Burial and exhumation of the Hoh Xil Basin, northern Tibetan Plateau: Constraints from detrital (U‐Th)/He ages

Research reveals that the northern Tibetan Plateau, specifically the Hoh Xil Basin (HXB), experienced significant vertical exhumation of approximately 4–2.7 km and 4–2.3 km beginning around 30–25 Ma and 40–35 Ma in the eastern and western HXB, respectively. This finding challenges the prevailing model of synchronous Miocene exhumation across the entire plateau, suggesting instead an episodic pattern. The study utilized detrital apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He dating combined with regional geological constraints and modeling to trace sediment deposition and burial reheating. The differential exhumation in the HXB is proposed to be influenced by oblique subduction of the Qaidam block beneath the basin. Additionally, the research suggests that mechanisms such as continental subduction, mantle lithosphere removal, and magmatic inflation may contribute to elevation without altering exhumation rates, providing a more nuanced understanding of the plateau's geological evolution.

Dai, J.-G., Fox, M., Shuster, D. L., Hourigan, J., Han, X., Li, Y.-L., & Wang, C.-S. (2019). Burial and exhumation of the Hoh Xil Basin, northern Tibetan Plateau: Constraints from detrital (U‐Th)/He ages. Basin Research, 32(5), 894–915. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12405