Determining the provenance of Triassic sedimentary rocks in northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta using detrital zircon geochronology, with implications for regional tectonics

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.L. Golding ◽  
J.K. Mortensen ◽  
F. Ferri ◽  
J.-P. Zonneveld ◽  
M.J. Orchard
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
The Arctic

Triassic rocks of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) have previously been interpreted as being deposited on the passive margin of North America. Recent detrital zircon provenance studies on equivalent Triassic rocks in the Yukon have suggested that these rocks were in part derived from the pericratonic Yukon–Tanana terrane and were deposited in a foreland basin related to the Late Permian Klondike orogeny. Detrital zircons within a number of samples collected from Triassic sediments of the WCSB throughout northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta suggest that the bulk of the sediment was derived from recycled sediments of the miogeocline along western North America, with a smaller but significant proportion coming from the Innuitian orogenic wedge in the Arctic and from local plutonic and volcanic rocks. There is also evidence of sediment being derived from the Yukon–Tanana terrane, supporting the model of terrane accretion occurring prior to the Triassic. The age distribution of detrital zircons from the WCSB in British Columbia is similar to those of the Selwyn and Earn sub-basins in the Yukon and is in agreement with previous observations that sediment deposited along the margin of North America during the Triassic was derived from similar source areas. Together these findings support the model of deposition within a foreland basin, similar to the one inferred in the Yukon. Only a small proportion of zircon derived from the Yukon–Tanana terrane is present within Triassic strata in northeastern British Columbia, which may be due to post-Triassic erosion of the rocks containing these zircons.

scholarly journals Supplemental material: Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry of Paleozoic and Triassic passive margin strata of western North America

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Gehrels ◽  
Mark Pecha
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Hf Isotope ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Standard Data ◽  
Data Table

Geosphere, February 2014, v. 10, p. 49-65, doi:10.1130/GES00889.1, Supplemental Tables - Zipped file containing 13 Excel table files. Table 1: Alaska U-Pb data. Table 2: Northern British Columbia U-Pb data. Table 3: Southern British Columbia U-Pb data. Table 4: Nevada-Utah U-Pb data. Table 5: Southern California U-Pb data. Table 6: Sonora U-Pb data. Table 7: Hf standard data. Table 8: Alaska Hf data. Table 9: Northern British Columbia Hf data. Table 10: Southern British Columbia Hf data. Table 11: Nevada-Utah Hf data. Table 12: Southern California Hf data. Table 13: Sonora Hf data.

scholarly journals Detrital zircon geochronologic tests of the SE Siberia-SW Laurentia paleocontinental connection

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 111-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. MacLean ◽  
J. W. Sears ◽  
K. R. Chamberlain ◽  
A. K. Khudoley ◽  
A. V. Prokopiev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequences ◽  
Breakup Unconformity ◽  
Siberian Section

Abstract. Strikingly similar Late Mesoproterozoic stratigraphic sequences and correlative U-Pb detrital-zircon ages may indicate that the Sette Daban region of southeastern Siberia and the Death Valley region of southwestern North America were formerly contiguous parts of a Grenville foreland basin. The Siberian section contains large numbers of detrital zircons that correlate with Grenville, Granite-Rhyolite, and Yavapai basement provinces of North America. The sections in both Siberia and Death Valley exhibit west-directed thrust faults that may represent remnants of a Grenville foreland thrust belt. North American detrital-zircon components do not occur in Siberian samples above a ~600 Ma breakup unconformity, suggesting that rifting and continental separation blocked transfer of clastic sediment between the cratons by 600 Ma. Faunal similarities suggest, however, that the two cratons remained within the breeding ranges of Early Cambrian trilobites and archeocyathans.

