Restoring the source-to-sink relationships in the Paleogene foreland basins in the Central and Southern Alps (Switzerland, Italy, France): a detrital zircon study approach

This work critically reviews the Eocene–Oligocene source-to-sink systems accumulating volcanogenic sequences in the basins around the Alps. Through the years, these volcanogenic sequences have been correlated to the plutonic bodies along the Periadriatic Fault System, the main tectonic lineament running from West to East within the axis of the belt. Starting from the large amounts of data present in literature, for the first time we present an integrated 4D model on the evolution of the sediment pathways that once connected the magmatic sources to the basins. The magmatic systems started to develop during the Eocene in the Alps, supplying detritus to the Adriatic Foredeep. The progradation of volcanogenic sequences in the Northern Alpine Foreland Basin is subsequent and probably was favoured by the migration of the magmatic systems to the North and to the West. At around 30 Ma, the Northern Apennine Foredeep also was fed by large volcanogenic inputs, but the palinspastic reconstruction of the Adriatic Foredeep, together with stratigraphic and petrographic data, allows us to safely exclude the Alps as volcanogenic sources. Beyond the regional case, this review underlines the importance of a solid stratigraphic approach in the reconstruction of the source-to-sink system evolution of any basin.

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Source-To-Sink Links Between East Asia and Taiwan From Detrital Zircon Geochronology of the Oligocene Huagang Formation in the East China Sea Shelf Basin

Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems ◽

10.1029/2018gc007576 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (10) ◽

pp. 3673-3688 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wei Wang ◽

Tandis Bidgoli ◽

Xianghua Yang ◽

Jiaren Ye

Keyword(s):

East Asia ◽

East China Sea ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

East China ◽

Zircon Geochronology ◽

The East China Sea ◽

Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽

China Sea ◽

Source To Sink ◽

East China Sea Shelf

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U–Pb age and Lu–Hf signatures of detrital zircon from Palaeozoic sandstones in the Oslo Rift, Norway

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s0016756813000885 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 151 (5) ◽

pp. 816-829 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

MAGNUS KRISTOFFERSEN ◽

TOM ANDERSEN ◽

ARILD ANDRESEN

Keyword(s):

Detrital Zircon ◽

Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽

Late Carboniferous ◽

Isotopic Signatures ◽

Inductively Coupled ◽

Source To Sink ◽

Icp Ms ◽

Plasma Mass Spectrometry ◽

Isotope Analyses ◽

Multiple Episodes

AbstractU–Pb and Lu–Hf isotope analyses of detrital zircon from the latest Ordovician (Hirnantian) Langøyene Formation, the Late Silurian Ringerike Group and the Late Carboniferous Asker Group in the Oslo Rift were obtained by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Overall the U–Pb dating yielded ages within the range 2861–313 Ma. The U–Pb age and Lu–Hf isotopic signatures correspond to virtually all known events of crustal evolution in Fennoscandia, as well as synorogenic intrusions from the Norwegian Caledonides. Such temporally and geographically diverse source areas likely reflect multiple episodes of sediment recycling in Fennoscandia, and highlights the intrinsic problem of using zircon as a tracer-mineral in ‘source to sink’ sedimentary provenance studies. In addition to its mostly Fennoscandia-derived detritus, the Asker Group also have zircon grains of Late Devonian – Late Carboniferous age. Since no rocks of these ages are known in Fennoscandia, these zircons are inferred to be derived from the Variscan Orogen of central Europe.

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INTERPRETING COMPLEX DETRITAL ZIRCON SPECTRA FROM INTRACONTINENTAL FORELAND BASINS: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE ACTIVE TIAN SHAN, WESTERN CHINA

10.1130/abs/2018rm-314298 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Marius Vilkas ◽

◽

Richard V. Heermance ◽

M. Robinson Cecil

Keyword(s):

Detrital Zircon ◽

Western China ◽

Foreland Basins ◽

Tian Shan

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Neogene Source-to-Sink Relations between the Pamir and Tarim Basin: Insights from Stratigraphy, Detrital Zircon Geochronology, and Whole-Rock Geochemistry

The Journal of Geology ◽

10.1086/676478 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 122 (4) ◽

pp. 433-454 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Kai Cao ◽

Yadong Xu ◽

Guocan Wang ◽

Kexin Zhang ◽

Peter van der Beek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tarim Basin ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Zircon Geochronology ◽

Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽

Source To Sink

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Middle–Late Triassic sedimentary provenance of the southern Junggar Basin and its link with the post-orogenic tectonic evolution of Central Asia

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-96455-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jialin Wang ◽

