Cover Image Credits

The article by Colleps and others titled “Assessing the long-term low-temperature thermal evolution of the central Indian Bundelkhand craton with a complex apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He dataset” (p.1089–1123) explores the utility of modern techniques in thermochronology to unravel the burial and erosional evolution of the tectonically quiescent Bundelkhand craton of central India. Results from this study highlight both the capabilities and limitations of the radiation damage accumulation and annealing models for the zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He systems (ZHe and AHe, respectively). New detrital ZHe dates indicate that the Bundelkhand region has spent over 1.5 billion years at temperatures below ~200°C. Inverse and forward thermal history modelling from this study suggest that the Bundelkhand craton last experienced peak burial temperatures of 150°C between ~850–475 Ma followed by a prominent phase of crustal cooling from ~350–310 Ma, which was potentially driven by erosion associated with late Paleozoic glaciations. Thermal history modelling additionally suggests that low-damaged apatite and high-damaged zircon from the Bundelkhand region preserve a thermal overprint induced by Deccan Trap volcanism at ~66 Ma, which was likely responsible for an observed thermochronometric date inversion of >300 Myrs between the AHe and ZHe systems.

Explanation of cover figure: The photo in this figure shows the Sangrampur hillock preserved along the eastern margin of the Bundelkhand craton. Here, undeformed ~1.7–1.2 Ga Vindhyan deposits cap the hilltop and are in direct nonconformable contact with ~2.5 granites exposed along the hill slope. The plots below show a compilation of all zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He dates collected from the region and reveal distinct radiation damage-influenced date-eU relationships that were a primary focus of this study.