The Alleghanian orogeny was a collision between the Gondwanan and Laurentian continents that produced the Pangean supercontinent. Mechanical and kinematic models of collisional orogens are believed to follow a critical taper geometry, where the tectonic imbrication of continental crust begins nearest to the edge of continental plate and advances toward the craton in a break- forward sequence. Studies of shear zones within the Alleghanian collisional orogen, however, suggest that most of the early deformation was translational. Propagation of craton-directed thrusts into the foreland did not occur until the latest Pennsylvanian in the southern Appalachians, and the middle-late Permian in the central Appalachians. Radiometric sedimentary provenance proxies have been applied to the late Mississippian-early Permian strata within the Appalachian foreland basin to determine the crustal composition and structural evolution of the orogen during the continental collision. U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from the early to middle Pennsylvanian sandstones suggest that most of the detritus within the Appalachian basin was recycled from Mesoproterozoic basement and Paleozoic strata of the Laurentian margin. The presence of Archean and late Paleoproterozoic age detrital zircons is cited as evidence of recycling of the Laurentian syn-rift and passive-margin sandstones. Detrital zircon ages from early-middle Permian-age sandstones of the Dunkard Group do not contain any Archean or Paleoproterozoic detrital-zircon ages, implying a source of sediment with a much more restricted age population, possibly the igneous and metamorphic internides or middle Paleozoic sandstones from the Appalachian basin. The persistance of 360-400 Ma K/Ar ages of detrital white mica suggest that the sediment was supplied from a source that was exhumed during the Devonian Acadian orogeny. Detrital-zircon and detrital-white-mica ages from Pennsylvanian-age sandstones indicate that the late Paleozoic orogen did not incorporate any significant synorogenic juvenile crust. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of middle Pennsylvanian-early Permian lacustrine limestones within the Appalachian basin show a slight enrichment through time, suggesting that labile 87Sr-rich minerals in the Alleghanian hinterland are being exposed. Stable isotopic data from the lacustrine limestones also corroborates that the Appalachian basin became much more arid through time.

The Western European Variscan orogenic belt is thought to represent the final in a series of Paleozoic continental collisions that culminated with the amalgamation of the supercontinent Pangea. The Iberian segment of the Variscan belt is characterized by Cantabrian orocline, which is 180º and convex toward the west. Several lines of evidence are at odds with classical interpretation of the Cantabrian orocline as the core of the much larger ‘Ibero-Armorican’ arc, suggesting instead that it is structurally continuous with a second more southerly and complimentary orocline. Paleocurrent data collected from the Lower Ordovician Armorican Quartzite of the deformed Iberian Paleozoic passive margin sequence confirm the existence of the so-called Central Iberian orocline. Structural continuity between the Cantabrian and Central Iberian oroclines suggests that they formed contemporaneously and in the same fashion. Mesoscale vertical-axis folds deforming slaty cleavage and shear fabric within the Ediacaran Narcea Slates have a dominant vergence toward the hinge of the Cantabrian orocline, suggesting that its formation was in part accommodated by a mechanism of flexural shear during buckling of a linear belt in response to an orogen parallel principle compressive stress. The Cantabrian-Central Iberian coupled oroclines therefore palinspastically restore to an originally linear belt 2300 km in length. Provenance analysis of detrital zircons sampled from the Armorican Quartzite along a 1500-km-long segment of the palinplastically restored Iberian passive margin indicate that it originated in a paleogeographic position stretching east-west along the northern limits of north African Gondwana, from the Arabian-Nubian Shield to the Saharan hinterland. Paleomagnetic data and the distribution of Variscan ophiolites support a model of mid-Paleozoic separation of the Variscan autochthon (Armorican continental ribbon) from north Gondwana preceding or in conjunction with a 90º rotation required to reorient the ribbon to a Late Carboniferous north-south trend. Formation of the Iberian coupled oroclines accommodated 1100 km of orogen parallel shortening. The Western European Variscan belt, North American Cordillera, and Eastern European Alpine system are orogens similarly characterized by both coupled oroclines and paleomagnetic inclinations that are significantly shallower than cratonic reference values. Palinspastic restoration of the Alaskan and Carpathian–Balkan coupled oroclines fully resolves inclination anomalies within the Cordillera and Eastern Alpine system, respectively. Inclination anomalies within the Iberian Variscan belt are only partially resolved through palinspastic restoration of the Iberian coupled oroclines, but the sinuous geometry of the belt is not yet fully deciphered. Oroclines within the Western European Variscan belt, not the orogen itself, provide the true record of Pangean amalgamation. / Graduate

