Detrital zircon Hf isotopic composition indicates long-distance transport of North Gondwana Cambrian–Ordovician sandstones

Abstract

Research Article| October 01, 2011 Detrital zircon Hf isotopic composition indicates long-distance transport of North Gondwana Cambrian–Ordovician sandstones Navot Morag; Navot Morag 1Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Giv'at Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dov Avigad; Dov Avigad 1Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Giv'at Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Axel Gerdes; Axel Gerdes 2Institut für Geowissenschaften, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Altenhoeferallee 1, Frankfurt am Main D-60438, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Elena Belousova; Elena Belousova 3GEMOC Key Centre, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yehudit Harlavan Yehudit Harlavan 4Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malchai-Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2011) 39 (10): 955–958. https://doi.org/10.1130/G32184.1 Article history received: 17 Feb 2011 rev-recd: 03 May 2011 accepted: 15 May 2011 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Navot Morag, Dov Avigad, Axel Gerdes, Elena Belousova, Yehudit Harlavan; Detrital zircon Hf isotopic composition indicates long-distance transport of North Gondwana Cambrian–Ordovician sandstones. Geology 2011;; 39 (10): 955–958. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G32184.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract A voluminous Cambrian–Ordovician sequence of quartz-rich sandstones was deposited in northern Gondwana following its assembly by a series of Neoproterozoic–Cambrian orogenic events. Paleocurrent markers indicate that the sediments were carried from Gondwana hinterland toward the supercontinent margins in the north (present coordinates). Derivation from Neoproterozoic terranes is evident from the ubiquity of detrital zircons with Neoproterozoic U-Pb ages, but the exact provenance of these siliciclastic deposits remains unclear. Herein we present new Hf isotopic data from U-Pb dated detrital zircons of the Cambrian–Ordovician sandstone that tops the juvenile Neoproterozoic basement of the Arabian-Nubian Shield in Israel and Jordan. It is remarkable that the detrital zircon Hf isotopic signal is in marked contrast to the Nd and Hf isotopic signature of the underlying basement. A preponderance (61%) of the Neoproterozoic-aged detrital zircons from the Cambrian–Ordovician sandstones yielded negative εHf(t) values incompatible with a juvenile source. Therefore, most of the detrital zircons were derived from distant terranes comprising pre-Neoproterozoic crust reworked during the assembly of Gondwana, rather than from the adjacent Arabian-Nubian Shield. Because our sampling sites are situated at the northern tip of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, sand must have been transported several thousand kilometers before deposition. This finding also implies that the Arabian-Nubian Shield and other Neoproterozoic orogens of northeast Africa were completely worn down by the onset of Cambrian deposition and that vast areas in the northern part of Gondwana were low lying at that time. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.