Detrital zircon geochronology of Neoproterozoic to Permian miogeoclinal strata in British Columbia and Alberta

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 1380-1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E Gehrels ◽  
Gerald M Ross
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
Salmon River ◽  
Western Canada Sedimentary Basin ◽  
Cordilleran Margin ◽  
Peace River Arch ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages

U-Pb ages have been determined on 250 detrital zircon grains from Neoproterozoic through Permian miogeoclinal strata in British Columbia and Alberta. Most of the grains in these strata are >1.75 Ga and are interpreted to have been derived from nearby basement provinces (although most grains were probably cycled though one or more sedimentary units prior to final deposition). Important exceptions are Ordovician sandstones that contain grains derived from the Peace River arch, and upper Paleozoic strata with detrital zircons derived from the Franklinian orogen, Salmon River arch (northwestern U.S.A.), and (or) Grenville orogen. These provenance changes resulted in average detrital zircon ages that become progressively younger with time, and may also be reflected by previously reported shifts in the Nd isotopic signature of miogeoclinal strata. In addition to the grains that have identifiable sources, grains of ~1030, ~1053, 1750-1774, and 2344-2464 Ma are common in our samples, but igneous rocks of these ages have not been recognized in the western Canadian Shield. We speculate that unrecognized plutons of these ages may be present beneath strata of the western Canada sedimentary basin. Collectively, our data provide a record of the ages of detrital zircons that accumulated along the Canadian Cordilleran margin during much of Paleozoic time. Comparisons between this reference and the ages of detrital zircons in strata of potentially displaced outboard terranes may help reconstruct the paleogeography and accretionary history of the Cordilleran orogen.

Enigmatic provenance signature of sandstone from the Okwa Group, Botswana

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-342
Author(s):  
T. Andersen ◽  
M.A. Elburg ◽  
J. Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Sedimentary Rock ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Three Samples ◽  
Isotope Distributions

Abstract Detrital zircon grains from three samples of sandstone from the Tswaane Formation of the Okwa Group of Botswana have been dated by U-Pb and analysed for Hf isotopes by multicollector LA-ICPMS. The detrital zircon age distribution pattern of the detrital zircons is dominated by a mid-Palaeoproterozoic age fraction (2 000 to 2 150 Ma) with minor late Archaean – early Palaeoproterozoic fractions. The 2 000 to 2 150 Ma zircon grains show a range of epsilon Hf from -12 to 0. The observed age and Hf isotope distributions overlap closely with those of sandstones of the Palaeoproterozoic Waterberg Group and Keis Supergroup of South Africa, but are very different from Neoproterozoic deposits in the region, and from the Takatswaane siltstone of the Okwa Group, all of which are dominated by detrital zircon grains younger than 1 950 Ma. The detrital zircon data indicate that the sources of Tswaane Formation sandstones were either Palaeoproterozoic rocks in the basement of the Kaapvaal Craton, or recycled Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary rocks similar to the Waterberg, Elim or Olifantshoek groups of South Africa. This implies a significant shift in provenance regime between the deposition of the Takatswaane and Tswaane formations. However, the detrital zircon data are also compatible with a completely different scenario in which the Tswaane Formation consists of Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary rock in tectonic rather than depositional contact with the other units of the Okwa Group.

Dating lacustrine carbonate strata with detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology

Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily S. Finzel ◽  
Justin A. Rosenblume
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Southwestern Montana ◽  
Tectonically Active ◽  
Lacustrine Carbonate

Carbonate lacustrine strata in nonmarine systems hold great potential for refining depositional ages through U-Pb dating of detrital zircons. The low clastic sediment flux in carbonate depositional environments may increase the relative proportion of zircons deposited by volcanic air fall, potentially increasing the chances of observing detrital ages near the true depositional age. We present U-Pb geochronology of detrital zircons from lacustrine carbonate strata that provides proof of concept for the effectiveness of both acid-digestion recovery and resolving depositional ages of nonmarine strata. Samples were collected from Early Cretaceous foreland basin fluvial sandstone and lacustrine carbonate in southwestern Montana (USA). Late Aptian–early Albian (ca. 115–110 Ma) maximum depositional ages young upsection and agree with biostratigraphic ages. Lacustrine carbonate is an important component in many types of tectonic basins, and application of detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology holds considerable potential for dating critical chemical and climatic events recorded in their stratigraphy. It could also reveal new information for the persistent question about whether the stratigraphic record is dominated by longer periods of background fine-grained sedimentation versus short-duration coarse-grained events. In tectonically active basins, lacustrine carbonates may be valuable for dating the beginning of tectonic subsidence, especially during periods of finer-grained deposition dominated by mudrocks and carbonates.

