Oligocene to Pliocene structural evolution of the frontal Kirthar fold and thrust belt of Pakistan

Abstract

The spatio-temporal evolution for the frontal part of the Kirthar fold and thrust belt in Pakistan is constrained for the first-time using apatite (U–Th-Sm)/He (AHe) and apatite fission track (AFT) dating of samples from the Oligocene Nari Formation in combination with a published balanced cross-section. The AHe ages appear to be fully reset, allowing us to date the timing of exhumation above ramps. Comparison of partially reset AFT ages (∼22–24 Ma) with previously published zircon fission track (ZFT) ages of the Nari Formation from nearby areas suggest that rocks in the frontal zone were not buried deeper than ∼4 km after deposition. The close range of AFT ages have implications for the timing of hinterland exhumation and Oligocene age of the Nari Formation. The AHe ages suggest that deformation along the major basement ramp was active since ∼7 Ma, forming a major topographic step (∼1.5 km) in the frontal part of the Kirthar fold and thrust belt. Combined analysis of the structural cross-section and thermal modeling of the samples suggest that major cooling occurred between ∼7 Ma and ∼5 Ma. This cooling was due to the erosion of Oligocene to Miocene strata from above the samples when Precambrian to Miocene strata was thrust above the pre-existing normal fault that acted as a basement ramp. The temporal structural evolution suggests that deformation in the frontal part of the Kirthar fold and thrust belt was characterized by faster rates (∼2.5 km/Ma) of orogenic growth and exhumation between ∼7 and 5 Ma, followed by slower shortening rates (<1 km/Ma) since ∼5 Ma.