Detrital Minerals Geochronology Applied to Tectonics and Paleogeography

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Geochemistry and Geochronology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 January 2022) | Viewed by 15310

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Regional Geology, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Interests: paleogeography; geochronology; detrital zircons; geodynamics; Arctic geology; geology of Russia

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Guest Editor
Department of Tectonics, Geological Institute Russian Academy of Sciences, 119017 Moscow, Russia
Interests: detrital zircons; structural geology; geological mapping; geodynamics; OPS stratigraphy; chaotic complexes; geology of East Russia

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Guest Editor
Institute of Earth Sciences at Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Interests: tectonics; structural geology; geochronology; detrital zircons; sedimentary basins

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on detrital mineral geochronology. Geochronology of detrital minerals is a rapidly developing analytical tool in Earth science research due to the widespread occurrence of zircons, apatites, rutiles, and other minerals in the sedimentary record. U-Pb ages can be used to constrain the age of sedimentation of the host sediment, reconstruct sediment transport pathways and provenance areas, and characterize different aspects of the geological evolution of source regions. For this Special Issue, we invite authors to submit papers on the geochronological dating of detrital minerals and their application for understanding tectonics and paleogeography. Papers covering different aspects of the methodology of data acquisition and interpretation are welcome, too.

Dr. Victoria B. Ershova
Dr. Artem V. Moiseev
Prof. Dr. Andrey K. Khudoley
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • zircons
  • apatites
  • rutiles
  • U-Pb dating
  • low temperature thermochronology
  • tectonic
  • paleogeography
  • geodynamics