Nina Creek Group and Lay Range Assemblage, north-central British Columbia: remnants of late Paleozoic oceanic and arc terranes

1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 854-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Ferri
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Tholeiitic Basalt ◽  
Ocean Floor ◽  
North Central ◽  
Marginal Basin ◽  
The North ◽  
Lower Division ◽  
Ocean Ridge

In north-central British Columbia, a belt of upper Paleozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks lies between Mesozoic arc rocks of Quesnellia and Ancestral North America. These rocks belong to two distinct terranes: the Nina Creek Group of the Slide Mountain terrane and the Lay Range Assemblage of the Quesnel terrane. The Nina Creek Group is composed of Mississippian to Late Permian argillite, chert, and mid-ocean-ridge tholeiitic basalt, formed in an ocean-floor setting. The sedimentary and volcanic rocks, the Mount Howell and Pillow Ridge successions, respectively, form discrete, generally coeval sequences interpreted as facies equivalents that have been interleaved by thrusting. The entire assemblage has been faulted against the Cassiar terrane of the North American miogeocline. West of the Nina Creek Group is the Lay Range Assemblage, correlated with the Harper Ranch subterrane of Quesnellia. It includes a lower division of Mississippian to Early Pennsylvanian sedimentary and volcanic rocks, some with continental affinity, and an upper division of Permian island-arc, basaltic tuffs and lavas containing detrital quartz and zircons of Proterozoic age. Tuffaceous horizons in the Nina Creek Group imply stratigraphic links to a volcanic-arc terrane, which is inferred to be the Lay Range Assemblage. Similarly, gritty horizons in the lower part of the Nina Creek Group suggest links to the paleocontinental margin to the east. It is assumed that the Lay Range Assemblage accumulated on a piece of continental crust that rifted away from ancestral North America in the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian by the westward migration of a west-facing arc. The back-arc extension produced the Slide Mountain marginal basin in which the Nina Creek Group was deposited. Arc volcanism in the Lay Range Assemblage and other members of the Harper Ranch subterrane was episodic rather than continuous, as was ocean-floor volcanism in the marginal basin. The basin probably grew to a width of hundreds rather than thousands of kilometres.

Development of late Paleozoic volcanic arcs in the Canadian Cordillera: an example from the Klinkit Group, northern British Columbia and southern Yukon

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 907-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renée-Luce Simard ◽  
Jaroslav Dostal ◽  
Charlie F Roots
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Late Paleozoic ◽  
Canadian Cordillera ◽  
Alkali Basalts ◽  
The North ◽  
Pacific Margin ◽  
North American Craton ◽  
Arc Setting

The late Paleozoic volcanic rocks of the northern Canadian Cordillera lying between Ancestral North America to the east and the accreted terranes of the Omineca belt to the west record early arc and rift magmatism along the paleo-Pacific margin of the North American craton. The Mississippian to Permian volcano-sedimentary Klinkit Group extends discontinuously over 250 km in northern British Columbia and southern Yukon. The two stratotype areas are as follows: (1) in the Englishman Range, southern Yukon, the English Creek Limestone is conformably overlain by the volcano-sedimentary Mount McCleary Formation (Lower Clastic Member, Alkali-Basalt Member and Volcaniclastic Member), and (2) in the Stikine Ranges, northern British Columbia, the Screw Creek Limestone is conformably overlain by the volcano-sedimentary Butsih Formation (Volcaniclastic Member and Upper Clastic Member). The calc-alkali nature of the basaltic volcaniclastic members of the Klinkit Group indicates a volcanic-arc setting ((La/Yb)N = 2.77–4.73), with little involvement of the crust in their genesis (εNd = +6.7 to +7.4). Alkali basalts in the Mount McCleary Formation ((La/Yb)N = 12.5–17.8) suggest periodic intra-arc rifting events. Broadly coeval and compositionally similar volcano-sedimentary assemblages occur in the basement of the Mesozoic Quesnel arc, north-central British Columbia, and in the pericratonic Yukon–Tanana composite terrane, central Yukon, suggesting that they all represent pieces of a single long-lived, late Paleozoic arc system that was dismembered prior to its accretion onto Ancestral North America. Therefore, Yukon–Tanana terrane is possibly the equivalent to the basement of Quesnel terrane, and the northern Quesnel terrane has a pericratonic affinity.

scholarly journals ORÓGENO ARAÇUAÍ: SÍNTESE DO CONHECIMENTO 30 ANOS APÓS ALMEIDA 1977

