Detrital zircons and sediment dispersal from the Coahuila terrane of northern Mexico into the Marathon foreland of the southern Midcontinent

AbstractNew analyses of U-Pb ages along with previously published analyses of detrital zircons from sandstones in the foreland of the Marathon orogen in west Texas have significant implications regarding provenance. The most prominent concentrations of U-Pb ages are at 1200–1000, 700–500, and 500–290 Ma. The accreted Coahuila terrane in the Marathon hinterland and nearby terranes with Gondwanan (Amazonia) affinity include Paleozoic volcanic and plutonic rocks, as well as Precambrian basement rocks. Late Paleozoic Las Delicias arc rocks have ages of 331–270 Ma. Detrital zircons from Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sandstones, which were deposited in local basins around the Coahuila terrane, provide a record of detritus available from proximal sources within Coahuila, including important peaks at 1040, 562, 422, 414, 373, and 282 Ma. Components of the detrital-zircon populations in the Marathon foreland have unique matches with primary and/or detrital sources in the Coahuila terrane. Although some components of the Marathon populations also have age matches in Laurentia (Appalachians), others do not; however, all components of the Marathon populations have potential sources in Coahuila. Analyses of εHft show generally more negative values in Amazonia than in Laurentia, and εHft values for Marathon sandstones have distributions similar to those in Amazonia. Therefore, the Coahuila terrane provides a provenance for all of the detrital-zircon ages in the Marathon foreland, requiring no mixing from other sources.

Download Full-text

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

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-16422 ◽

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

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 &#177; 4 Ma to 2827 &#177; 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 &#177; 9 Ma to 288 &#177; 5 Ma, representing the maximum depositional ages. These and literature data indicate that some previously-assumed &#8220;Carboniferous&#8221; 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 &#173;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 &#603;Hf(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 &#603;Hf(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).

Download Full-text

Detrital zircon geochronology of metasedimentary rocks in the southern Omineca Belt, Canadian Cordillera

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e91-112 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 28 (8) ◽

pp. 1254-1270 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Gerald M. Ross ◽

Randall R. Parrish

Keyword(s):

Detrital Zircon ◽

Bimodal Distribution ◽

Detrital Zircons ◽

Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽

Early Proterozoic ◽

Metasedimentary Rocks ◽

Basement Rocks ◽

Two Samples ◽

Alberta Basin ◽

Detrital Zircon Ages

We address two problems of Cordilleran geology in this study using U–Pb dating of single detrital zircon grains from metasedimentary rocks: the provenance of the Windermere Supergroup, and the age and correlation of metasedimentary rocks within the Shuswap Complex that are at high metamorphic grade. Because some of these rocks are clearly of North American affinity, the ages of zircons provide indirect constraints on the age and distribution of continental basement from which the zircons were derived.A consistent pattern emerges from ages of about 50 grains from six rocks. Nearly all samples analyzed (48–53°N) are characterized by a bimodal distribution of zircon ages of 1.65–2.16 Ga and > 2.5 Ga, with a distinct lack of ages between 2.1 and 2.5 Ga. Exceptions to this pattern are young zircons from two samples, from Valhalla and Grand Forks – Kettle complexes of southeastern British Columbia, that have grains 1435 ± 35 and 650 ± 15 Ma, respectively. These younger grains are inferred to have been derived from magmatic rocks, and they have no obvious source in either the Canadian Shield or the Alberta subsurface basement to the east. The Early Proterozoic and Archean ages of detrital zircons resemble those of dated basement rocks beneath the Alberta Basin as well as basement exposed within the Cordilleran hinterland (gneisses of Thor–Odin, Frenchman Cap, and Malton regions). However, 2.1–2.4 Ga rocks that are extensive in the subsurface of northern Alberta are not represented in the inventory of detrital zircon ages presented in this paper.This pattern suggests that much of the Cordilleran basement between these latitudes is underlain by Archean crust of the Hearne–Wyoming provinces that may be mantled to the west by an orogenic–magmatic belt of Early Proterozoic (1.7–1.9 Ga) age which may largely have been parallel to the present Cordilleran orogen.