Doctor en Ciencias, Mención Geología / Modificaciones del relieve provocados por procesos geológicos de gran escala como el alzamiento de cordilleras tiene importantes efectos en las condiciones climáticas y generan cambios significativos del paisaje. De esta forma, variaciones en las condiciones de temperatura y precipitación de una región afectan directamente la distribución, diversidad y composición de la vegetación. En la actualidad la dirección de flujo de los ríos en el sur de Sudamérica es principalmente hacia el oriente, sin embargo, aún no es claro cuál fue la dirección de las corrientes y las zonas de proveniencia en el pasado. Cambios en las direcciones de paleocorrientes ocurridos durante el Cenozoico en la Cuenca de Magallanes, junto con cambios de ambientes, pasando de marinos a transicionales y finalmente a ambientes continentales, procesos que fueron identificados en el sector de Sierra Baguales, al norte del Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, podrían vincularse con el levantamiento de los Andes Patagónicos, proceso que a su vez podría asociarse a cambios paleoclimáticos y paleoecológicos que habrían sido provocados por el efecto de sombra de lluvia y apertura del paso Drake durante el Oligoceno, cambios paleogeográficos que a su vez coinciden con modificaciones de las zonas de aporte de sedimentos a la Cuenca de Magallanes y la posición relativa de Península Antártica. El presente estudio evalúa cual fue el efecto de los procesos tectónicos como el levantamiento de los Andes Patagónicos, apertura del Paso Drake y cambios en las zonas de proveniencia. Se discute el vínculo entre la evolución de la Cuenca de Magallanes y la posición de la Península Antártica. Estos procesos fueron evaluados a partir de la evolución espacio-temporal de las paleocorrientes y el establecimiento de las zonas que aportaron detritos a la Cuenca durante el Cenozoico en Sierra Baguales, adicionalmente, junto con la evolución tectónica y sedimentológica del sector, se analiza la respuesta de la vegetación en términos de diversidad y composición, comportamientos analizados bajo un contexto de cambio climático global durante el Cenozoico donde especialmente se discute la respuesta de la vegetación frente a procesos de enfriamiento como el ocurrido durante el Oligoceno.

Arc–continent collision is a significant plate boundary process that results in crustal growth. Since the early stages of evolution are often obscured in mature orogens, more complete understanding of the processes involved in arc–continent collision require study of young, active collision settings. The Banda Arc presents an exceptional opportunity to study a young arc–continent collision zone. This thesis presents aspects of the geology and geochronology of Ataúro and the Aileu Complex of Timor-Leste, and the tectonics of the Banda Arc. / U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from the Aileu Complex by LA-ICPMS show major age modes at 270–440 Ma, 860–1240 Ma and 1460–1870 Ma. The youngest zircon populations indicate a maximum depositional age of 270 Ma. The detrital zircon age populations and evidence for juvenile sediments within the sequence favours a synorogenic setting of deposition of sediments sourced from an East Malaya – Indochina terrane. / Previous uncertainty in aspects of the cooling history for the Aileu Complex is resolved with 39Ar/40Ar geochronology of hornblende. Cooling ages of 6–10 Ma are established, with the highest metamorphic grade parts of the Complex yielding the older ages. Cooling ages of 10 Ma imply that metamorphism of the Aileu Complex must have commenced by at least ~12 Ma. Metamorphism at this time is attributed to an arc setting rather than the direct result of collision of the Australian continent with the Banda Arc, an interpretation consistent with the new provenance data. / Geological mapping of Ataúro, an island in the volcanic Banda Arc north of Timor, reveals a volcanic history of bi-modal subaqueous volcanism. 39Ar/40Ar geochronology of hornblende from dacitic lavas confirms that volcanism ceased by ~3 Ma. Following the cessation of volcanism, coral reef marine terraces have been uplifted to elevations of 700 m above sea level. Continuity of the terraces at constant elevations around the island reflects regional-scale uplift most likely linked to sublithospheric processes such as slab detachment. / North of Timor, the near complete absence of intermediate depth seismicity beneath the inactive segment of the arc is attributed to a slab window that has opened in the collision zone and extends to 350 km below the surface. Differences in seismic moment release around this slab window indicate asymmetric rupture, propagating to the east at a much faster rate than to the west. If the lower boundary of this seismic gap signifies the original slab rupture then the slab window represents ~4 m.y. of subsequent subduction and implies that collision preceded the end of volcanism by at least 1 m.y. / Variations in seismic moment release and stress state across the transition from subduction of oceanic crust to arc–continent collision in the Banda Arc are investigated using earthquake catalogues. It is shown that the slab under the western Savu Sea is unusual in that intermediate depth (70–300 km) events indicate that the slab is largely in down-dip compression at this depth range, beneath a region of the arc that has the closest spacing of volcanoes in the Sunda–Banda arc system. This unusual state of stress is attributed to subduction of a northern extension of the Scott Plateau. Present day deformation in the Savu Sea region may be analogous with the earliest stages of collision north of Timor.

