Mesozoic multi-direction collision tectonic evolution of the Ordos Basin, China: Insights from the detrital zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He analyses

Detrital zircon U-Pb age and Hf isotopic composition and whole-rock geochemical characteristics of the Statherian Huangqikou Formation, western margin of the North China Craton: Implications for provenance and tectonic evolution

U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes of detrital zircons from the Cretaceous succession in the southwestern Ordos Basin, Northern China: Implications for provenance and tectonic evolution

The provenance of the upper Cambrian to Upper Ordovician sedimentary rocks of Tasmania and Waratah Bay in southern Victoria provides information about the complex and dynamic tectonic environment present during their deposition. This paper uses U–Pb detrital zircon data to constrain stratigraphic comparisons and tectonic reconstructions of these rock sequences. Multivariate statistics are used to investigate the similarity between the U–Pb ages and quantify the disparity among different samples from various locations. In western and central Tasmania, the Tyennan region supplied most detrital zircons during the late Cambrian and Early Ordovician. The overlying Middle Ordovician Pioneer Sandstone records a switch in provenance with zircons derived from the Mount Read Volcanics (MRV) mixed with zircons similar to those from continental-derived Paleozoic sedimentary rocks deposited throughout east Gondwana. The Middle to Upper Ordovician Gordon Group in western and central Tasmania lacks detrital zircons younger than 1.2 Ga, which indicates a return to a local provenance from Precambrian rocks. In southern Tasmania, the switch to zircons derived from the MRV and east Gondwana-like sources occurred earlier within the Cambrian Deadmans Bay Formation, which is dominated by the east Gondwana Paleozoic zircon age signature. In the East Tasmania Terrane, Ordovician sedimentary rocks from Lefroy have detrital zircon populations dominated by Neoproterozoic and earliest Paleozoic sources similar to the Ordovician sedimentary rocks in the Lachlan Orogen. In southern Victoria, the Bear Gully Chert from Waratah Bay exhibit both Tyennan and distal Gondwana detrital sources. The switching of detrital zircon sources in the west Tasmanian sedimentary sequences implies the docking of Tasmania with mainland Australia during the Cambrian Tyennan Orogeny. The arrival of the distal zircons into these basins occurred at different times in the different areas, reflecting a complex local topography and paleogeography. Key Points Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in Tasmanian exhibit multisource detrital U–Pb age signatures that change over time, implying tectonic activity during their deposition. Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in northeastern Tasmania show Gondwana-wide detrital signatures similar to Lachlan Orogen. The Ordovician Bear Gully Chert at Waratah Bay in southern Victoria shows mixed Tasmanian and distal Gondwana detrital populations. The change in detrital zircon signature in western Tasmania suggests that VanDieland docked with the Australian continent during the Cambrian Tyennan Orogeny.

ABSTRACTThe Ordos Basin has experienced a complicated tectonic evolution since the Palaeozoic. Its multi-stage evolution was closely related to the tectonic events that occurred along plate boundaries. The detrital zircon ages and crystallization age (CA)-deposition age (DA)/cumulative proportion curves obtained from Palaeozoic-Mesozoic strata from different tectonic units in and around the western Ordos Basin demonstrate that during the early Palaeozoic, the so-called Helan Aulacogen did not develop along the western Ordos Basin, the Alxa Block was an independent unit from the North China Craton, and the southern Ordos Basin was a foreland basin of the North Qinling Orogenic Belt. During the early Palaeozoic, the western Ordos Basin and its vicinity belonged to three different tectonic units (i.e. the North China Craton, the Alxa Block, and the North Qilian Orogenic Belt). At the end of the early Palaeozoic, the Alxa Block amalgamated with the Ordos Basin. From the Silurian to the Middle Devonian, the southern Alxa Block was a foreland basin of the North Qilian Orogenic Belt and underwent regional extension during the Late Devonian. During the late Palaeozoic, the western Ordos Basin and its vicinities were located in a back-arc extensional setting of the western Qinling Orogenic Belt. The southern part of the western Ordos Basin may have been a retro-arc foreland basin of the western Qinling Orogenic Belt during the Late Triassic, and the northern part of the western Ordos Basin experienced large-scale left-lateral strike-slip at the same time. The CA-DA/cumulative proportion curves can adequately explain the evolution of the western Ordos Basin during the Palaeozoic; however, the settings indicated by the CA-DA/cumulative proportion curves in intraplate evolutions are different from those proposed in other studies, which may be due to the number and distribution of samples and rapid lateral changes in sedimentary facies.

