TY - JOUR
T1 - Exhumation of the Higher Himalaya
T2 - Insights from Detrital Zircon U–Pb Ages of the Oligocene–Miocene Chitarwatta Formation, Sulaiman Fold–Thrust Belt, Pakistan
AU - Qasim, Muhammad
AU - Tayyab, Owais
AU - Ding, Lin
AU - Tanoli, Javed Iqbal
AU - Bhatti, Zahid Imran
AU - Umar, Muhammad
AU - Khan, Hawas
AU - Ashraf, Junaid
AU - Jadoon, Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/3/8
Y1 - 2023/3/8
N2 - This study reports the detrital zircon U–Pb ages of the post collisional Chitarwatta Formation, exposed along the western margin of the Indian plate at the Sulaiman fold–thrust belt (SFB), Pakistan. The Chitarwatta Formation overlies the shallow marine carbonate sequence of the Kirthar Formation and represents an Oligocene–Miocene transitional marine sequence. The sequence consists of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. The sandstone consists predominantly (79–82%) of quartz grains. The framework grains are sub-angular to sub-rounded and show recycled orogenic provenance. The detrital zircon U–Pb age data show the dominant population between 390 Ma and ~1100 Ma, which is ~70% of the total population. In addition to this, a significant percentage of the younger detrital ages exist between ~40 Ma and ~120 Ma. This younger age cluster indicates the northern sources, including the Kohistan–Ladakh arc (KLA) and Karakoram block (KB), whereas the provenance for the 390–1100 Ma detrital zircon is likely the Higher Himalaya (HH), with contribution from Tethyan Himalaya (TH). This post-collisional scenario suggests that the Chitarwatta Formation received detritus from the northern sources through a drainage system, named as the Indus drainage system. A comparison with the coeval units in the north (Murree Formation, Dagshai Formation, and Dumre Formation) suggests that the sediments may have been delivered through the same drainage system that shares similar detritus. Relying on the contribution of the HH detritus, we propose that the HH uplifted during the Oligocene–Miocene along the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and provided detritus to the foreland basin.
AB - This study reports the detrital zircon U–Pb ages of the post collisional Chitarwatta Formation, exposed along the western margin of the Indian plate at the Sulaiman fold–thrust belt (SFB), Pakistan. The Chitarwatta Formation overlies the shallow marine carbonate sequence of the Kirthar Formation and represents an Oligocene–Miocene transitional marine sequence. The sequence consists of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. The sandstone consists predominantly (79–82%) of quartz grains. The framework grains are sub-angular to sub-rounded and show recycled orogenic provenance. The detrital zircon U–Pb age data show the dominant population between 390 Ma and ~1100 Ma, which is ~70% of the total population. In addition to this, a significant percentage of the younger detrital ages exist between ~40 Ma and ~120 Ma. This younger age cluster indicates the northern sources, including the Kohistan–Ladakh arc (KLA) and Karakoram block (KB), whereas the provenance for the 390–1100 Ma detrital zircon is likely the Higher Himalaya (HH), with contribution from Tethyan Himalaya (TH). This post-collisional scenario suggests that the Chitarwatta Formation received detritus from the northern sources through a drainage system, named as the Indus drainage system. A comparison with the coeval units in the north (Murree Formation, Dagshai Formation, and Dumre Formation) suggests that the sediments may have been delivered through the same drainage system that shares similar detritus. Relying on the contribution of the HH detritus, we propose that the HH uplifted during the Oligocene–Miocene along the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and provided detritus to the foreland basin.
KW - Cenozoic sequence
KW - Himalayan exhumation
KW - Sulaiman fold–thrust belt
KW - U–Pb geochronology
KW - detrital zircon
KW - western margin
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85151993991&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/0086e7f8-3a28-34f4-b764-574402ea74b7/
U2 - 10.3390/app13063418
DO - 10.3390/app13063418
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85151993991
SN - 2076-3417
VL - 13
JO - Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
JF - Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
IS - 6
M1 - 3418
ER -