Tuff Beds Research Articles

Integration of new zircon U–Pb ages with biostratigraphy to establish a high-precision age model of the Miocene Nakayama Formation on Sado Island in Central Japan

The most common age constraint for the diatomaceous sediments is biostratigraphy of siliceous microfossils. Although biostratigraphy is a powerful tool to establish stratigraphy and correlate with sedimentary sequences in other sites, biostratigraphy generally includes uncertainties difficult to evaluate. In this study, we measured zircon U–Pb ages of eight tuff beds intercalated with diatomaceous mudstone of the Nakayama Formation on Sado Island in Central Japan and integrated the U–Pb ages with diatom and radiolarian biostratigraphy, whose ages and errors were re-evaluated by this study, to establish an age model precisely representing the sedimentary age. Two tuff beds in the upper and middle part of the formation offered zircon U–Pb ages of 6.7 ± 0.2 Ma and 10.87 ± 0.07 Ma, which are consistent with biostratigraphy, and provided a good example of effective integration of zircon U–Pb ages with the biostratigraphy. On the other hand, zircon U–Pb ages of the other six tuff beds in the lower part are around 12 Ma and not distinguishable from each other. In addition, older zircon grains in the 6 tuff beds are assembled in the interval from 30 to 20 Ma, which is consistent with the age of the volcanic basement rocks forming most part of Sado Island. Similarities in chemical compositions of glass shards and age distributions of zircon grains indicate that the volcaniclastic components in the tuff beds should originate from single or associated magmatic activities.

First multi-proxy chronostratigraphy of the lower Cambrian Byrd Group, Transantarctic Mountains and correlation within East Gondwana

Antarctica and Australia were sutured together at the equator during the major pulse of animal biodiversification associated with the Cambrian radiation. However, the lack of detailed systematic chemostratigraphic and biostratigraphic sampling of lower Cambrian sedimentary successions from Antarctica has significantly impeded precise age determination and correlation with Cambrian strata on other palaeocontinents. This study is the first to present integrated, simultaneously sampled biostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic (δ13C isotopes) data from the same measured stratigraphic sections through the lower Cambrian Byrd Group in the Transantarctic Mountains. Shelly fossil assemblages (brachiopods, tommotiids, molluscs, bradoriids, trilobites) from the Holyoake Range and Churchill Mountains facilitate direct correlation with the Dailyatia odyssei Zone of South Australia (Cambrian Stages 3–4), and trilobites provide strong correlation between the Starshot Formation and the Cymbric Vale Formation in western New South Wales. A new ID-TIMS radiometric date of 514.96 ± 0.16 Ma from a tuff in the lower Cymbric Vale Formation is similar to dates from tuff beds in the Third Plain Creek Member of the Mernmerna Formation in the Flinders Ranges, providing an important absolute-age tie point between these lower Cambrian successions. Chemostratigraphic data from the upper Shackleton Limestone in the Holyoake Range capture a negative δ13C excursion that can be correlated to negative values within the multi-peaked MICE (cycles V–VIII in Siberia). Integrated faunal and chemostratigraphic data indicate a Cambrian Stages 3–4 age, giving robust chronostratigraphic context for the upper Shackleton Limestone–Holyoake Formation–Starshot Formation succession for the first time, permitting reconstruction of the depositional history of the lower Cambrian of Antarctica and global correlation of Byrd Group strata.

Occurrence of a Likely Tuff Bed between the Middle and Upper Siwaliks, Taunsa area, Dera Ghazi Khan, Eastern Sulaiman Range, Pakistan

Occurrence of a Likely Tuff Bed between the Middle and Upper Siwaliks, Taunsa area, Dera Ghazi Khan, Eastern Sulaiman Range, Pakistan

New U-Pb zircon tuff ages and revised stratigraphic correlations in the Superior craton during the Great Oxidation Episode