Detrital zircon U-Pb ages of Middle–Late Permian sedimentary rocks from the southwestern margin of the North China Craton: Implications for provenance and tectonic evolution

Reply to Comment on GSA Today science article, Subduction Polarity in Ancient Arcs: A Call to Integrate Geology and Geophysics to Decipher the Mesozoic Tectonic History of the Northern Cordillera of North America, by Pavlis et al.

Stable sedimentary basins with complex evolutionary histories generally develop various epigenetic resources, such as sandstone-type uranium deposits. However, the genetic linkage between basin evolution and subsequent uranium mineralization remains unclear. Detrital zircon is a robust mineral, and its U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotopes are essential for tracing the evolution of sedimentary basins. The Ordos Basin is the largest intracontinental basin and uranium deposit region in the North China Craton. It consists of Cambrian to Ordovician marine deposits and Carboniferous to Jurassic terrestrial successions, and the origins of the terrigenous clastic sequences are dominantly influenced by the neighboring orogenic belts. This study presents new whole-rock elemental data, detrital zircon U-Pb ages, and Lu-Hf isotopes for the sandstones from the Jurassic Zhiluo Formation of the northern Ordos Basin. With data from the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the basin and the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt, this study aimed to determine sediment provenances, the evolution of the northern Ordos Basin, and the potential implications for uranium mineralization. Detrital zircons from the Zhiluo Formation are generally rounded and preserve magmatic zoning structures. Their ages display four populations, 330–245 Ma, 470–350 Ma, 2100–1650 Ma, and 2750–2200 Ma, which are consistent with the tectono-thermal events of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and the Yinshan Belt to the north, and the Alxa Block to the northwest. Both their detrital zircon ages and εHf(t) values are similar to those of the underlying sedimentary rocks. In addition, the formation has recycled carbonaceous debris, diverse clastic fragments, and Triassic fossils, and its sandstones show low index of compositional variability values (0.79–0.97) and high SiO2/Al2O3 (5.33–7.25) and Th/Sc (0.71–1.97) ratios. These lines of evidence suggest that the detritus of the Zhiluo Formation was partially derived from the underlying sedimentary strata. It should be noted that the Paleozoic to Mesozoic strata of the northern Ordos Basin also have detrital zircon age patterns and εHf(t) values similar to those of the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt, and the secular evolution of the Ordos Basin is therefore considered to have been controlled by subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean and collision between the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and the North China Craton, as well as the post-collisional crustal extension that ensued. The carbonaceous debris in the Zhiluo Formation provided a reductive environment for the subsequent crystallization of reducing minerals and uranium mineralization.

U–Pb and Hf isotope analyses of detrital zircons from Late Paleozoic sediments: Insights into interactions of the North China Craton with surrounding plates

Improvements in analytical technique and data processing lead to a large deposit of detrital zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic data in published journal articles, thesis and reports. With the support of Deep‐time Digital Earth Big Science Program, OneSediment Project conducted a team‐working effort to assemble the detrital zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic data for mainland China and adjacent regions. Entity‐relationship diagram was constructed for detrital zircon data to determine what information need to be collected. Researchers and students from 13 institutions were organized together to fulfil this task and generated 13 detrital zircon datasets. The assembled datasets totally include 6635 samples and 560,596 analyses. The samples were checked in terms of lithology and stratigraphy according to the latest stratigraphic framework. Collected detrital zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic data were recalculated for the best U–Pb age and εHf(t) values. They can be used to track crustal growth, tectonic evolution, provenance analysis and palaeogeographical change in regional and, when combined with other dataset, global scales.

