scholarly journals Detrital zircon provenance and depositional links of Mesozoic Sierra Nevada intra-arc strata

Geosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1422-1453
Author(s):  
Snir Attia ◽  
Scott R. Paterson ◽  
Jason Saleeby ◽  
Wenrong Cao
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Sedimentary Provenance ◽  
Cordilleran Margin

Abstract A compilation of new and published detrital zircon U-Pb age data from Permo-Triassic to Cretaceous intra-arc strata of the Sierra Nevada (eastern California, USA) reveals consistent sedimentary provenance and depositional trends across the entire Sierra Nevada arc. Detrital zircon age distributions of Sierra Nevada intra-arc strata are dominated by Mesozoic age peaks corresponding to coeval or just preceding arc activity. Many samples display a spread of pre-300 Ma ages that is indistinguishable from the detrital age distributions of pre-Mesozoic prebatholithic framework strata and southwestern Laurentian continental margin deposits. Synthesis of detrital zircon age data with tectonostratigraphic constraints indicates that a marine to subaerial arc was established in Triassic time, giving way to widespread shallow- to deep-marine deposition in latest Triassic to Early Jurassic time that continued until the emergence of the arc surface in the Early Cretaceous. No data presented herein require the existence of Mesozoic exotic terranes and/or outboard arcs that were previously hypothesized to have been accreted to the Sierra Nevada. We conclude that Sierra Nevada intra-arc strata formed within a coherent depositional network that was intimately linked to the southwestern United States Cordilleran margin throughout the span of Mesozoic arc activity.

Detrital zircon populations of the eastern Laurentian margin in the Appalachians

Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvette D. Kuiper ◽  
Christopher Hepburn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
Grenville Province ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Zircon Population ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Archean Crust ◽  
Laurentian Margin

Newly compiled U-Pb detrital zircon data from eight geographic domains along the eastern Laurentian margin from Newfoundland (Canada) to Alabama (United States) show a highly consistent signature along strike, with only minor local variations. The Precambrian signature is characterized by a small ca. 2.7 Ga population and a major ca. 1.9–0.9 Ga population that peaks at ca. 1.2–1.0 Ga. Detrital zircon populations are from Laurentian Archean crust (ca. 2.7 Ga population), Paleoproterozoic orogens (ca. 1.9–1.6 Ga), the Granite-Rhyolite Province (ca. 1.5–1.4 Ga), and the Elzevir terrane and Grenville Province (ca. 1.3–0.9 Ga). The Mesoproterozoic populations vary in size depending on proximity to the ca. 1.5–1.4 Ga Granite-Rhyolite Province, the ca. 1245–1225 Ma Elzevir terrane, and the ca. 1.2–0.9 Ga Grenville Province. A middle Ordovician zircon population varies in size along strike depending on input from the Taconic orogenic belt, but it is strongest in the northern Appalachians. Because of the general along-strike consistency in detrital zircon age populations, the compilation of all 7534 concordant U-Pb detrital zircon data can be used in future U-Pb detrital zircon studies as an indicator for eastern Laurentian margin sources.

scholarly journals The tectonic significance of the Early Cretaceous forearc-metamorphic assemblage in south-central Alaska based on detrital zircon U–Pb dating of sedimentary protoliths

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (12) ◽  
pp. 1182-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Labrado ◽  
Terry L. Pavlis ◽  
Jeffrey M. Amato ◽  
Erik M. Day
Keyword(s):  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Ductile Deformation ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
Accretionary Complex ◽  
Metamorphic Complex ◽  
Metasedimentary Rocks ◽  
South Central ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages

