Rising Qinling Orogenic Belt Dominated Late Triassic Evolution of Northern Sichuan Foreland Basin, South China

Abstract

The rapid accumulation of conglomerates not only preserves tectonic episodes and uplift/denudation histories of the orogenic belt, but also correlates with the coupling process of the basin and the mountains. Two units of conglomerates that belong to the third (Mbr 3) and fourth (Mbr 4) members of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation are distributed along the northern Sichuan Basin. Mbr 4 has an uncomfortable contact on Mbr 3. Mbr 3 is dominated by carbonate gravels forming fan-shaped deposits distributed discontinuously, whereas Mbr 4 consists of massive quartzite gravels that extend eastward continuously. Detrital zircon U-Pb data show the peak age of 227 Ma from the Qinling orogenic belt are widespread in Mbr 3, but occur in only the central part of the northern Sichuan Basin of Mbr 4. However, paleocurrent indicators and sandstone petrologic data reveal both units were sourced from the Qinling Orogen. We interpret the differences in clastic compositions and U-Pb ages as reflecting discrepant uplift and rapid unroofing processes of the Qinling orogenic belt, which underwent continual uplift and southward thrusting. This process controlled the evolution and infilling of the Late Triassic Sichuan foreland basin in the tectonic domains of syn-collision between the South China and North China Blocks.

Keywords

conglomerate / Xujiahe Formation / U-Pb dating / paleocurrent / Sichuan foreland basin / Qinling orogenic belt / tectonic geology

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