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 6126 KiB  
Article
Geochronology and Tectonic Implications of the Nianzigou Granites and Associated Mo Deposit, Inner Mongolia
by Yang Li, Yongqiang Yang, Lei Hua, Yaxing Leng and Jiang Xin
Minerals 2022, 12(7), 791; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12070791 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2044
Abstract
Multiple stages of igneous rocks occur in the recently discovered Nianzigou Mo deposit in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, which can provide insights into the late Mesozoic geodynamic evolution of the southern Da Hinggan Range. The mineralization age is similar to the age of local [...] Read more.
Multiple stages of igneous rocks occur in the recently discovered Nianzigou Mo deposit in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, which can provide insights into the late Mesozoic geodynamic evolution of the southern Da Hinggan Range. The mineralization age is similar to the age of local granites, but there are few detailed studies of the tectonic setting during Cu-Mo mineralization in this area. The Nianzigou Mo deposit is located close to the northern margin of the North China Craton and in the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt and is a typical quartz-vein-type Mo deposit in the Xilamulun Mo ore belt. The granite in this deposit has high SiO2, Al2O3, K2O, and Na2O contents, and low MgO, CaO, and Fe2O3t contents. The granite is characterized by enrichments in large-ion lithophile elements and depletions in high-field-strength elements and, in particular, Sr, Ti, and P. The granite has high contents of rare-earth elements, is enriched in light rare-earth elements, and has marked negative Eu anomalies. The granite is an alkaline and calc-alkaline and metaluminous A-type granite. The zircon U-Pb ages of the monzogranite and granite porphyry are 157.2 ± 0.3 and 154.4 ± 0.4 Ma. The model age obtained by Re-Os isotopic dating is 154.3 ± 1.7 Ma, indicating that molybdenite mineralization also occurred during the Late Jurassic period. Given that the molybdenite Re contents are 7.8–24.9 ppm (average = 16.8 ppm), the ore-forming materials of the Nianzigou Mo deposit had a mixed crust–mantle source, but were mainly derived from the lower crust. Based on the geology and geochemistry, we propose that the Nianzigou Mo deposit formed in a postorogenic extensional tectonic setting associated with the southward subduction of the Mongol–Okhotsk oceanic plate. Full article
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16 pages, 5207 KiB  
Article
Peri-Gondwanan Provenance and Geodynamic Evolution of The Guadaiza Nappe (Alpujarride Complex, Betic Cordilleras, Spain): Insights on The Paleotethyan Paleogeography
by José Julián Esteban, Julia Cuevas and José María Tubía
Minerals 2022, 12(3), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12030325 - 5 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2171
Abstract
Based on the LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon ages of four metamorphic samples, we discuss the geochronology and provenance of the Guadaiza nappe, an allochthonous unit that underlies the Ronda peridotites (Betic Cordilleras, Spain). The Guadaiza nappe is composed of Triassic marbles overlying a metapelitic [...] Read more.
Based on the LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon ages of four metamorphic samples, we discuss the geochronology and provenance of the Guadaiza nappe, an allochthonous unit that underlies the Ronda peridotites (Betic Cordilleras, Spain). The Guadaiza nappe is composed of Triassic marbles overlying a metapelitic sequence with schists and migmatites. Zircons from a quartzite interlayered with the marbles yield a maximum depositional age of ca. 289 Ma that supports the Triassic age. The idiomorphic morphology of these Paleozoic zircon crystals and the lack of late-Variscan metamorphism (ca. 300 Ma) supports a proximal source area, and suggests that the marbles were discordantly deposited over the metapelitic sequence, along the northern margin of the Alboran microplate. The zircon patterns from the metapelitic sequence mainly yield Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.6–2.5 Ga), Tonian–Stenian (ca. 1000 Ma), Ediacaran–Cryogenian (ca. 600 Ma) and Paleozoic (ca. 500 Ma) age clusters. These results suggest provenance from areas within the triangle bound by the West African Craton, the Metasaharan Craton and the Hun Superterrane during the Paleotethys opening (Silurian–Devonian). A Silurian–Carboniferous deposition age for the schist protoliths is constrained by the youngest detrital zircon population (ca. 443 Ma) and the Variscan age of their migmatization by an additional peak of around 299 Ma in the migmatites. Full article
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14 pages, 6181 KiB  
Article
Zircon U–Pb–Hf Isotopic and Trace Element Analyses for Oceanic Mafic Crustal Rock of the Neoproterozoic–Early Paleozoic Oeyama Ophiolite Unit and Implication for Subduction Initiation of Proto-Japan Arc
by Hikaru Sawada, Sota Niki, Mitsuhiro Nagata and Takafumi Hirata
Minerals 2022, 12(1), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12010107 - 17 Jan 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3957
Abstract
The Oeyama ophiolite unit is one of the oldest components of the subduction orogenic belts in the Japanese Islands and is important for understanding the initiation of plate subduction in the proto-Japan region. This study performed U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopic and trace element [...] Read more.
