the South Yellow Sea: Implications for remagnetization and sedimentation

Sediments from the continental shelf are sensitive to sea level, climatic changes, and local tectonic history. In this study, we carried out a high-resolution magnetostratigraphic investigation on the longest core (NHH01, 125.64 m) recovered from the South Yellow Sea (SYS). An abnormal interval dominated by negative inclinations was discovered by applying alternating field demagnetization (AFD) on samples from a greigite-bearing layer (44.90–51.80 m). In contrast, the inclinations of most greigite-bearing samples changed from negative to positive when heated to ~360°C. This strongly indicates that this inclination anomaly revealed by the AFD alone is not a true negative subchron. After neglecting the effects of greigite-bearing layers, the straightforward correlation of the interpreted magnetostratigraphy defines the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (781 ka) and the Jaramillo top (990 ka) at 68.64 m and 101.54 m, respectively. The linearly extrapolated basal age of the core is ~1.10 Ma. In addition, several short-lived inclination anomalies can be tentatively assigned to magnetic excursions, which indicates that the sedimentation could be continuous even at the millennial time scale at depth intervals bracketing these fast geomagnetic events. Moreover, the excellent correspondence between clay content variations of the core and the marine oxygen isotope record indicates the potential of clay content as a paleoclimatic proxy in the studied region in the past ~1 Ma. In brief, our study provides not only a robust age model in the SYS but also a methodological guide for paleomagnetic studies in continental shelf region.

New insights into the emplacement mechanism of the Late Triassic granite plutons in the Qinling orogen: A structural study of the Mishuling pluton

Numerous geochronological and geochemical studies of the Late Triassic granite plutons in the Qinling orogen have been conducted over the past few decades. These studies have extensively discussed the genesis and correlations of granite plutons with the collisional processes between the North and South China blocks. However, several contradictory conclusions on the tectonic settings of these plutons (subduction, syncollision, postcollision, or intraplate) have been reached. Moreover, in all these studies, compressional or extensional structures have been always considered to control the magma emplacement, but no direct evidence has been presented so far. In order to clarify the emplacement mechanism of these Late Triassic plutons and avoid the ambiguities from purely geochemical studies, we conducted a multidisciplinary structural study on the Mishuling pluton in West Qinling, one of the biggest Late Triassic plutons in the orogen. New single-grain zircon dating confirmed that the Mishuling pluton was emplaced at 212 ± 2 Ma. Gravity investigations show an overall wedge shape to the pluton: A deep root is located in its western part, the thickness gradually decreases to the east, and it finally pinches out at its eastern extremity. We studied internal structures of the Mishuling pluton through field, microscopic, and AMS (anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility) observations, which show that the pluton did not undergo penetrative secondary deformation, and preserved cryptic internal fabrics were mainly acquired during the final stage of emplacement. In the western part of the pluton, internal fabrics display a concentric pattern. In the eastern part, the lineations mainly plunge west, while the foliations form an analogous W-plunging synform, mainly dipping SW in the northern part and dipping NW in the southern part. The three-dimensional shape and internal structures of the Mishuling pluton are concordant with the wrench tectonics of country rocks that developed during the late stage of the Late Triassic collision between the North and South China blocks. We propose an integrated emplacement model involving both the three-dimensional shape and internal fabrics of the Mishuling pluton, and regional structures of the country rocks. In this model, the magma rose in the western part and then spread eastward parallel to the regional strike-slip movements.

An integrated natural remanent magnetization acquisition model for the Matuyama-Brunhes reversal recorded by the Chinese loess: MAGNETIZATION MECHANISM OF CHINESE LOESS

Geomagnetic polarity reversal boundaries are key isochronous chronological controls for the long Chinese loess sequences, and further facilitate paleoclimatic correlation between Chinese loess and marine sediments. However, owing to complexity of postdepositional remanent magnetization (pDRM) acquisition processes related to variable dust sedimentary environments on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), there is a long-standing dispute concerning the downward shift of the pDRM recorded in Chinese loess. In this study, after careful stratigraphic correlation of representative climatic tie points and the Matuyama-Brunhes boundaries (MBB) in the Xifeng, Luochuan, and Mangshan loess sections with different pedogenic environments, the downward shift of the pDRM is semiquantitatively estimated and the acquisition model for the loess natural remanent magnetization (NRM) is discussed. The measured MB transition zone has been affected by the surficial mixing layer (SML) and remagnetization. Paleoprecipitation is suggested to be the dominant factor controlling the pDRM acquisition processes. Rainfall-controlled leaching would restrict the efficiency of the characterized remanent magnetization carriers aligning along the ancient geomagnetic field. We conclude that the MBB in the central CLP with moderate paleoprecipitation could be considered as an isochronous chronological control after moderate upward adjustment. A convincing case can then be made to correlate L8/S8 to MIS 18/19.