U–Pb Age and Hf Isotope Geochemistry of Detrital Zircons from Cambrian Sandstones of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago and Northern Taimyr (Russian High Arctic)

Victoria B Ershova,Andrei V Prokopiev,Andrey K Khudoley,Tom Andersen,Kåre Kullerud,Daniil A Kolchanov

doi:10.3390/min10010036

Victoria B Ershova, Andrei V Prokopiev + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/min10010036

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Abstract

U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotope analyses of detrital zircons collected from metasedimentary rocks from the southern part of Kara Terrane (northern Taimyr and Severnaya Zemlya archipelago) provide vital information about the paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the Russian High Arctic. The detrital zircon signatures of the seven dated samples are very similar, suggesting a common provenance for the clastic detritus. The majority of the dated grains belong to the late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian ages, which suggests the maximum depositional age of the enclosing sedimentary units to be Cambrian. The εHf(t) values indicate that juvenile magma mixed with evolved continental crust and the zircons crystallized within a continental magmatic arc setting. Our data strongly suggest that the main provenance for the studied clastics was located within the Timanian Orogen. A review of the available detrital zircon ages from late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian strata across the wider Arctic strongly suggests that Kara Terrane, Novaya Zemlya, Seward Peninsula (Arctic Alaska), Alexander Terrane, De Long Islands, and Scandinavian Caledonides all formed a single tectonic domain during the Cambrian age, with clastics predominantly sourced from the Timanian Orogen.

Highlights

The study area is located in the Arctic Ocean, between the Kara Sea and the LaptevSea, and includes the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and northern Taimyr (Figure 1).The Severnaya Zemlya archipelago consists of four big islands, i.e., October Revolution, Bol’shevik, Pioneer, and Komsomolets, and a few small islands (Figure 1)
The Kara Terrane is delineated to the south by the Main Taimyr Thrust and Diabase Fault (Figure 1) from the Central Belt of Taimyr, which is considered to have formed a part of Siberia after the late Neoproterozoic [4,5]
The Late Neoproterozoic grains were found with prominent peaks at 610 and 570 Ma

Summary

Introduction

Sea (in the east), and includes the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and northern Taimyr (Figure 1). The Severnaya Zemlya archipelago consists of four big islands, i.e., October Revolution, Bol’shevik, Pioneer, and Komsomolets, and a few small islands (Figure 1). The Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and northern Taimyr, along with the marine shelf region in between, form the so-called Kara Terrane (or North Kara Terrane), which is considered to be exotic to Siberia [1,2,3]. The Kara Terrane is delineated to the south by the Main Taimyr Thrust and Diabase Fault (Figure 1) from the Central Belt of Taimyr, which is considered to have formed a part of Siberia after the late Neoproterozoic [4,5]. The Kara Terrane is defined by the passive margin of the oceanic Eurasia Basin.

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