Document 1947325

Provenance of late Paleozoic and Mesozoic clastic
sediments of Taimyr and their significance for
understanding Arctic tectonics
Xiaojing Zhang
Stockholm University
Abstract
The Taimyr Peninsula is a key element in the circum-Arctic region and represents
the northern margin of the Siberian Craton. The Taimyr Peninsula preserves late
Paleozoic through Mesozoic clasitic sedimentary successions in its Mesozoic fold belt,
providing an ideal location to investigate the Mesozoic tectonic evolution associated
with the opening of Amerasia Basin within a circum-Arctic framework. This thesis aims
to establish the tectonic setting in which the late Paleozoic through Mesozoic
sediments of Taimyr were deposited, in order to correlate Taimyr with other Arctic
terranes utilizing provenance investigations. Multiple methods are adopted, including
petrography, heavy mineral analysis and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology.
The preliminary results of this work indicate that the late Paleozoic sediments of
southern Taimyr were deposited in a foreland basin of the Uralian orogen during
Uralian orogeny. The final collision between Baltica and Siberia in the last stage of
Uralian orogenesis occurred between Early and Late Permian. Early Cretaceous
sediments in northern Taimyr were mainly derived from Siberian Trap-related
magmatism in Taimyr. Cretaceous sediment deposition is unrelated to Jurassic to
Cretaceous rifting associated with the Verkhoyansk fold belt and instead relates to a
rifting or post- rifting passive margin setting.
1
Index
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3
Geological setting ................................................................................................................ 6
Methods ............................................................................................................................... 7
1 Petrographic method ................................................................................................. 7
2 Heavy Mineral Analysis ............................................................................................. 9
Conventional HMA .............................................................................................. 10
Varietal study ....................................................................................................... 11
3 Detrital Zircon U-Pb Geochronology ....................................................................... 12
Rationale..................................................................................................................... 13
Results and Conclusions ................................................................................................... 14
Future Work ....................................................................................................................... 15
Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. 16
References:........................................................................................................................ 16
2
Introduction
The tectonic development of the circum-Arctic region is important for
understanding both global tectonics and the framework of petroleum and mineral
resources of the Arctic. The Taimyr Peninsula lies at the edge of the Eurasian
epicontinental shelf, which represents a major part of the Arctic, facing the Kara Sea
and Laptev Sea. It contains major fold-thrust belts and igneous, metamorphic and
sedimentary rocks of Proterozoic to Cretaceous ages (Fig. 1 and 2) and consequently
has a crucial role for understanding the tectonic evolution of Northern Eurasia within a
circum-Arctic framework (Inger et al., 1999; Walderhaug et al., 2005).
Fig.1 Location map of the Arctic region. Bathymetry and topography are from the IBCAO
Arctic Bathymetry database (Jakobsson et al., 2012). The Taimyr Peninsula is marked in
red. Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microcontinent (AACM) is indicated by grey (after Rowley and
lawver, 1988).
3
The northward continuation of the late Paleozoic Uralian orogen in the Arctic
region is debated and is relevant to Taimyr. The Uralian orogen developed through
collision between the eastern margin of Baltica with the Siberia and Kazakhstan
plates during the late Paleozoic. It extends from the Aral Sea to the south and is
nearly 2500 km long, but the inferred continuation northward into the Arctic region is
controversial. Some authors believe Uralian orogeny terminates at the Polar Urals
(Puchkov, 1997; Gee et al., 2006) while many others suggest its northward
continuation reaches Taimyr (Drachev et al., 2010; Scott et al., 2010; Malyshev et al.,
2012), or that it projects from Pai Khoi to Novaya Zemlya, then to Taimyr, Severnaya
Zemlya and at last back to the Asian mainland (Sengör et al., 1993; Otto and Bailey,
1995). Northern Taimyr, together with Severnaya Zemlya, is traditionally treated as an
independent microcontinent (Uflyand et al., 1991; Gramberg and Ushakov, 2000;
Metelkin et al., 2005), but a growing body of evidence suggests that the Kara Block
was a part of Baltica since at least Neoproterozoic time (see Gee and Pease, 2004
and references therein; Lorenz et al., 2007; Lorenz et al., 2008; Pease and Scott,
2009; Lorenz et al., 2012). The collision of northern Taimyr with central-southern
Taimyr is correlated with Uralian orogeny (Vernikovsky, 1996; Inger et al., 1999;
Walderhaug et al., 2005; Pease and Scott, 2009; Pease, 2011), however, the absence
of characteristics typical of Uralian orogenesis in the southern Urals, such as
westward thrusted oceanic crustal fragments, requires better constraints to reveal the
nature, timing and kinematics of the collision in Taimyr.
