Burial and exhumation historyof Pennsylvanian strata, central Appalachian basin: an integrated study

An inferred burial and exhumation history of Pennsylvanian strata in the central Appalachian foreland basin is constrained by integrating palaeothermometers, geochronometers and estimated palaeogeothermal gradients.Vitrinite re£ectance data and £uid inclusion homogenization temperatures indicate that burial ofLower andUpperPennsylvanian strata of theAppalachianPlateau inWest Virginia exceeded 4.4 km during the late Permian and occurred at a rate of 100mMyr . Exhumation rates of 10mMyr 1 from the late Permian to the early Cretaceous are constrained usingmaximumburial conditions and published apatite ¢ssion track (AFT) ages.AFTand radiogenic helium ages indicate exhumation rates of 30^50mMyr 1 from the early to late Cretaceous. Radiogenic helium dates and present day sampling depths indicate that exhumation rates from the lateCretaceous to presentwere 25mMyr . Exhumation rates forUpper andLower Pennsylvanian strata within the Appalachian Plateau are remarkably similar. Early slow exhumationwas possibly driven primarily by isostatic rebound associatedwithTriassic rifting.The later, more rapid exhumation can be attributed to thermal expansion followed by lithospheric £exure related to sediment loading along the passive margin.