U–Pb detrital zircon ages used to infer provenance and tectonic setting of Late Triassic–Miocene sandstones related to the Tethyan development of Cyprus

Abstract

Zircons from Late Triassic deep-water sandstone turbidites of the Mamonia Complex (west Cyprus) have prominent Ediacaran–Cryogenian and Tonian–Stenian age populations, with smaller populations at c. 2.0 and 2.7–2.5 Ga, but only minor concordant Paleozoic zircons. Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous deep-water gravity-deposited sandstone, also from the Mamonia Complex, has a greater proportion of Ediacaran–Cryogenian and Tonian–Stenian zircons, but less abundant Paleoproterozoic, Archean and Paleozoic zircons. Similar zircon populations characterize an Early Cretaceous shallow-marine sandstone block in the Moni Melange (southern Cyprus). The dominant Ediacaran–Cryogenian and Tonian–Stenian zircon populations originated in the NE Africa/Arabian–Nubian Shield (north Gondwana). However, they were probably recycled from Paleozoic sandstones within Anatolia following South Neotethyan rifting, which also gave rise to sparse Permian–Triassic zircons. Paleozoic zircons reflect Variscan magmatism within Anatolia. Both Late Cretaceous and overlying Eocene sandstone turbidites in the Kyrenia Range (north Cyprus) contain prominent Ediacaran–Cryogenian populations, together with small Archean, Tonian, Carboniferous and Late Cretaceous populations, with additional Triassic zircons in the Eocene sample. Late Cretaceous zircons dominate an overlying Late Miocene sandstone turbidite, together with minor Ediacaran–Cryogenian, Eocene and Miocene populations. The Late Cretaceous zircons record continental margin arc and/or ophiolite-related magmatism, whereas the Eocene and Miocene zircons represent collision-related magmatism, both located in southern Turkey. Supplementary materials : Detailed zircon U–Pb geochronological data and supplementary figures are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4483736