We present a study of pressure and temperature evolution in the passive continental margin under the Oman Ophiolite using numerical basin models calibrated with thermal maturity data, fluid-inclusion thermometry, and low-temperature thermochronometry and building on the results of recent work on the tectonic evolution. Because the Oman mountains experienced only weak post-obduction overprint, they offer a unique natural laboratory for this study. Thermal maturity data from the Adam Foothills constrain burial in the basin in front of the advancing nappes to at least 4 km. Peak temperature evolution in the carbonate platform under the ophiolite depends on the burial depth and only weakly on the temperature of the overriding nappes, which have cooled during transport from the oceanic subduction zone to emplacement. Fluid-inclusion thermometry yields pressure-corrected homogenization temperatures of 225 to 266 ^∘C for veins formed during progressive burial, 296–364 ^∘C for veins related to peak burial, and 184 to 213 ^∘C for veins associated with late-stage strike-slip faulting. In contrast, the overlying Hawasina nappes have not been heated above 130–170 ^∘C, as witnessed by only partial resetting of the zircon $\left(\mathrm{U}-\mathrm{Th}\right)/\mathrm{He}$ thermochronometer. In combination with independently determined temperatures from solid bitumen reflectance, we infer that the fluid inclusions of peak-burial-related veins formed at minimum pressures of 225–285 MPa. This implies that the rocks of the future Jebel Akhdar Dome were buried under 8–10 km of ophiolite on top of 2 km of sedimentary nappes, in agreement with thermal maturity data from solid bitumen reflectance and Raman spectroscopy. Rapid burial of the passive margin under the ophiolite results in sub-lithostatic pore pressures, as indicated by veins formed in dilatant fractures in the carbonates. We infer that overpressure is induced by rapid burial under the ophiolite. Tilting of the carbonate platform in combination with overpressure in the passive margin caused fluid migration towards the south in front of the advancing nappes. Exhumation of the Jebel Akhdar, as indicated by our zircon $\left(\mathrm{U}-\mathrm{Th}\right)/\mathrm{He}$ data and in agreement with existing work on the tectonic evolution, started as early as the Late Cretaceous to early Cenozoic, linked with extension above a major listric shear zone with top-to-NNE shear sense. In a second exhumation phase the carbonate platform and obducted nappes of the Jebel Akhdar Dome cooled together below ca. 170 ^∘C between 50 and 40 Ma before the final stage of anticline formation.

Large parts of central Europe experienced exhumation in Late Cretaceous to Paleogene time. Previous studies mainly focused on thrusted basement uplifts to unravel the magnitude, processes and timing of exhumation. This study provides, for the first time, a comprehensive thermochronological dataset from mostly Permo-Triassic strata exposed adjacent to and between the basement uplifts in central Germany, comprising an area of at least some 250–300 km across. Results of apatite fission-track and (U–Th) $/$ He analyses on > 100 new samples reveal that (i) kilometre-scale exhumation affected the entire region, (ii) thrusting of basement blocks like the Harz Mountains and the Thuringian Forest focused in the Late Cretaceous (about 90–70 Ma), while superimposed domal uplift of central Germany is slightly younger (about 75–55 Ma), and (iii) large parts of the domal uplift experienced removal of 3 to 4 km of Mesozoic strata. Using spatial extent, magnitude and timing as constraints suggests that thrusting and crustal thickening alone can account for no more than half of the domal uplift. Most likely, dynamic topography caused by upwelling asthenosphere significantly contributed to the observed pattern of exhumation in central Germany.

A significant amount of information on sedimentary provenance is encoded in the heavy minerals of a sediment or sedimentary rock. This information is commonly assessed by optically determining the heavy-mineral assemblage, potentially followed by geochemical and/or geochronological analysis of specific heavy minerals. The proposed method of semi-automated heavy-mineral analysis by Raman spectroscopy (Raman-HMA) aims to combine the objective mineral identification capabilities of Raman spectroscopy with high-resolution geochemical techniques applied to single grains. The Raman-HMA method is an efficient and precise tool that significantly improves the comparability of heavy-mineral data with respect to both overall assemblages and individual compositions within solid solution series. Furthermore, the efficiency of subsequent analysis is increased due to identification and spatial referencing of the heavy minerals in the sample slide. The method is tested on modern sediments of the Fulda river (central Germany) draining two Miocene volcanic sources (Vogelsberg, Rhön) resting on top of Lower Triassic siliciclastic sediments. The downstream evolution of the volcanic detritus is documented and the capability to analyze silt-sized grains has revealed an additional eolian source. This capability also poses the possibility of systematically assessing the heavy-mineral assemblages of shales, which are often disregarded in sedimentary provenance studies.

