Detrital zircon provenance of the eastern Gulf of Mexico subsurface: Constraints on Late Jurassic paleogeography and sediment dispersal of North America

Middle to Upper Jurassic strata in the Paradox Basin and Central Colorado trough (CCT; southwestern United States) record a pronounced change in sediment dispersal from dominantly aeolian deposition with an Appalachian source (Entrada Sandstone) to dominantly fluvial deposition with a source in the Mogollon and/or Sevier orogenic highlands (Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation). An enigmatic abundance of Cambrian (ca. 527–519 Ma) grains at this provenance transition in the CCT at Escalante Canyon, Colorado, was recently suggested to reflect a local sediment source from the Ancestral Front Range, despite previous interpretations that local basement uplifts were largely buried by Middle to Late Jurassic time. This study aims to delineate spatial and temporal patterns in provenance of these Jurassic sandstones containing Cambrian grains within the Paradox Basin and CCT using sandstone petrography, detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology, and detrital zircon trace elemental and rare-earth elemental (REE) geochemistry. We report 7887 new U-Pb detrital zircon analyses from 31 sandstone samples collected within seven transects in western Colorado and eastern Utah. Three clusters of zircon ages are consistently present (1.53–1.3 Ga, 1.3–0.9 Ga, and 500–300 Ma) that are interpreted to reflect sources associated with the Appalachian orogen in southeastern Laurentia (mid-continent, Grenville, Appalachian, and peri-Gondwanan terranes). Ca. 540–500 Ma zircon grains are anomalously abundant locally in the uppermost Entrada Sandstone and Wanakah Formation but are either lacking or present in small fractions in the overlying Salt Wash and Tidwell Members of the Morrison Formation. A comparison of zircon REE geochemistry between Cambrian detrital zircon and igneous zircon from potential sources shows that these 540–500 Ma detrital zircon are primarily magmatic. Although variability in both detrital and igneous REE concentrations precludes definitive identification of provenance, several considerations suggest that distal sources from the Cambrian granitic and rhyolitic provinces of the Southern Oklahoma aulacogen is also likely, in addition to a proximal source identified in the McClure Mountain syenite of the Wet Mountains, Colorado. The abundance of Cambrian grains in samples from the central CCT, particularly in the Entrada Sandstone and Wanakah Formation, suggests northwesterly sediment transport within the CCT, with sediment sourced from Ancestral Rocky Mountains uplifts of the southern Wet Mountains and/or Amarillo-Wichita Mountains in southwestern Oklahoma. The lack of Cambrian grains within the Paradox Basin suggests that the Uncompahgre uplift (southwestern Colorado) acted as a barrier to sediment transport from the CCT.

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Provenance of Syn-rift Clastics in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico: Insight from U-Pb Detrital Zircon Geochronology and Thin Sections

10.33915/etd.6951 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Kory Stuart Wiley

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Zircon Geochronology ◽

Thin Sections ◽

Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽

Eastern Gulf Of Mexico

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A crucial geologic test of Late Jurassic exotic collision versus endemic re-accretion in the Klamath Mountains Province, western United States, with implications for the assembly of western North America

Geological Society of America Bulletin ◽

10.1130/b35981.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Todd A. LaMaskin ◽

Jonathan A. Rivas ◽

David L. Barbeau ◽

Joshua J. Schwartz ◽

John A. Russell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Sierra Nevada ◽

Continental Margin ◽

North American ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Late Jurassic ◽