Major environmental changes during the Great Oxidation Episode are recorded in 2.5–2.0 Ga sedimentary successions across the world. In North America, the Huronian Supergroup is the most complete succession, preserving three glacial intervals with possible equivalents in the Lake Superior region. The third and youngest glacial unit (Gowganda Formation, Cobalt Group) of the Huronian Supergroup has been correlated with glacial deposits of the Chocolay Group in the Lake Superior region. Here we present the results of in situ SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology of zircon in thin tuff layers from the basal Wewe Slate, Chocolay Group, from drill-core in the Marquette Range area, upper Michigan. Zircon U-Pb data from two intervals ∼16 m apart yielded weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb ages of 2174 ± 9 Ma and 2172 ± 6 Ma, which define the depositional ages of the Wewe Slate and the conformably underlying Kona Dolomite. In the Huronian Supergroup, SHRIMP U-Pb dating of zircon in a tuff bed from the Gordon Lake Formation, Cobalt Group, yielded a weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb age of 2318 ± 8 Ma, interpreted to be the age of deposition. Re-examination of previously published U-Pb zircon data from the Gordon Lake Formation (Rasmussen et al., 2013) yields a slightly older weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb age of 2310 ± 5 Ma. Our results show that the Wewe Slate, and probably the Kona Dolomite, are ∼150 million years younger than the ∼2.32 Ga Gordon Lake Formation, with which they were previously correlated. Our results suggest that the glacial deposits in the Lake Superior region represent a fourth Paleoproterozoic glaciation in North America, whose age range corresponds to that of the fourth and final early Paleoproterozoic glaciation in southern Africa. We propose that the Chocolay Group was deposited after the Huronian Supergroup and is broadly coeval with the rift-passive margin succession (Cycle 1 of the Kaniapiskau Supergroup) in the New Québec Orogen, Canada, whose deposition has been linked to rifting and breakup along the eastern margin of the Superior craton at ∼2.22 Ga.

Provenance and the U–Pb age constraints on the tuff beds of the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Bazhenovo Formation, West Siberian Basin

AbstractThin tuff beds of the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Bazhenovo Formation are laterally widespread in the central part of the West Siberian Basin (ca 0.5 million km2). However, the source of the tuff beds remains unclear. The stratigraphy, geochemistry and geochronology of the tuff beds were investigated to reveal their magmatic origin and potential source region. Most of the tuff beds are recorded in member 4 and can be correlated through the Bazhenovo sequence. Thin‐section petrography and X‐ray diffraction indicate that the tuffs mostly comprise clay minerals and K‐feldspars. Less common minerals are plagioclase, quartz and pyrite. The geochemical composition of the Bazhenovo tuff beds suggests a parental magma origin of andesite/basalt, which came from volcanic arc‐related settings. Considering the results of geochemical studies along with LA‐ICP‐MS zircon U–Pb dating (141.3 ± 0.3/2.8 Ma), the palaeovolcanoes of the Caucasus region or south‐east Mongolia–North‐East China are one of the potential source regions of the tuffs. The record of these tuffs indicates the intensive volcanic eruption during the Volgian–Ryazanian, accompanied by a very low‐sedimentation rate and preservation in a reducing environment. The tuff beds have broad implications as an isochronous marker horizon and constraints for the numerical age of the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Boreal Realm.

Insights on the Permian tuff beds from the Saint-Affrique Basin (Massif Central, France): an integrated geochemical and geochronological study

