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 U-Pb Geochronology and Provenance of the Sundance Formation, Western Powder River Basin, Wyoming

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-317
Author(s):  
Joseph Syzdek ◽  
David Malone ◽  
John Craddock
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Powder River Basin ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Sediment Dispersal ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Management Area

This study uses detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology to investigate the provenance of the Jurassic Sundance Formation in the western Powder River Basin, Wyoming. Understanding the provenance of the Sundance Formation is critical as it was deposited during the transition from cratonic to synorogenic sedimentation derived from the Sevier-Laramide foreland. The Sundance in the western Powder River Basin consists of an oolitic limestone and green glauconitic sandstone at the base, green shales in the middle, and a yellow quartz arenite with coquina “oyster” beds at the top. U-Pb analyses of detrital zircons using LA-ICP-MS were conducted on two samples collected in the Bud Love Wildlife Habitat Management Area, 20 km northwest of Buffalo, WY. The two samples were taken from the upper and lower sandstone members of the Sundance Formation (n=289 concordant U-Pb zircon ages). The samples show a distinct difference in detrital zircon age spectra. The lower sandstone age spectrum ranges from 260-3172 Ma with 23% of the ages being Paleozoic, 71% being Proterozoic, and 6% being Archean. This lower stratum has detrital zircon age peaks at 343, 432, 686, 1039, 1431, 1662, 1748, 1941, 2433, and 3179 Ma. The lower sandstone shows an easterly Appalachian-Ouachita provenance, which persisted in the region beginning in the Carboniferous. In comparison to the upper strata, ages range from 157-2949 Ma and age peaks at 170, 243, 440, 545, 1082, 1467, 1681, and 1985 Ma. The maximum deposition age for the upper member is 160 Ma. Mesozoic aged grains make up 15.6% of the zircons, 14.7% were Paleozoic, 65.7% were Proterozoic, and 4% were Archean in age. The appearance of Mesozoic zircons in the upper sandstone marks the first significant appearance of westerly sourced zircons, and perhaps reflects the earliest uplift of the Sevier fold and thrust belt. Previous research has found this same signature in the Sundance but not in the underlying Triassic Chugwater Formation, resulting in a broad boundary of the change in sediment dispersal and the onset of the Sevier Orogeny between the Triassic and Jurassic. This study was conducted for a higher resolution to the provenance of the Sundance Formation and to further narrow the boundary of differing sedimentation from an eastern recycled to western synorogenic source.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Measuring the ‘Great Unconformity’ on the North China Craton using new detrital zircon age data

2016 ◽  
Vol 448 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianchen He ◽  
Ying Zhou ◽  
Pieter Vermeesch ◽  
Martin Rittner ◽  
Lanyun Miao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
North China Craton ◽  
North China ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
The North

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.

Caledonian terrane amalgamation of Svalbard: detrital zircon provenance of Mesoproterozoic to Carboniferous strata from Oscar II Land, western Spitsbergen

2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 1103-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
DETA GASSER ◽  
ARILD ANDRESEN
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
The North ◽  
Tectonic History ◽  
Icp Ms ◽  
Depositional Age ◽  
Sveconorwegian Orogen

AbstractThe tectonic origin of pre-Devonian rocks of Svalbard has long been a matter of debate. In particular, the origin and assemblage of pre-Devonian rocks of western Spitsbergen, including a blueschist-eclogite complex in Oscar II Land, are enigmatic. We present detrital zircon U–Pb LA-ICP-MS data from six Mesoproterozoic to Carboniferous samples and one U–Pb TIMS zircon age from an orthogneiss from Oscar II Land in order to discuss tectonic models for this region. Variable proportions of Palaeo- to Neoproterozoic detritus dominate the metasedimentary samples. The orthogneiss has an intrusion age of 927 ± 3 Ma. Comparison with detrital zircon age spectra from other units of similar depositional age within the North Atlantic region indicates that Oscar II Land experienced the following tectonic history: (1) the latest Mesoproterozoic sequence was part of a successor basin which originated close to the Grenvillian–Sveconorwegian orogen, and which was intruded byc. 980–920 Ma plutons; (2) the Neoproterozoic sediments were deposited in a large-scale basin which stretched along the Baltoscandian margin; (3) the eclogite-blueschist complex and the overlying Ordovician–Silurian sediments probably formed to the north of the Grampian/Taconian arc; (4) strike-slip movements assembled the western coast of Spitsbergen outside of, and prior to, the main Scandian collision; and (5) the remaining parts of Svalbard were assembled by strike-slip movements during the Devonian. Our study confirms previous models of complex Caledonian terrane amalgamation with contrasting tectonic histories for the different pre-Devonian terranes of Svalbard and particularly highlights the non-Laurentian origin of Oscar II Land.

