Detrital zircon U Pb geochronology of the Wuyu (Oiyug) Basin, southern Tibetan Plateau, and its geological implications

Cenozoic strata in the Wuyu Basin record the tectonic evolution of the southern Tibetan Plateau. Here, we use detrital zircon isotope data and paleocurrents based on petrographic and sedimentary facies analyses to constrain the provenance of sediments in the Wuyu Basin. On this basis, we recognize multiple phases of tectonic activity in the southern Tibetan Plateau since the Miocene. Tectonic activity at ca. 15 Ma ended the lacustrine sedimentary facies of the Mangxiang Fm. and caused volcanic eruptions; the Wuyu Basin received deposits of the Laiqing Fm. dominated by volcanic and pyroclastic rocks. Tectonic activity at ca. 8 Ma resulted in the volcanic and pyroclastic rocks of the Laiqing Fm. becoming one of the main provenances for the overlying Wuyu Fm. The lacustrine environment in the Wuyu Basin ended again and shifted to braided river sedimentation, the paleocurrent directions changed from northward to southward, and the central Lhasa subterrane became one of the main provenances at ca. 2.5 Ma. By comparing the detrital zircon ages of our samples in the Wuyu Basin and sands from the Lhasa River, we infer that a long river comparable to the modern Lhasa River existed in the Wuyu Basin area at ca. 2.5 Ma. During the Quaternary, due to the consistent convergence between the Indian and Eurasian plates, the eastern Gangdese Mountains uplifted, which resulted in the blocking of this river and the development of the current geomorphic features in the Wuyu Basin area.