Late Neoproterozoic tectonic evolution of the northern Tarim block: New insights from integrated detrital zircon and rutile geochronology and trace element geochemistry

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In the Neoproterozoic era, the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent had a profound impact on different aspects of Earth; yet, the precise driving mechanism behind this event has been a source of ongoing controversy. The Tarim block, as a crucial component, presents an opportunity to gain valuable insights into the breakup process through its tectonic-sedimentary evolution history and dynamic background. However, the comprehension of basin evolution is limited due to the presence of an ambiguous prototype basin during the late Neoproterozoic and its intricate interconnections with surrounding blocks. In this contribution, we integrate detailed field observations, U-Pb dating of detrital zircon and rutile, and trace element analysis of detrital rutile to elucidate the source-to-sink relationships and the tectonic setting of Ediacaran sedimentary strata in the Aksu area (northern Tarim block, China). Detrital zircon age spectra exhibit consistent distributions with ages between ∼850 and ∼600 Ma and between ∼2100 and ∼1800 Ma. Rutile age groups however exhibit an abrupt transition between the lower member of the Sugatbrak Formation and the succeeding upper member to the Qigebrak Formation in the basin, with ages between ∼1800 and ∼900 Ma and nearly identical to those between ∼2100 and ∼1800 Ma. Calculated Zr-in-rutile temperatures and Cr-Nb compositions imply that the majority of the detrital rutiles were sourced from amphibolite facies metapelites, with an abrupt transition from amphibolitic schist to amphibolite-granulite facies for the ∼1800 Ma group grains. Provenance tracing shows that the detrital sediments of the lower Sugatbrak Formation are sourced from both the Central Tianshan and the Tarim blocks, and that the overlying strata have a single source in the Tarim block. A corresponding change from syn-rift detrital facies to a shallow-marine environment in on a passive continental margin is suggested in terms of depositional setting. In light of prior published evidence from petrology, geochronology and paleomagnetism, we propose that the Neoproterozoic northern Tarim margin was affected by a protracted subduction zone retreat. Associated back-arc spreading eventually was responsible for the opening of the southern Tianshan Ocean and rifting of the Central Tianshan block from the Tarim block in the late Ediacaran. This development ultimately prevented detrital material from the Central Tianshan block from reaching the northern Tarim depocenters as the latter evolved into a passive continental margin.