Provenance Analyses of Lower Cretaceous Strata in the Liupanshan Basin: From Paleocurrents Indicators, Conglomerate Clast Compositions, and Zircon U-Pb Geochronology

Abstract

The Liupanshan Basin constitutes a major portion of the northern North-South tectonic belt. The Lower Cretaceous strata in the Liupanshan Basin recorded the tectono-sedimentary evolution processes of this area and are pivotal for understanding the original sedimentary appearance of the Liupanshan Basin. In this work, we present a study of provenance and tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Liupanshan Basin during the Early Cretaceous. Integrated-paleocurrent directions, gravel clast compositions, and detrital zircon U-Pb isotopic analysis of the Lower Cretaceous Sanqiao and Heshangpu formations were applied to determine the provenance. The gravel clast compositions of Sanqiao Formation conglomerates (mainly including magmatic rocks, metamorphic rocks and limestones) display various features in different places, revealing different rock components of source areas. The paleocurrent directions of the Sanqiao and Heshangpu formations suggest that the sediments were transported from the basin margin to the center. Detrital zircons of two samples from the Huoshizhai Section (northwestern Liupanshan Basin) yield a dominant unimodal distribution from 420 to 500 Ma, suggesting a single-sourced provenance. Based on the above analyses, comparing to the magmatic records in the Qilian-Qinling orogenic belt, the detritus of the Sanqiao and Heshangpu formations were mainly from the proximal metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the Qilian-Qinling orogenic belt and the limestones of the archaic uplift. Combined with sedimentary characteristics, we concluded that the Liupanshan Basin experienced multi-stage evolution history: (1) the early rifting extension stage (Sanqiao Period), (2) the middle spanning and depression stage (Heshangpu-Early Naijiahe Period), and (3) the late extinction stage (Late Naijiahe Period). The evolution of Liupanshan Basin is closely related to that of Ordos Basin and it is further associated with tectonic transition of the northern North-South tectonic belt.