The Arctic Basin comprises two sub-basins, the Amerasia Basin and the
Eurasian Basin, which are separated by the Lomonosov Ridge (Fig. 1). The Eurasia
Basin has been well constrained as a continuation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and
opened by sea-floor spreading in the Early Cenozoic (e.g., Herron et al., 1974;
Rowley and Lottes, 1988; Glebovsky et al., 2006). However, the origin of the
Amerasia Basin is a controversial tectonic issue and many models have been
proposed addressing its origins. The Amerasia Basin consists of the Canada Basin,
the Alpha and Mendeleev Ridges, and the Makarov Basin. The popular simple
rotation model suggests that the Canada Basin opened as the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka
microcontinent (AACM) (Fig.1) rotated counterclockwise away from the Arctic Canada
margin during early Cretaceous (e.g., Grantz et al., 1979; Rowley and Lottes, 1988;
Grantz et al., 1998; Lawver et al., 2002). On the basis of detrital zircon data, Miller et
al. (2006; 2010) argue that the Chukotka part of the AACM had affinity with Siberia
rather than the Canadian margin and the Amerasia Basin opened in a more complex
but unclear way. Lane (1997) challenged the counterclockwise rotation model and
presented a three-stage non-rotation spreading formation for the Amerasia Basin.
The Mesozoic development of Taimyr is complicated both spatially and
4
temporally. At present it is debated whether one or two fold belts exist in eastern
Taimyr (Pease, 2011). In SE Taimyr, the mid (?)-Cretaceous and younger rocks are
undeformed, and Triassic and Jurassic or earliest Cretaceous strata are folded and
faulted; in NE Taimyr, all Jura- Cretaceous rocks are undeformed. Two kinds of
deformation mechanism have been proposed to explain this complexity. First, a single,
but diachronous compressional event may have developed across Taimyr to
Verkhoyansk.
In the Verkhoyansk region, the Verkhoyansk fold belt is a late
Mesozoic structure resulting from collision between the Siberian craton and the
Kolyma–Omolon superterrane (Prokopiev et al., 2001; Oxman, 2003; Konstantinovsky,
2007). Alternatively, two distinct Mesozoic compressional events may have occurred,
an older early Jurassic event in central Taimyr, and a younger late Jurassic/early
Cretaceous event across eastern Taimyr and Verkhoyansk. Both explanations are
related to the opening of Amerasia Basin, and thus a better understanding of the
timing and causes to Mesozoic deformation in Taimyr is essential to assess different
models for the development of the Amerasia Basin.
The Taimyr Peninsula lies on the passive margin of the Siberian craton. It usually
divides into three southern, central and northern NE-SW trending domains
(Vernikovsky, 1996) (Fig. 1 and 2). Southern Taimyr, located between the Paleozoic
Uralian orogen and the Mesozoic Verkhoyansk fold belt, represents the passive
margin of the Siberian craton. The late Carboniferous to Early Triassic siliciclastic
succession deposited on the passive margin is coeval with Uralian orogenisis and
likely sourced from erosion of the developing Uralian collision belt to the north and
west. Uplift of the Siberian craton to the south due to Permo-Triassic plume-related
magmatism may also be a possible source. The tectonic setting of, and sediment
source(s) for, the late Carboniferous to early Triassic and Jurassic to Cretaceous
sedimentary units are important for understanding the tectonic evolution of the
Eurasian shelf from late Paleozoic through Mesozoic and for constraining Arctic
tectonic reconstructions.
