Provenance investigation for the Cambrian–Ordovician strata from the northern margin of the western Yangtze Block: implications for locating the South China Block in Gondwana

2019 ◽  
Vol 157 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-572
Author(s):  
Liang Luo ◽  
Lianbo Zeng ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
Xiaoxia Yu ◽  
Yihang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
North India ◽  
South China Block ◽  
Yangtze Block ◽  
The South ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Cathaysia Block ◽  
Early Palaeozoic ◽  
Early Neoproterozoic

AbstractWe report new U–Pb isotopic data for detrital zircons from Cambrian–Ordovician strata on the northern margin of the western Yangtze Block, which together with published U–Pb isotopic data for coeval strata in the South China Block, provide critical constraints on the provenance of these sediments and further shed light on the early Palaeozoic position of the South China Block in the context of Gondwana. Detrital zircons in this study yield four major age peaks in the early Palaeoproterozoic, early Neoproterozoic, middle Neoproterozoic and late Neoproterozoic – early Palaeozoic. The dominant age population of 900–700 Ma matches well with magmatic ages from the nearby Panxi–Hannan Belt, which indicates that Cambrian–Ordovician sedimentary rocks in the western Yangtze Block were mainly of local derivation. However, compilations of detrital zircon ages for the Cambrian–Ordovician strata from the Cathaysia Block and the eastern Yangtze Block show that both blocks are dominated by late Mesoproterozoic- and early Neoproterozoic-aged detrital zircons, which suggests a remarkable exotic input with typical Gondwana signatures. According to the integrated detrital zircon age spectra of the Cambrian–Ordovician sedimentary rocks from the entire South China Block and palaeocurrent data, the South China Block should have been linked with North India and Western Australia within East Gondwana. Specifically, the Cathaysia Block was located adjacent to Western Australia, while the Yangtze Block was connected with North India.

Detrital zircon geochronology of pre-Cretaceous strata: tectonic implications for the Jiangnan Orogen, South China

2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (6) ◽  
pp. 975-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
JINBAO SU ◽  
SHUWEN DONG ◽  
YUEQIAO ZHANG ◽  
YONG LI ◽  
XUANHUA CHEN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
North China ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
South China Block ◽  
Yangtze Block ◽  
The South ◽  
Provenance Data ◽  
Cathaysia Block

AbstractFifteen sandstone samples taken from pre-Cretaceous strata of the Yangtze Block are analysed to constrain the evolution of the South China Block, especially the assembly between the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks. The results show that the maximum depositional age of the Neoproterozoic Lengjiaxi Group adjacent to the Cathaysia Block isc. 830 Ma, differing from that of the Kunyang and Dahongshan groups (> 960 Ma) on the southwestern margin of the Yangtze Block. The detrital zircons from Palaeozoic samples from the Yangtze Block have similar age populations to those in the Cathaysia Block, and they may originate from the Cathaysia Block according to palaeogeographic, palaeocurrent and former research data. The detrital zircons of Middle–Upper Jurassic sandstones in the southwestern and central Yangtze Block yield dominant age populations at 2.0–1.7 Ga and subordinate groups of 2.6–2.4 Ga, 0.8–0.7 Ga and 0.6–0.4 Ga. The Upper Triassic strata may be derived from the southern Yangtze and North China blocks due to the collisions between the Indosina, South China and North China blocks, whereas the Jurassic sediments may be partly derived from uplift and erosion of the Jiangnan Orogen due to an intracontinental orogeny induced by Pacific subduction towards the Eurasia Plate. The detrital age spectra and provenance data for basement in the South China Block are analysed and compared with each other. The South China Block has affinity with Australia not only in the Columbia supercontinent but also in the Rodinia supercontinent. We infer the existence of an ancient orogen under the western Jiangnan Orogen, which may have occurred during the Columbia age, earlier than the Sibao orogeny. This is supported by seismic profile proof from the SinoProbe.