This thesis results from a pilot study which, driven by repeatedly surprising results, opens up a reliable method of geochronology for Quaternary research. There have been repeated attempts to expand the limits of normal use of U-Pb dating. Geologists typically use U-Pb dating on detrital zircons (DZ) for dating and provenance studies on rocks older than the Cenozoic era. We tested several tephra layers in Utah and New Mexico, USA, with published 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages between 1.3 and 1.6 Ma and found that the ages derived from clustered U-Pb dating are reliable, even though they were discordant. We used one of these tephra layers in the La Sal Mountains, Utah, to assign a minimum age to slope deposit layers (cover beds) underlying the tephra bed. In doing so, we discovered that we could not only identify unconformities between layers by means of palaeopedology. But that - although they were similar to one another regarding physical and chemical properties - they were not the same at all in terms of the provenance of their aeolian matter as derived from U-Pb analysis of detrital zircons, as one could actually assume. The source of aeolian matter mixed to these layers has changed decisively from layer to layer. The findings also allowed tentatively assigning palpable source areas for each layer. Since this had demonstrated the feasibility of a provenance approach, we then extended our study regionally to cover beds of the central Great Basin (GB) and the northern Colorado Plateau (CP). Using a published sequence-stratigraphic approach based upon stratigraphically consistent phases of soil development, we attempted to study cover beds from the same two Upper Quaternary time slices. We expanded our range of methods by end-member modelling analyzes (EMMA) and the analysis of surface and shape of detrital zircons. We used statistical methods such as multidimensional scaling (MDS) and density functions (probability density functions and kernel density estimations) to visualize similarities and distances of age distributions. The MDS and the density functions showed very clearly that the patterns of ages between the GB and the CP can be divided into two groups that differ from one another. This is probably due to different transport cascades of the zircons to and within both areas. Due to the lack of databases on the morphology of in-situ zirconia, it is not yet possible to draw precise conclusions about transport routes from them, although we have probably been able to identify traces of several stages of aeolian transport on many zircons. Conclusions can also be drawn about detrital zircons that were transported to the sampling point purely by the kinetic energy of volcanic eruptions during the Cretaceous (Cordilleran magmatic arc) and the Paleogene (strong volcanism within the study area). Moreover, we can show main similarities of the layers across the CP. Although they are separated spatially and temporally, they have a similar age distribution. The only exception here is the upper La Sal Mountains profile, for which I have several assumptions as to why this is so. We did not have enough conclusions for the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental conditions during the layer and soil formation phases; further investigations will have to follow. However, we show that a provenance study on Quaternary layers and further conclusions from the results are possible and would like to condense this approach for the study area in the future, but also try to transfer it to other study areas.:Abstract .......................................................................................................................3 Kurzfassung ................................................................................................................5 Contents ......................................................................................................................7 List of figures ............................................................................................................ 11 List of tables ............................................................................................................. 13 List of abbreviations and units .................................................................................. 14 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 16 1.1 Research questions ........................................................................................... 16 1.2 Cover beds ......................................................................................................... 17 1.3 Palaeosols .......................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Study area .......................................................................................................... 18 1.5 Zircons ............................................................................................................... 21 1.6 Thesis format ...................................................................................................... 23 2 Capability of U-Pb dating of zircons from Quaternary tephra: Jemez Mountains, NM, and La Sal Mountains, UT, USA ....................................................................... 24 2.1 Abstract .............................................................................................................. 25 2.2 Kurzfassung ....................................................................................................... 25 2.3 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 26 2.4 Geological setting ............................................................................................... 27 2.4.1 Jemez Mountains, New Mexico ...................................................................... 27 2.4.2 La Sal Mountains, Utah ................................................................................... 30 2.5 Methods ............................................................................................................. 30 2.6 Results and discussion ..................................................................................... 