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Dating of fault zone activity by apatite fission track and apatite (U–Th)/He thermochronometry: a case study from the Lavanttal fault system (Eastern Alps)
Author(s) -
Wölfler A.,
Kurz W.,
Danišík M.,
Rabitsch R.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
terra nova
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.353
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-3121
pISSN - 0954-4879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2010.00943.x
Subject(s) - thermochronology , fission track dating , geology , apatite , fault (geology) , population , hydrothermal circulation , geothermal gradient , geochemistry , paleontology , mineralogy , zircon , demography , sociology
Terra Nova, 22, 274–282, 2010 Abstract Fission track and (U–Th)/He thermochronology are useful tools to reconstruct distinct thermal events along fault zones, provided that heat advection brings about substantial track annealing and resetting. In a case study, apatite fission track and (U–Th)/He ages from drill cores transecting the Lavanttal fault system (Eastern Alps) revealed rejuvenation of ages in fault‐related rocks. Heat transfer via hydrothermal fluids was sufficient to partly reset apatite fission track ages producing a younger age population, reduce track lengths slightly and rejuvenate (U–Th)/He ages in fault cores. Hydrothermal fluid activity can be bracketed between the age of the slightly reset fission tracks and the (U–Th)/He ages, between Late Miocene and Early Pliocene times. Additional thermal history modelling of two host rock samples suggests that the young apatite fission track population slightly coincides with a last exhumation pulse of the adjacent Koralm Complex during Late Miocene times.