The Permian marks the transition between the end of the accretion of the supercontinent Pangea and the beginning of its dislocation. In the Eastern Pangea intertropical domain (i.e. the present-day Western Europe), the late-Paleozoic (i.e. uppermost Carboniferous–Permian) history remains poorly constrained due to the lack of precise radiometric data. This is particularly true for Permian basins from the southern part of the French Massif Central, making it difficult to determine correlations between basins and therefore robust timings and constraints on the environmental and climate events described in these basins, and to compare them with the larger-scale settings. This article focuses on the Saint-Affrique Basin, via an integrated petrological, geochemical and geochronological study of eight of the volcanic-ash levels interbedded in the sedimentary succession. It highlights the existence of two different groups of felsic volcaniclastic rocks. The first group, located at the base of the basin and attributed to the Stephanian continental stage, is related to a late-orogenic volcanic setting and corresponds to calc-alkaline trachy-andesitic tuffites that could not be dated due to the lack of volcanic zircon. The second group, located towards the top of the succession, is composed of calc-alkaline dacitic ash beds and tuffites yielding Kungurian ages, i.e. late early Permian (Cisuralian, 283.5±0.6 to 273.01±0.14Ma), and are attributed to a post-orogenic deposition setting. These ages show that the sedimentary filling of the basin is younger than hitherto expected (i.e. Artinskian, 290.1±0.26 to 283.5±0.6Ma). The elemental geochemistry, the presence of inherited detrital zircons and the Hf signatures of the volcanic ones indicate the involvement of an old (Proterozoic and older) basement in the magma genesis; this crustal contribution becomes more prominent towards the top of the sedimentary succession.

Formation of magnesium‐clay in a lacustrine microbialite‐bearing carbonate deposit, Eocene Green River Formation, Sanpete County, Utah

AbstractAuthigenic magnesium‐clays have been observed and documented in the Green River Formation, specifically as ooidal stevensite grains. Magnesian clays are a valuable proxy for reconstructing shallow‐water, saline–alkaline lake palaeoenvironments due to their responses to chemical changes. Magnesium‐rich clay minerals are relatively common components in modern and ancient lake systems. A rare interaction of lacustrine magnesian clays, microbialites, carbonates and volcanoclastic deposits of the Eocene Green River Formation crop out in Sanpete Valley, Utah, USA. The characterization of this interaction, Mg‐rich clay and carbonate minerals genesis, the environmental controls on Mg‐rich clay minerals distribution and accumulation is still poorly understood. This study has identified various species of Mg‐clay minerals (stevensite, mixed‐layer kerolite–stevensite and sepiolite), along with calcite and dolomite, found in four Mg‐clay‐bearing lithofacies: (i) Mg‐clay stromatolites; (ii) Mg‐clay arenites; (iii) Mg‐claystone; and (iv) intraclastic Mg‐clay hybrid arenites and conglomerates. Magnesium‐clay bearing rocks from the Sanpete Valley area were deposited in a south‐western, shallow embayment of Eocene Lake Uinta along the margin of the Sevier fold and thrust belt. Sanpete Valley's Mg‐clay‐bearing section shows syngenetic mineralogical paragenesis with neoformation of magnesian clays accompanied by calcite and silica. Regional chronostratigraphic correlation of Sanpete Valley's Mg‐clay‐bearing section with the Uinta Basin was made by zircon U–Pb dating (laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry) of two tuff beds. Stevensite and kerolite are precipitated under very specific conditions. This study presents a depositional model, considering evidence from the authigenic mineralogy, facies, fossil evidence and basin context. All of these findings allow a comprehensive analysis of the lithostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic evolution of this isolated bay system, as well as texture classification. This study provides analogue for detailed correlation and comparison to other basins containing similar Mg‐clay and microbialite‐bearing deposits.

U–Pb zircon ages from tuffaceous beds in the Terreneuvian to Cambrian Series 2 sections of Avalonian southern New Brunswick, Canada: new constraints on chronostratigraphic correlations and the Cambrian time scale