Although some geochemical and geochronological work has been conducted on
igneous rocks of Taimyr (Pease and Vernikovsky, 2000; Pease et al., 2001;
Vernikovsky and Vernikovskaya, 2001b; Vernikovsky et al., 2003; Walderhaug et al.,
2005; Pease and Persson, 2006; Vernikovsky et al., 2011), few studies investigate the
sedimentary rocks. This thesis aims to establish the paleogeographical affinities of the
Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary successions in southern Taimyr using
provenance studies, which can provide precise information on the timing and tectonic
setting of events preserved within the sediment and derived from it’s source area(s).
Furthermore, this provenance information can be used to compare with
equivalent-aged Mesozoic stratigraphy from Eurasia and North America for a more
5
comprehensive understanding of circum-Arctic tectonic evolution.
Geological setting
Southern
Taimyr
contains
weakly
to
unmetamorphosed
Ordovician
to
mid-Carboniferous carbonate-dominated passive margin shelf succession of Siberia
craton (Bezzubtsev et al., 1986; Inger et al., 1999; Torsvik and Andersen, 2002). The
passive margin succession is overlain by late Carboniferous to early Triassic
shallow-marine and continental siliciclastic rocks interlayered with Permian - Triassic
extrusive and intrusive rocks of the Taimyr igneous suite (Inger et al., 1999;
Walderhaug et al., 2005). This siliciclastic package records an influx of continental
detritus, possibly caused by erosion of the developing Uralian collision belt to the
north and west. Rare thrust faults observed within the Paleozoic carbonate
succession are considered to be Late Paleozoic structures of Uralian age (Inger et al.,
1999). During late Triassic to earliest Jurassic time, all of the Triassic and older rocks
in southern Taimyr were folded and faulted southward during dextral transpression
(Inger et al., 1999; Torsvik and Andersen, 2002; Walderhaug et al., 2005).
Fig. 2 Simplified geological map of the Taimyr Peninsula (after Bezzubtsev et al., 1983;
Vernikovsky and Vernikovskaya, 2001a)
Central Taimyr is structurally and lithologically complex. It contains a varied
assemblage of Precambrian crystalline units. Greenschist facies Neoproterozoic
volcano-sedimentary successions predominate, including fragmented ophiolites,
island-arc volcanic rocks and continental crust (Zonenshain et al., 1990; Uflyand et al.,
6
1991; Vernikovsky et al., 2004). Associated with them are Mesoproterozoic to early
Neoproterozoic amphibolite-facies metasedimentary units intruded by c. 900 Ma
granites (Pease et al., 2001). Unconformably overlying the basement is a weakly to
unmetamorphosed latest Neoproterozoic (Vendian) to early Paleozoic continental
margin succession, which is interpreted to be deposited on the continental slope of
Siberia (Inger et al., 1999), and indicates that central - southern Taimyr has been a
coherent part of Siberia since at least latest Neoproterozoic time.
Northern Taimyr is dominated by interbedded Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic
sandstones, siltstones and mudstones interpreted as continental slope turbidites
(Bezzubtsev et al., 1986). Regional greenschist to amphibolites facies metamorphism
resulted from late Paleozoic deformation are developed. They are extensively
intruded by Carboniferous to Permian age (300 - 265 Ma) syenites thought to
represent
syn-
to
post-tectonic
magmatism
(Vernikovsky
et
al.,
1995,
Pease,unpublished data).
