Evaluating the Provenance of Metasedimentary Rocks of the Jiangxian Group from the Zhongtiao Mountain Using Whole‐Rock Geochemistry and Detrital Zircon Hf Isotope

Abstract

Abstract:In this study, whole‐rock geochemical and Nd isotopic data, as well as detrital zircon Hf isotopes of Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks from the Jiangxian Group are presented to evaluate the characteristics of their provenance and the tectonic history. The major and trace element compositions are comparable to Post‐Archean upper continental crust (PA‐UCC), but have slight enrichment in the LILE, with the exception of Cs and Sr, and a slight depletion in ferromagnesian elements, HFS elements, such as Nb and Ta, and some major elements, such as CaO and Na2O. The geochemical data reveal that the collected metasedimentary rocks have experienced intermediate source weathering with chemical index of alteration values ranging from 72 to 78, varying degrees of K‐metasomatism, and post‐depositional loss of Na, as well as negligible sorting, and are derived from the weathering of mostly felsic and non‐mafic rocks. The selected Lu–Hf isotopic analysis on detrital zircon points to both the Trans‐North China Orogen and Eastern Block of the north China craton as the most likely sources for the metasedimentary rocks of the Jiangxian Group. However, a contribution of detritus from the Western Block of the north China craton can be ruled out. The sediments were probably deposited in a back‐arc basin within an active continental margin setting.