33 2.6 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 38 Data availability ........................................................................................................ 38 Competing interests.................................................................................................. 38 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 38 2.7 References ......................................................................................................... 39 3 Cover beds older than the mid-Pleistocene revolution and the provenance of their aeolian components, La Sal Mountains, Utah, USA ........................................ 42 3.1 Abstract .............................................................................................................. 43 3.2 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 43 3.3 Material and methods ........................................................................................ 44 3.3.1 The La Sal Mountains tephra layer ................................................................. 44 3.3.2 Cover beds and palaeosols............................................................................. 45 3.3.3 Samples and analyses .................................................................................... 46 3.4 Results and discussion ...................................................................................... 49 3.5 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 56 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... 58 Summary information A. Supplementary data ......................................................... 58 3.6 References ........................................................................................................ 58 4 Zircon provenance of Quaternary cover beds using U-Pb dating: regional differences in the south-western USA ...................................................................... 63 4.1 Abstract .............................................................................................................. 64 4.2 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 65 4.3 Materials ............................................................................................................. 66 4.3.1 Study areas ..................................................................................................... 66 4.3.2 Stratigraphy and sampling sites ...................................................................... 68 4.3.3 Palaeolake deposits ........................................................................................ 71 4.3.4 Potential sources of detrital zircons ................................................................ 71 4.4 Methods ............................................................................................................. 75 4.4.1 End-member modelling of grainsize composition ........................................... 75 4.4.2 U-Pb dating ..................................................................................................... 75 4.4.3 Zircon dimensions and surfaces ..................................................................... 77 4.4.4 Statistical and graphical representations ........................................................ 78 4.5 Results and discussion ...................................................................................... 79 4.5.1 Aeolian contribution to cover beds .................................................................. 79 4.5.2 Zircon morphology .......................................................................................... 82 4.5.3 Age distributions of detrital zircons ................................................................. 88 4.5.4 Multidimensional scaling (MDS) ..................................................................... 94 4.6 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 98 Appendix ................................................................................................................ 102 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 102 4.7 References ....................................................................................................... 103 5 Extended summary .............................................................................................. 118 5.1 Synthesis .......................................................................................................... 118 5.2 Regional differences and similarities ................................................................ 123 5.3 Outlook ............................................................................................................. 128 6 Supplementary Information ................................................................................. 130 6.1 Supplementary material chapter ‘Capability of U-Pb dating of zircons from Quaternary tephra: Jemez Mountains, NM, and La Sal Mountains, UT, USA’........ 130 6.1.1 Raw data electron microprobe analyses of glass shards from tephra layers .131 6.1.2 Raw data U-Pb ratios and calculated ages for all samples ............................137 6.2 Supplementary material chapter 3 ‘Cover beds older than the mid-Pleistocene revolution and the provenance of their eolian components, La Sal Mountains, Utah, USA’ .............................................................................................................. 160 6.3 Supplementary material chapter 4 ................................................................... 175 6.3.1 SI1 Raw U-Pb ratios and calculated ages ......................................................175 6.3.2 SI 3 Grainsize diagrams of samples of the present study (except for PL)......266 6.3.3 SI 4 Zircon morphology data .........................................................................269 6.3.3.1 Great Basin .................................................................................................269 6.3.3.2 Colorado Plateau ........................................................................................289 7 References (excluding chapters 2, 3 and 4) ....................................................... 