Detrital zircon geochronology analysis of the Late Mesozoic deposition in the Turpan‐Hami basin: Implications for the uplift history of the Eastern Tian Shan, north‐western China

Abstract

AbstractAnalysing the provenance changes of synorogenic sediments in the Turpan‐Hami basin by detrital zircon geochronology is an efficient tool to examine the uplift and erosion history of the easternmost Tian Shan. We present detrital zircon U‐Pb analysis from nine samples that were collected within marginal lacustrine Middle‐Late Jurassic and aeolian‐fluvial Early Cretaceous strata in the basin. Middle‐Early Jurassic (159–172 Ma) zircons deriving from the southern Junggar dominated the Middle Jurassic sample from the western Turpan‐Hami basin, whereas Permian‐Carboniferous (270–330 Ma) zircons from the Bogda mountains were dominant in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous samples. Devonian‐Silurian (400–420 Ma) and Triassic (235–259 Ma) zircons from the Jueluotage and Harlik mountains constituted the subordinate age groups in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous samples from the eastern basin respectively. These provenance transitions provide evidence for uplift of the Bogda mountains in the Late Jurassic and the Harlik mountains since the Early Cretaceous.