Abstract Avalonian sections in the Saint John area, southern New Brunswick, have long contributed to global understanding of Cambrian chronostratigraphy. A tuffaceous bed in the Ratcliffe Brook Formation (RBF) in the Somerset Street section dated at c. 531 Ma has traditionally been considered to post-date small shelly fossils attributed to the Watsonella crosbyi Zone in the Hanford Brook section. A fine-grained tuffaceous bed approximately 8 m stratigraphically lower in the Somerset Street section yields a chemical abrasion isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry zircon age of 532.3 ± 0.3 Ma; a tuffaceous carbonate unit in the lower RBF in Hanford Brook gives an age of 531.5 ± 0.3 Ma. Crystal and crystal-lithic tuff beds near the top of the RBF yield ages of 520.3 ± 0.3 Ma (in Hanford Brook) and 519.1 ± 0.3 Ma (in Ratcliffe Brook). The new ages confirm the correlation between the Somerset Street and Hanford Brook sections based on acritarchs and make the association of small shelly fossils in the Hanford Brook section younger than 531 Ma. This result is relevant to ongoing discussions on the age of the base of undefined Cambrian Stage 2. The radiometric ages also support a young age for the upper part of the RBF, perhaps extending into Epoch 2.

U–Pb zircon ages from tuffaceous beds in the Terreneuvian to Cambrian Series 2 sections of Avalonian southern New Brunswick, Canada: new constraints on chronostratigraphic correlations and the Cambrian time scale

Abstract Avalonian sections in the Saint John area, southern New Brunswick, have long contributed to global understanding of Cambrian chronostratigraphy. A tuffaceous bed in the Ratcliffe Brook Formation (RBF) in the Somerset Street section dated at c. 531 Ma has traditionally been considered to post-date small shelly fossils attributed to the Watsonella crosbyi Zone in the Hanford Brook section. A fine-grained tuffaceous bed approximately 8 m stratigraphically lower in the Somerset Street section yields a chemical abrasion isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry zircon age of 532.3 ± 0.3 Ma; a tuffaceous carbonate unit in the lower RBF in Hanford Brook gives an age of 531.5 ± 0.3 Ma. Crystal and crystal-lithic tuff beds near the top of the RBF yield ages of 520.3 ± 0.3 Ma (in Hanford Brook) and 519.1 ± 0.3 Ma (in Ratcliffe Brook). The new ages confirm the correlation between the Somerset Street and Hanford Brook sections based on acritarchs and make the association of small shelly fossils in the Hanford Brook section younger than 531 Ma. This result is relevant to ongoing discussions on the age of the base of undefined Cambrian Stage 2. The radiometric ages also support a young age for the upper part of the RBF, perhaps extending into Epoch 2.

Preliminary appraisal of deformation structures from Great Nicobar Island, Andaman-Sumatra arc system

The Andaman and Nicobar Group of Islands represent a topographic high of forearc sediments in an actively rising accretionary prism on the Andaman subduction margin. Preliminary observations of deformation structures recorded in tuff are reported from Great Nicobar Island. Active compression led to the formation of meso-scale deformation structures such as a schuppen zone with horse units; sole and roof thrusts; fault breccia zone; high angle reverse faults and pop-up structures. Offset of tuff beds up to a few centimetres are observed across these faults.

Deciphering a cryptic unconformity in the Surat Basin using high frequency detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology: Insights into basin dynamics on the north-east margin of Gondwana

The Surat Basin is one of a series of shallow intracratonic basins that comprise the Great Australian Superbasin and developed in response to the initiation of Gondwanan breakup. Within the Surat Basin, the Walloon Coal Measures (WCM) are a significant target for Coal Seam Gas (CSG) production and the identification of the boundary with the overlying Springbok Sandstone (SST) is critical to the stratigraphic framework of the basin, and identification of groundwater flow units it delineates. Identification of the contact on a local (tenement) and regional (basin) scale between the SST and WCM is challenged in CSG producing areas by (i) overall lithological similarity of the units (macro- and microscopically, whole rock geochemistry, wireline signature), (ii) lateral heterogeneity of lithologies on a regional scale due to lateral facies and depositional environment variation in the uppermost WCM and lowermost SST and (iii) lack of consistent regional stratigraphic markers like erosion surfaces or correlated tuff beds. Sediment provenance analysis via detrital zircon (DZ) U-Pb geochronology allows constraint of spatial and temporal changes in sediment provenance by sampling across stratigraphic units along a lateral transect. The resulting large-scale stratigraphic correlations facilitate identification of basin dynamics within a tectonically quiescent basin. Here we present the results of DZ distributions from 26 samples that were sampled from four wells along a 300 km transect from the eastern Eromanga Basin to easternmost extent of the Surat Basin. Our data show a brief pulse of basement derived material at the base of the SST which interrupts the predominant volcaniclastic sediment provenance in the SST and WCM. This brief change in zircon provenance is interpreted as a precursor to higher energy depositional environments in the SST and can be utilised as a regional marker across the Surat and Eromanga basins, indicating a change in source provenance and basin dynamics associated with the SST – WCM boundary.

