Late Cretaceous Activity Record of the Guangsan Fault—Insights from Zircon U-Pb and Apatite Fission-Track Thermochronology

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Abstract
The timing of fault activity is a concern for geologists. This study used zircon U-Pb and apatite fission-track dating of fault breccia to determine the upper and lower limits for the time of faulting. The Guangsan fault in South China was taken as an example, and zircon U-Pb and apatite fission-track thermochronology were applied to the surrounding rock and fault breccia. The surrounding rock and fault breccia demonstrated 74.9–91.8 Ma and 73.9–93.5 Ma zircon U-Pb dates, respectively, indicating that the breccia formed after 73.9 Ma. They also demonstrated 71.6 ± 7.3 Ma and 85.9 ± 8.2–65.5 ± 6.5 Ma fission-track dates, implying that the fault breccia samples likely formed before ~70 Ma. Their thermal histories were highly consistent: both showed rapid cooling during 70–65 Ma and slow cooling during 65–0 Ma, implying that the fault was likely still active during 70–65 Ma, resulting in the rapid exhumation.
Funding Information
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (42072229, 41972049, 52078507, 41972302, 41977231)
  • Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou (202002030184, 202102080395)
  • Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2021A1515011658)
  • Special Fund for Basic Scientific Research of Central Colleges, Chang’an University (300102260502)
  • Innovation Group Project of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (311021003)

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