scholarly journals Downhill from Austin and Ely to Las Vegas: U-Pb detrital zircon suites from the Eocene–Oligocene Titus Canyon Formation and associated strata, Death Valley, California

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L. Miller ◽  
Mark E. Raftrey ◽  
Jens-Erik Lund Snee
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Sedimentary Facies ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Fluvial Systems ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Nevada ◽  
Continental Divide

ABSTRACT In a reconnaissance investigation aimed at interrogating the changing topography and paleogeography of the western United States prior to Basin and Range faulting, a preliminary study made use of U-Pb ages of detrital zircon suites from 16 samples from the Eocene–Oligocene Titus Canyon Formation, its overlying units, and correlatives near Death Valley. The Titus Canyon Formation unconformably overlies Neoproterozoic to Devonian strata in the Funeral and Grapevine Mountains of California and Nevada. Samples were collected from (1) the type area in Titus Canyon, (2) the headwaters of Monarch Canyon, and (3) unnamed Cenozoic strata exposed in a klippe of the Boundary Canyon fault in the central Funeral Mountains. Red beds and conglomerates at the base of the Titus Canyon Formation at locations 1 and 2, which contain previously reported 38–37 Ma fossils, yielded mostly Sierran batholith–age detrital zircons (defined by Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous peaks). Overlying channelized fluvial sandstones, conglomerates, and minor lacustrine shale, marl, and limestone record an abrupt change in source region around 38–36 Ma or slightly later, from more local, Sierran arc–derived sediment to extraregional sources to the north. Clasts of red radiolarian-bearing chert, dark radiolarian chert, and quartzite indicate sources in the region of the Golconda and Roberts Mountains allochthons of northern Nevada. Sandstones intercalated with conglomerate contain increasing proportions of Cenozoic zircon sourced from south-migrating, caldera-forming eruptions at the latitude of Austin and Ely in Nevada with maximum depositional ages (MDAs) ranging from 36 to 24 Ma at the top of the Titus Canyon Formation. Carbonate clasts and ash-rich horizons become more prevalent in the overlying conglomeratic Panuga Formation (which contains a previously dated 15.7 Ma ash-flow tuff). The base of the higher, ash-dominated Wahguyhe Formation yielded a MDA of 14.4 Ma. The central Funeral Mountains section exposes a different sequence of units that, based on new data, are correlative to the Titus Canyon, Panuga, and Wahguyhe Formations at locations 1 and 2. An ash-flow tuff above its (unexposed) base provided a MDA of 34 Ma, and the youngest sample yielded a MDA of 12.7 Ma. The striking differences between age-correlative sections, together with map-based evidence for channelization, indicate that the Titus Canyon Formation and overlying units likely represent fluvial channel, floodplain, and lacustrine deposits as sediments mostly bypassed the region, moving south toward the Paleogene shoreline in the Mojave Desert. The profound changes in source regions and sedimentary facies documented in the Titus Canyon Formation took place during ignimbrite flareup magmatism and a proposed eastward shift of the continental divide from the axis of the Cretaceous arc to a new divide in central Nevada in response to thermal uplift and addition of magma to the crust. This uplift initiated south-flowing fluvial systems that supplied sediments to the Titus Canyon Formation and higher units.

Preliminary detrital zircon U-Pb Geochronology of the Wasatch Formation, Powder River Basin, Wyoming

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-266
Author(s):  
Ian Anderson ◽  
David H. Malone ◽  
John Craddock
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Middle Part ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Powder River Basin ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Lower Eocene ◽  
The North ◽  
Mountain Front ◽  
Fluvial Sandstone

