A synthesis of available detrital zircon data from the Qilian-Qaidam-Kunlun collage, northern Tibet

Abstract

In this article, we present a brief introduction to the procedure, methods and results of the collection and summarization of an updated detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology database for the Qilian-Qaidam-Kunlun collage in northern Tibet. A total of 620 samples with 59,830 raw data were compiled from 121 published papers, including 70 samples with in-situ detrital zircon Lu–Hf isotopes. Samples from seven different geologic subunits are categorized. For sediments with different ages of deposition, we highlight the characteristics of age spans, probability density distributions, major peaks and εHf(t) values. Further syntheses of this metadata collection, the detailed raw data of which will be periodically accessible in the Deep-Time Digital Earth repository, would be effectively applied to a variety of scientific attempts concerning the geologic history of the Qilian-Qaidam-Kunlun collage, in particular, provenance analyses, crustal evolution studies and supercontinent reconstructions.