The Oeyama ophiolite unit is one of the oldest components of the subduction orogenic belts in the Japanese Islands and is important for understanding the initiation of plate subduction in the proto-Japan region. This study performed U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopic and trace element analyses of zircon in gabbroic rocks from the Oeyama mafic–ultramafic complex, the type locality of the Oeyama ophiolite unit. This study obtained a weighted average zircon 206Pb/238U age of 544 ± 4 Ma, which indicates an igneous age of the gabbroic rock. Trace element analysis of the zircons revealed that the host rock was derived from the mantle depleted of incompatible elements such as the depleted mid-oceanic ridge mantle. The present igneous age and geochemical features of the zircons are consistent with previous work for other parts of the Oeyama ophiolitic unit. The isotopic signature of Hf also indicated that the gabbroic rock was derived from the depleted mantle domain. The Hf isotopic signature is more depleted than those represented by zircons in the jadeitite associated with the Oeyama ophiolite unit. These results demonstrated that the older crustal material was involved in the initial oceanic plate subduction along the proto-Japan arc. Full article
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20 pages, 6366 KiB  
Article
Structural Study and Detrital Zircon Provenance Analysis of the Cycladic Blueschist Unit Rocks from Iraklia Island: From the Paleozoic Basement Unroofing to the Cenozoic Exhumation
by Sofia Laskari, Konstantinos Soukis, Stylianos Lozios, Daniel F. Stockli, Eirini M. Poulaki and Christina Stouraiti
Minerals 2022, 12(1), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12010083 - 11 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3054
Abstract
Detailed mapping and structural observations on the Cycladic Blueschist Unit (CBU) on Iraklia Island integrated with detrital zircon (DZ) U-Pb ages elucidate the Mesozoic pre-subduction and the Cenozoic orogenic evolution. Iraklia tectonostratigraphy includes a heterogeneous Lower Schist Fm., juxtaposed against a Marble Fm. [...] Read more.
Detailed mapping and structural observations on the Cycladic Blueschist Unit (CBU) on Iraklia Island integrated with detrital zircon (DZ) U-Pb ages elucidate the Mesozoic pre-subduction and the Cenozoic orogenic evolution. Iraklia tectonostratigraphy includes a heterogeneous Lower Schist Fm., juxtaposed against a Marble Fm. and an overlying Upper Schist Fm. The contact is an extensional ductile-to-brittle-ductile, top-to-N shear zone, kinematically associated with the Oligo-Miocene exhumation. The DZ spectra of the Lower Schist have Gondwanan/peri-Gondwanan provenance signatures and point to Late Triassic Maximum Depositional Ages (MDAs). A quartz-rich schist lens yielded Precambrian DZ ages exclusively and is interpreted as part of the pre-Variscan metasedimentary Cycladic Basement, equivalent to schists of the Ios Island core. The Upper Schist represents a distinctly different stratigraphic package with late Cretaceous MDAs and dominance of Late Paleozoic DZ ages, suggestive of a more internal Pelagonian source. The contrast in the DZ U-Pb record between Lower and Upper Schist likely reflects the difference between a Paleotethyan and Neotethyan geodynamic imprint. The Triassic DZ input from eroded volcanic material is related to the final Paleotethys closure and Pindos/CBU rift basin opening, while late Cretaceous metamorphic/magmatic zircons and ~48–56 Ma zircon rims constrain the onset of Neotethyan convergence and high-pressure subduction metamorphism. Full article
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32 pages, 4844 KiB  
Article
New Insights into Pre-to-Post Ediacaran Zircon Fingerprinting of the Mamfe PanAfrican Basement, SW Cameroon: A Possible Link with Rocks in SE Nigeria and the Borborema Province of NE Brazil
by Nguo Sylvestre Kanouo, David Richard Lentz, Khin Zaw, Charles Makoundi, Emmanuel Afanga Archelaus Basua, Rose Fouateu Yongué and Emmanuel Njonfang
Minerals 2021, 11(9), 943; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11090943 - 30 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3111
Abstract
The pre- to post-Late Neoproterozoic geological histories in the south to southwestern part of Mamfe Basin (SW Cameroon) were reported following analysis of the zircon crystals from their host rocks. A genetic model was developed for the zircon host rocks’ formation conditions, and [...] Read more.
The pre- to post-Late Neoproterozoic geological histories in the south to southwestern part of Mamfe Basin (SW Cameroon) were reported following analysis of the zircon crystals from their host rocks. A genetic model was developed for the zircon host rocks’ formation conditions, and the registered post-emplacement events were presented. The obtained ages were correlated with the data available for rocks in the Cameroon Mobile Belt, SE Nigeria, and the Borborema Province of NE Brazil. Separated zircons from Araru black to whitish gneiss, Araru whitish-grey gneiss, and Mboifong migmatite were analyzed for their morphology and texture U-Th-Pb composition, and U-Pb ages. Published U-Pb zircon ages for Otu granitic pegmatite, Babi mica schist, and Nkogho I-type anatectic granite were updated. Zircon ages in Araru black to whitish gneiss; Araru whitish-grey, Mboifong migmatite, Babi mica schist, Nkogho I-type anatectic granite, and Otu granitic pegmatite date the Eburnean tectono-magmatic/metamorphic event in Cameroon and SE Nigeria. The Late Paleoproterozoic to Early Mesoproterozoic ages record extensional (continental rift) settings and anorogenic magmatism in the Borborema Province in the NE of Brazil. These ages date collisional phases between the São Francisco–Congo and West African cratons and the Saharan metacraton with metamorphism and magmatism in Cameroon. They also date the Kibarian tectono-magmatic/metamorphism and PanAfrican tectono-magmatic/metamorphism in SE Nigeria. The Late Paleoproterozoic to Early Mesoproterozoic ages date the Cariris Velhos orogeny in the Borborema Province in NE Brazil, with Early Tonian crustal rifting, magmatism, and metamorphism and the collisional phase of the Brasiliano orogeny with syn-collisional plutons and extensive shear zoning and post-collisional granite intrusions. Full article
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