The first CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb dating of the Tithonian/Berriasian boundary beds in a Boreal succession

The Tithonian/Berriasian (T/B) boundary has attracted increasing attention in recent decades, but there are currently only a few numerical ages for this boundary, nearly all of which are derived from sections located in Central and South Americas. Here we present the first reliable geochronological data immediately below the T/B boundary from the West Siberia sedimentary basin, based on the dating of zircon grains derived from a single tuff bed sampled from three different drill cores. This represents the first high precision dates from the latest Jurassic succession of the Panboreal Superrealm. The ages of the studied comagmatic zircon grains from the topmost middle Volgian (equivalent to the middle part of the upper Tithonian) tuffs, based on material from 3 wells, range between 141.83 and 141.11 Ma, where the youngest zircon is interpreted to represent the depositional age of the volcanic horizon. Based on detailed biostratigraphy, our studied succession can be correlated with the middle part of the M20n magnetochron, allowing correlation with coeval J/K boundary successions worldwide. Our data support a re-consideration of the T/B boundary age currently accepted in the international chronostratigraphic chart and are supported by previously published U-Pb ages from Argentina and Mexico.

Spectral mapping of zeolite bearing paleolake deposits at Lake Tecopa, California and its implications for mapping zeolites on Mars

• Zeolitic tuff at paleolake Tecopa investigated using in-situ and orbital methods. • Reasons for limited orbital detections of zeolites in paleolake. • Importance of ground investigation to interpreting orbital data. While non-analcime zeolites are plausible mineral constituents of the Martian surface, their lack of prominent spectral characteristics in the visible to shortwave infrared wavelength region makes them difficult to identify using orbital data. This lack of detection has led to the assumption that they are limited or absent. Here we assess the capability of mapping non-analcime zeolites using different mapping techniques and present the possible reasons that could lead to limited detection of zeolites using an analog study from Paleolake Tecopa, California. We used spaceborne hyperspectral Hyperion and multispectral ASTER data to identify zeolites following X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and visible-near infrared and shortwave infrared (VNIR-SWIR) spectral analysis of collected samples containing zeolites and other associated minerals. We used four of the most common spectral mapping methods: (1) band ratios, (2) minimum noise fraction (MNF), (3) spectral angle mapper (SAM), and (4) linear spectral unmixing (LSU). We were able to map zeolite-rich tuff beds using carefully selected band indices, MNF band combinations, and the pixel spectra corresponding to a zeolite-rich abandoned quarry area. Hyperion results show less overall accuracy than the ASTER image products mostly due to the low signal-to-noise ratio of the Hyperion data. The spectral characteristics of zeolites in zeolite-rich pixels are masked by phyllosilicates (e.g., smectite) present in the ground resolution cell (GRC), making it difficult to identify zeolites in phyllosilicate-bearing deposits solely based on zeolite spectra. Therefore, the SAM product derived using the pixel spectrum of the well-exposed zeolite-rich quarry shows the highest accuracy in Hyperion image products. ASTER band ratio Band 2/Band 1, representing the ferric ion, was able to identify the zeolite-rich beds with the highest accuracies. However, most of the zeolite-rich paleolake beds were difficult to identify since they are buried by other beds, mixed with other beds due to physical weathering, or the areas of exposed beds are smaller than the GRC of the satellite. The results imply that the paucity of detected zeolites on Mars, as we see at Lake Tecopa, does not preclude their wider presence, either beneath other materials, obscured by surface dust, or mixed with more spectrally dominant phases. :

