Abstract
Detrital zircon studies are providing new insights on the evolution of sedimentary basins but the role of sedimentary recycling remains largely undefined. In a broad region of northwestern North America, this contribution traces the pathway of detrital zircon sand grains from Proterozoic sandstones through Phanerozoic strata and argues for multi-stage sedimentary recycling over more than a billion years. As a test of our hypothesis, integrated palynology and detrital zircon provenance provides clear evidence for erosion of Carboniferous strata in the northern Cordillera as a sediment source for Upper Cretaceous strata. Our results help to calibrate Earth's sedimentary cycle by showing that recycling dominates sedimentary provenance for the refractory mineral zircon.
Highlights
Mature framework geology and a ~1.8 billion year detrital zircon record from the northern Cordillera of North America provide exceptional context to explore the dynamics of sediment erosion and redeposition over deep geologic time (Table 1; Figs 1 and 2)
The history of detrital zircon recycling in the northern Cordillera starts after 1.9–1.84 Ga Wopmay orogenesis, when rifting led to a passive margin along northwestern Laurentia, sometimes called the ancestral North American craton, at approximately 1.8 Ga [11]
The main reservoir of 2.0–1.8 Ga detrital zircon in the northern Cordillera is Paleoproterozoic sedimentary rocks [16] and any sediment eroded from this reservoir will provide recycled detrital zircon grains which were derived from the cratonic interior of Laurentia
Summary
Mature framework geology and a ~1.8 billion year detrital zircon record from the northern Cordillera of North America provide exceptional context to explore the dynamics of sediment erosion and redeposition over deep geologic time (Table 1; Figs 1 and 2). Temporal statistical analysis is developed for correlation of time-windows within detrital zircon age spectra in order to identify older spectral signals within younger strata and to reconstruct recycling patterns through the Phanerozoic. This approach is applied in particular detail to Upper Cretaceous strata because a second proxy for sediment provenance is available in the form of recycled pollen and spores. If two different stratigraphic units have identical detrital zircon age spectra, equivocal interpretations are that they had the same sediment sources or that one might have been eroded to source the other, but our integration of detrital palynomorph provenance allows for a clear interpretation of sedimentary recycling.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