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antônio Carlos Pedrosa-Soares ◽  
Carlos Maurício Noce ◽  
Fernando Flecha de Alkmim ◽  
Luiz Carlos da Silva ◽  
Marly Babinski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Continental Rift ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Iron Formation ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
Magmatic Arc ◽  
Araçuaí Orogen

The Araçuaí Fold Belt was defined as the southeastern limit of the São Francisco Craton in the classicalpaper published by Fernando Flávio Marques de Almeida in 1977. This keystone of the Brazilian geologicliterature catalyzed important discoveries, such as of Neoproterozoic ophiolites and a calc-alkaline magmaticarc, related to the Araçuaí Belt and paleotectonic correlations with its counterpart located in Africa (the WestCongo Belt), that provided solid basis to define the Araçuaí-West-Congo Orogen by the end of the 1990thdecade. After the opening of the Atlantic Ocean in Cretaceous times, two thirds of the Araçuaí-West-CongoOrogen remained in the Brazil side, including records of the continental rift and passive margin phases ofthe precursor basin, all ophiolite slivers and the whole orogenic magmatism formed from the pre-collisionalto post-collisional stages. Thus, the name Araçuaí Orogen has been applied to the Neoproterozoic-Cambrianorogenic region that extends from the southeastern edge of the São Francisco Craton to the Atlantic coastlineand is roughly limited between the 15º and 21º S parallels. After 30 years of systematic geological mappingtogether with geochemical and geochronological studies published by many authors, all evolutionary stagesof the Araçuaí Orogen can be reasonably interpreted. Despite the regional metamorfism and deformation, thefollowing descriptions generally refer to protoliths. All mentioned ages were obtained by U-Pb method onzircon. The Macaúbas Group records rift, passive margin and oceanic environments of the precursor basinof the Araçuaí Orogen. From the base to the top and from proximal to distal units, this group comprises thepre-glacial Duas Barras and Rio Peixe Bravo formations, and the glaciogenic Serra do Catuni, Nova Auroraand Lower Chapada Acauã formations, related to continental rift and transitional stages, and the diamictitefreeUpper Chapada Acauã and Ribeirão da Folha formations, representing passive margin and oceanicenvironments. Dates of detrital zircon grains from Duas Barras sandstones and Serra do Catuni diamictitessuggest a maximum sedimentation age around 900 Ma for the lower Macaúbas Group, in agreement withages yielded by the Pedro Lessa mafic dikes (906 ± 2 Ma) and anorogenic granites of Salto da Divisa (875 ±9 Ma). The thick diamictite-bearing marine successions with sand-rich turbidites, diamictitic iron formation,mafic volcanic rocks and pelites (Nova Aurora and Lower Chapada Acauã formations) were depositedfrom the rift to transitional stages. The Upper Chapada Acauã Formation consists of a sand-pelite shelfsuccession, deposited after ca. 864 Ma ago in the proximal passive margin. The Ribeirão da Folha Formationmainly consists of sand-pelite turbidites, pelagic pelites, sulfide-bearing cherts and banded iron formations,representing distal passive margin to oceanic sedimentation. Gabbro and dolerite with plagiogranite veinsdated at ca. 660 Ma, and ultramafic rocks form tectonic slices of oceanic lithosphere thrust onto packagesof the Ribeirão da Folha Formation. The pre-collisional, calc-alkaline, continental magmatic arc (G1 Suite,630-585 Ma) consists of tonalites and granodiorites, with minor diorite and gabbro. A volcano-sedimentarysuccession of this magmatic arc includes pyroclastic and volcaniclastic rocks of dacitic composition datedat ca. 585 Ma, ascribed to the Palmital do Sul and Tumiritinga formations (Rio Doce Group), depositedfrom intra-arc to fore-arc settings. Detrital zircon geochronology suggests that the São Tomé wackes (RioDoce Group) represent intra-arc to back-arc sedimentation after ca. 594 Ma ago. The Salinas Formation, aconglomerate-wacke-pelite association located to northwest of the magmatic arc, represents synorogenicsedimentation younger than ca. 588 Ma. A huge zone of syn-collisional S-type granites (G2 Suite, 582-560Ma) occurs to the east and north of the pre-collisional magmatic arc, northward of latitude 20º S. Partialmelting of G2 granites originated peraluminous leucogranites (G3 Suite) from the late- to post-collisionalstages. A set of late structures, and the post-collisional intrusions of the S-type G4 Suite (535-500 Ma) andI-type G5 Suite (520-490 Ma) are related to the gravitational collapse of the orogen. The location of themagmatic arc, roughly parallel to the zone with ophiolite slivers, from the 17º30’ S latitude southwardssuggests that oceanic crust only developed along the southern segment of the precursor basin of the Araçuaí-West-Congo Orogen. This basin was carved, like a large gulf partially floored by oceanic crust, into the SãoFrancisco-Congo Paleocontinent, but paleogeographic reconstructions show that the Bahia-Gabon cratonicbridge (located to the north of the Araçuaí Orogen) subsisted since at least 1 Ga until the Atlantic opening.This uncommon geotectonic scenario inspired the concept of confined orogen, quoted as a new type ofcollisional orogen in the international literature, and the appealing nutcracker tectonic model to explain theAraçuaí-West-Congo Orogen evolution. 