This thesis aims to unravel the origin and tectonic evolution of fore-arc basement terranes in Zealandia. The study is focussed on Permian to Lower Cretaceous volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks from several terranes in New Zealand and New Caledonia. The results provide new constraints on the timing, provenance, palaeogeography, and tectonic setting of the sedimentary basins, as well as establishing the cyclic nature of arc magmatism in Zealandia. Ultimately, the thesis provides insights into geodynamic processes associated with basin formation and arc magmatism along the eastern Gondwanan margin.The origin of basement terranes in New Caledonia (Teremba, Koh-Central, and Boghen terranes) is constrained by g2000 new concordant U/Pb ages and trace-element data from detrital zircons. Results show abundant pre-Mesozoic zircon ages, but a lack of early Permian to Middle Triassic ages. The results indicate that detritus was derived from a local Paleozoic continental fragment that was rifted from the Gondwanan margin prior to the initiation of Permo-Triassic magmatism in eastern Australia. This implies that the dispersal of the eastern Gondwanan margins might have started already in the early Permian, much earlier than previously thought.The Brook Street Terrane in South Island, New Zealand, was investigated by geological mapping in the Takitimu Mountains and UnPb zircon petrochronology. Results suggest that this terrane was an oceanic arc during the early Permian, possibly during a phase of trench retreat and back-arc extension. New constraints on the timing of hypabyssal intrusive rocks (White Hill Intrusive Suite; 288.6 p 6.0 Ma) coincide with the inferred biostratigraphic age of the Takitimu Group (290.1n272.3 Ma), and is substantially older than the age of the Longwood Suite magmatism (261n252 Ma) in the nearby Median Batholith. The White Hill Intrusive Suite, therefore, is spatially and temporally linked to the allochthonous Brook Street Terrane, which was amalgamated to the Gondwanan margin between 288 Ma and 261 Ma. Detrital zircon age spectra from the upper Permian to Middle Jurassic volcaniclastic successions match magmatic pulses in the adjacent Tuhua Intrusives, indicating that following terrane amalgamation, the Brook Street Terrane became a fore-arc basin.Detrital zircon data from the Murihiku Terrane, Dun Mountain-Maitai Terrane, and Kaka Point Structural Belt, show age spectra that match magmatic pulses in the adjacent Tuhua Intrusives (Median Batholith). Based on the cross-terrane and localized provenance links, we suggest that the Brook Street, Murihiku and Dun Mountain-Maitai terranes represent the proximal and distal parts of the same fore-arc basin along the Gondwanan margin. In the Murihiku Terrane, a change in the provenance of the detrital zircon, at 235n230 Ma, is indicated by a prominent change in the trace-element compositions (Th/U, Zr/Hf, U/Yb, Eu/Eu*, and zircon crystallization temperature). This change was coeval with the transition from the Longwood to Darran Suite magmatism in the Median Batholith. During this short period, at 235n230 Ma, magmatism, deformation, and uplift of basement rocks affected New Caledonia and eastern Australia (Hunter-Bowen Orogeny), thus suggesting that the Gondwanide Orogen was subjected to a large-scale secular change associated with a plate reorganization event.The cyclic nature of arc magmatism in Zealandia was investigated by combining detrital zircon geochronology with trace-element and new Hf isotope data. Zircon grains dated 360n160 Ma from New Zealand have a juvenile Hf isotope signature with temporal variations that suggest a geodynamic link to eastern Australia. During the Late Permian to Middle Triassic Gondwanide Orogeny, foreland basins were developed along the Gondwanan margin, and the oceanic Teremba Terrane arc (New Caledonia) was accreted. This arc accretion is reflected in a mix of juvenile and evolved Hf isotope signatures in 245n185 Ma zircon grains from New Caledonia.Based on the findings of this thesis, it is concluded that the evidence for proximal Zealandia sources for fore-arc basement terranes in Zealandia do not support (1) models that have invoked more distant or exotic sources, and (2) periods of margin-parallel tectonic transport to their present New Zealand position. Detrital zircons contain a reliable record of geodynamic processes occurring within the Zealandia continent, and are generally compatible with geodynamic processes record in east Australia. The demonstrated links between detrital zircon geochemistry and various geodynamic processes highlight its potential as an important tool in understanding the evolution of accretionary orogenic belts.n

