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Title Zircon fission-track ages from the Gasherbrum Diorite, Karakoram Range, northern Pakistan
Creator/Author Cerveny, P.F. (Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (USA)) ; Naeser, C.W. (Geological Survey, Denver, CO (USA)) ; Kelemen, P.B. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (USA)) ; Lieberman, J.E. (Universitat Bern, Baltzer-Stresse (Switzerland)) ; Zeitler, P.K. (Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA (USA))
Publication Date1989 Nov 01
OSTI IdentifierOSTI ID: 6213335
Other Number(s)Journal ID: ISSN 0091-7613; CODEN: GLGYB
Resource TypeJournal Article
Resource RelationJournal Name: Geology; (USA); Journal Volume: 17:11
Subject58 GEOSCIENCES; HIMALAYAS; ISOTOPE DATING; PAKISTAN; AGE ESTIMATION; CRETACEOUS PERIOD; DIORITES; EROSION; FISSION TRACKS; GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS; GEOLOGIC HISTORY; GROUND UPLIFT; LEVELS; TERTIARY PERIOD; ZIRCON; ASIA; CENOZOIC ERA; DEVELOPING COUNTRIES; GEOLOGIC AGES; IGNEOUS ROCKS; MESOZOIC ERA; MINERALS; MOUNTAINS; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; PARTICLE TRACKS; PLUTONIC ROCKS; ROCKS; SILICATE MINERALS; SILICATES; SILICON COMPOUNDS; TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS; ZIRCONIUM COMPOUNDS; ZIRCONIUM SILICATES
Description/AbstractThe Gasherbrum Peaks, in the Himalaya of Pakistan, reach elevations of >8000 m. The relief between the peaks and the adjacent valley (Baltoro Glacier) is in excess of 3000 m. Eight samples of the Early Cretaceous Gasherbrum Diorite at elevations between 4880 and 7165 m on Gasherbrum IV were collected for fission-track dating. Zircon fission-track ages from the Gasherbrum Diorite vary from Early Cretaceous to middle Tertiary in age. There is no consistent pattern between age and elevation. The Cretaceous ages indicate that these rocks were never deeply buried, i.e., heated to temperatures in excess of 175 C, to reset the zircons during Cenozoic time. These results also indicate that the uplift of this part of the Himalaya has been either very rapid and recent, or very slow since Early Cretaceous time. This latter possibility is not consistent with the high relief at Gasherbrum and what is known about regional tectonics. Gasherbrum IV zircons, currently at {approximately}4880 m, have never been at depths greater than 6 km, and less than 3 km of material has been removed from the top of the range by erosion since the Early Cretaceous. Rapid uplift has occurred very recently, and erosion rates have not been able to keep pace with this uplift.
Country of PublicationUnited States
LanguageEnglish
FormatMedium: X; Size: Pages: 1044-1048
System Entry Date2008 Feb 07

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