The lower Eocene Wasatch Formation is more than 1500 m thick in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The Wasatch is a Laramide synorgenic deposit that consists of paludal and lacustrine mudstone, fluvial sandstone, and coal. U-Pb geochronologic data on detrital zircons were gathered for a sandstone unit in the middle part of the succession. The Wasatch was collected along Interstate 90 just west of the Powder River, which is about 50 km east of the Bighorn Mountain front. The sandstone is lenticular in geometry and consists of arkosic arenite and wacke. The detrital zircon age spectrum ranged (n=99) from 1433-2957 Ma in age, and consisted of more than 95% Archean age grains, with an age peak of about 2900 Ma. Three populations of Archean ages are evident: 2886.6±10 Ma (24%), 2906.6±8.4 Ma (56%) and 2934.1±6.6 Ma (20%; all results 2 sigma). These ages are consistent with the age of Archean rocks exposed in the northern part of the range. The sparse Proterozoic grains were likely derived from the recycling of Cambrian and Carboniferous strata. These sands were transported to the Powder River Basin through the alluvial fans adjacent to the Piney Creek thrust. Drainage continued to the north through the basin and eventually into the Ancestral Missouri River and Gulf of Mexico. The provenance of the Wasatch is distinct from coeval Tatman and Willwood strata in the Bighorn and Absaroka basins, which were derived from distal source (>500 km) areas in the Sevier Highlands of Idaho and the Laramide Beartooth and Tobacco Root uplifts. Why the Bighorn Mountains shed abundant Eocene strata only to the east and not to the west remains enigmatic, and merits further study.

Detrital zircon geochronology and provenance of Devono-Mississippian strata in the northern Canadian Cordilleran miogeoclineThis article is one of a series of papers published in this Special Issue on the theme of Geochronology in honour of Tom Krogh.Northwest Territories Geoscience Office Contribution 0047. Geological Survey of Canada Contribution 20100432.

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 515-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvon Lemieux ◽  
Thomas Hadlari ◽  
Antonio Simonetti
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Upper Devonian ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Arctic Alaska ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic

U–Pb ages have been determined on detrital zircons from the Upper Devonian Imperial Formation and Upper Devonian – Lower Carboniferous Tuttle Formation of the northern Canadian Cordilleran miogeocline using laser ablation – multicollector – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry. The results provide insights into mid-Paleozoic sediment dispersal in, and paleogeography of, the northern Canadian Cordillera. The Imperial Formation yielded a wide range of detrital zircon dates; one sample yielded dominant peaks at 1130, 1660, and 1860 Ma, with smaller mid-Paleozoic (∼430 Ma), Neoproterozoic, and Archean populations. The easternmost Imperial Formation sample yielded predominantly late Neoproterozoic – Cambrian zircons between 500 and 700 Ma, with lesser Mesoproterozoic and older populations. The age spectra suggest that the samples were largely derived from an extensive region of northwestern Laurentia, including the Canadian Shield, igneous and sedimentary provinces of Canada’s Arctic Islands, and possibly the northern Yukon. The presence of late Neoproterozoic – Cambrian zircon, absent from the Laurentian magmatic record, indicate that a number of grains were likely derived from an exotic source region, possibly including Baltica, Siberia, or Arctic Alaska – Chukotka. In contrast, zircon grains from the Tuttle Formation show a well-defined middle Paleoproterozoic population with dominant relative probability peaks between 1850 and 1950 Ma. Additional populations in the Tuttle Formation are mid-Paleozoic (∼430 Ma), Mesoproterozoic (1000–1600 Ma), and earlier Paleoproterozoic and Archean ages (>2000 Ma). These data lend support to the hypothesis that the influx of sediments of northerly derivation that supplied the northern miogeocline in Late Devonian time underwent an abrupt shift to a source of predominantly Laurentian affinity by the Mississippian.

scholarly journals U–Pb Dating and Hf Isotopes Analysis of Detrital Zircons of the Shanxi Formation in the Otuokeqi Area, Northwestern Ordos Basin

Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Jiaxuan Song ◽  
Hujun Gong ◽  
Jingli Yao ◽  
Huitao Zhao ◽  
Xiaohui Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
North China ◽  
Ordos Basin ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Oscillatory Zoning ◽  
Edge Structure ◽  
Material Recycling ◽  
The North ◽  
Upper Paleozoic ◽  
The Ordos Basin