More than 1800 detrital zircon uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages collected from Franklinian Basin sedimentary strata of the Canadian Arctic Islands provide important insights into the depositional and tectonic evolution of the northern margin of Laurentia from the late Neoproterozoic to the Late Devonian. The Franklinian Basin succession is composed of strata with three distinctly different U-Pb age provenance signatures, which have implications for the tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of the entire Arctic region. Neoproterozoic and Lower Cambrian formations contain detrital zircon populations of 1750–1950 Ma and 2650–2800 Ma, which are consistent with derivation from Archean to Paleoproterozoic gneisses and granites of the west Greenland–northeast Canadian Shield. The Lower Silurian to Lower Devonian Danish River Formation contains a dominant population of 900–2150 Ma detrital zircons with scattered Archean ages. The 900–2150 Ma zircons were likely transported axially along the foreland basin of the East Greenland Caledonides (Caledonian orogen) and deposited in a deep-water basin between the Pearya terrane and northern Laurentian margin. Middle Devonian to Upper Devonian strata contain detrital zircon populations of 900–2150 Ma, similar to the Danish River Formation, but these units also contain 370–450 Ma and 500–700 Ma detrital zircons. The 900–2150 Ma zircons were likely derived from the East Greenland Caledonian Mountains, the uplifted foreland of the East Greenland Caledonides, and the Pearya terrane. The population of 370–450 Ma detrital zircons potentially comes from uplifting granites in the Caledonian Mountains and Pearya terrane. The 500–700 Ma detrital zircons were likely derived from the continental landmass responsible for the Ellesmerian orogen. The 500–700 Ma age of the zircons suggests that the northern landmass likely had a connection to rocks of the Timanide orogens, located in the Timan Range of northwestern Russia. A dominant population of 365–450 Ma and 500–700 Ma ages in Upper Devonian strata suggests that the Pearya terrane and the northern continental landmass became the dominant source by the end of Franklinian Basin sedimentation. Because detrital zircons are often recycled from older strata into younger deposits, these data provide the basis for understanding the sedimentary provenance of younger units of the Sverdrup Basin and sedimentary wedges along the present Arctic continental margin.

Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotopes of the Liaohe Group, Jiao-Liao-Ji Belt: Implications for the Paleoproterozoic tectonic evolution

Source‐to‐sink analysis examines the effects of source areas and basin (sink) dynamics on the generation, transport, composition, distribution and deposition of sediment in modern and ancient sedimentary systems. Detrital zircon, as one of the most stable detrital minerals, its U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry is pivotal for sedimentary provenance analysis and reconstructing palaeogeography. The South China Sea (SCS), as the largest marginal sea in the Southeast Asia, is closely related to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the evolution of Chinese rivers. In this study, we mainly collect published detrital zircon of Cenozoic sediments in the SCS (include Hainan and Taiwan Islands). These detrital zircon were concentrated on Cenozoic multiple episodic rift basins in the northern part of the SCS. A total of 21,760 detrital zircon U–Pb data from 293 samples and 995 detrital zircon Lu‐Hf isotope data from 22 samples were collected in this dataset, with the main study epochs being the Palaeogene and Neogene. Best ages of these grains are range from 4,691 to 10 Ma and more than half of them within age less than 500 Ma. The 176Hf/177Hf ratios of the SCS samples ranging from 0.280509 to 0.28306 and the εHf(t) values from −63.8 to 24.6. The main age group of the SCS Cenozoic sediments were at 130–95 Ma, 175–130 Ma and 265–230 Ma. The detrital zircon U–Pb age and Lu–Hf isotope data contained in this dataset is an important geological record of the sedimentary and tectonic evolution of the SCS and the evolution of rivers such as the ancient Pearl River and the ancient Red River, which can provide a basis and important clues or exploring the source of sediments in the SCS, the dynamical processes of basin evolution, the evolution of the coastal drainage system and the tectonic uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.

Latest Mesoproterozoic provenance shift in the southwestern Yangtze Block, South China: Insights into tectonic evolution in the context of the supercontinent cycle

Limited Devonian magmatic record in northern West Junggar leads to contrasting models on its tectonic evolution. In this study, we conducted LA‐ICP‐MS U‐Pb dating on detrital zircons of two sandstones from the Hebukesaier Formation in the Shaerbuerti Mountains. Detrital zircons with oscillatory zoning are characterized by high Th/U (> 0.3) and low La/Yb (< 0.15), indicating their magmatic origin. The youngest zircon ages of two samples are 402 ± 2 Ma and 406 ± 2 Ma, respectively, suggesting that the Hebukesaier Formation was deposited at the Early Devonian. Detrital zircon age patterns show single peaks (at ca. 424 Ma, n = 157), which indicates that these clastics were likely proximal accumulation after short distance transportation. Provenance of the Hebukesaier Formation was the Xiemisitai and Shaerbuerti Mountains. Detrital zircon ages range from 481 Ma to 395 Ma, which indicates that there was relatively continuous Early Paleozoic magmatism in the Xiemisitai and Shaerbuerti Mountains since the Early Ordovician. Age spectrums of sampled detrital zircons are distinct from those of Lower Devonian strata either in southern West Junggar or in East Junggar, which implies for individual tectonic evolution of northern West Junggar. We favor that Lower Devonian Hebukesaier Formation was developed in a fore–arc setting due to the northward subduction of the Junggar–Balkhash Ocean.