U–Pb and fission‐track dating of Miocene hydrocarbon source rocks in the Akita Basin, Northeast Japan, and implications for the timing of paleoceanographic changes in the sea of Japan

AbstractMiddle to Late Miocene organic‐rich siliceous mudstones (Onnagawa Formation) in the Akita Basin, Northeast Japan have been an important target for both paleoceanographic studies and hydrocarbon exploration in Japan. However, the reliable age of their formation has remained poorly constrained. Here, we report new zircon U–Pb and fission‐track ages of the Onnagawa Formation from a previously well‐studied outcrop route in the Yashima area, central Akita Basin. The thin tuff bed in the lower Onnagawa Formation was dated at around 11.6 Ma, whereas thin tuff beds in the upper Onnagawa Formation was dated at 10.4–9.6 Ma. The new age model constrains the base of the succession as older than 15.6–13.8 Ma and the top of the succession as 8.7–8.2 Ma. The results suggest that the lowest part of the succession was deposited before the Onnagawa Stage. The new age model indicates a rapid deposition in the lower Onnagawa Stage. The new age model also clarifies a temporary decrease in the sedimentation rate during 10.9–9.4 Ma, which coincided with a hiatus or slow deposition reported from other areas along the Sea of Japan coast. The new age model also revises the timing of paleoceanographic changes, of the best hydrocarbon source horizon, and of hydrothermal activity responsible for seafloor chemoautotrophic communities in the Akita Basin. This revised timing reveals that the onset of paleoceanographic changes from oxidizing to anoxic bottom environments favorable for hydrocarbon source rock formation was closely related to the tectonic uplift of the Northeast Japan Arc at ~12 Ma, whereas the timing of hydrothermal activity was related to the following extensional tectonics at ~9 Ma. The results of this study thus shed light on hitherto unclarified relationships between tectonics, volcanism, and paleoceanographic changes in the Sea of Japan.

A new assemblage of fossil leaves and wood from The Aguja Formation (Upper Campanian) of West Texas: An interfluvial community in a volcanic landscape

A new assemblage of fossil leaves and wood is described from the uppermost Aguja Formation (upper Campanian) of Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA. While diverse leaf assemblages have been reported from Campanian through Maastrichtian strata in more northerly areas of North America, few have been so far described from southern localities. The leaf assemblage was found preserved within a lenticular tuff bed. The number of species (7) of leaves in the assemblage is low and includes one fern and six dicots. Most specimens represent taxa which have small leaves with entire margins, a morphology consistent with a dry, warm climate. Thin sections of several fossil wood samples found nearby at the same stratigraphic interval as the tuff reveals that the fossil woods represent conifers with irregularly-spaced growth rings. The assemblage may represent shrubby vegetation within an open, conifer-dominated woodland which developed within a periodically dry environment. However, the assemblage may also represent early successional species that grew in areas that had been previously disturbed by deposition of pyroclastic material. A comparison of two localities in the uppermost Aguja Formation reveal the occurrence of two types of vegetational communities – one exemplified by presumably riparian, evergreen angiosperm woodlands and another exemplified by interfluvial conifer forest with an associated herbaceous community. Given that both sites preserve very similar depositional facies, it seems that observed differences involving fossil wood taxonomy and structure are likely related to the local availability of water.

Age of the Mengyejing potash deposit in the Simao Basin, southwest China: Constraints from detrital zircon U-Pb ages

