Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic exhumation history of Tiantangzhai region of Dabieshan Orogen: Constraints from (U-Th)/He and fission track analysis

Integrated fission track and (U-Th)/He analysis is carried out on 6 apatite and 6 zircon samples from a near vertical section in The Tiantangzhai region at the core of the present Dabieshan orogen. The result shows that the region experienced cooling/exhumation during the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary period. Age-elevation relationships for different dating systems and different minerals suggest a pulse of rapid exhumation at ∼110 Ma before present, preserved in the structurally highest samples. At lower elevations, ages begin to decrease with decreasing elevation, suggesting lower exhumation rates since 90 Ma. Two periods of different exhumation rates are identified since 90 Ma. The average apparent exhumation rate for the period of 43.4-22.5 is 0.062 km/Ma, whereas that for the period of 76.4-47.4 Ma is 0.039 km/Ma.