Chaodong Wu ◽

Yue Jiao ◽

Bo Yuan

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Tectonic Evolution ◽

Sedimentary Rocks ◽

Junggar Basin ◽

Upper Triassic ◽

Late Triassic ◽

The North ◽

Sedimentary Provenance ◽

Source To Sink

AbstractDue to the unknown Triassic volcanism in the Junggar Basin, the Middle–Late Triassic sedimentary provenance in the southern Junggar Basin (SJB) has long been controversial. Detrital zircon grains from 13 samples of the Middle–Upper Triassic Xiaoquangou Group in the SJB were analyzed using zircon U–Pb geochronology to constrain the provenance of Triassic sedimentary rocks and to further understand their source-to-sink system. Comparison of detrital zircon U–Pb age distributions for 13 samples reveals that the Triassic age populations predominate in sediments of the northern Bogda Mountains, with subordinate in the southern Bogda Mountains, and no or minimal in the North Tianshan (NTS). Coupled with sandstone petrological, sedimentary geochemical and paleocurrent data, the Triassic detrital zircon grains of the Xiaoquangou Group in the SJB were probably input from the Bogda Mountains. As Pennsylvanian and Mississippian zircon grains are mainly derived from the NTS and Central Tianshan (CTS), the provenance of the Xiaoquangou Group includes the NTS, CTS and Bogda Mountains. But the different samples in different sink areas have different provenances, originating from at least four source-to-sink systems. The supply of sediments from the Bogda Mountains started in the Late Triassic, suggesting initial uplift of the Bogda Mountains.

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Morphology of Detrital Zircon as a Fingerprint to Trace Sediment Provenance: Case Study of the Yangtze Delta

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min9070438 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 438 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wei Yue ◽

Xiyuan Yue ◽

Lingmin Zhang ◽

Xianbin Liu ◽

Jian Song

Keyword(s):

Detrital Zircon ◽

Sediment Provenance ◽

The Tibetan Plateau ◽

Yangtze Delta ◽

Marginal Seas ◽

Source To Sink ◽

Regional Tectonic ◽

Yangtze Basin ◽

Zircon Morphology ◽

Provenance Evolution

Deltaic areas and marginal seas are important archives that document information on regional tectonic movement, sea level rise, river evolution, and climate change. Here, sediment samples from boreholes of the Yangtze Delta and the modern Yangtze drainage were collected. A quantitative analysis of detrital zircon morphology was used to discuss the provenance evolution of the Yangtze Delta. This research demonstrated that a dramatic change in sediment provenance occurred in the transition from the Pliocene to Quaternary. Zircon grains in the Pliocene sediments featured euhedral crystals with large elongation (>3 accounted for 13.2%) and were closely matched to tributary samples in the Lower Yangtze (>3 accounted for 11.3%), suggesting sediment provenance from the proximal river basin. However, most detrital zircon grains of the Quaternary samples exhibited lower values of elongation and increased roundness (rounded grains were 9.4%), which was similar to those found in the modern Yangtze mainstream (rounded grains were 12.5%) and the middle tributaries (rounded grains were 7.0%). The decrease in zircon elongation and improvement of its roundness in the Quaternary strata implied that the Yangtze Delta received sediments of different provenance that originated from the Middle-Upper Yangtze basin due to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Statistical analysis of detrital zircon morphology has proven useful for studying the source-to-sink of sediments.

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The Numidian sand event in the Burdigalian foreland basin system of the Rif, Morocco, in a source-to-sink perspective

Geological Society of America Bulletin ◽

10.1130/b36136.1 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Anas Abbassi ◽

Paola Cipollari ◽

M.G. Fellin ◽

M.N. Zaghloul ◽

Marcel Guillong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Detrital Zircon ◽

Foreland Basin ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Sedimentary Evolution ◽

System A ◽

Source To Sink ◽

Petrographic Analyses ◽

Sandstone Composition ◽

Subduction System ◽

Basin System

During the Tertiary evolution of the Western Mediterranean subduction system, a migrating foreland basin system developed between the Maghrebian orogenic belt and the adjacent African Craton. However, a comprehensive reconstruction of the foreland basin systems of the Rif Chain is still missing. By integrating field observations with quantitative biostratigraphic data from calcareous nannofossil assemblages, sandstone composition, and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology from selected stratigraphic successions, we reconstruct the foreland basin system that developed in the early Miocene in front of the growing Rif orogen. The successions analyzed are representative of (1) the classical “Numidian Facies” from the Intrarifian Tanger Unit and (2) the Numidian-like deposits (mixed successions) of the “Mérinides Facies” from the “Maghrebian Flysch Basin” and the “Beliounis Facies” from the Predorsalian Unit. Our petrographic analyses and detrital zircon U-Pb ages show that the quartzarenites of the “Numidian Facies” originated from the African Craton, whereas the sublitharenites and feldspathic litharenites from the Mérinides and Beliounis Facies originated from a cratonic area and the exhuming Rif Chain. Our biostratigraphic analyses suggest a simultaneous arrival of the quartz grains in the Numidian, Mérinides, and Beliounis deposits, which indicates that their deposition occurred at ∼1 m.y. (ca. 20−19 Ma, early Burdigalian) and allows us to delineate the early Burdigalian foreland basin system of the Rif Chain. The foreland depozone received the “Numidian Facies,” the foredeep-hosted ∼2000 m of the “Mérinides Facies” and the Beni Ider Flysch, whereas the wedge-top depozone was characterized by deposition of the “Beliounis Facies.” The Numidian Sandstones and the Numidian-like deposits analyzed in Morocco show the same age as similar deposits from Algeria, Tunisia, and Sicily, which suggests a comparable early Burdigalian tectono-sedimentary evolution along the southern branch of the Western Mediterranean subduction-related orogen.

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