U–Pb detrital zircon age patterns of Cenozoic clastic sedimentary rocks in Trinidad and its implications

Abstract

The Cenozoic evolution of northern South America can be simplified as a diachronous, west-to-east change from north-facing passive margin, to active convergence and transcurrent plate margin. As the current eastern end of the Caribbean-South America plate boundary, the Trinidad area records the most recent tectonic regime transition. Documenting the provenance of Cenozoic clastic rocks in Trinidad provides insights into the spatial and temporal relationships between mountain range uplifting, sediment dispersal, and drainage system development along the eastern end of the Caribbean-South American plate boundary. Four Eocene to Pliocene age outcropping sandstone samples were collected from Trinidad and 545 detrital zircon grains were analyzed using the U–Pb LA-ICP-MS method. A total of 404 analyses with less than 10% discordance were used for the final interpretation. Results show that the age distribution of the Eocene to the Early Oligocene samples is very restricted and dominated by Precambrian age grains with age peaks at ~1400Ma, ~1800Ma, and ~2000Ma, typically derived from the Guyana Shield. In contrast, the Late Oligocene and younger samples show much broader and mixed age distribution that includes Mesozoic, Paleozoic, and Precambrian peaks. This age shift was interpreted as arriving of the Great Caribbean Arc and oblique collision between the South America and Caribbean plates. Continuing collision uplifted the Andes belts to the west. The Eastern Cordillera of Colombia, the Merida Andes, and the northern Venezuela coastal ranges then became the second primary sources. Offshore sedimentation switched from the passive margin with multiple small drainage systems to the active convergent and transcurrent plate margin with a single large river-dominated delivery system.