Resolving tectonic problems by dating detrital minerals

191 Geochronology and thermochronology applied to detrital minerals such as zircons, monazites, white micas, and apatites have received increasing attention in the past decade for their unique power to determine the timing of crystallization and multiple tectono-thermal events, with relevance for sediment provenance, tectonic processes, and erosion. Recent breakthroughs in multi-dating (applying different geochronologic and thermochronologic systems to the same detrital grains) allow for unprecedented levels of detail in provenance and tectonic studies of detrital sediments. The common pre-conditions for application of these methods are: (1) the source areas are characterized by rocks with different tectonic histories recorded by distinctive crystallization and cooling ages, and (2) the source rocks contain the selected mineral. Whereas zircons occur in most magmatic, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, other minerals, such as apatite, monazite, and white mica, are less abundant. This is why zircon geochronology and thermochronology is a particularly useful approach to detrital studies. In cases where different sources are characterized by the same zircon U-Pb ages, differential metamorphism and/or exhumation may produce distinctive thermochronological ages. It is also important to note that different