Reactivated Margin of the Western North China Craton in the Late Cretaceous: Constraints From Zircon (U-Th)/He Thermochronology of Taibai Mountain

The western North China Craton (NCC) entered a stage of craton thinning concentrated on its margin in the Cenozoic, but its Late-Cretaceous conditions were previously deduced to be relatively quiescent. Therefore, whether the Late-Cretaceous tectonic reactivation existed on the margin of this block is critical to understanding how the craton evolved into a thinned one. To investigate this possible margin reactivation in the Late Cretaceous, we apply zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronology to Taibai Mountain on the southern margin of the western NCC. From an similar to 3-km-high vertical profile with ages decreasing from 98 +/- 5 Ma at the peak to 52 +/- 7 Ma at the foot, the age-elevation relationship suggests the rapid exhumation at ca. 78-71 Ma bracketed by two slow exhumation phases. This interpretation is confirmed by 1D half-space modeling and QTQt inverse modeling, with the rapid exhumation stage having an exhumation rate of 0.1-0.6 km/Myr and a cooling rate of similar to 10 degrees C/Myr. Together with previously reported thermochronological data from the margin of the western NCC, the rapid exhumation at ca. 78-71 Ma implies a reactivated margin in the Late Cretaceous before widespread Cenozoic thinning of the craton margin. This Late-Cretaceous reactivation likely resulted from WNW-ESE extension expressed by thermo-tectonic events, basin subsidence, and volcanism in East Asia. Excluding impacts from climate change, lithospheric delamination, and India subduction beneath Eurasia, we infer that the Late-Cretaceous reactivation on the margin of the western NCC was driven by the far-field effect of Izanagi Plate subduction beneath the Eurasian Plate during slab rollback of the subducted plate.

Automated summary

The study of Taibai Mountain on the southern margin of the western North China Craton reveals a rapid exhumation phase around 78-71 Ma, indicating the possible Late-Cretaceous margin reactivation. This reactivation may have been driven by WNW-ESE extension in East Asia related to thermo-tectonic events, basin subsidence, and volcanism.