Comment on Resentini et al., 2020: “Ongoing exhumation of the Taiwan orogenic wedge revealed by detrital apatite thermochronology: The impact of effective mineral fertility and zero-track grains”

• Published in: Earth and planetary science letters 2020-11, Vol.550, p.116553, Article 116553
• Main Authors: Mesalles, L., Lee, Y.-H., Bernet, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: apatite fission track; detrital thermochronology; Taiwan orogen
• ISSN: 0012-821X; 1385-013X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116553

The interpretation of modern river apatite fission track (AFT) data of Taiwan by Resentini et al. (2020) presents some fundamental inaccuracies that call in question the main conclusions of the paper. The study aims at approximating source rock cooling histories by analysing erosional products, but ignores existing bedrock data in their maps and discussions. The allegedly “new” southern extension of the AFT reset zone is largely unconstrained by the presented data and ignores the local geology and stratigraphy of individual drainage basins. Notably, low grain counts (median=9) and catchment with various geological provinces, including orogenic derived sediments, question the significance of the dataset to characterise “single geological domains” as explained in the paper. Overall, the new data do not provide discriminating evidence for an earlier collision in the north of the island and thus do not support a southwardly propagation of collision.