Late Cretaceous exhumation and uplift of the Harz Mountains, Germany: a multi-method thermochronological approach

Abstract

The Harz Mountains represent one of the most prominent surface expressions of Late Cretaceous intraplate shortening in Central Europe. We present a comprehensive low-temperature thermochronological data set (zircon and apatite, fission track and [U–Th]/He) covering the exhumed Paleozoic basement of the Harz Mountains and the adjacent Kyffhäuser block, as well as Lower Triassic sedimentary rocks of the western and southern rim of the Harz Mountains. Integration of results with sedimentological data from the syntectonic Late Cretaceous Subhercynian Basin allows for a detailed reconstruction of the timing of uplift and erosion of the Harz Mountains. The data reveal that (i) tectonic reorganizat..