Petrography, geochemistry and U-Pb detrital zircon dating of the clastic Phu Khat Formation in the Nakhon Thai region, Thailand: Implications for provenance and geotectonic setting

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine the provenance and tectonic setting of the Phu Khat Formation and get a better understanding of the tectonic evolution of the Nakhon Thai region using the petrography and whole-rock geochemistry integrated with the U-Pb detrital zircon dating. The sandstone of the Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary Phu Khat Formation is chiefly characterized by unsorted texture and highly unstable volcanic lithic fragments. The formation overlies unconformably on a high textural and mineral maturity of clastic sandstone of the Late Cretaceous Khao Ya Puk Formation. Geochemically, the tectonic setting discrimination (K2O/Na2O-SiO2, Al2O3/SiO2-Fe2O3+MgO, and Th-Sc-Zr/10) and the petrography indicate that the Phu Khat Formation was accumulated in a passive margin tectonic setting which is the same as the Khao Ya Puk Formation but with a different depositional environment. The plots of geochemical provenance discrimination (La/Th-Hf, Th/Sc-Zr/Sc, Eu anomaly Eu/Eu* 0.42 to 0.74) and the petrography reveal that the provenance of the Khao Ya Puk Formation is mainly recycled sedimentary rocks while the Phu Khat Formation consists primarily of recycled sedimentary rocks associated with minor felsic volcanic rocks from the old continental island arc of the uplifted either western or eastern continental terranes or both. However, the U-Pb detrital zircon dating indicates a unique provenance of the Phu Khat Formation from the terrane west of the Nakhon Thai region where the volcanic continental arc is active predominantly in the Middle to Late Triassic. The results indicate that while the Phu Khat Formation was accumulated in Nakhon Thai region, the western terrane was uplifted by reactivation of the preexisting structure probably since the Maastrichtian time to be the source area of sediments. Meanwhile, the eastern terrane (mainly Loei-Phetchabun fold belt) had not been uplifted probably until, the accumulation of the Phu Khat Formation terminated. Subsequently, the whole region began to uplift forming a high mountainous area since the Ypresian time when the Greater India collided with the Eurasia.