Search

Obtaining accurate and precise apatite fission-track (AFT) ages is dependent on producing plentiful high-quality apatite grains from a sample, ideally with high spontaneous fission-track densities (c. >105 tracks.cm-2). Many natural samples, such as bedrock samples from young orogenic belts or low-grade metamorphic samples with low U contents yield low spontaneous fission-track densities. Such apatites must be counted to avoid biasing the resultant FT age. AFT dating employing LA-Q-ICP-MS spot ablation works very well for grains with high spontaneous fission-track densities which enable potential U-zoning to be detected, while also removing the need for an irradiation step and facilitating simultaneous acquisition of U-Pb and trace element data. The LA-Q-ICP-MS spot ablation thus offers several advantages compared to the External Detector Method (EDM). However, for grains with low spontaneous fission-track densities where U zoning cannot be observed, the LA-Q-ICP-MS spot ablation approach requires the counted area to mimic exactly the site of the laser spot, with the downside that this smaller counted area limits the precision of the resultant AFT age. Here we present an alternative approach to LA-Q-ICP-MS analysis of low fission-tracks density grains by generating a U distribution (238U/43Ca) map of the entire apatite surface by LA-Q-ICP-MS elemental mapping which enables characterization of U zonation. The Monocle plugin for the Iolite LA-ICP-MS data reduction software package is used to display elemental maps and extract mean 238U/43Ca values of the same area counted for the fission tracks. A typical grain-mapping session takes < 5 hours to map 80 grains. The method was employed on the Durango and Fish Canyon Tuff apatite reference materials, and on apatite from six bedrock samples with low fission-track densities (≤ 1.105 track.cm-2). Most apatite samples investigated here were previously dated by the EDM or the LA-Q-ICP-MS ablation spot method. The AFT grain-mapping ages agree with previously published EDM or LA-Q-ICP-MS spot ablation ages at the 2σ level. For each apatite sample, we simultaneously acquired U-Pb age and trace element data (Mn, Sr, La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Gd, Lu); here again the data agree with literature constraints (when available) within uncertainties. The mapping approach is therefore a practical solution to low-temperature thermochronology studies employing apatite grains with low spontaneous fission-track densities, while also facilitating investigation of the spatial relationships between thermo- and geochronometric ages and grain chemistry.

International audience; Quantifying the removal of co-seismic landslide material after a large-magnitude earthquake is central to our understanding of geomorphic recovery from seismic events and the topographic evolution of tectonically active mountain ranges. In order to gain more insight into the fluvial erosion response to co-seismic landslides, we focus on the sediment fluxes of rivers flowing through the rupture zone of the 2008 M-w 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in the Longmen Shan of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Over the post-seismic period of 2008-2013, we annually collected river sediment samples (0.25-1mm) at 19 locations and measured the concentration of cosmogenic Be-10 in quartz. When compared with published pre-earthquake data, the Be-10 concentrations declined dramatically after the earthquake at all sampling sites, but with significant spatial differences in the amplitude of this decrease, and were starting to increase toward pre-earthquake level in several basins over the 5-year survey. Our analysis shows that the amplitude of Be-10 decrease is controlled by the amount of landslides directly connected to the river network. Calculations based on Be-10 mixing budgets indicate that the sediment flux of the 0.25-1mm size fraction increased up to sixfold following the Wenchuan earthquake. Our results also suggest that fluvial erosion became supply limited shortly after the earthquake, and predict that it could take a few years to several decades for fluvial sediment fluxes to go back to pre-earthquake characteristics, depending on catchment properties. We also estimate that it will take at least decades and possibly up to thousands of years to remove the co-seismic landslide materials from the catchments in the Longmen Shan. Copyright (c) 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

International audience; The dextral Longriba fault system (LFS), ~300 km long and constituting of two fault zones, has recently been recognized as an important structure of the eastern Tibetan plateau (Sichuan province), as it accommodates a significant amount of the deformation induced by the ongoing Indo-Asian collision. Although previous paleoseismological investigations highlighted its high seismogenic potential, no systematic quantification of the dextral displacements along the fault system has been undertaken so far. As such information is essential to appraise fault behavior, we propose here a first detailed analysis of the segmentation of the Longriqu fault, the northern fault zone of the LFS, and an offset inventory of morphological features along the fault, using high-resolution Pleiades satellite images. We identify six major segments forming a mature fault zone. Offsets inventory suggests a characteristic coseismic displacement of ~4 m. Two alluvial fans, with minimum ages of 6.7 and 13.2 ka, respectively displaced by 23 ± 7 m and 40 ± 5 m, give an estimate of the maximal horizontal slip rate on the Longriqu fault of 3.2 ± 1.1 mm yr À1. As a result, a minimum ~1340 year time interval between earthquakes is expected.