The Paleozoic strata are widely distributed in the northwest of the Ordos Basin, and the provenance attributes of the basin sediments during this period are still controversial. In this paper, the detrital zircon LA-MC-ICPMS U-Pb age test was conducted on the drilling core samples of the Shanxi Formation of the Upper Paleozoic in the Otuokeqi area of the Ordos Basin, and the provenance age and the characteristic of the Shanxi formation in the Otuokeqi area in the northwest were discussed. The cathodoluminescence image shows that the detrital zircon has a clear core-edge structure, and most of the cores have clear oscillatory zonings, which suggests that they are magmatic in origin. Zircons have no oscillatory zoning structure that shows the cause of metamorphism. The age of detrital zircon is dominated by Paleoproterozoic and can be divided into four groups, which are 2500~2300 Ma, 2100~1600 Ma, 470~400 Ma, and 360~260 Ma. The first two groups are the specific manifestations of the Precambrian Fuping Movement (2.5 billion years) and the Luliang Movement (1.8 billion years) of the North China Craton. The third and fourth groups of detrital zircons mainly come from Paleozoic magmatic rocks formed by the subduction and collision of the Siberian plate and the North China plate. The ε Hf t value of zircon ranges from -18.36 to 4.33, and the age of the second-order Hf model T DM 2 ranges from 2491 to 1175 Ma. The source rock reflecting the provenance of the sediments comes from the material recycling of the Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic in the crust, combined with the Meso-Neoproterozoic detrital zircons discovered this time, indicating that the provenance area has experienced Greenwellian orogeny.

Late Paleozoic tectonism of the Bogda region in  Chinese North Tianshan: Insights from sedimentary provenance analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Wang ◽  
Guochun Zhao ◽  
Yigui Han ◽  
Jinlong Yao
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Late Paleozoic ◽  
Provenance Analysis ◽  
The North ◽  
Tectonic Transition ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
Zircon Morphology ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages ◽  
T Values

<p>The Chinese North Tianshan (CNTS) extends E-W along the southern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and has undergone complicated accretion-collision processes in the Paleozoic. This study attempts to clarify the late Paleozoic tectonism in the region by investigating the provenance of the Late Paleozoic sedimentary successions from the Bogda Mountain in the eastern CNTS by U-Pb dating and Lu-Hf isotopic analyses of detrital zircons. Detrital zircon U-Pb ages (N=519) from seven samples range from 261 ± 4 Ma to 2827 ± 32 Ma, with the most prominent age peak at 313 Ma. There are Precambrian detrital zircon ages (~7%) ranged from 694 to 1024 Ma. The youngest age components in each sample yielded weighted mean ages ranging from 272 ± 9 Ma to 288 ± 5 Ma, representing the maximum depositional ages. These and literature data indicate that some previously-assumed “Carboniferous” strata in the Bogda area were deposited in the Early Permian, including the Qijiaojing, Julideneng, Shaleisaierke, Yangbulake, Shamaershayi, Liushugou, Qijiagou, and Aoertu formations. The low maturity of the sandstones, zircon morphology and provenance analyses indicate a proximal sedimentation probably sourced from the East ­Junggar Arc and the Harlik-Dananhu Arc in the CNTS. The minor Precambrian detrital zircons are interpreted as recycled materials from the older strata in the Harlik-Dananhu Arc. Zircon ɛ<sub>Hf</sub>(t) values have increased since ~408 Ma, probably reflecting a tectonic transition from regional compression to extension. This event might correspond to the opening of the Bogda intra-arc/back arc rift basin, possibly resulting from a slab rollback during the northward subduction of the North Tianshan Ocean. A decrease of zircon ɛ<sub>Hf</sub>(t) values at ~300 Ma was likely caused by the cessation of oceanic subduction and subsequent collision, which implies that the North Tianshan Ocean closed at the end of the Late Carboniferous. This research was financially supported by the Youth Program of Shaanxi Natural Science Foundation (2020JQ-589), the NSFC Projects (41730213, 42072264, 41902229, 41972237) and Hong Kong RGC GRF (17307918).</p>

Detrital zircons and the interpretation of palaeogeography, with the Variscan Orogeny as an example

