First U-Pb Detrital Zircon Ages from Kamlial Formation (Kashmir, Pakistan): Tectonic Implications for Himalayan Exhumation

This study reports the first-ever detrital zircon provenance investigation of sandstones of the Kamlial Formation, exposed in Kashmir Basin along the Kohala–Bagh road section (Muzaffarabad, Pakistan). Analysis of probability density plots of detrital U-Pb zircon ages displayed a major age population...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMinerals (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 3; p. 298
Main Authors Qasim, Muhammad, Tanoli, Javed Iqbal, Ahmad, Luqman, Ding, Lin, Rehman, Qasim Ur, Umber, Umbreen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.03.2022
Subjects
Age
Archives & records
detrital zircon provenance
Exhumation
Geochronometry
Geology
Hazara-Kashmir Syntaxis
Himalayan Exhumation
Integrated approach
Kashmir foreland-fold belt
Lead
Metamorphism
Miocene sequence
Mountains
Northwestern Himalaya
Orogeny
Petrography
Petrology
Probability theory
Provenance
Radiometric dating
Sandstone
Sedimentary rocks
Sediments
Stratigraphy
Tectonics
Zircon
Pakistan
India
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Summary:This study reports the first-ever detrital zircon provenance investigation of sandstones of the Kamlial Formation, exposed in Kashmir Basin along the Kohala–Bagh road section (Muzaffarabad, Pakistan). Analysis of probability density plots of detrital U-Pb zircon ages displayed a major age population clustered around ≈400–1200 Ma and a minor age population clustered around ≈1600–1900 Ma. In addition, scattered ages existed between ≈2000 and 3000 Ma. This age pattern resembled strongly the Himalayan sources, including the Tethys Himalaya, Greater/Higher Himalaya, and Lesser Himalaya. The younger ages (<150 Ma) present in the studied samples indicated the Asian provenance. The Lesser Himalayan component (≈166–1900 Ma) was more pronounced in the 2015KM03 and 2015KM04 samples, representing the middle to the upper portion of the formation. The recycled orogen provenance of the Kamlial Formation as deduced from the sandstone petrography supports the mixed detrital zircon provenance. Considering the provenance, we propose a tectonic model that suggests that large-scale exhumation occurred in the Himalaya as a result of Panjal thrust activation during 25–14 Ma (age of Kamlial Formation), which uplifted the hinterland zone that acted as a source area that fed the foreland basin, where the Kamlial Formation deposited.
ISSN:2075-163X
2075-163X
DOI:10.3390/min12030298