Abstract
Detrital zircon U-Pb and muscovite 40Ar/39Ar dating are useful tools for investigating sediment provenance and regional tectonic histories. However, the two types of data from same sample do not necessarily give consistent results. Here, we compare published detrital muscovite 40Ar/39Ar and zircon U-Pb ages of modern sands from the Yangtze River to reveal potential factors controlling differences in their provenance age signals. Detrital muscovite 40Ar/39Ar ages of the major tributaries and main trunk suggest that the Dadu River is a dominant sediment contributor to the lower Yangtze. However, detrital zircon data suggest that the Yalong, Dadu, and Min rivers are the most important sediment suppliers. This difference could be caused by combined effects of lower reaches dilution, laser spot location on zircons and difference in closure temperature and durability between muscovite and zircon. The bias caused by sediment laser spot targeting a core or rim of zircon and zircon reworking should be considered in provenance studies.
Highlights
Detrital zircon U-Pb dating is a much used sediment provenance tool, which is commonly used to constrain Maximum sediment depositional ages [1,2,3,4], erosion patterns of a river system [5,6,7], and orogen development of the catchment area [7,8,9]
The detrital zircon U-Pb ages of 13 samples are presented in Figures 3b and 4a
In order to reveal factors controlling the difference in age distributions between muscovite and zircon of same sample, we compared published datasets of detrital muscovite 40 Ar/39 Ar and zircon U-Pb ages of modern sands from the Yangtze River
Summary
Detrital zircon U-Pb dating is a much used sediment provenance tool, which is commonly used to constrain Maximum sediment depositional ages [1,2,3,4], erosion patterns of a river system [5,6,7], and orogen development of the catchment area [7,8,9]. The Yangtze River, as the longest river in Asia (Figure 1), is a suitable candidate for assessing factors age signals signals between between zircon zirconand andmuscovite. River belong to the Yangtze Block, containing mostly Proterozoic medium-low grade metamorphic. Block, containing mostly Proterozoic medium-low grade metamorphic and Cambrian and Ordovician and Cambrian and Ordovician carbonate rocks, and Jurassic—Quaternary terrestrial sediments [34].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
