Late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic tectonic evolution of Japan based on crystal morphologies and U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from the middle Permian sedimentary succession, Maizuru Belt, Southwest Japan

Abstract

• Detrital zircon geochronology for middle Permian sandstones in Maizuru Belt. • We determined the question of Permian collisional interpretation of Japan. • Collision of island arc and Sino-Korean Block happened at middle Permian. • Tectonic evolution accompanied by collision of island arc and Sino-Korean Block. The late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic collision-related orogeny in Japan needs to be studied to understand the tectonic evolution of Japan and East Asia. Morphological analysis and U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from sandstones of the middle Permian sedimentary succession (the Mushikawa Formation), Maizuru Belt, Southwest Japan, were used to constrain the timing of the tectonic evolution during the island arc collision and their provenance characteristics. Detrital zircon age ranges from the sandstones changed stratigraphically upward. Sandstones from the lower and upper successions contained zircon grains with main age clusters of ca. 300–260 Ma and multiple age clusters of ca. 2300–1800 and 500–270 Ma, respectively. The late Paleozoic zircons are mostly long and less rounded, while those of the Precambrian to middle Paleozoic zircons are mostly short and rounded. U–Pb ages and morphological features indicate that the late Paleozoic zircons were derived from a nearby region, whereas the pre-late Paleozoic zircons were supplied from distant sources and strong hydrodynamic conditions at the time of deposition. Combining the results of this study with the geological information of East Asia revealed that the sources changed from the Southern zone of the Maizuru Belt to multiple areas, such as the Southern and Northern zones of the Maizuru Belt, Oeyama Ophiolite, Sino–Korean Block, and Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Moreover, the results of this study support that the island arc and continental margin of the Sino–Korean Block collided during the middle Permian.