Download Full-text

Detrital zircon geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry of Mesozoic sedimentary basins in south-central Alaska: Insights into regional sediment transport, basin development, and tectonics along the NW Cordilleran margin

Geosphere ◽

10.1130/ges02221.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 1125-1152 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Cooper R. Fasulo ◽

Kenneth D. Ridgway ◽

Jeffrey M. Trop

Keyword(s):

Detrital Zircon ◽

Lower Cretaceous ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

Upper Jurassic ◽

Detrital Zircons ◽

Hf Isotope ◽

Published Data ◽

Convergent Margin ◽

South Central ◽

Detrital Zircon Ages

Abstract The Jurassic–Cretaceous Nutzotin, Wrangell Mountains, and Wellesly basins provide an archive of subduction and collisional processes along the southern Alaska convergent margin. This study presents U-Pb ages from each of the three basins, and Hf isotope compositions of detrital zircons from the Nutzotin and Wellesly basins. U-Pb detrital zircon ages from the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous Nutzotin Mountains sequence in the Nutzotin basin have unimodal populations between 155 and 133 Ma and primarily juvenile Hf isotope compositions. Detrital zircon ages from the Wrangell Mountains basin document unimodal peak ages between 159 and 152 Ma in Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous strata and multimodal peak ages between 196 and 76 Ma for Upper Cretaceous strata. Detrital zircon ages from the Wellesly basin display multimodal peak ages between 216 and 124 Ma and juvenile to evolved Hf compositions. Detrital zircon data from the Wellesly basin are inconsistent with a previous interpretation that suggested the Wellesly and Nutzotin basins are proximal-to-distal equivalents. Our results suggest that Wellesly basin strata are more akin to the Kahiltna basin, which requires that these basins may have been offset ∼380 km along the Denali fault. Our findings from the Wrangell Mountains and Nutzotin basins are consistent with previous stratigraphic interpretations that suggest the two basins formed as a connected retroarc basin system. Integration of our data with previously published data documents a strong provenance and temporal link between depocenters along the southern Alaska convergent margin. Results of our study also have implications for the ongoing discussion concerning the polarity of subduction along the Mesozoic margin of western North America.

Download Full-text

Detrital zircon geochronology of Neoproterozoic to Permian miogeoclinal strata in British Columbia and Alberta

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e98-071 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 35 (12) ◽

pp. 1380-1401 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

George E Gehrels ◽

Gerald M Ross

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Isotopic Signature ◽

Detrital Zircons ◽

Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽

Salmon River ◽

Western Canada Sedimentary Basin ◽

Cordilleran Margin ◽

Peace River Arch ◽

Detrital Zircon Ages

U-Pb ages have been determined on 250 detrital zircon grains from Neoproterozoic through Permian miogeoclinal strata in British Columbia and Alberta. Most of the grains in these strata are >1.75 Ga and are interpreted to have been derived from nearby basement provinces (although most grains were probably cycled though one or more sedimentary units prior to final deposition). Important exceptions are Ordovician sandstones that contain grains derived from the Peace River arch, and upper Paleozoic strata with detrital zircons derived from the Franklinian orogen, Salmon River arch (northwestern U.S.A.), and (or) Grenville orogen. These provenance changes resulted in average detrital zircon ages that become progressively younger with time, and may also be reflected by previously reported shifts in the Nd isotopic signature of miogeoclinal strata. In addition to the grains that have identifiable sources, grains of ~1030, ~1053, 1750-1774, and 2344-2464 Ma are common in our samples, but igneous rocks of these ages have not been recognized in the western Canadian Shield. We speculate that unrecognized plutons of these ages may be present beneath strata of the western Canada sedimentary basin. Collectively, our data provide a record of the ages of detrital zircons that accumulated along the Canadian Cordilleran margin during much of Paleozoic time. Comparisons between this reference and the ages of detrital zircons in strata of potentially displaced outboard terranes may help reconstruct the paleogeography and accretionary history of the Cordilleran orogen.

Download Full-text

Detrital zircon geochronology and provenance of the Middle to Late Jurassic Paradox Basin and Central Colorado trough: Paleogeographic implications for southwestern Laurentia

Geosphere ◽

10.1130/ges02264.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

John I. Ejembi ◽

Sally L. Potter-McIntyre ◽

Glenn R. Sharman ◽

Tyson M. Smith ◽

Joel E. Saylor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sediment Transport ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Late Jurassic ◽

Upper Jurassic ◽

Morrison Formation ◽

Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽

Sediment Dispersal ◽

Paradox Basin ◽

Southern Oklahoma ◽

Trace Elemental

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.

