Detrital zircon geochronology of quartzite clasts in the Permian Abo Formation, Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, USA

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Malone ◽  
John Craddock ◽  
Eric Deck ◽  
Tenley Banik ◽  
Brian Hampton
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Sacramento Mountains ◽  
Central Texas ◽  
Depositional Age ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages

More than 2500 m of Paleozoic strata, ranging in age from Cambrian to Permian occur in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico, making these rocks the largest and most complete exposures of Paleozoic strata in North America. The core of the Sacramento Mountains reveals compressional structures associated with the Pennsylvanian-Permian Ancestral Rocky Mountain orogeny. The Permian Abo Formation is 120–450 m in thickness, and consists of interbedded sandstone, conglomerate, limestone and shale and rests above the Ancestral Rocky Mountain unconformity. U-Pb analysis of detrital zircons extracted from quartzite clasts in basal conglomerates reveal a maximum depositional age of their protolith to be 1110 ± 15 Ma. Most (∼40%) of the detrital zircon age spectrum is Grenville (1000–1300 Ma) in age, with a peak age of 1209 Ma. Midcontinent Granite-Rhyolite (1300–1500 Ma) ages comprise about 33% of the data, and have a peak age of 1431 Ma. Smaller age populations of Yavapai-Mazatzal (1600–1800 Ma; age peak =1676 Ma), Trans-Hudson (1800–2000 Ma; peak age = 1820 Ma), and Archean (>2.5 Ga, age peak = 2819 Ma) also are present. U-Pb detrital zircon ages from these quartzite clasts indicate that they were likely derived from the Proterozoic Lanoria Formation, which is exposed now in the Franklin Mountains >150 km to the south. The Lanoria is identical to the Abo clasts in terms of maximum depositional age and detrital zircon age peaks. The protolith sandstone of these quartzite clasts and quartzites of the Lanoria were derived from the Grenville high-lands of the Llano region of central Texas, and then transported west to the Rodinian continental margin at ∼1110 Ma, where they were eventually buried and metamorphosed to quartzite. These quartzites were subsequently uplifted and eroded during the Ancestral Rocky Mountain orogeny and transported north and west along the Pedernal Uplift to the adjacent Orogrande Basin during the early Permian.

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

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 1380-1401 ◽  
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.

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

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.

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

1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1254-1270 ◽  
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.

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):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Alaska Range ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
South Central ◽  
Cordilleran Margin ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages

Supplemental Figure S1. Normalized distribution plot of detrital zircon ages from the Kahiltna assemblage of the central Alaska Range (Hampton et al., 2010), the Wellesly basin (this study), and the Kahiltna assemblage of the northwestern Talkeetna Mountains (Hampton et al., 2010). Note that the detrital zircon age distribution of ages older than 500 Ma has 10× vertical exaggeration.

Detrital zircon geochronology and provenance of the Middle Cambrian Flathead Sandstone, Park County, Wyoming

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Malone ◽  
John Craddock ◽  
Stuart Kenderes
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
The South ◽  
Midcontinent Rift ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Middle Cambrian ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Cheyenne Belt ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Wyoming Province

We report the results of analyses of detrital zircon from the middle Cambrian Flathead Sandstone from four locations in Park County, WY. The Flathead U-Pb zircon age spectra (n=355) includes one peak at 2702–3345 Ma (95%) and two small age peaks at 1784 Ma (4%) and ∼1830 Ma (1%). Regional paleocurrent data for the Flat-head indicate sediment transport from east to west but the dominant Archean detrital zircons in our sample suite indicates a proximal source in structurally and topographically high Wyoming Province crust. The Archean ages are consistent with the >3.0 Ga fraction being derived from basement rocks present in the northern Beartooth Range and areas further to the west. The 2.8–3.0 Ga grains were derived from the Beartooth-Bighorn magmatic zone, which directly underlies and extends to the south and east of these Flathead sampling localities. The 1.7–1.8 Ga grains were derived from 100s of km to the south and east, in the Cheyenne Belt or more distal Yavapai Province rocks. This 1.7–1.8 Ga crust was uplifted along the Transcontinental Arch during late Precambrian time. The Transcontinental Arch, and perhaps the Midcontinent Rift further to the east as well, prevented easterly-sourced (i.e. Grenville) zircons from reaching the Wyoming Sauk shoreline.

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.

Detrital zircon geochronology of Ediacaran to Cambrian deep-water strata of the Franklinian basin, northern Ellesmere Island, Nunavut: implications for regional stratigraphic correlations

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 1007-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke P. Beranek ◽  
Victoria Pease ◽  
Robert A. Scott ◽  
Tonny B. Thomsen
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Ellesmere Island ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Provenance Analysis ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages

Enigmatic successions of deep-water strata referred to as the Nesmith beds and Grant Land Formation comprise the exposed base of the Franklinian passive margin sequence in northern Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. To test stratigraphic correlations with Ediacaran to Cambrian shallow-water strata of the Franklinian platform that are inferred by regional basin models, >500 detrital zircons from the Nesmith beds and Grant Land Formation were analyzed for sediment provenance analysis using laser ablation (LA–ICP–MS) and ion-microprobe (SIMS) methods. Samples of the Nesmith beds and Grant Land Formation are characterized by 1000–1300, 1600–2000, and 2500–2800 Ma detrital zircon age distributions and indicate provenance from rock assemblages of the Laurentian craton. In combination with regional stratigraphic constraints, these data support an Ediacaran to Cambrian paleodrainage model that features the Nesmith beds and Grant Land Formation as the offshore marine parts of a north- to northeast-directed depositional network. Proposed stratigraphic correlations between the Nesmith beds and Ediacaran platformal units of northern Greenland are consistent with the new detrital zircon results. Cambrian stratigraphic correlations within northern Ellesmere Island are permissive, but require further investigation because the Grant Land Formation provenance signatures agree with a third-order sedimentary system that has been homogenized by longshore current or gravity-flow processes, whereas coeval shallow-water strata yield a restricted range of detrital zircon ages and imply sources from local drainage areas or underlying rock units. The detrital zircon signatures of the Franklinian passive margin resemble those for the Cordilleran and Appalachian passive margins of Laurentia, which demonstrates the widespread recycling of North American rock assemblages after late Neoproterozoic continental rifting and breakup of supercontinent Rodinia.

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