Extending the time range of apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry in slowly cooled terranes: Palaeozoic to Cenozoic exhumation history of southeast Sweden

• The use of (U-Th)/He thermochronometry in old slowly cooled terranes has long been debated. Hence, studies of natural setting are needed to verify the expected diffusivity behaviour of helium. Our results demonstrate that the (U-Th)/He method can be applicable to samples older than 200 Ma, and that available helium diffusion models can reproduce the results obtained from the age-vs.-depth trends. In addition, the results shed some light on the cross-validation with the apatite fission-track thermochronometer. (U-Th)/He thermochronometry on apatites has been applied to samples taken from drill cores in the Precambrian basement in southeast Sweden to unravel the time of exhumation of the uppermost 1-3 km of the crust. Much of the Phanerozoic exhumation history in Sweden is poorly constrained due to a large hiatus in the sediment record. Results from the drill cores yield He ages decreasing with increasing depth from similar to 270 Ma at the surface down to similar to 120 Ma at 1700 in depth. The age-vs.-depth trend shows an inflection point at similar to 1400 in depth, which coincides with the upper boundary of the present Helium Partial Retention Zone. A period of slow exhumation (similar to 17 m/my), probably linked to the isostatic uplift of the Caledonian foreland basin, is revealed by the upper section of the trend in the data. The results demonstrate that the area has not been reheated since the mid-Permian. This argues against the existence of a thick Mesozoic sedimentary cover in this region, which, if present at all, cannot have exceeded 100 in in thickness. Furthermore, the age-vs.-depth trend below the inflection point allows dating the cessation of exhumation at approximately 100 Ma. The area has had no significant amount of sedimentation, erosion or uplift since this time.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Sweden

Caledonian foreland basin

apatite

(U-Th)/He thermochronology

Baltic Shield

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)