308 8 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 312 / Diese Arbeit ist das Ergebnis einer Pilotstudie, die aufgrund immer wieder neuer, unerwarteter Ergebnisse eine zuverlässige geochronologische Methode für die Quartärforschung eröffnet. Es wurde mehrfach versucht, die üblichen Grenzen der Verwendung der U-Pb-Datierung zu erweitern. In der Geologie wird die U-Pb-Datierung an detritischen Zirkonen (DZ) normalerweise für Datierungs- und Provenienzstudien an Gesteinen, die älter als das Känozoikum sind, eingesetzt. Wir haben mehrere Tephra-Schichten in Utah und New Mexico, USA, mit veröffentlichten 40 Ar/ 39 Ar-Altern zwischen 1.3 und 1.6 Ma getestet und festgestellt, dass die Alter, die aus den Clustern der U-Pb-Datierungen abgeleitet wurden, zuverlässig sind, obwohl sie diskordant waren. Wir haben eine dieser Tephra-Schichten in den La Sal Mountains, Utah, verwendet, umlagernden Deckschichten ein Mindestalter zuzuweisen. Dabei stellten wir fest, dass wir nicht nur mittels Paläopädologie Schichtgrenzen zwischen Schichten ausweisen konnten. Sondern dass sie sich, obwohl sie sich in Bezug auf physikalische und chemische Eigenschaften ähneln, in Bezug auch auf die Herkunft ihres äolischen Materials (abgeleitet aus der U-Pb-Analyse der DZ) überhaupt nicht glichen, wie man eigentlich annehmen könnte. Die Herkunft des eingemischten äolischen Materials hat sich von Schicht zu Schicht entscheidend verändert. Die Ergebnisse ermöglichten es auch, jeder Schicht konkrete wahrscheinliche Liefergebiete zuzuweisen. Da dies die Möglichkeit einer Provenienz-Analyse belegt hatte, erweiterten wir unsere Studie regional auf Deckschichten des zentralen Great Basin (GB) und des nördlichen Colorado Plateaus (CP). Unter Verwendung eines publizierten sequenz-stratigraphischen Ansatzes, der auf stratigraphisch konsistenten Phasen der Bodenentwicklung basiert, haben wir versucht, Deckschichten aus denselben beiden oberen quartären Zeitscheiben zu untersuchen. Wir erweiterten unser Methodenspektrum um End Member-Modellierung (EMMA) und die Analyse der Oberfläche und Form von DZ. Wir verwendeten statistische Methoden wie mehrdimensionale Skalierung (MDS) und Dichtefunktionen (Wahrscheinlichkeitsdichtefunktionen und Kerndichteschätzungen), um Ähnlichkeiten und Abstände von Altersverteilungen zu visualisieren. MDS und Dichtefunktionen zeigten deutlich, dass GB und CP unterschiedliche Altersspektren aufweisen. Dies ist wahrscheinlich auf unterschiedliche Transportkaskaden der Zirkone in beide und innerhalb beider Gebiete zurückzuführen. Aufgrund des Fehlens von Datenbanken zur Morphologie von gesteinsbürtigen Zirkonen kann man daraus noch keine genauen Rückschlüsse über Transportwege ziehen, obwohl wir wahrscheinlich an vielen Zirkonen Spuren mehrerer Schritte des äolischen Transports identifizieren konnten. Es liegen auch DZ vor, die vermutlich ausschließlich durch die kinetische Energie von Vulkanausbrüchen während der Kreidezeit (Cordilleran Magmatic Arc) und des Paläogens (starker Vulkanismus innerhalb des Untersuchungsgebiets) zum Probenahmepunkt transportiert wurden. Darüber hinaus können wir Ähnlichkeiten zwischen den verschiedenen Schichten im CP zeigen. Obwohl sie räumlich und zeitlich getrennt sind, haben sie eine ähnliche Altersverteilung. Die einzige Ausnahme hiervon ist das Profil der höheren La Sal Mountains, wofür es mehrere mögliche Gründe gibt. Wir konnten nicht genügend Erkenntnisse für die Rekonstruktion der paläoökologischen Bedingungen während der Schicht- und Bodenbildungsphasen gewinnen; weitere Untersuchungen müssen folgen. Wir zeigen jedoch, dass eine Provenienzstudie an quartären Schichten und weiterreichende Schlussfolgerungen möglich sind, und möchten diesen Ansatz für das Untersuchungsgebiet in Zukunft verdichten, aber auch versuchen, ihn auf andere Untersuchungsgebiete zu übertragen.:Abstract .......................................................................................................................3 Kurzfassung ................................................................................................................5 Contents ......................................................................................................................7 List of figures ............................................................................................................ 11 List of tables ............................................................................................................. 13 List of abbreviations and units .................................................................................. 14 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 16 1.1 Research questions ........................................................................................... 16 1.2 Cover beds ......................................................................................................... 17 1.3 Palaeosols .......................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Study area .......................................................................................................... 18 1.5 Zircons ............................................................................................................... 21 1.6 Thesis format ...................................................................................................... 23 2 Capability of U-Pb dating of zircons from Quaternary tephra: Jemez Mountains, NM, and La Sal Mountains, UT, USA ....................................................................... 24 2.1 Abstract .............................................................................................................. 25 2.2 Kurzfassung ....................................................................................................... 25 2.3 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 26 2.4 Geological setting ............................................................................................... 27 2.4.1 Jemez Mountains, New Mexico ...................................................................... 27 2.4.2 La Sal Mountains, Utah ................................................................................... 30 2.5 Methods ............................................................................................................. 30 2.6 Results and discussion ..................................................................................... 33 2.6 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 38 Data availability ........................................................................................................ 38 Competing interests.................................................................................................. 38 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 38 2.7 References ......................................................................................................... 39 3 Cover beds older than the mid-Pleistocene revolution and the provenance of their aeolian components, La Sal Mountains, Utah, USA ........................................ 42 3.1 Abstract .............................................................................................................. 43 3.2 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 43 3.3 Material and methods ........................................................................................ 44 3.3.1 The La Sal Mountains tephra layer ................................................................. 44 3.3.2 Cover beds and palaeosols............................................................................. 45 3.3.3 Samples and analyses .................................................................................... 46 3.4 Results and discussion ...................................................................................... 49 3.5 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 56 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... 58 Summary information A. Supplementary data ......................................................... 58 3.6 References ........................................................................................................ 58 4 Zircon provenance of Quaternary cover beds using U-Pb dating: regional differences in the south-western USA ...................................................................... 63 4.1 Abstract .............................................................................................................. 64 4.2 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 65 4.3 Materials ............................................................................................................. 66 4.3.1 Study areas ..................................................................................................... 66 4.3.2 Stratigraphy and sampling sites ...................................................................... 68 4.3.3 Palaeolake deposits ........................................................................................ 71 4.3.4 Potential sources of detrital zircons ................................................................ 71 4.4 Methods ............................................................................................................. 75 4.4.1 End-member modelling of grainsize composition ........................................... 75 4.4.2 U-Pb dating ..................................................................................................... 75 4.4.3 Zircon dimensions and surfaces ..................................................................... 77 4.4.4 Statistical and graphical representations ........................................................ 78 4.5 Results and discussion ...................................................................................... 79 4.5.1 Aeolian contribution to cover beds .................................................................. 79 4.5.2 Zircon morphology .......................................................................................... 82 4.5.3 Age distributions of detrital zircons ................................................................. 88 4.5.4 Multidimensional scaling (MDS) ..................................................................... 94 4.6 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 98 Appendix ................................................................................................................ 102 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 102 4.7 References ....................................................................................................... 103 5 Extended summary .............................................................................................. 118 5.1 Synthesis .......................................................................................................... 118 5.2 Regional differences and similarities ................................................................ 123 5.3 Outlook ............................................................................................................. 128 6 Supplementary Information ................................................................................. 130 6.1 Supplementary material chapter ‘Capability of U-Pb dating of zircons from Quaternary tephra: Jemez Mountains, NM, and La Sal Mountains, UT, USA’........ 130 6.1.1 Raw data electron microprobe analyses of glass shards from tephra layers .131 6.1.2 Raw data U-Pb ratios and calculated ages for all samples ............................137 6.2 Supplementary material chapter 3 ‘Cover beds older than the mid-Pleistocene revolution and the provenance of their eolian components, La Sal Mountains, Utah, USA’ .............................................................................................................. 160 6.3 Supplementary material chapter 4 ................................................................... 175 6.3.1 SI1 Raw U-Pb ratios and calculated ages ......................................................175 6.3.2 SI 3 Grainsize diagrams of samples of the present study (except for PL)......266 6.3.3 SI 4 Zircon morphology data .........................................................................269 6.3.3.1 Great Basin .................................................................................................269 6.3.3.2 Colorado Plateau ........................................................................................289 7 References (excluding chapters 2, 3 and 4) ....................................................... 308 8 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 312