The age of the Mengyejing potash deposit (MPD) in the Simao Basin, the only pre-Quaternary economically exploitable solid potash occurrence in China, has been the subject of debate for decades. It has been established that the ore-hosting Mengyejing Formation formed during the mid-Cretaceous based on radioactive and magnetic dating. The age discrepancy between the primary mid-Cretaceous and the squeezing of the Middle Jurassic is related to the lack of direct previous dating of the MPD itself. In this study, detrital zircon U-Pb dating of four clastic rock samples interbedded with the potash layers yielded the youngest zircon ages of 104.8, 106.5, 107.8, and 110 Ma. Taking into account the relatively large proportion of the youngest Cretaceous zircons and the Hf isotopic analysis, we propose that most of the Cretaceous zircons were derived from the contemporaneous volcanic activity that produced the tuff beds within the potash deposit and elsewhere in the Mengyejing Formation, while only a small fraction of the Cretaceous zircons were found to be of detrital origin and have derived from the Bomi-Chayu and Dianxi-Burma batholiths. Consequently, the maximum age of the potash deposit of 110 to 105 Ma is the true depositional age of the strata and potash deposit.

Rapid early Permian tectonic reorganization of Laurentia’s plate margins: Evidence from volcanic tuffs in the Permian Basin, USA

Early Permian arc magmatism is critical to understanding the final assembly of the supercontinent Pangea and subsequent plate reorganization. Here we report the geochronology and geochemistry of Cisuralian and Guadalupian volcanic tuffs in southwestern Laurentia and infer the magmatic sources and plate reorganization related to Laurentia-Gondwana collision. Zircon CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb dates of tuffs in the Wolfcamp B, Wolfcamp A and lower Spraberry units in the Permian Basin provide the first set of absolute ages of Cisuralian deposits in this basin. Zircon geochemistry data further show that the parent melts of these tuffs were granitic melts that formed in continental arcs. Syn-depositional zircons from the Wolfcamp B tuff beds (288.2 ± 1.7 Ma) have an average εHf value of +5.5 and TDM2 model ages between 675 and 1207 Ma, reflecting a mixture of juvenile mantle melts and Precambrian crust. The isotopic signature is consistent with Mississippian Laurentian tuffs derived from a northern Gondwana arc formed by the subduction of the Rheic oceanic plate. However, zircons from a Wolfcamp A tuff bed (287.2 ± 0.5 Ma) show an average εHf value of −4.5, much more evolved than the inferred northern Gondwana arc, but consistent with granitoids of similar or younger age in the Oaxaquia terrane. This change in εHf most likely reflects magmatism related to subduction of a paleo-Pacific oceanic plate beneath western Pangea. Our interpretation suggests a late Cisuralian plate reorganization that was caused by plate reorganization following Pangea assembly led to rapid (∼1 Myr) initiation of subduction beneath western Pangea. This study also compares tuff dates from LA-ICPMS and CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb dating and concludes that the weighted mean date of the youngest dominant KDE mode (WMYDM) is the best way to approximate LA-ICPMS dates to true depositional ages.

Origin and evolution of the Paleo‐Kuril arc inferred from detrital zircon U–Pb chronology in eastern Hokkaido, NE Asia

AbstractThe Nemuro and Saroma Groups and Yusenkyo Formation occur in eastern Hokkaido and are considered to be forearc or intra‐arc basin sediments of the Paleo‐Kuril arc (PKA) deposited during the Late Cretaceous to middle Eocene. To further clarify the origin of the PKA, we examined the U–Pb ages of detrital zircons within these sandstones and acidic tuff beds; based on our results, we drew the following conclusions. (1) The PKA originated from an oceanic island arc on the oceanic Izanagi Plate around 85 Ma, to which the Nikoro Group greenstone complex was accreted between 81–80 Ma; the Lowest Unit of the Saroma Group covered the surface of the Nikoro accretional greenstone complex. (2) The PKA then first collided with NE Asia around the beginning of the deposition of the Hamanaka Formation (~70 Ma) and transitioned to a continental arc adjacent to NE Asia. This collision generated giant slump beds during deposition of the Akkeshi Formation. During deposition of the Kiritappu Formation, the entire Nemuro Peninsula was uplifted, supplying large volumes of clastic sediments. (3) Although we do not have data directly bearing on why the North American Plate was established in the edge of NE Asia, we speculate that it separated from the Eurasian continent around ~70 Ma when NE Asia first collided with the PKA. Subsequently, the PKA has behaved as part of the North American Plate. The Paleo‐Japan arc (or East Sikhote–Alin arc) and the PKA became joined via the Hidaka Belt. Around 40 Ma, during the deposition of coarse conglomerate beds of the Urahoro Group, the PKA was uplifted and bent clockwise due to a second collision with NE Asia. (4) The modern Kuril arc was established around 36 Ma (late Eocene–early Oligocene), and the Kuril backarc basin opened into the present tectonic setting in the late Oligocene–early Miocene.