Methods
The sedimentary successions in basins are direct records of mountain uplift and
erosion. Provenance investigations of sediment aims to identify the source area(s)
and assemblages of parent-rock (Weltje and von Eynatten, 2004). In this thesis,
petrography, heavy mineral analysis, and detrital zircon U-Pb dating are employed for
provenance study of Paleozoic to Mesozoic sediments in Taimyr.
1 Petrographic method
The petrographic method is used to determining tectonic settings and
provenance by identifying the detrital modes of sandstone, obtained from point
counting of thin sections (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979; Dickinson, 1985). The most
widely used detrital framework mode is that of Dickinson and Suczek (1979), who
made quantitative statistical assessments of the composition of sandstone from ’type’
areas, and then proposed a suite of discrimination plots (Fig. 3). Sandstone detrital
framework minerals larger than 0.0625 mm are counted and include: 1. stable
quartzose grains (Qt), including monocrystalline quartz (Qm), and polycrystalline
quartzose lithic fragments (Qp); 2. monocrystalline feldspar grains (F), including
plagioclase (P), and K-feldspar (K); and 3. unstable polycrystalline lithic fragments (L),
including volcanic and metavolcanic lithic fragments (Lv), and sedimentary and
metasedimentary lithic fragments (Ls).
There are four complementary triangular plots in common use, and each of them
is based on different detrital grain suites (Fig. 3) (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979). In
QFL and QmFLt plots, all the grain types are used. Both polycrystalline quartz and
7
monocrystalline quartz are calculated together for the QtFL plot, reflecting the stability
of grains, and thus the influence of weathering, provenance relief, and transport
mechanism, along with source rock composition. All the lithic fragments and
polycrystalline quartz are combined in the QmFLt plot, emphasizing the grain size of
the parent-rock. In QpLvLs and QmPK plots, only part of detrital grain types is used.
The QpLvLs plot indicates the polycrystalline grain features of sandstone, while the
QmPK reveals the monocrystalline grain features (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979).
Three main provenance types are identified in these plots -- continental block,
magmatic arc, and recycled orogen (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979; Dickinson, 1985).
This method is easy,quick, and has been widely used. It has subsequently been
developed further by many other workers (Ingersoll et al., 1984; Ingersoll et al., 1993;
Garzanti et al., 2002; Weltje, 2002; Garzanti et al., 2008). Generally, the QtFL and
QmFLt plots are most commonly used.
Fig. 3 Petrographic discrimination diagrams showing tectonic settings related to source
areas (after Dickinson, 1985).
8
2 Heavy Mineral Analysis
Fig. 4 Schematic illustration of processes that modify the composition of sediment and its
heavy mineral suite during the sedimentary cycle (after Morton and Hallsworth, 1994).
Note the idealized reflection of detrital zircon age spectra and the heavy mineral
assemblage used to indicate source region.
Minerals with a density greater than 2.86 g/cm3 in siliciclastic sediments are
called ‘heavy’ minerals. They usually occur as accessory minerals in rocks. Heavy
mineral analysis is one of the most powerful and widely used methods in determining
sediment provenance because of their sensitivity to source rock lithology (Morton,
1992; Morton and Hallsworth, 1994). It is especially useful in investigations of
sedimentation related to tectonic uplift, since the evolution and unroofing of orogens
are reflected in their foreland deposits (Mange and Maurer, 1992). However, source
rock is not the only control on the heavy mineral assemblage - several other
parameters have the ability to change the relative abundance of heavy minerals,
including weathering at the source area, mechanical destruction during transport from
the source area, hydraulic factors to do with mineral shape and size, as well as
diagenetic process (intrastrata dissolution) (Fig. 4). The most important factors are
hydraulics and burial diagenesis (Mange and Maurer, 1992; Morton and Hallsworth,
1999). Hydraulic factors influence the variety of heavy minerals deposited under
certain hydraulic conditions and burial diagenesis can dissolve unstable minerals
resulting in a decrease of heavy mineral diversity. The relative stability of heavy
minerals in deeply buried sandstone is shown in Table 1.