A complex array of faulted arc rocks and variably metamorphosed forearc accretionary complex rocks form a mappable arc–forearc boundary in southern Alaska known as the Border Ranges fault (BRF). We use detrital U–Pb zircon dating of metasedimentary rocks within the Knik River terrane in the western Chugach Mountains to show that a belt of Early Cretaceous amphibolite-facies metamorphic rocks along the BRF was formed when older mélange rocks of the Chugach accretionary complex were reworked in a sinistral-oblique thrust reactivation of the BRF during a period of forearc plutonism. The metamorphic subterrane of the Knik River terrane has a maximum depositional age (MDA) of 156.5 ± 1.5 Ma and a detrital zircon age spectrum that is indistinguishable from the Potter Creek assemblage of the Chugach accretionary complex, supporting correlation of these units. These ages contrast strongly with new and existing data that show Triassic to earliest Jurassic detrital zircon ages from metamorphic screens in the plutonic subterrane of the Knik River terrane, a fragmented Early Jurassic plutonic assemblage generally interpreted as the basement of the Peninsular terrane. Based on these findings, we propose the following new terminology for the Knik River terrane: (1) “Carpenter Creek metamorphic complex” for the Early Cretaceous “metamorphic subterrane”, (2) “western Chugach trondhjemite suite” for the Early Cretaceous forearc plutons within the belt, (3) “Friday Creek assemblage” for a transitional mélange unit that contains blocks of the Carpenter Creek complex in a chert–argillite matrix, and (4) “Knik River metamorphic complex” in reference to metamorphic rocks engulfed by Early Jurassic plutons of the Peninsular terrane that represent the roots of the Talkeetna arc. The correlation of the Carpenter Creek metamorphic complex with the Chugach mélange indicates that the trace of the BRF lies ∼1–5 km north of the map trace shown on geologic maps, although, like other segments of the BRF, this boundary is blurred by local complexities within the BRF system. Ductile deformation of the mélange is sufficiently intense that few vestiges of its original mélange fabric exist, suggesting the scarcity of rocks described as mélange in the cores of many orogens may result from misidentification of rocks that have been intensely overprinted by younger, ductile deformation.

scholarly journals Supplemental Material: Detrital zircon geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry of Mesozoic sedimentary basins in south-central Alaska: Insights into regional sediment transport, basin development, and tectonics along the NW Cordilleran margin

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.R. Fasulo ◽  
et al.
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Alaska Range ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Detrital Zircon Geochronology ◽  
South Central ◽  
Cordilleran Margin ◽  
Detrital Zircon Ages

Supplemental Figure S1. Normalized distribution plot of detrital zircon ages from the Kahiltna assemblage of the central Alaska Range (Hampton et al., 2010), the Wellesly basin (this study), and the Kahiltna assemblage of the northwestern Talkeetna Mountains (Hampton et al., 2010). Note that the detrital zircon age distribution of ages older than 500 Ma has 10× vertical exaggeration.

scholarly journals A crucial geologic test of Late Jurassic exotic collision versus endemic re-accretion in the Klamath Mountains Province, western United States, with implications for the assembly of western North America

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd A. LaMaskin ◽  
Jonathan A. Rivas ◽  
David L. Barbeau ◽  
Joshua J. Schwartz ◽  
John A. Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
North American ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
North American Plate ◽  
Klamath Mountains ◽  
Clastic Rocks ◽  
Plate Margin

Differing interpretations of geophysical and geologic data have led to debate regarding continent-scale plate configuration, subduction polarity, and timing of collisional events on the western North American plate margin in pre–mid-Cretaceous time. One set of models involves collision and accretion of far-traveled “exotic” terranes against the continental margin along a west-dipping subduction zone, whereas a second set of models involves long-lived, east-dipping subduction under the continental margin and a fringing or “endemic” origin for many Mesozoic terranes on the western North American plate margin. Here, we present new detrital zircon U-Pb ages from clastic rocks of the Rattlesnake Creek and Western Klamath terranes in the Klamath Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon that provide a test of these contrasting models. Our data show that portions of the Rattlesnake Creek terrane cover sequence (Salt Creek assemblage) are no older than ca. 170–161 Ma (Middle–early Late Jurassic) and contain 62–83% Precambrian detrital zircon grains. Turbidite sandstone samples of the Galice Formation are no older than ca. 158–153 Ma (middle Late Jurassic) and contain 15–55% Precambrian detrital zircon grains. Based on a comparison of our data to published magmatic and detrital ages representing provenance scenarios predicted by the exotic and endemic models (a crucial geologic test), we show that our samples were likely sourced from the previously accreted, older terranes of the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada, as well as active-arc sources, with some degree of contribution from recycled sources in the continental interior. Our observations are inconsistent with paleogeographic reconstructions that are based on exotic, intra-oceanic arcs formed far offshore of North America. In contrast, the incorporation of recycled detritus from older terranes of the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada, as well as North America, into the Rattlesnake Creek and Western Klamath terranes prior to Late Jurassic deformation adds substantial support to endemic models. Our results suggest that during long-lived, east-dipping subduction, the opening and subsequent closing of the marginal Galice/Josephine basin occurred as a result of in situ extension and subsequent contraction. Our results show that tectonic models invoking exotic, intra-oceanic archipelagos composed of Cordilleran arc terranes fail a crucial geologic test of the terranes’ proposed exotic origin and support the occurrence of east-dipping, pre–mid-Cretaceous subduction beneath the North American continental margin.