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>

Enigmatic provenance signature of sandstone from the Okwa Group, Botswana

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-342
Author(s):  
T. Andersen ◽  
M.A. Elburg ◽  
J. Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Sedimentary Rock ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Three Samples ◽  
Isotope Distributions

Abstract Detrital zircon grains from three samples of sandstone from the Tswaane Formation of the Okwa Group of Botswana have been dated by U-Pb and analysed for Hf isotopes by multicollector LA-ICPMS. The detrital zircon age distribution pattern of the detrital zircons is dominated by a mid-Palaeoproterozoic age fraction (2 000 to 2 150 Ma) with minor late Archaean – early Palaeoproterozoic fractions. The 2 000 to 2 150 Ma zircon grains show a range of epsilon Hf from -12 to 0. The observed age and Hf isotope distributions overlap closely with those of sandstones of the Palaeoproterozoic Waterberg Group and Keis Supergroup of South Africa, but are very different from Neoproterozoic deposits in the region, and from the Takatswaane siltstone of the Okwa Group, all of which are dominated by detrital zircon grains younger than 1 950 Ma. The detrital zircon data indicate that the sources of Tswaane Formation sandstones were either Palaeoproterozoic rocks in the basement of the Kaapvaal Craton, or recycled Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary rocks similar to the Waterberg, Elim or Olifantshoek groups of South Africa. This implies a significant shift in provenance regime between the deposition of the Takatswaane and Tswaane formations. However, the detrital zircon data are also compatible with a completely different scenario in which the Tswaane Formation consists of Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary rock in tectonic rather than depositional contact with the other units of the Okwa Group.

scholarly journals Belle Fourche River-Cheyenne River Drainage Divide Area in the Wyoming Powder River Basin Analyzed by Topographic Map Interpretation Methods, USA

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Eric Clausen
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Powder River Basin ◽  
Normal Science ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
River Drainage ◽  
The North ◽  
Map Interpretation ◽  
New Research ◽  
Cheyenne River

The dearth of scientific literature in which specific erosional landform origins are determined is an example of what Thomas Kuhn considered a scientific crisis. Scientific crises arise when scientists following their discipline’s established paradigm’s rules, or doing what Kuhn calls normal science, cannot explain observed evidence. Scientific crises are resolved in one of three ways. Normal science may eventually explain the evidence and normal science returns, the unsolved problems may be identified and labeled and left for future scientists to solve, or a new paradigm may emerge with an ensuing battle over its acceptance. To succeed any new paradigm must demonstrate its ability to explain the previously unexplained evidence and also open up new research opportunities. During the 20th century’s first half regional geomorphologists abiding by their discipline’s paradigm rules unsuccessfully tried to explain origins of numerous erosional landforms, such as drainage divides and erosional escarpments. Their failures eventually caused the regional geomorphology discipline, at least that part of the discipline concerned with determining specific erosional landform origins, to almost completely disappear. A new and fundamentally different geomorphology paradigm that requires massive southeast-oriented continental ice sheet melt-water floods to have flowed across the Powder River Basin has the ability to explain specific erosional landform origins and is demonstrated here by using detailed topographic map evidence to show how large southeast-oriented floods eroded the Powder River Basin’s Belle Fourche River-Cheyenne River drainage divide segment, eroded through valleys now crossing that drainage divide segment, eroded the Powder River Basin’s Belle Fourche River valley, established Belle Fourche and Cheyenne River Powder River Basin tributary valley orientations, and eroded the north-facing Pine Ridge Escarpment. The success of this and other similar new paradigm demonstrations suggest many if not all specific erosional landform origins can be determined.

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