Download Full-text

Detrital zircons from Late Paleozoic Ice Age sequences in Victoria Land (Antarctica): New constraints on the glaciation of southern Gondwana

Geological Society of America Bulletin ◽

10.1130/b35905.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Luca Zurli ◽

Gianluca Cornamusini ◽

Jusun Woo ◽

Giovanni Pio Liberato ◽

Seunghee Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Detrital Zircon ◽

Detrital Zircons ◽

Ice Age ◽

Late Paleozoic ◽

Lower Permian ◽

Petrographic Composition ◽

Ice Cap ◽

Victoria Land ◽

Two Samples ◽

Late Paleozoic Ice Age

The Lower Permian tillites of the Beacon Supergroup, cropping out in Victoria Land (Antarctica), record climatic history during one of the Earth’s coldest periods: the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. Reconstruction of ice-extent and paleo-flow directions, as well as geochronological and petrographic data, are poorly constrained in this sector of Gondwana. Here, we provide the first detrital zircon U-Pb age analyses of both the Metschel Tillite in southern Victoria Land and some tillites correlatable with the Lanterman Formation in northern Victoria Land to identify the source regions of these glaciogenic deposits. Six-hundred detrital zircon grains from four diamictite samples were analyzed using laser ablation−inductively coupled plasma−mass spectrometry. Geochronological and petrographic compositional data of the Metschel Tillite indicate a widespread reworking of older Devonian Beacon Supergroup sedimentary strata, with minor contribution from Cambro-Ordovician granitoids and meta-sedimentary units as well as Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks. Euhedral to subhedral Carboniferous−Devonian zircon grains match coeval magmatic units of northern Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land. This implies, in accordance with published paleo-ice directions, a provenance from the east-southeast sectors. In contrast, the two samples from northern Victoria Land tillite reflect the local basement provenance; their geochronological age and petrographic composition indicates a restricted catchment area with multiple ice centers. This shows that numerous ice centers were present in southern Gondwana during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. While northern Victoria Land hosted discrete glaciers closely linked with the northern Victoria Land-Tasmania ice cap, the west-northwestward flowing southern Victoria Land ice cap contributed most of the sediments comprising the Metschel Tillite.

Download Full-text

Detrital zircon ages from Proterozoic, Paleozoic, and Cretaceous clastic strata in southern New Mexico, U.S.A.

Rocky Mountain Geology ◽

10.24872/rmgjournal.54.1.19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 19-32

Author(s):

Jeffrey M. Amato

Keyword(s):

New Mexico ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Rocky Mountain ◽

Published Data ◽

Data Set ◽

Basement Rocks ◽

Dakota Sandstone ◽

Clastic Sedimentary ◽

Detrital Zircon Ages ◽

Combined Data

ABSTRACT U-Pb ages were obtained from detrital zircon grains from Proterozoic, Ordovician, Devonian, Pennsylvanian, and Cretaceous clastic sedimentary rocks in southern New Mexico and are compared to previously published data from Proterozoic, Cambrian, Permian, and other Cretaceous strata. This provides the first combined data set from most of the known pre-Cenozoic clastic formations in southern New Mexico, albeit in a reconnaissance fashion. Proterozoic quartzite, conglomerate, and lithic sandstone yield mostly 1.65-Ga zircon ages that were derived from the Mazatzal province, with minor 1.8–1.7-Ga zircon ages from the Yavapai province. The Cambrian–Ordovician Bliss Sandstone is dominated by Grenville-age grains and Cambrian grains inferred to be locally derived. Newly acquired ages from the Ordovician Cable Canyon Sandstone are dominated by 1.7–1.6-Ga Mazatzal province zircon grains, whereas new data from the Devonian Percha Shale indicate subequal contributions from 1.7–1.6-Ga and ~1.4-Ga sources, along with 1.8–1.7-Ga zircon ages. Both of these formations likely had mainly distal sources as the Precambrian basement in the region was largely buried by older Paleozoic strata. New data from a sandstone in the Pennsylvanian La Tuna Formation show mostly Yavapai grains and minor Paleozoic zircon grains, including Cambrian zircon grains sourced from the nearby Florida Mountains landmass postulated to have been exposed during Pennsylvanian time. The Permian ‘Abo tongue’/Robledo Mountains Formation of the Hueco Group has mostly Neoproterozoic and Grenville-age zircon grains and was derived from Ancestral Rocky Mountain uplifts that did not have a large ~1.4-Ga component. The Aptian Hell-to-Finish Formation of the Bisbee Group has mostly Yavapai-aged zircon grains in the pre-1000-Ma age group, but younger Albian- and Campanian-age sandstones have mostly Grenville-age zircon grains. New data from the Albian Beartooth Quartzite indicate syndepositional volcanic grains at 102 Ma and support correlations with the Mojado Formation rather than the younger Dakota Sandstone. Archean zircon ages are rare overall in all of the strata in southern New Mexico, but zircon grains with ages of ~2.74 Ga are most abundant. These grains could have been derived from basement rocks in the Wyoming or Superior provinces, or recycled from sediment originally derived from those sources.