In situ U-Pb and geochemical evidence for ancient Pb-loss during hydrothermal alteration producing apparent young concordant zircon dates in older tuffs

Zircon U-Pb geochronology is vital for providing age constraints for the calibration of the geologic timescale. The presence of zircon grains that yield concordant ages younger than the host sedimentary rock is often ignored, attributed to young outliers and possible contaminants. Using in situ U-Pb dating techniques, which analyze zircon crystals drilled directly from polished thin sections, two tuff beds from the Brockman Iron Formation, Pilbara Craton, Australia, yielded weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb ages of 2466 ± 6 Ma and 2469 ± 5 Ma (95% confidence level), consistent with independent age constraints. The tuffs also contain zircons that gave younger, yet concordant, U-Pb dates (2450–2270 Ma) as well as some with highly discordant dates. The “young” zircons have low or negligible common Pb, and display magmatic-type euhedral outlines, oscillatory zonation and Th/U ratios, indistinguishable from syn-depositional zircons, and cannot be readily dismissed on the grounds of high discordance or common-Pb contents. The “young” zircon dates are statistical outliers that overlap with the age of hydrothermal xenotime in deformed, bedding-parallel veins in shale that underlies the iron formation, which yields an age of 2383 ± 4 Ma (95% confidence level). The xenotime in overpressure veins provides independent evidence for hydrothermal fluid flow broadly coeval with isotopic resetting of “young” zircon crystals. Although SEM-CL imaging found no evidence for alteration, element mapping shows that most zircon grains have been altered by fluid infiltration, which proceeded along fractures or radiation-damaged growth zones leading to elevated Fe, Ca and Y contents in the altered domains. Total and partial Pb loss caused by hydrothermal alteration can explain the young concordant and discordant ages, respectively. These results have implications for the use of U-Pb zircon geochronology, particularly in detrital zircon studies, which routinely use the age of the youngest zircon grains to constrain the age of deposition. The erosion and re-deposition or in situ growth of young zircons in low-grade metasedimentary rocks may lead to erroneously young depositional ages.

U-Pb zircon age constraints on the vertebrate assemblages and palaeomagnetic record of the Guadalupian Abrahamskraal Formation, Karoo Basin, South Africa

The rich fossil record of the Permo-Triassic Beaufort Group of the main Karoo Basin serves as a reference sequence for tetrapod biochronology and provides a unique window into the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems between the Guadalupian and Middle Triassic. Absolute temporal constraints on the Beaufort Group have improved in the last decade with the application of U-Pb zircon geochronology but precise ages have not yet been reported for its basal Abrahamskraal Formation. Consequently, the age of the Eodicynodon Assemblage Zone and the lower boundary of the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone have remained less clear than younger Permian biozones. An improvement in temporal constraints also has implications for the correlation of palaeomagnetic logs reported from the Abrahamskraal Formation. In this paper we present new CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb geochronology from tuff beds that provide the first high-resolution chronostratigraphy for the upper two thirds of Abrahamskraal Formation. These ages constrain the base of the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone to be older than 264.4 Ma, and closely constrain the boundary between its two subzones to ca. 262 Ma. Combined with published ages from the overlying Teekloof Formation, our data show the Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone is latest Wordian to late Capitanian in age. These complement previously published CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb ages for younger Beaufort rocks and suggest that the normal polarity interval observed in the middle Abrahamskraal Formation represents a normal (probably third) chron within the mixed-polarity Illawarra Superchron.