Petrogenesis of Silurian ultramafic–mafic plutons in southern Jiangxi: implications for the Wuyi–Yunkai orogen, South China

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Jie Yang ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Zuozhen Han ◽  
Zuoxun Zeng ◽  
Le Wan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Lithospheric Mantle ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Jiangxi Province ◽  
South China Block ◽  
The South ◽  
Mafic Rocks ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
Early Palaeozoic ◽  
T Values

Abstract The South China Block is one of the largest continental blocks located on the East Asian continent. The early Palaeozoic Wuyi–Yunkai orogen of the South China Block (known as the Caledonian orogen in Europe) is a major orogenic belt in East Asia and represents the first episode of extensive crustal reworking since Neoproterozoic time. Although this orogen is key to deciphering the formation and evolution of the South China Block, details about the orogen remain poorly defined. The Songshutang and Wushitou ultramafic–mafic units in southern Jiangxi Province, South China, have 206Pb–238U ages of c. 437 Ma, suggesting a Silurian formation age. All the Songshutang and Wushitou ultramafic–mafic rocks show relatively flat chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns, depletions in Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf and Ti, and low ϵNd(t) values from −9.12 to −5.49 with negative zircon ϵHf(t) values from −10.84 to −2.58, resembling a typical arc magma affinity. Geochemical and isotopic data indicate that the newly identified ultramafic–mafic rocks, along with the reported Silurian mafic rocks in South China, possibly originated from the similar partial melting of an ancient subducted slab, fluid/sediment and metasomatized lithospheric mantle with varying degrees of fractional crystallization. In conjunction with other records of magmatism and metamorphism in South China, a late-orogenic extensional event led to the melting of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle in Silurian time and generated ultramafic–mafic rocks with a limited distribution along the Wuyi–Yunkai orogen and widespread late-orogenic granitic plutons in the South China Block.

Internal versus external locations of the South China Craton within Rodinia during the Cryogenian: Provenance history of the Nanhua Basin

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangyou Zhu ◽  
Huichuan Liu ◽  
Tingting Zhang ◽  
Weiyan Chen ◽  
Jianwei Xiao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mantle Plume ◽  
South China ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Yangtze Block ◽  
The South ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
South China Craton ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic ◽  
T Values

Contrasting models for internal versus external locations of the South China Craton (SCC) in the supercontinent Rodinia and associated mantle plume or ocean subduction dominated tectonic processes can be resolved by detrital zircon U-Pb dating and Lu-Hf isotopic analyses on the Cryogenian Nanhua Supergroup in the central SCC. Our results show that samples from the lower Liantuo, Tiesi’ao, and Datangpo formations of the Nanhua Supergroup show three age peaks at 2.50 Ga, 2.05 Ga, and 0.85 Ga, and those of the upper Nantuo Formation yield four peaks at 2.50 Ga, 2.05 Ga, 0.85 Ga, and 0.65 Ga. The Archean and Paleoproterozoic (1.80−2.10 Ga) zircons have εHf(t) values of −16.3 to +4.7 and −23.0 to +4.2, and may be sourced from the Kongling and Douling complexes and Paleoproterozoic intrusions in the northern Yangtze Block, respectively. Early Neoproterozoic (0.70−0.96 Ga) zircon grains show variable εHf(t) values of −20.0 to +15.0. In combination with the absence of Mesoproterozoic detrital zircons in the Nanhua Supergroup, huge volumes of Neoproterozoic granitic intrusions in the northern Yangtze Block are the potential sources for the 0.70−0.96 Ga detrital zircons. Only the siltstone of the Nantuo Formation has late Neoproterozoic (0.63−0.69 Ga) detrital zircons with high and positive εHf(t) values (+7.9 to +9.4). Several granitoid intrusions (0.63−0.68 Ga) in the Wudang and Ankang uplift of the South Qinling belt in the northern Yangtze Block provide the late Neoproterozoic detrital zircons of the Nantuo Formation. These provenance analyses of the Nanhua Supergroup indicate an interior source from the SCC, rather than an exterior source from the Laurentia and Australia cratons. The Neoproterozoic rift basins and magmatic rocks in the SCC were produced by secular episodic subductions and back-arc extensions, rather than a Neoproterozoic super-mantle plume. The SCC occupied a peripheral position adjacent to northern India in Rodinia during the Neoproterozoic. These conclusions will promote our understanding of genetic mechanism and distribution prediction of the several Cryogenian−Cambrian black-shale layers and excellent source rocks in the SCC.