Download Full-text

Permo-Carboniferous conglomerates in the Trinity Peninsula Group at View Point, Antarctic Peninsula: sedimentology, geochronology and isotope evidence for provenance and tectonic setting in Gondwana

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s001675681100080x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 149 (4) ◽

pp. 626-644 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

JOHN D. BRADSHAW ◽

ALAN P. M. VAUGHAN ◽

IAN L. MILLAR ◽

MICHAEL J. FLOWERDEW ◽

RUDOLPH A. J. TROUW ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Tectonic Setting ◽

Detrital Zircons ◽

View Point ◽

Transport Distance ◽

Clastic Sedimentary ◽

Detrital Zircon Ages ◽

The Antarctic ◽

The Trinity

AbstractField observations from the Trinity Peninsula Group at View Point on the Antarctic Peninsula indicate that thick, southward-younging and overturned clastic sedimentary rocks, comprising unusually coarse conglomeratic lenses within a succession of fine-grained sandstone–mudstone couplets, are the deposits of debris and turbidity flows on or at the foot of a submarine slope. Three detrital zircons from the sandstone–mudstone couplets date deposition at 302 ± 3 Ma, at or shortly after the Carboniferous–Permian boundary. Conglomerates predominantly consist of quartzite and granite and contain boulders exceeding 500 mm in diameter. Zircons from granitoid clasts and a silicic volcanic clast yield U–Pb ages of 466 ± 3 Ma, 373 ± 5 Ma and 487 ± 4 Ma, respectively and have corresponding average εHft values between +0.3 and +7.6. A quartzite clast, conglomerate matrix and sandstone interbedded with the conglomerate units have broadly similar detrital zircon age distributions and Hf isotope compositions. The clast and detrital zircon ages match well with sources within Patagonia; however, the age of one granite clast and the εHf characteristics of some detrital zircons point to a lesser South Africa or Ellsworth Mountain-like contribution, and the quartzite and granite-dominated composition of the conglomerates is similar to upper Palaeozoic diamictites in the Ellsworth Mountains. Unlike detrital zircons, large conglomerate clasts limit possible transport distance, and suggest sedimentation took place on or near the edge of continental crust. Comparison with other upper Palaeozoic to Mesozoic sediments in the Antarctic Peninsula and Patagonia, including detrital zircon composition and the style of deformation, suggests deposition of the Trinity Peninsula Group in an upper plate basin on an active margin, rather than a subduction-related accretionary setting, with slow extension and rifting punctuated by short periods of compression.

Download Full-text

A Tarim-South China-North India connection in the periphery of Rodinia: Constraints from provenance of middle Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks in the Altyn Tagh orogen, southeastern Tarim

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2108 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Qian Liu

Keyword(s):

South China ◽

Detrital Zircon ◽

Sedimentary Rocks ◽

Detrital Zircons ◽

Close Linkage ◽

North India ◽

Hf Isotopes ◽

Altyn Tagh ◽

Detrital Zircon Ages ◽

Rule Out

Locating Tarim during assembly and breakup of Supercontinent Rodinia remains enigmatic, with different models advocating a Tarim-Australia linkage or a location between Australia and Laurentia at the heart of unified Rodinia. In this study, zircon U-Pb dating results first revealed middle Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks in the Altyn Tagh orogen, southeastern Tarim. These sedimentary rocks were deposited between ca. 880 and 750 Ma in a rifting-related setting slightly prior to breakup of Rodinia at ca. 750 Ma. A compilation of Neoproterozoic geological records indicates that the Altyn Tagh orogen in southeastern Tarim underwent ca. 1.0-0.9 Ga collision and ca. 850-600 Ma rifting related to assembly and breakup of Rodinia, respectively. In order to place Tarim in Rodinia, available detrital zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes from Meso- to Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks in relevant Rodinia blocks are compiled. Comparable detrital zircon ages (at ca. 0.9, 1.3-1.1, and 1.7 Ga) and Hf isotopes indicate a close linkage among southeastern Tarim, Cathaysia, and North India, but rule out a North or West Australian affinity for Tarim. In addition, detrital zircons from northern Tarim exhibit a prominent age peak at ca. 830 Ma with minor spectra at ca. 1.9 and 2.5 Ga but lack Mesoproterozoic ages, which are comparable to those from northern and western Yangtze. Together with comparable geological responses to assembly and breakup of Rodinia, a new Tarim-South China-North India connection is inferred in the periphery of Rodinia.

Download Full-text