9
Table 1 Heavy mineral order of stability in deeply buried
sandstone modified after Morton and Hallsworth (1994)
Most stable
Rutile, Anatase, Brookite, Zircon, Apatite
Tourmaline, Monazite, Spinel
Garnet, Chloritoid
Allanite
Staurolite
Sodic amphibole
Kyanite
Titanite
Epidote
Calcic amphibole, Andalusite, Sillimanite
Sodic pyroxene
Orthopyroxene, Clinopyroxene
Olivine
Least stable
There are two means to obtain data that is likely to reflect the source area in
provenance studies: conventional heavy mineral suite analysis (HMA) and varietal
studies (Morton and Hallsworth, 1999). These are discussed below.
Conventional
HMA is the method adopted in this thesis.
Conventional HMA
Many heavy minerals have restricted parageneses that indicate the involvement
of particular source rocks (Morton and Hallsworth, 1994), and thus the number and
the species of possible minerals present in sediments can reflect the parent rocks.
Determining the relative abundance of heavy minerals in sedimentary rocks is one of
the conventional HMA methods, which is achieved by counting grains on grain mounts.
To obtain precise data, at least 200 non-opaque minerals should be counted (Mange
and Maurer, 1992). However, due to the varied stability of different heavy minerals to
diagenetic conditions, variations in relative abundance of heavy minerals may be
caused by differering diagenetic processes. Therefore, only minerals stable during
diagenetic process can be used for conventional HMA to constrain provenance. Such
minerals include apatite, the TiO2 polymorphs (rutile, anatase and brookite),
tourmaline, monazite, spinel minerals and chloritoid. When garnet does not show
corrosion of its surface texture, it is also a useful indicator mineral for provenance.
because garnet is sensitive to acid leaching (Mange and Maurer, 1992) and its
10
variation in abundance can only be used when garnet dissolution is not significant.
The presence of minerals such as staurolite, kyanite, titanite, epidote, amphibole and
pyroxene, can suggest the nature of the source rocks, but their variations in
abundance cannot be used for constraining provenance due to the instability of these
minerals (Morton and Hallsworth, 1994).
Another conventional HMA method is to study the ratios of specific mineral pairs.
These minerals should be relatively stable, with similar hydraulic and diagenetic
behavior (Morton and Hallsworth, 1994). The mineral ratios typically used are outlined
in Table 2. Since such mineral pairs are less likely to reflect hydraulic or diagenetic
factors, they generally reflect the characteristics of their source rock(s). For example,
a high monazite to zircon (MZi) ratio (or index) indicates the involvement of granite or
pegmatite, because monazite is a common accessory mineral in granitic rocks and
pegmatites; a high chrome spinel to zircon (CZi) index suggests a significant
contribution from ultramafic rocks because chrome spinel is common in ultramafic
rocks (Mange and Maurer, 1992; Morton and Hallsworth, 1994; Morton and Berge,
1995; Morton et al., 2011).
Table 2 Provenance sensitive mineral pairs (Morton and Hallsworth,1994). The minerals
are hydraulically similar, stable heavy minerals.
Index
Mineral pair
Definition
ATi
apatite-tourmline
100×apatite/(apatite+tourmaline)
GZi
garnet-zircon
100×garnet/(garnet+zircon)
RZi
rutile-zircon
100×rutile/(rutile+zircon)
CZi
chrome spinel-zircon
100×chrome spinel/(chrome spinel+zircon)
MZi
monazite-zircon
100×monazite/(monazite+zircon)
Varietal study
Another approach is to study the variations of an individual mineral or mineral
group using different techniques. Crystal optical properties, such as color, habit and
shape, are applied to subdivide mineral populations (Koen, 1955; Poldervaart, 1955;
Hansley, 1986). This work is easily conducted using a polarizing microscope, or using
advanced techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, or
cathodoluminescence imaging (e.g., Mange and Maurer, 1992). Single grain
geochemistry has been widely utilized for varietal studies since the advent of the
electron microprobe (e.g. Leterrier et al., 1982; Morton, 1985; Zack et al., 2004;
Morton et al., 2005). A large range of heavy minerals are used for geochemical
analysis, including garnet, chrome spinel, tourmaline, amphibole, pyroxene, zircon,
apatite, ilmenite and rutile (see Mange and Morton, 2007, and references therein).