2019 ◽  
Vol 157 (4) ◽  
pp. 690-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Franke ◽  
L.R.M. Cocks ◽  
T.H. Torsvik
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Variscan Orogeny ◽  
Plate Tectonic ◽  
The North ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Break Up ◽  
Early Palaeozoic ◽  
Original Derivation

AbstractAnalysis of the distribution of detrital zircon grains is one of the few parameters by which Precambrian palaeogeography may be interpreted. However, the break-up of Pangea and the subsequent dispersal of some of its fragments around the Indian Ocean demonstrate that zircon analysis alone may be misleading, since zircons indicate their original derivation and not their subsequent plate-tectonic pathways. Based on analysis of Precambrian–Ordovician zircon distributions, the presence of microcontinents and separating oceans in the north Gondwanan realm has been rejected in favour of an undivided pre-Variscan continental northwards extension of Africa to include Iberia, Armorica and neighbouring southern European terranes, based on analysis of Precambrian–Ordovician zircon distribution. However, contrasting views, indicating the presence of three peri-Gondwanan oceans with complete Wilson cycles, are reinforced here by a critical reappraisal of the significance of that Variscan area detrital zircon record together with a comparison of the evolution of the present-day Indian Ocean, indicating that Iberia, Armorica and other terranes were each separate from the main Gondwanan craton during the early Palaeozoic Era.

Detrital zircon geochronology of the Aycross Formation (Eocene) near Togwotee Pass, western Wind River Basin, Wyoming

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Malone ◽  
John Craddock ◽  
Kacey Garber ◽  
Jarek Trela
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Wind River Basin ◽  
The North

The Aycross Formation is the basal unit of the Absaroka Volcanic Supergroup in the southern Absaroka Range and consists of volcanic sandstone, mudstone, breccia, tuff and conglomerate. The Aycross was deposited during the waning stages of the Laramide Orogeny and the earliest phases of volcanism in the Absaroka Range. U-Pb geo-chronology using laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry LA-ICP-MS was performed on detrital zircons collected from an Aycross sandstone bed at Falls Campground east of Togwotee Pass. The detrital zircon age spectrum ranged fom ca 47 to 2856 Ma. Peak ages, as indicated by the zircon age probability density plot are ca. 51, 61, and 72 Ma. Tertiary zircons were the most numerous (n = 32), accounting for 42% of the zircon ages spectrum. Of these 19 are Eocene, and 13 are Paleocene, which are unusual ages in the Wyoming-Idaho-Montana area. Mesozoic zircons (n = 21) comprise 27% of the age spectrum and range in age from 68–126 Ma; all but one being late Cretaceous in age. No Paleozoic zircons are present. Proterozoic zircons range in age from 1196–2483 Ma, and also consist of 27% of the age spectrum. The maximum depositional age of the Aycross Formation is estimated to be 50.05 +/− 0.65 Ma based on weighted mean of the eight youngest grains. The Aycross Formation detrital zircon age spectrum is distinct from that of other 49–50 Ma rocks in northwest Wyoming, which include the Hominy Peak and Wapiti Formations and Crandall Conglomerate. The Aycross must have been derived largely from distal westerly source areas, which include the late Cretaceous and Paleocene Bitteroot Lobe of the Idaho Batholith. In contrast, the middle Eocene units further to the north must have been derived from erosion of the Archean basement-cored uplift of the Laramide Foreland in southwest Montana.

Proterozoic microcontinents in the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt (Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan): relationship with Gondwana

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey K. Khudoley ◽  
Dmitriy V. Alexeiev ◽  
S. Andrew DuFrane
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Central Asian Orogenic Belt ◽  
Significant Similarity ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
The North ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Rfbr Grant ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages

<p>Proterozoic microcontinents are widespread in the western part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, but their origin remains poorly constrained. The U-Pb dating of detrital zircons in Proterozoic rocks of the southern Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz North Tianshan elucidate depositional ages and evolution of the Precambrian basins and characterize possible links of Precambrian microcontinents in these regions with Gondwana and other cratons.</p><p>Distributions of U-Pb detrital zircon ages in 13 samples from ca 5 km thick flysch-like succession of the Talas and Malyi Karatau ranges (Ishim-Middle-Tianshan microcontinent) show significant similarity. They are characterized by a widespread occurrence of Neoproterozoic grains with peaks at ca 820-800 and 910–860 Ma, almost complete absence of Mesoproterozoic grains and distinct peaks at ca 2040–1990 and 2500–2465 Ma for Paleoproterozoic grains. Archean grains occur in small amount. Close similarity is supported by K-S test indicating that samples have the same or similar provenance, also implying rapid accumulation and similar depositional ages. Main peaks resemble those in the Tarim Craton, suggesting Tarim as likely provenance and pointing to the Gondwana affinity of the Ishim-Middle-Tianshan microcontinent.</p><p>In contrast, detrital zircon populations in 3 samples from the Neoproterozoic quartzites of the North Tianshan microcontinent are dominated by Mesoproterozoic grains ranging in age from ca 1500 to 1000 Ma and contain few Paleoproterozoic grains ca 1800-1650 Ma. Distributions of U-Pb zircon ages in all 3 samples are very similar and resemble those in the early Neoproterozoic quartzites from the Kokchetav area of northern Kazakhstan, recently reported by Kovach et al. (2017). Age peaks in these samples are very different from the ages of magmatic pulses in Gondwana and point that the North Tianshan microcontinent did not have connection with Gondwana.</p><p>The Ishim-Middle-Tianshan microcontinent was rifted out from the Gondwana in late Neoproterozoic and travelled to the north. Origin and travel paths of the North Tianshan microcontinent remain poorly constrained. Widespread occurrence of Mesoproterozoic zircons implies possible links with Baltica, North America or east Siberia, but more detailed study is required to define exact provenance. These two microcontinents welded together in the middle to late Ordovician during amalgamation of the Kazakhstan paleocontinent and were jointly incorporated in Eurasia during the late Paleozoic collisions of the Kazakhstan continent with Siberia, Baltica and Tarim.</p><p>The study was supported by RFBR grant 20-05-00252</p>

Ancestral trans−North American Bell River system recorded in late Oligocene to early Miocene sediments in the Labrador Sea and Canadian Great Plains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia I. Corradino ◽  
Alex Pullen ◽  
Andrew L. Leier ◽  
David L. Barbeau Jr. ◽  
Howie D. Scher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
North American ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Labrador Sea ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
North American Cordillera ◽  
The North

The Bell River hypothesis proposes that an ancestral, transcontinental river occupied much of northern North America during the Cenozoic Era, transporting water and sediment from the North American Cordillera to the Saglek Basin on the eastern margin of the Labrador Sea. To explore this hypothesis and reconstruct Cenozoic North American drainage patterns, we analyzed detrital zircon grains from the Oligocene−Miocene Mokami and Saglek formations of the Saglek Basin and Oligocene−Miocene fluvial conglomerates in the Great Plains of western Canada. U-Pb detrital zircon age populations in the Mokami and Saglek formations include clusters at <250 Ma, 950−1250 Ma, 1600−2000 Ma, and 2400−3200 Ma. Detrital zircons with ages of <250 Ma were derived from the North American Cordillera, supporting the transcontinental Bell River hypothesis. Oligocene−Miocene fluvial strata in western Canada contain detrital zircon age populations similar to those in the Saglek Basin and are interpreted to represent the western headwaters of the ancient Bell River drainage. Strontium-isotope ratios of marine shell fragments from the Mokami and Saglek formations yielded ages between 25.63 and 18.08 Ma. The same shells have εNd values of −10.2 to −12.0 (average = −11.2), which are consistent with values of Paleozoic strata in western North America but are more radiogenic than the modern Labrador Current, Labrador Sea Water, and North Atlantic Deep Water values (εNd ∼−12 to −25). As a freshwater source, the existence and termination of the Bell River may have been important for Labrador Sea circulation, stratification, and chemistry.

