Detrital zircon geochronology of a conglomerate in the northeastern Cape Breton Highlands: implications for the relationships between terranes in Cape Breton Island, the Canadian Appalachians

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Dong Chen ◽  
Shoufa Lin ◽  
Cees R. van Staal
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Cape Breton Island ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Early Ordovician ◽  
Cape Breton

Cape Breton Island has been interpreted as consisting of four zones of pre-Carboniferous rocks, but the relationships among them are controversial. To help resolve the controversy, we have dated detrital zircons from a conglomerate (part of the Cheticamp Lake Gneiss) in the Aspy terrane in the northeastern Cape Breton Highlands using the U–Pb method. The following ages were obtained: 462 ± 2 Ma (Middle Ordovician); ~492–488 Ma (6 ages; Early Ordovician); 552 ± 3 Ma (latest Precambrian–Early Cambrian); 620 ± 13 and 687 ± 4 Ma (Cadomian); and 809 ± 17, 1423 ± 10, 1462 ± 12, 1605 ± 14, 1644 ± 4, and 1911 ± 5 Ma (Proterozoic). The Middle Ordovician age sets a maximum age limit for deposition of the conglomerate, and supports an Ordovician–Silurian age for the Cheticamp Lake Gneiss. The Early Ordovician, latest Precambrian–Early Cambrian, and Cadomian ages match published ages from the Bras d'Or terrane (and its correlatives) and the Mira terrane (and its correlatives), and indicate provenance of the conglomerate from both terranes. They also indicate that the Bras d'Or and Mira terranes had been connected by the time of deposition of the conglomerate. The combination of the Cadomian and the Proterozoic ages is typical of parts of South America, supporting a suggestion that the Avalon Composite Terrane was derived from South America.

scholarly journals Supplemental Material: 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

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.R. Fasulo ◽  
et al.
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
South Central ◽  
Analytical Results ◽  
Cordilleran Margin

<div>Supplemental Data. (A) U-Pb analytical results from detrital zircons from the Nutzotin, Wrangell Mountains, and Wellesly basins. (B) Lu-Hf analytical results from detrital zircons from the Nutzotin and Wellesly basins. <br></div>

Assessing the rift to sag evolution of Parnaiba Basin, NE Brazil, through U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology and provenance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Irineu Cerri ◽  
Lucas Verissimo Warren ◽  
Mario Luis Assine
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Local Source ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Late Cambrian ◽  
Unit Form ◽  
Intracratonic Basins ◽  
Sedimentary Unit

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Assessing the rift to sag evolution of Parna&amp;#237;ba Basin, NE Brazil, through U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology and provenance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rodrigo I. Cerri&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;; Lucas V. Warren&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;; Mario L. Assine&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;br&gt;&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; S&amp;#227;o Paulo State University (UNESP), Institute of Geosciences and Exact Sciences, Rio Claro, Brazil.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Nowadays one of the most prolific topics in the geological sciences is the origin of intracratonic basins. Despite many Paleozoic examples in which rift systems occur under these basins, there is no consensus about how these mechanical subsidence basins influenced the origin of continental-scale intracratonic basins. Due to its inherent complexity, the understanding of this problem only comes from integrated studies based in multi-proxy analysis, placing it on the frontier of modern science. In the northeast part of Brazil, the Late-Precambrian to Early-Cambrian Jaibaras Basin is interpreted as the precursor rift of the Parna&amp;#237;ba intracratonic Basin, following a simple model of mechanical-to-thermal subsidence evolution. In order to assess the provenance patterns and maximum depositional ages (MDA) between the rift and cratonic phases of these basins, we present a novel detrital zircon U-Pb ages of rocks from the Apraz&amp;#237;vel and Ipu formations. The main goals of this approach is to identify provenance changes (or similarities) between the last rift related sedimentary unit of the Jaibaras Basin and the first intracratonic related sedimentary unit form the Parna&amp;#237;ba Basin, thus allowing to test the rift-to-sag hypothesis. The MDA for the Apraz&amp;#237;vel Formation (ca. 499 &amp;#177; 5 Ma, Furongian to Miaolingian) indicates a Late Cambrian age for the upper part of the Jaibaras Basin. The Ipu Formation records a MDA of ca. 528 &amp;#177; 11 Ma (Terreneuvian to Series 2, Early Cambrian). However, due to its stratigraphic position relative to the lower Apraz&amp;#237;vel (499 &amp;#177; 5 Ma) and upper Tiangu&amp;#225; (Early Silurian, Llandovery) formations, the depositional age of this unit is probably younger (Late-Cambrian to Early-Ordovician). Thus, the successions deposited in the end of the rift and the beginning of the sag phase are clearly separated by a regional unconformity (10 to 30 Ma). We also identify the complete absence of Cambrian zircons followed by a significant increase in Paleoproterozoic ones in the Ipu Formation. Although these units were significantly sourced by Neoproterozoic terrains (especially Ediacaran), this modification indicates an interesting change in provenance between the rift to sag basins. The detrital zircon provenance, helped by a consistent paleocurrent analysis, reveal local source areas for the Apraz&amp;#237;vel Formation and a consistent distal sedimentary transport towards NW for the Ipu Formation. This suggests that the primary sources for the first cratonic unit of Parna&amp;#237;ba Basin were located at the orogenic areas related with the Neoproterozoic Brasiliano/Pan-African Orogeny at the south/southern of Borborema Province (e.g. Rio Preto, Riacho do Pontal and Rio Grande do Norte metamorphic belts). Unlike the alluvial-related Apraz&amp;#237;vel Formation, the Ipu Formation characterizes a huge fluvial system that flowed towards NW, probably following a homoclinal ramp-like tilted and opened to the paleomargins of Gondwana.&lt;/p&gt;

Detrital zircon geochronology of the Taku terrane, southeast Alaska

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 921-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E Gehrels
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Zircon Geochronology ◽  
The West ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Tectonic Boundary ◽  
Alexander Terrane

U–Pb geochronologic studies have been conducted on 60 detrital zircon grains from Permian(?) and Triassic metasandstones of the Taku terrane in central southeast Alaska. The resulting ages are mainly in the range 349–387 Ma, with five additional grains that yield probable ages ranging from ~906 to ~2643 Ma. These ages are similar to the ages of detrital zircons in Carboniferous and older rocks of the Yukon–Tanana terrane, which lies directly east of the Taku terrane. In contrast, these ages are different from the ages of detrital zircon grains in the Alexander terrane to the west. The data are accordingly consistent with models in which the Taku terrane is a western component of the Stikine and Yukon–Tanana terranes, and that this crustal fragment is separated by a fundamental tectonic boundary from rocks of the Alexander and Wrangellia terranes to the west.

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