Due to the diversity of heavy mineral species, the varietal results should be always
11
integrated with conventional HMA data to get the most reliable provenance
information.
3 Detrital Zircon U-Pb Geochronology
Zircon is a common accessory mineral in most rock types. It is mechanically
and chemically stable and therefore can endure successive cycles of transport, burial
and erosion (Carter and Bristow, 2000). The development and application of
secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and laser ablation - inductively coupled
plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques can generate ages efficiently and
with high accuracy, which make zircon U-Pb geochronology by far the most powerful
and popular approach for sedimentary provenance study today (Gehrels et al., 1995;
Fedo et al., 2003, and references therein; Gehrels, 2011).
In provenance investigations, detrital zircon ages are compared with the ages of
potential source terranes to determine the ultimate source(s) of the sediment (Gehrels,
2011; Thomas, 2011). The aim of zircon analysis is to produce an age distribution that
reflects the population in the sediment and hence is an accurate signature of its
source rock(s). The strategy to achieve this is to select zircons randomly, irrespective
of grain size, color, shape and so on (Gehrels, 2011). However, due to analytical
requirements of the technique, very small grains are excluded. Morton et al. (1996)
suggest using the 63 - 125 μm (very fine sand) fraction in detrital zircon studies. At
least 117 analyses for each sample are needed to achieve statistical representation
(Vermeesch, 2004).
U-Pb analyses are usually plotted on a conventional or inverse (Tera and
Wasserburg, 1972) concordia diagram. This is done using a spreadsheet with macros
such as Isoplot (Lugwig, 2010). For analyses <1.0 Ga,
206
Pb/238U ages are used, and
206
Pb/207Pb ages are used for analyses >1.0 Ga. This is due to the better precision
associated with
zircons the
206
Pb/238U,
206
Pb/238U ages associated with “young” zircons, while for “older”
206
Pb/207Pb ages have more reliable uncertainties (Gehrels, 2011). If the
207
Pb/235U and 206Pb/207Pb ages are similar (within error), an analysis is
considered to be concordant (Wetherill, 1956). However, there are always some
discordant analyses in a dataset (Nemchin and Cawood, 2005; Gehrels, 2011).
Usually, analyses more than 10% discordance or with large errors (>10%) are
excluded from the final data synthesis. The acceptable results are plotted in a
probability plot with histograms in order to represent both the age and associated
uncertainty (DeGraaff-Surpless et al., 2003; Lugwig, 2010; Gehrels, 2011). The
cumulative probability plots and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test (Massey Jr, 1951)
are adopted to make comparisons between samples (Fig. 6). The K-S test is applied
to examine the statistical possibility of significant differences between zircon age
12
populations of different samples. The confidence level is 95% and when the P value is
larger than 0.05 the zircon populations are considered to be similar.
Rationale
Sediment composition in basins is controlled by many parameters, such as the
parent-rock type, tectonic setting, transport path-way, deposition and digenesis, etc.,
of which the parent-rock type and tectonic setting exert the primary effects (Dickinson
and Suczek, 1979; Dickinson et al., 1983; Dickinson, 1985; Zuffa, 1987; McLennan et
al., 1993).
A sedimentary basin may reflect detritus from several sources.