scholarly journals RECOGNIZING PORPHYRY COPPER POTENTIAL FROM TILL ZIRCON COMPOSITION: A CASE STUDY FROM THE HIGHLAND VALLEY PORPHYRY DISTRICT, SOUTH-CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Lee ◽  
Alain Plouffe ◽  
Travis Ferbey ◽  
Craig J.R. Hart ◽  
Pete Hollings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Trace Element ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Porphyry Copper ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Ionization Mass ◽  
South Central ◽  
Copper Mineralization ◽  
Porphyry Copper Mineralization

Abstract The detrital zircons in tills overlying the Guichon Creek batholith, British Columbia, Canada, have trace element concentrations and ages similar to those of zircons from the bedrock samples from which they are interpreted to have been sourced. Rocks from the core of the batholith that host porphyry copper mineralization have distinct zircon compositions relative to the distal, barren margin. We analyzed 296 zircons separated from 12 subglacial till samples to obtain U-Pb ages and trace element compositions. Laser ablation U-Pb ages of the detrital zircons overlap within error with chemical abrasion-thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-Pb ages of the Late Triassic Guichon Creek batholith and confirm that the detrital zircons are likely derived from the batholith. The youngest intrusions of the batholith produced the Highland Valley Copper porphyry deposits and contain distinctive zircons with elevated Eu/EuN* >0.4 attributed to high magmatic water contents and oxidation states, indicating higher porphyry copper potential. Zircon from till samples adjacent to and 9 km down-ice from the mineralized centers have mean Eu/EuN* >0.4, which are indicative of potential porphyry copper mineralization. Detrital zircon grains from more distal up- and down-ice locations (10–15 km) have zircon Eu/EuN* mean values of 0.26 to 0.37, reflecting background values. We conclude that detrital zircon compositions in glacial sediments transported several kilometers can be used to establish the regional potential for porphyry copper mineralization.

scholarly journals Paleo - position of the South China Craton in the Rodinia Supercontinent: Evidence from the U - Pb age and Hf isotope of detrital zircon from the Nam Co Complex

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Hf Isotope ◽  
The South ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Rodinia Supercontinent ◽  
South China Craton

To constrain the paleo - positions of the South China Cratons in the Rodinia Supercontinent during the Neoproterozoic, the in - situ U - Pb dating, and Hf isotope analysis of the detrital zircon from the Nam Co Complex, Song Ma Suture zone, northwestern Vietnam was performed. The U - Pb isotopic dating on detrital zircons shows that the Nam Co Complex demonstrates the major population (>50%) of around ~850 Ma while the minor population is scattered between ~1.2÷3.0 Ga. The Neoproterozoic age spectrum exhibits a large range of the εHf(t) from strongly negative to positive values ( - 17.418022÷ 14.600527), indicating that the source of the magma for this age range has been not only derived from reworking of the Archean basement rocks, but also generated from the juvenile material. The U - Pb age distribution patterns and Hf isotopic data of the detrital zircon in the Nam Co Complex are compatible with those of the South China Craton rather than those of the Indochina Craton. The data also indicate that sedimentary protoliths of the Nam Co Complex were deposited in a convergent - related basin along the southwestern margin of the South China Craton during the Neoproterozoic. Combined with the similarities of the detrital zircon age between western Cathaysia, Indochina, East Antarctica and East India, it is proved that the South China Craton was situated at the margin of the Rodinia Supercontinent and in close proximity to the Indochina, East Antarctica and East India.

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