North American Plate ◽

Klamath Mountains ◽

Clastic Rocks ◽

Plate Margin

Differing interpretations of geophysical and geologic data have led to debate regarding continent-scale plate configuration, subduction polarity, and timing of collisional events on the western North American plate margin in pre–mid-Cretaceous time. One set of models involves collision and accretion of far-traveled “exotic” terranes against the continental margin along a west-dipping subduction zone, whereas a second set of models involves long-lived, east-dipping subduction under the continental margin and a fringing or “endemic” origin for many Mesozoic terranes on the western North American plate margin. Here, we present new detrital zircon U-Pb ages from clastic rocks of the Rattlesnake Creek and Western Klamath terranes in the Klamath Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon that provide a test of these contrasting models. Our data show that portions of the Rattlesnake Creek terrane cover sequence (Salt Creek assemblage) are no older than ca. 170–161 Ma (Middle–early Late Jurassic) and contain 62–83% Precambrian detrital zircon grains. Turbidite sandstone samples of the Galice Formation are no older than ca. 158–153 Ma (middle Late Jurassic) and contain 15–55% Precambrian detrital zircon grains. Based on a comparison of our data to published magmatic and detrital ages representing provenance scenarios predicted by the exotic and endemic models (a crucial geologic test), we show that our samples were likely sourced from the previously accreted, older terranes of the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada, as well as active-arc sources, with some degree of contribution from recycled sources in the continental interior. Our observations are inconsistent with paleogeographic reconstructions that are based on exotic, intra-oceanic arcs formed far offshore of North America. In contrast, the incorporation of recycled detritus from older terranes of the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada, as well as North America, into the Rattlesnake Creek and Western Klamath terranes prior to Late Jurassic deformation adds substantial support to endemic models. Our results suggest that during long-lived, east-dipping subduction, the opening and subsequent closing of the marginal Galice/Josephine basin occurred as a result of in situ extension and subsequent contraction. Our results show that tectonic models invoking exotic, intra-oceanic archipelagos composed of Cordilleran arc terranes fail a crucial geologic test of the terranes’ proposed exotic origin and support the occurrence of east-dipping, pre–mid-Cretaceous subduction beneath the North American continental margin.

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Crustal structure of an extinct, late Jurassic-to-earliest Cretaceous spreading center and its adjacent oceanic crust in the eastern Gulf of Mexico

Marine Geophysical Research ◽

10.1007/s11001-019-09379-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 395-418 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Pin Lin ◽

Dale E. Bird ◽

Paul Mann

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Oceanic Crust ◽

Crustal Structure ◽

Late Jurassic ◽

Spreading Center ◽

Eastern Gulf Of Mexico

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DETRITAL ZIRCON U-PB DATA REVEAL A MISSISSIPPIAN SEDIMENT DISPERSAL NETWORK ORIGINATING IN THE APPALACHIAN OROGEN, TRAVERSING NORTH AMERICA ALONG ITS SOUTHERN SHELF, AND REACHING AS FAR AS THE SOUTHWEST USA

10.1130/abs/2019am-337425 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Alan D. Chapman ◽

◽

Andrew K. Laskowski

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Sediment Dispersal ◽

Appalachian Orogen ◽

Southwest Usa

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Detrital zircon U-Pb data reveal a Mississippian sediment dispersal network originating in the Appalachian orogen, traversing North America along its southern shelf, and reaching as far as the southwest United States

Lithosphere ◽

10.1130/l1068.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 581-587 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Alan D. Chapman ◽

Andrew K. Laskowski

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

North America ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Structural Data ◽

Trade Wind ◽

Long Distance ◽

Sediment Dispersal ◽

Sediment Routing ◽

Appalachian Orogen ◽

Peace River Arch

AbstractRecent detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology reveals an increasing proportion of Grenville-age (ca. 0.95–1.3 Ga) and ca. 300–480 Ma grains in late Paleozoic strata of the SW United States. These grain populations are interpreted to have been sourced from the Appalachian orogen, though the precise timing, transport mechanisms, and pathway(s) of sediment dispersal remain unclear. We combine 35,796 published detrital zircon U-Pb ages from Ordovician to Pennsylvanian strata of southern Canada, northern Mexico, and the U.S. with new data (1,628 ages) from Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and South Dakota. These data are integrated with sedimentary structural data and paleogeographic reconstructions to reveal temporal and spatial patterns of the sediment routing system at continent scale. In Ordovician time, North America was partitioned into western, central, and eastern domains in which strata were derived primarily from the Peace River Arch, the Superior Craton, and the Appalachians, respectively. Silurian–Devonian time saw limited integration of these domains, corresponding with the delivery of Appalachian-derived detritus to the Midcontinent via prograding deltas and westward-flowing rivers. Appalachian detritus flowed westward in Mississippian time, accumulating in the Appalachian foreland and continuing westward through Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, and California along the continental shelf. Given that North America was at equatorial latitudes and was inundated by the Kaskaskia sea at this time, westward dispersal likely occurred by trade wind–driven longshore drift, waves, tides, and marine currents, with the possible added contribution of hurricanes. Modern analogs for the southern margin of North America during Mississippian time (e.g., the Great Barrier Reef and the east coast of South America) indicate that long-distance (>1000 km) shelf-parallel sediment transport is readily accomplished through fair-weather processes and extreme events. Finally, Appalachian-derived detritus became widespread throughout North America following regression of the Kaskaskia sea in Pennsylvanian time, likely via fluvial, deltaic, and aeolian processes.

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