Provenance of Eocene river sediments from the central northern Sierra Nevada and implications for paleotopography

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dc.contributor.authorCecil, M R
dc.contributor.authorDucea, Mihai
dc.contributor.authorReiners, Peter
dc.contributor.authorGehrels, George
dc.contributor.authorMulch, Andreas
dc.contributor.authorAllen, Charlotte M
dc.contributor.authorCampbell, Ian
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-10T22:35:39Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.date.updated2016-02-24T12:02:19Z
dc.description.abstractGeochronology of fluvial deposits can be used to characterize provenance, the paleotopography of sediment source regions, and the development of regional drainage systems. We present U-Pb and (U-Th)/He ages of detrital zircon grains from Eocene gravels preserved in several paleoriver systems along the western flank of the central and northern Sierra Nevada. These ages allow us to trace the sourcing of detritus in paleorivers and to constrain the evolution of the Sierra Nevada range front. U-Pb zircon age distributions are bimodal, with a dominant peak between 110 and 95 Ma and smaller but significant peaks in the Middle to Late Jurassic, matching the predominant ages of the Sierra Nevada batholith. A small fraction (<6%) of grains has pre-Mesozoic ages, which consistently match ages from prebatholithic assemblages within the northern part of the range. (U-Th)/He ages of a subset of double-dated zircons cluster between 114 and 74 Ma and are consistent with batholithic (U-Th)/He cooling ages in the northern Sierra. Our results indicate that the Eocene river systems in the central northern Sierra Nevada likely had proximal headwaters and had relatively steep axial gradients, draining smaller areas than was commonly thought. This also suggests that the northern Sierra Nevada would have had an established drainage divide and would have acted as a major topographic barrier during the early to mid-Cenozoic. The data presented here support a model of the Eocene northern Sierra Nevada characterized by a western slope with a gradient broadly similar to that of today.
dc.identifier.issn0278-7407
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/56349
dc.publisherAmerican Geophysical Union
dc.sourceTectonics
dc.subjectKeywords: Axial gradient; Cenozoic; Detrital zircon grains; Drainage systems; Fluvial deposits; He cooling; Jurassic; Mesozoic; Paleotopography; River sediments; River systems; Sediment sources; Sierra Nevada; Sierra Nevada batholith; U-Pb zircon; Anoxic sediments;
dc.titleProvenance of Eocene river sediments from the central northern Sierra Nevada and implications for paleotopography
dc.typeJournal article
local.bibliographicCitation.issueTC6010
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage13
local.contributor.affiliationCecil, M R, California Institute of Technology
local.contributor.affiliationDucea, Mihai, University of Arizona
local.contributor.affiliationReiners, Peter, University of Arizona
local.contributor.affiliationGehrels, George, University of Arizona
local.contributor.affiliationMulch, Andreas, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre
local.contributor.affiliationAllen, Charlotte M, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationCampbell, Ian, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, ANU
local.contributor.authoremailu8300206@anu.edu.au
local.contributor.authoruidAllen, Charlotte M, u9108301
local.contributor.authoruidCampbell, Ian, u8300206
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.absfor040310 - Sedimentology
local.identifier.absseo840107 - Titanium Minerals, Zircon, and Rare Earth Metal Ore (e.g. Monazite) Exploration
local.identifier.ariespublicationu9503261xPUB359
local.identifier.citationvolume29
local.identifier.doi10.1029/2010TC002717
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-78650285111
local.identifier.thomsonID000285475400001
local.identifier.uidSubmittedByu9503261
local.type.statusPublished Version

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