scholarly journals Provenance Analysis of the Paleogene Strata in the Northern Qaidam Basin, China: Evidences from Sediment Distribution, Heavy Mineral Assemblages and Detrital Zircon U‒Pb Geochronology

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 854
Author(s):  
Jianguo Yin ◽  
Shuai Zhang ◽  
Zhixiong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Heavy Mineral ◽  
Provenance Analysis ◽  
Sediment Distribution ◽  
Early Mesozoic ◽  
Altyn Tagh ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
The Qilian Mountains

Using provenance analysis to build an accurate source-to-sink relationship is the key to infer mountain building scenarios around the Qaidam Basin, and also important to understanding the uplift and expansion of the Tibetan Plateau. However, some conflicting provenance inferences are caused by different interpretations for the prevalent existence of the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic age group in detrital zircon U‒Pb age spectra of the Paleogene strata at the northern Qaidam Basin, and these need to be resolved. In this article, an integrated study of sediment distribution, heavy mineral assemblages, and detrital zircon U‒Pb geochronology is carried out to analyze provenance of the Paleogene strata at the northern Qaidam Basin. The decreasing trends of the net sand to gross thickness ratios and conglomerate percentages away from the Qilian Mountains and Altyn Tagh range to basin interior clearly support they are the provenance areas. Sedimentation of materials from the Altyn Tagh range is spatially confined to a small area in front of the mountains. A large sandy body with a uniform distribution of detrital zircon ages (containing a lot of the late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic zircon ages) and heavy mineral assemblages in the Xiaganchaigou Formation is supplied by the Qilian Mountains.

Provenance analysis reveals mountain uplift in the midsection of the Altyn Tagh Fault during the Middle Miocene

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiguo Zhang ◽  
Junsheng Nie ◽  
Xiaomin Fang
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Provenance Analysis ◽  
Altyn Tagh Fault ◽  
Altyn Tagh

The Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) defines the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau; therefore, its tectonic history is key to understanding the plateau’s northward growth. However, our understanding of ATF tectonics is incomplete, owing in part to a lack of constraints in detailed basin evolution studies of this region. Approximately 1700 m of Middle Miocene – Pliocene clastic strata extracted from a section of the Yitunbulake Basin adjacent to the midsection of the ATF records the uplift of the Altyn Tagh Range. This paper reports 490 concordant detrital zircon U–Pb ages derived from this set of strata. In addition, paleocurrents and conglomerate clastic compositions were measured to determine the provenance of the basin. The dominant detrital zircon age populations within these sedimentary rocks are 260–240, 500–400, and 950–900 Ma. The 260–240 Ma component decreases sharply above the Lower (Xia) Youshashan (XYSS) Formation. Moreover, we performed (U–Th)/He dating on 260–240 Ma detrital zircons from the XYSS Formation to determine its source region. The results indicate that sandstones in this formation are most likely sourced immediately from plutonic rocks widely distributed in the Eastern Kunlun Mountains. The upward change in detrital zircon U–Pb age components in the section demonstrates that widespread surface uplift of the Akatengneng Mountains in the midsection of the ATF likely occurred after ∼16–15 Ma, which is synchronous with accelerated tectonic deformation along the ATF and a rapid increase in the sedimentation rate in the Qaidam Basin since the Middle Miocene.

scholarly journals A multidisciplinary approach for the quantitative provenance analysis of siltstone: Mesozoic Mandawa Basin, southeastern Tanzania

2019 ◽  
Vol 484 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Caracciolo ◽  
S. Andò ◽  
P. Vermeesch ◽  
E. Garzanti ◽  
R. McCabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Detrital Zircon ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Heavy Mineral ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Provenance Analysis ◽  
Etch Pits ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Heavy Mineral Analysis

AbstractThis paper shows how heavy minerals and single-grain varietal studies can be conducted on silt (representing c. 50% of world's sediments) sediments to obtain quantitative data as efficiently as for sand-sized sediments. The analytical workflows include heavy mineral separation using a wide grain-size window (15–355 μ) analysed through integrated optical analysis, Raman spectroscopy, QEMSCAN microscopy and U–Pb dating of detrital zircon. Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous silt-sized sediments from the Mandawa Basin of central-southern Tanzania have been selected for the scope of this research. Raman-aided heavy mineral analysis reveals garnet and apatite to be the most common minerals together with durable zircon, tourmaline and subordinate rutile. Accessory but diagnostic phases are titanite, staurolite, epidote and monazite. Etch pits on garnet and cockscomb features on staurolite document the significant effect of diagenesis on the pristine heavy mineral assemblage. Multivariate statistical analysis highlights a close association among durable minerals (zircon, tourmaline and rutile, ZTR) while garnet and apatite plot alone reflecting independence between the three groups of variables with garnet increasing in Jurassic samples. Raman data for garnet end-member analysis document different associations between Jurassic (richer in A, Bi and Bii types) and Cretaceous (dominant A, Ci and Cii types) samples. U–Pb dating of detrital zircon and their statistical integration with the above-mentioned datasets provide further insights into changes in provenance and/or drainage systems. Metamorphic rocks of the early and late Pan-African orogeny terranes of the Mozambique Belt and those of the Irumide Belt acted as main source of sediment during the Jurassic. Cretaceous sediments record a broadening of the drainage system reaching as far as the Usagran–Ubendian Belt and the Tanzanian Archean Craton.

Migration Law of Mesozoic Qaidam Basin Depocenters

2012 ◽  
Vol 524-527 ◽  
pp. 63-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Li Wang ◽  
Da Wei Lv ◽  
Hai Yan Liu ◽  
Xue Zheng ◽  
Yu Lin Lv
Keyword(s):  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Sedimentary Facies ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Kunlun Mountains ◽  
Distribution Features ◽  
The Qilian Mountains ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Migration Law

According to stratigraphy and distribution features of the Qaidam Basin, and further the formation and migration of it’s depocenters, it is considered that the Middle-Upper Triassic were mainly sags scattered among the Qilian Mountains, the Alabasitao Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains; the Early Jurassic depocenters were located mainly in Lenghu depression and Yiliping sag at the northwest of the basin; several Middle Jurassic depocenters distributed from the northwest to the southeast of the basin along Sertengshan-Yuqia near front of the Qilian mountains; the Late Jurassic-Cretaceous depocenters moved east and south. The basin had been larger since the Middle Jurassic, and the sedimentary facies changed from semideep-deep lacustrine of the Early-Middle Jurassic to near-source variegated fluvial-lacustrine of the Late Jurassic and brownish red lakeshore of the Early Cretaceous.

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