Two distinct Permian volcanic epochs were revealed in the Pannonian Basin (eastern Central Europe) by U–Pb zircon geochronology: an older one (~ 281 Ma, Cisuralian) in the ALCAPA Mega-unit (Central Transdanubia, Hungary) and a younger volcanic episode (~ 267–260 Ma, Guadalupian) in the Tisza Mega-unit (Southern Transdanubia and the eastern Pannonian Basin, Hungary). The former is represented by dacitic subvolcanic rocks (dykes) and lavas, while the latter is dominantly by crystal-rich rhyolitic–rhyodacitic/dacitic ignimbrites and subordinate rhyodacitic/dacitic lavas. Whole-rock (major and trace element) geochemical data and zircon U–Pb ages suggest close relationship between the samples of Central Transdanubia and volcanic rocks of the Northern Veporic Unit (Western Carpathians, Slovakia), both being part of the ALCAPA Mega-unit. Such correlation was also revealed between the Permian felsic volcanic rocks of the Apuseni Mts (Romania) and the observed samples of Southern Transdanubia and the eastern Pannonian Basin that are parts of the Tisza Mega-unit. The older volcanic rocks (~ 281–265 Ma) could be linked to post-orogenic tectonic movements, however, the youngest samples (~ 260 Ma, eastern Pannonian Basin, Tisza Mega-unit) could be formed in the extensional setting succeeding the post-collisional environment. On the whole, the observed Permian magmatic rocks show significant similarity with those of the Western Carpathians.

The Batié granitic massif in western Cameroon is NE–SW elongated, follows the regional foliation, and is parallel to the Kekem–Fotouni shear zone, which is the southwestern extension of the Tcholliré–Banyo Fault (TBF). This massif comprises two petrographic units: biotite granite and amphibole granite. Major, trace, REE, Sr–Nd isotopic, and new U–Pb data are used to constrain their nature and origin. The results indicate that they are high-K alkali-calcic with shoshonite affinity. The amphibole granite is metaluminous, whereas biotite granite is weakly peraluminous. Both granites are high-temperature I-type granites and crystallized under oxidizing conditions. Initial (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_{620 Ma} ratios (0.7062–0.7080) and εNd_{620 Ma} (−12.6 to −8.9) indicate that the parental magmas were produced by partial melting of thick Paleoproterozoic crust and were mixed with felsic magma from the upper continental crust. Their Nd T_DM typically varies from 1.68 to 1.96 Ga. The massif was mostly emplaced between 630 and 547 Ma during the transitional period between the crustal thickening (630–610 Ma) and the development of the shear zones, which began with sinistral movements (610–580 Ma) and continued with dextral movements (585–540 Ma). Plutonism continued during the dextral movements. The Batié granite is geochemically and isotopically similar to other post-collisional pan-African granitic massifs located along the TBF.

Palaeomagnetic, rock magnetic and geochronological investigations were carried out on the Abor volcanics of Arunachal Pradesh, NE India. A Late Palaeozoic formation age for part of the Abor volcanics cannot be excluded based on K–Ar whole rock dating. Low-temperature thermochronometers – zircon (U–Th)/He and fission track analyses – yield a maximum burial temperature ofc. 150–170 °C during Late Miocene. ZFT thermochronology of the Yinkiong and Miri Fms. indicates a post-Paleocene and post-Jurassic deposition age, respectively. This infers that the volcanic rocks intercalating or intruding them are not part of the Late Palaeozoic sequence but represent one or more, latest Cretaceous to Tertiary event(s). Therefore the Abor volcanics are connected to at least two separate events of volcanism. From palaeomagnetic sites, two characteristic magnetic remanence components were separated: a low-coercivity-component demagnetized below 20 mT and a high-coercivity-component demagnetized between 15 and 100 mT. Fold tests support a secondary origin of both components. Thermochronological and rock magnetic analyses indicate a low-grade overprint event between India–Asia collision and Miocene, which probably represents the time of remanence acquisition. The high-coercivity-component shows a trend of clockwise declinations, which is likely related to vertical-axis rotations of the eastern Himalayas due to eastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau.