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Cenozoic uplift in the Tianshan played an important role in driving Proto‐Paratethys Sea retreat and Asian aridification. However, most paleoclimate studies have focused on the Pamir‐Tianshan corridor, and frequently overlook the role of the entire Tianshan range in modifying the Central Asian climate during Cenozoic uplift. When and how Cenozoic deformation of Tianshan was initiated and propagated are intensively debated which makes its role in contributing to climate change in Central Asia more ambiguous. To address this issue, this study presents new detrital zircon U‐Pb and detrital apatite U‐Pb and fission track age data from Cenozoic sedimentary successions (54–0 Ma) in the northern margin of the Tarim Basin and integrates these data with published provenance data from adjacent regions. Our results show that deformation/uplift of the Baicheng‐Kuqa Depression and the South Tianshan occurred at ∼41–37 Ma and ∼24 Ma, when topographic growth of South Tianshan began to block the flow of sediment from the north. Continued uplift of the South Tianshan completely blocked fluvial transport from the Central Tianshan‐Yili Block by ∼10 Ma, as shown by the paucity of 380–310 Ma detrital zircons/apatites. Far‐field, north‐directed compressive stress resulting from the India‐Asia collision began to propagate toward the South Tianshan and its foreland during the Late Eocene, and continued to propagate into the South Tianshan and northward at the ∼24 Ma and 10 Ma. Finally, we suggest a two‐stage of aridification in the Tarim Basin which can be linked to two stages (∼24 and 10 Ma) of growth of the Tianshan. Plain Language Summary: The Tarim Basin and the Taklimakan Desert are located in Central Asia, between the Tibetan Plateau to the south and the Tianshan orogenic belt to the north. This region is a crucial area for exploring the primary drivers of Cenozoic desertification. We performed a systematic zircon and apatite provenance study (including detrital apatite and zircon U‐Pb dating, and detrital apatite fission track analysis) in Cenozoic strata from the northern margin of the Tarim Basin. Our results reveal pulsed deformation of the South Tianshan that initiated at ∼41–37 Ma with two subsequent pulses at ∼24 Ma and ∼10 Ma, the timing of which suggests a close link to the two‐step aridification (∼24 and 10 Ma) of the Tarim Basin. We suggest that the pulsed Cenozoic rise and growth of the South Tianshan played a crucial role in blocking westerly winds, restricting moisture from reaching the Tarim Basin, and driving Cenozoic aridification of the Tarim Basin. Key Points: Initiation of the Cenozoic uplift of the South Tianshan occurred in the Late EoceneFurther uplift of the South Tianshan completely blocked fluvial transport from the north by ∼10 MaPulsed growth of Tianshan play a dominant role in the two‐step aridification of the Tarim Basin [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are still open questions about the deep structure beneath the Western Alps. Seismic velocity tomographies show the European slab subducting beneath the Adria plate, but all these images did not clarify completely the possible presence of tears, slab windows, or detachments. Seismic anisotropy, considered an indicator of mantle deformation and studied using data recorded by dense networks, allows a better understanding of mantle flows in terms of location and orientation at depth. Using the large amount of shear wave-splitting and splitting-intensity measurements available in the Western Alps, collected through the CIFALPS2 temporary seismic network, together with already available data, some new patterns can be highlighted, and gaps left by previous studies can be filled. Instead of the typical seismic anisotropy pattern parallel to the entire arc of the Western Alps, this study supports the presence of a differential contribution along the belt that is only partly related to the European slab steepening. A nearly north–south anisotropy pattern beneath the external Western Alps, a direction that cuts the morphological features of the belt, is clearly found with the new CIFALPS2 measurements. It is, however, confirmed that the asthenospheric flow from central France towards the Tyrrhenian Sea is turning around the southern tip of the European slab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of tectonics, volcanism and climate in controlling temporal and spatial variations in rift‐basin sedimentation is still poorly understood. Here, we tackle this issue by the analysis of mid‐Cretaceous sediments deposited in the Songliao Basin, northeastern China. We present new zircon U–Pb, apatite fission‐track and trace‐element data from the northeastern basin, which are discussed within the framework of the published geochronology dataset. Our results reveal a major provenance change from syn‐rift tectonic extension to post‐rift thermal subsidence at ~103 Ma. During the syn‐rift stage, the detrital inputs were dominantly from transverse rivers sourced from the surrounding mountains including graben shoulders and volcanoes. During the post‐rift stage and coeval thermal subsidence, the basin sedimentation was controlled by coexisting transverse and axial drainage systems sourced from uplifting regions in the south. We conclude that tectonics, not climate, exerted a major control in sediment provenance change in the mid‐Cretaceous Songliao Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]