Unroofing around Qaidam Basin of northern Tibet at 30 Ma: Constraints from40Ar/39 Ar and FT thermochronology on granitoids

An⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and fission track thermochronological study has been carried out on three suites of granitoids collected along the northern and southern edges of the Qaidam Basin to better constrain the mechanisms accommodating the India-Asia collision around the Qaidam Basin (northern Tibet), in order to understand the evolution of the entire deformation area. Mica and K-feldspar have been analyzed and the cooling histories of the latter have been modeled. The cooling histories based upon K-feldspar modeling and fission track ages show that samples simul-taneously recorded an important cooling event (7.5—10.7 °C/Ma) around 30 Ma, which is thought to reflect an increase of denudation rate related to the tectonic activity in this area associated with uplift suggesting significant crustal thickening starting around 30 Ma in this area. The estimated sedimentation rate in the Qaidam Basin, the propagation rate along the Altyn Tagh fault and field observations support this deduction.