scholarly journals Relationships between Alluvial Facies/Depositional Environments, Detrital Zircon U-Pb Geochronology, and Bulk-Rock Geochemistry in the Cretaceous Neungju Basin (Southwest Korea)

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1023
Author(s):  
Hyojong Lee ◽  
Min Gyu Kwon ◽  
Seungwon Shin ◽  
Hyeongseong Cho ◽  
Jong-Sun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Active Continental Margin ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Bulk Rock ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Margin Setting ◽  
Weathering Intensity

Zircon U-Pb geochronology and bulk-rock geochemistry analyses were carried out to investigate their relationship with depositional environments of the non-marine Neungju Basin sediments in South Korea. The Neungju Basin was formed in an active continental margin setting during the Late Cretaceous with associated volcanism. Detrital zircon age distributions of the Neungju Basin reveal that the source rocks surrounding the basin supplied sediments into the basin from all directions, making different zircon age populations according to the depositional environments. Mudstone geochemistry with support of detrital zircon U-Pb age data reveals how the heterogeneity affects the geochemical characteristics of tectonic setting and weathering intensity. The sediments in the proximal (alluvial fan to sandflat) and distal (playa lake) environments differ compositionally because sediment mixing occurred exclusively in the distal environment. The proximal deposits show a passive margin signature, reflecting their derivation from the adjacent metamorphic and granitic basement rocks. The distal deposits properly indicate an active continental margin setting due to the additional supply of reworked volcaniclastic sediments. The proximal deposits indicate a minor degree of chemical weathering corresponding to fossil and sedimentological records of the basin, whereas the distal deposits show lower weathering intensity by reworking of unaltered volcaniclastic detritus from unstable volcanic and volcaniclastic terranes. Overall, this study highlights that compositional data obtained from a specific location and depositional environments may not describe the overall characteristic of the basin.

Tectonic evolution of the central California margin as reflected by detrital zircon composition in the Mount Diablo region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared T. Gooley ◽  
Marty Grove ◽  
Stephan A. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Forearc Basin ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Central California ◽  
Sierra Nevada Batholith ◽  
Early Paleogene

ABSTRACT The Mount Diablo region has been located within a hypothesized persistent corridor for clastic sediment delivery to the central California continental margin over the past ~100 m.y. In this paper, we present new detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and integrate it with previously established geologic and sedimentologic relationships to document how Late Cretaceous through Cenozoic trends in sandstone composition varied through time in response to changing tectonic environments and paleogeography. Petrographic composition and detrital zircon age distributions of Great Valley forearc stratigraphy demonstrate a transition from axial drainage of the Klamath Mountains to a dominantly transverse Sierra Nevada plutonic source throughout Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene time. The abrupt presence of significant pre-Permian and Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene zircon age components suggests an addition of extraregional sediment derived from the Idaho batholith region and Challis volcanic field into the northern forearc basin by early–middle Eocene time as a result of continental extension and unroofing. New data from the Upper Cenozoic strata in the East Bay region show a punctuated voluminous influx (>30%) of middle Eocene–Miocene detrital zircon age populations that corresponds with westward migration and cessation of silicic ignimbrite eruptions in the Nevada caldera belt (ca. 43–40, 26–23 Ma). Delivery of extraregional sediment to central California diminished by early Miocene time as renewed erosion of the Sierra Nevada batholith and recycling of forearc strata were increasingly replaced by middle–late Miocene andesitic arc–derived sediment that was sourced from Ancestral Cascade volcanism (ca. 15–10 Ma) in the northern Sierra Nevada. Conversely, Cenozoic detrital zircon age distributions representative of the Mesozoic Sierra Nevada batholith and radiolarian chert and blueschist-facies lithics reflect sediment eroded from locally exhumed Mesozoic subduction complex and forearc basin strata. Intermingling of eastern- and western-derived provenance sources is consistent with uplift of the Coast Ranges and reversal of sediment transport associated with the late Miocene transpressive deformation along the Hayward and Calaveras faults. These provenance trends demonstrate a reorganization and expansion of the western continental drainage catchment in the California forearc during the late transition to flat-slab subduction of the Farallon plate, subsequent volcanism, and southwestward migration of the paleodrainage divide during slab rollback, and ultimately the cessation of convergent margin tectonics and initiation of the continental transform margin in north-central California.

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