Detrital zircon records of late Paleoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic northern North China Craton drainage reorganization: Implications for supercontinent cycles

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 2135-2153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaohui Liu ◽  
Guochun Zhao ◽  
Fulai Liu ◽  
Jianrong Shi ◽  
Lei Ji
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
North China Craton ◽  
North China ◽  
Rift Zone ◽  
Fennoscandian Shield ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
The North ◽  
Khondalite Belt ◽  
Early Neoproterozoic

Abstract Statherian through Tonian strata of the Langshan–Zha’ertai–Bayan Obo–Huade rift zone (LZBH) at the northern margin of the North China Craton provide an excellent record of changes in sediment provenance related to the supercontinent dispersal and amalgamation. During the late Paleoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic, the LZBH developed over the Yinshan Block and was flanked by the Khondalite Belt to the south, the Trans–North China Orogen and Yanliao rift zone to the east, ultimately preserving a >7000-m-sequence of fluvial, marginal marine, and offshore marine sediments. In order to decipher the influence of these tectonic features on sediment delivery to the area, we evaluated 4955 U-Pb and 1616 Lu-Hf analyses from 66 samples across the entire LZBH, of which 1002 U-Pb and 271 Lu-Hf analyses from 12 samples are newly reported herein. The detrital zircon results indicate three stratigraphic intervals with internally consistent age peaks: (1) Changcheng to lower Jixian system (Statherian–lower Calymmian), (2) upper Jixian system (upper Calymmian), and (3) Qingbaikou system (Tonian). Statistical analysis of the detrital zircon results reveals two distinct changes in sediment provenance. The first transition, between the lower and upper Calymmian, reflects a provenance change from the basement of the Yinshan Block and the Khondalite Belt to a mixed signature, indicating derivation from both basement and Statherian rift-related magmatic products. Such a transition implies establishment of east–west drainage systems traversing the Paleoproterozoic Trans–North China Orogen caused by continued rifting since Statherian and pre-magmatic uplift during breakup of the North China Craton from the Columbia supercontinent. The second transition is indicated by the presence of Mesoproterozoic detrital zircons with juvenile Hf isotopic features since Tonian time and the up-section and northward increase of Mesoproterozoic detrital zircons. Their provenance is interpreted to be the Fennoscandian shield by a pancontinental drainage system related to aggregation of the Rodinia supercontinent. Thus, the detrital zircon spectra in the LZBH document the transition from initial unroofing of local uplifted basement of the Yinshan Block and Khondalite Belt to the distant Yanliao rift zone, then to the more distant Fennoscandian shield.

scholarly journals Early Triassic Conversion from Source to Sink on the Southern Margin of the North China Craton: Constraints by Detrital Zircon U-Pb Ages

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Yanpeng Wang ◽  
Wentao Yang ◽  
Shenyuan Peng ◽  
Shuaishuai Qi ◽  
Deshun Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
North China Craton ◽  
North China ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
Early Triassic ◽  
Qinling Orogenic Belt ◽  
The North ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
North Qinling

Provenance analysis of sediments provides important constraints on basin formation and orogenic processes. With the aim to define the sedimentary provenance and tectonic evolution of the southern margin of the North China Craton, this paper presents new detrital zircon U-Pb data from Early Triassic sediments in the Yiyang area. The results showed major peaks at 1848, 458, 425, and 268 Ma and subordinate peaks at ca. 2500, 872, and 957 Ma on age spectra from the Liujiagou Formation. The Heshanggou Formation exhibited a major age peak at 445 Ma and subordinate peaks at 755 and 947 Ma. Integrated with the analysis of sandstone detrital compositions, we suggest that the sources of the Liujiagou Formation were mainly a mixture of the southern margin of the North China Craton and the North Qinling Orogenic Belt, whereas the Heshanggou Formation was derived primarily from the North Qinling Orogenic Belt. Age comparisons of detrital zircon geochronology collected from different basins in the North China Craton indicated that the paleogeography of the North China Craton during the Early Triassic was strongly asymmetric, wherein the uplifted highland along the southern margin of the North China Craton was relatively lower than the northern margin. Meanwhile, the marked shift in source region from the Liujiagou to the Heshanggou formations provides a constraint regarding the conversion from denuded zone to deposited zone along the southern margin of the North China Craton in the Early Triassic, which controlled the evolution of the provenance and sedimentary system.

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