For
example, multiple magmatic events can occur in a single locality, or rocks of different
lithology and age may come from different localities mixing during transport or during
recycling of older sediments with younger primary sources (Thomas, 2011). The
combination of heavy mineral analysis and detrital zircon age dating has made
high-resolution characterization and differentiation of sediment provenance viable
(Hallsworth et al., 2000). While heavy mineral data is used to identify the source rock
types, the detrital zircon age data is used to constrain the age of source terrains (Fig.
4). In this way, both the nature and the age of the possible source(s) can be
determined.
Fig. 5 Schematic illustration showing the application of detrital zircon ages, heavy mineral
analysis and petrography for constraining tectonic setting of sediment sources (after
Cawood et al., 2012). Red arrows indicate the deposition age of sediment.
It is well recognized that tectonic evolution is reflected in sedimentary rocks
(McLennan et al., 1993). Cawood et al. (2012) classified the tectonic setting of a
sedimentary package as extensional, convergent, and collisional, which correspond
to the continental block, magmatic arc, and recycled orogen of Dickinson et. al (1985),
respectively. They proposed that detrital zircon age spectra can also reflect the
13
tectonic setting of basins (Cawood et al., 2012) (Fig. 5). Detrital zircons from basins in
an extensional setting, including rift-basins and post-rift passive margins, usually lack
grains with syn-sedimentary ages and are dominated by older input from the continent.
Detrital zircon spectra of sediments in arc flanking basins along convergent margins
are characterized by young ages of syn-sedimentary igneous activity, and little older
continental input is involved in their deposition. Foreland basin sediments in
continental collisional settings contain zircon with ages close to the deposition age
along with significant older zircon from the continent (Cawood et al., 2007; Cawood et
al., 2012). The heavy mineral assemblage and morphology also preserve features
reflecting the tectonic setting of basins: sediment in extensional settings have a higher
proportion stable heavy minerals (zircon, tourmaline, rutile, and apatite) and a higher
proportion rounded grains; sediment from continental collisional settings have a
moderate proportion of stable heavy minerals and both rounded and euhedral grains
are common; sediment in magmatic arc settings have a lower proportion of stable
heavy minerals and are more euhedral (Nie et al., 2012).
Results and Conclusions
The results and conclusions of this investigation are presented in the following
submitted manuscript, and a brief summary is given here. The petrographic, heavy
mineral and detrital zircon U-Pb age results are summarized in Table 3 and Fig. 6.
Fig. 6 Cumulative probability plots of zircon age spectra for Taimyr late Paleozoic and
Mesozoic samples. The grey region represents Jurassic-Cretaceous detrital zircon spectra
from Miller et al. (2008) (b) P values resulting from the K-S test (Massey Jr, 1951).
values in grey indicate a strong correlation.
14
The
Table 3 Summary of results from Taimyr Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediment provenance investigations
Petrography
Sample
strata
Location
classify
Creta-
northern
ceous
Taimyr
P2bk
P1sk
P1br
C2-P1tr
subarkose
provenanc
e type
craton
interior
SE
feldspathic
Recycled
Taimyr
litharenite
orogen
SE
lithic arkose
Taimyr
central-S
Taimyr
sublitharenite
SE
Taimyr
subarkose
Heavy mineral analysis
Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology
GZi
Inferred detrital
tectonic setting of
Ratio
zircon sources
basin
43-4
Siberia Trap, Uralian,
9
Caledonian
assemblage
staurolite, zircon,
garnet,
tourmaline
rift-basins or
margins
Apatite,
tourmaline,
Uralian, peak and late
63
garnet, zircon
Recycled
Zircon, apatite,
orogen
rutile
Recycled
Apatite, zircon,
orogen
tourmaline
Recycled
Zircon, apatite,
orogen
rutile
post-rift passive
Timanian, Northern
foreland basin
Taimyr, Baltica
7
3-5
6
Uralian, late Timanian,
pre-Timanian and
Timanian, Uralian
Uralian, late Timanian,
foreland basin
foreland basin
foreland basin
Permo-Carboniferous samples have a mixed provenance of recycled and first cycle
sediment, sourced from metamorphic and igneous terranes. The occurrence of
syn-depositional ages and older ages indicates that the Permo-Carboniferous sediments
were deposited in a foreland setting. The decreasing maturity of sandstones and younging
detrital zircon age peaks with time is consistent with a diachronous Uralian orogen, younging
from south to north. The petrographic, heavy mineral and detrital zircon results all document
a dramatic difference between the late Permian and older formations, indicating a real
provenance change from late Carboniferous and early Permian time to late Permian time.