Neoproterozoic Jiangnan Orogeny in southeast Guizhou, South China: evidence from U–Pb ages for detrital zircons from the Sibao Group and Xiajiang Group

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Ma ◽  
Kunguang Yang ◽  
Xuegang Li ◽  
Chuangu Dai ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
North India ◽  
Yangtze Block ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Southeastern Margin ◽  
Depositional Age

The Jiangnan Orogeny generated regional angular unconformities between the Xiajiang Group and the underlying Sibao Group in the western Jiangnan Orogen along the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Block in southeast Guizhou, South China. Laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) U–Pb zircon dating of two samples of the Motianling granitic pluton yielded U–Pb zircon ages of 826.2 ± 3.4 and 825.5 ± 6.1 Ma, with an average age of 825.6 ± 3.0 Ma, which is considered the minimum depositional age of the Sibao Group. The U–Pb ages of the youngest detrital zircon grains from the Sibao Group and the Xiajiang Group yielded average ages of 834.9 ± 3.8 and 794.6 ± 4.2 Ma, respectively. The depositional age of the Sibao Group can be constrained at 825–835 Ma, and deposition of the Xiajiang Group did not begin before ca. 800 Ma. These results suggest that the Jiangnan Orogeny, which led to the assembly of the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks, ended at 795–835 Ma on the western segment of the Jiangnan Orogen. The detrital zircon distribution spectrums of the Sibao and Xiajiang groups suggest a provenance from Neoproterozoic basement sedimentary sequences along with a mixture of local Neoproterozoic subduction-related felsic granitoids, distant plutons from the western Yangtze Block and eastern Jiangnan Orogen, and recycled materials from the interior of the Yangtze Block. By comparing the basin evolution histories and magmatic and metamorphic events along the continental margins of the Rodinia supercontinent, it is proposed that the South China Block might have been located at the periphery, adjacent to North India and East Antarctica, rather than in the interior of Rodinia in Neoproterozoic time.

Provenance of Carboniferous strata (the Meishan Group) on the northern margin of the Dabie orogenic belt and implications of oblique convergence between the North and South China blocks

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (9) ◽  
pp. 1010-1023
Author(s):  
Cheng Cheng ◽  
Shuangying Li ◽  
Xiangyang Xie ◽  
Yanlin Lu ◽  
Arthur B. Busbey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
South China Block ◽  
The South ◽  
North China Block ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
Dabie Orogenic Belt ◽  
Oblique Convergence ◽  
North And South

ABSTRACT The newly defined Carboniferous Meishan Group, along the northern margin of the Dabie orogenic belt, provides unique opportunities to document the poorly understood Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the Dabie orogenic belt and the Paleozoic convergence between the North and South China blocks. We apply sandstone petrology, geochemistry, and U-Pb detrital-zircon geochronology to constrain the provenance of the Carboniferous Meishan Group and to document its potential tectonic significance. We conclude that the Meishan Group received most sediment directly from early Paleozoic continental island arc rocks that are currently missing in the Dabie orogenic belt, with minor contributions from middle Neoproterozoic magmatic rocks of the South China Block and recycling of Archean to Proterozoic basement rocks of both the North and South China blocks. Compilation and comparison of detrital zircons and geochemistry data of the Silurian–Devonian and Carboniferous units suggests that all of them share similar source areas, but that individual contributions from each source were different. These results support the hypothesis that the Dabie orogenic belt developed a similar Paleozoic accretionary system, and shares a similar tectonic history, with the Qinling orogenic belt. These provenance patterns can be explained by a model of oblique convergence between the North and South China blocks during the Paleozoic. The South China Block was obliquely subducted beneath the North China Block with its opening to the east, forming an eastward-widening sedimentary basin. As a result, the eastern part of the basin received more sediment from the northern passive margin of the South China Block, while the western part of the basin received more material from the southern active margin of the North China Block.

Detrital zircon evidence for the linkage of the South China block with Gondwanaland in early Palaeozoic time

2012 ◽  
Vol 149 (6) ◽  
pp. 1124-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
LIANG DUAN ◽  
QING-REN MENG ◽  
GUO-LI WU ◽  
SHOU-XIAN MA ◽  
LIN LI
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
South China Block ◽  
The South ◽  
Crustal Rocks ◽  
Pan African ◽  
Continental Block ◽  
Mixed Origin ◽  
Early Palaeozoic

AbstractLA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of Lower Devonian detrital zircon samples from three representative sections in the South China block yields dominant Grenvillian and Pan-African populations, similar to the age distribution of early Palaeozoic samples from Gondwana, the Tethyan Himalaya and West Australia, in particular. Hf isotopic compositions indicate the contributions of juvenile crust at 1.6 Ga and 2.5 Ga, and bear a resemblance to their counterparts from SE Australia and West Antarctica, revealing the mixed origin of the Pan-African and Grenvillian grains from juvenile magmas and melting of pre-existing crustal rocks. These results suggest that the South China block should be considered an integral part of East Gondwana in early Palaeozoic time, rather than a discrete continental block in the Palaeo-Pacific or a fragment of Laurentia.

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