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Fission-Track Thermochronology and its Application to Geology pp 211–220Cite as

Fission-Track Thermochronology in Structural Geology and Tectonic Studies

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Abstract

Apatite fission-track (AFT) and zircon fission-track (ZFT) data along with other low-temperature thermochronologic data are widely used in the fields of structural geology and tectonics to determine the timing/duration of events, the amount of exhumation in mountain belts, rates of slip on faults, and the geometries of fault networks. In this chapter, I review applications of AFT and ZFT data in extensional tectonic settings. Examples of data sets and interpretations are summarized from the Cenozoic-Recent North American Basin and Range Province. These data constrain displacements of normal faults, rates of slip on faults, paleogeothermal gradients, and the original dip of low-angle normal faults.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Stephanie Brichau and Paul Fitzgerald for helpful reviews of the original manuscript and the many collaborators that contributed to the studies summarized in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    David A. Foster

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  1. David A. Foster
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Correspondence to David A. Foster .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Marco G. Malusà

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA

    Paul G. Fitzgerald

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Foster, D.A. (2019). Fission-Track Thermochronology in Structural Geology and Tectonic Studies. In: Malusà, M., Fitzgerald, P. (eds) Fission-Track Thermochronology and its Application to Geology. Springer Textbooks in Earth Sciences, Geography and Environment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89421-8_11

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