The late Carboniferous to early Permian Turozovskya Formation to the Early Permian
Sokolinskaya Formation show little evidence for derivation from northern Taimyr and are
more consistent with Uralian sources to the WSW, such as the Polar Urals or sources which
may currently lie beneath the Kara Sea. The Late Permian Baykurskaya Formation records
local derivation from northern Taimyr with a large component of sediment derived having a
Baltica provenance. The data suggest that:
1. Permo-Carboniferous successions were deposited in a foreland basin of the Uralian
orogen. The final collision between Baltica and Siberia in the last stage of Uralian orogenesis
occurred between Early and Late Permian.
2. Early Cretaceous sediments in northern Taimyr were mainly derived from Siberian
Trap-related magmatism in Taimyr. Cretaceous sediment deposition is unrelated to Jurassic
to Cretaceous rifting associated with the Verkhoyansk fold belt and instead reflects a rifting or
post- rifting passive margin setting.
Future Work
About 60 sedimentary samples were collected during fieldwork in Taimyr in 2010 and
2012. The 2010 fieldwork was in SE Taimyr, and the 2012 fieldwork was in central-southern
Taimyr. Provenance studies using petrography, heavy mineral analysis, and detrital zircon
15
U-Pb dating will be conducted for the remaining samples. These samples were collected from
the late Carboniferous to early Triassic strata and Jurassic to Cretaceous strata and the
results will be used to establish a comprehensive and systematic late Paleozoic to Mesozoic
sediment provenance database for revealing the tectonic development of the Taimyr
Peninsula within a circum-Arctic framework. The results from SE Taimyr will be compared
with those from central-southern Taimyr to confirm Uralian orogenesis occured in Taimyr.
Detrital apatite fission track ages (AFTA) from deposits of the sedimentary basins along
the continental margins can preserve the exhumation history of the corresponding source
terranes (Carrapa et al., 2006). Identification of different age modes can be used to define
source areas (Hurford and Carter, 1991). We will obtain AFTA ages across two traverses in
Taimyr to trace the provenance changes and reveal the influence of tectonic events in the
region. One traverse extends from Severnaya Zemlya, through northern Taimyr to southern
Taimyr along its eastern margin. A second traverse extends from the central part of northern
Taimyr to the central part of southern Taimyr. .
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my main supervisor Victoria Pease for her excellent guidance and
great help. Her unwavering enthusiasm for geology keeps me constantly engaged with my
research. I miss my co-supervisor at CASP, Robert Scott, who passed away in September
2012 unexpectedly. His help and kindness will never be forgotten. I would also thank Eve
Arnold for her support to my PhD studies.
I am extremely grateful to my husband Bo. I left you behind in China when we just got
married to pursue my dream, but you were always there for me. Thank you for your emotional
support.
I thank A. Morton for the guidance to the heavy mineral analysis. Thanks C.
Wohlgemuth-Ueberwasser at Stockholm University, P. Persson and K. Lindén at the Natural
History Museum for assistance with the laboratory work. I would also like to appreciate my
Russian colleagues Alex and Alina, without whom, the field study in 2012 at Taimyr would not
have been so successful. Acknowledgement is also given to all my colleagues and friends at
Stockholm University. They make my life happy and colorful. Thank my parents for being
supportive and missing me.
YMER-80 funding to X. Zhang in 2012 funded training for heavy mineral analysis at
CASP. VR funding to V. Pease is also acknowledged.
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