From the formation of Rodinia at the end of the Mesoproterozoic to the commencement of Pangea breakup at the end of the Paleozoic, the South China craton fi rst formed and then occupied a position adjacent to Western Australia and northern India. Early Neoproterozoic suprasubduction zone magmatic arc-backarc assemblages in the craton range in age from ca. 1000 Ma to 820 Ma and display a sequential northwest decrease in age. These relations suggest formation and closure of arc systems through southeast-directed subduction, resulting in progressive northwestward accretion onto the periphery of an already assembled Rodinia. Siliciclastic units within an early Paleozoic succession that transgresses across the craton were derived from the southeast and include detritus from beyond the current limits of the craton. Detrital zircon age spectra require an East Gondwana source and are very similar to the Tethyan Himalaya and younger Paleozoic successions from Western Australia, suggesting derivation from a common source and by inference accumulation in linked basins along the northern margin of Gondwana, a situation that continued until rifting and breakup of the craton in the late Paleozoic.

Locating South China in Rodinia and Gondwana: A fragment of Greater India Lithosphere? (Invited)

Integrated detrital rutile and zircon provenance reveals multiple sources for Cambrian sandstones in North Gondwana

\n The role of the Cathaysia Block, South China, and its linkage with orogenesis in the Rodinia and Gondwana supercontinents remain unresolved because of uncertainties in its paleoposition in supercontinental reconstructions. The lithostratigraphic, geochronologic, geochemical (including isotopic), and paleocurrent data on late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic sub-basins in the Cathaysia Block reveal spatio-temporal, tectono-sedimentary, and provenance diversity that show linkages with previously adjacent terranes and orogens in East Gondwana. An abundance of siliceous and conglomeratic rocks, local unconformities, and pinch-out in certain layers indicate a late Cryogenian proximal deposition, late Ediacaran transgression, and Middle Cambrian uplift. Cryogenian to early Ordovician strata contain predominantly 1000–900 Ma (late Grenvillian age) detrital zircon population, whereas 1300–1050 Ma (early Grenvillian age) zircons are only dominant in strata earlier than late Ediacaran. Besides, 850–700 Ma zircons are the most prominent group in the Middle Cambrian strata along with an occasional increase in the 650–500 Ma (Pan-African age) zircons.\n The Grenvillian age zircon groups exhibit significant sediment input from the eastern Indian terrane (990–950 Ma) and western Australia (1300–1050 Ma), underlining the fact that the Cathaysia Block was located between these two terranes in the northern part of East Gondwana. The diminishing contribution of early Grenvillian components in the late Ediacaran strata can be linked to the Pinjarra Orogeny (550–520 Ma), which led to uplift that blocked the transport of detritus from Australia. Middle Cambrian provenance variation with high abundance of 850–700 Ma components indicates the presence of intrinsic sediment from the Wuyishan terrane of South China. Given that the Cathaysia Block was a passive continental margin, this change was caused by the uplift of the southeastern Cathaysia Block, which was related to the far-field stress effects of the late phase of the Kuunga Orogeny (530–480 Ma). The decrease in abundance of early Grenvillian and Pan-African zircons in space implies that they were transported into the basins through independent drainage systems. This is consistent with the local and temporal variations in paleocurrent orientations during the Cambrian, further implying diverse and complex drainage systems in the southwestern Cathaysia Block during this period.

Late Neoproterozoic–early Paleozoic basin evolution in the Cathaysia Block, South China: Implications of spatio-temporal provenance changes on the paleogeographic reconstructions in supercontinent cycles

Characteristics, formation and evolution of pre-salt dolomite reservoirs in the fifth member of the Ordovician Majiagou Formation, mid-east Ordos Basin, NW China

A two-year field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of different potassium fertilizer types and dosages on cotton yield, soil available potassium and leaf photosynthetic capacity. The ...

Effects of different potassium fertilizer types and dosages on cotton yield, soil available potassium and leaf photosynthesis

We present updated U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic compositions of detrital zircons and whole-rock geochemical data to investigate the provenance and tectonic setting of late Neoproterozoic and early Cambrian sandstones from the Cathaysia Block, in order to offer new constraints on its tectonic evolution and its palaeo-position within the supercontinent. The source rocks for the studied sandstones were dominated by felsic–intermediate materials with moderate weathering history. U–Pb dating results show major populations at c. 2500 Ma, 1000–900 Ma and 870–716 Ma with subordinate peaks at 655–532 Ma, consistent with the global Neoarchean continental crust growth, assembly and break-up of Rodinia, and Pan-African Event associated with the formation of Gondwana. Zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic data suggest that most derived from exotic terranes once connected to the Cathaysia Block. Using whole-rock geochemical analysis, it was determined that the studied sedimentary rocks were deposited in a passive continental margin and the Cathaysia and Yangtze blocks were part of the same continent; no Cambrian ocean existed between them. Compiling a detrital zircon dataset from Qiangtang, northern India, the Lhasa Terrane and Western Australia, the Cathaysia Block seems to be more similar to the Qiangtang and western part of the northern India margin, instead of having a direct connection with the Lhasa Terrane and Western Australia in the Gondwana reconstruction during the late Neoproterozoic and Cambrian eons.

Detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of late Neoproterozoic – early Cambrian sedimentary rocks in the Cathaysia Block: constraint on its palaeo-position in Gondwana supercontinent

Currently, no large-scale economic resources of soluble in situ potash ore have been found in China in marine strata. The marine evaporites of China mainly occur in deeply buried, older geological strata in the Sichuan, Ordos, and Tarim basins, which make it difficult to predict prospective potash deposits. Based on the analysis of facies and the unique geological background of the original small-scale plate-tectonic terrains where evaporite-bearing marine strata were deposited, we established depositional models for epeiric evaporites and the formation of K+-rich brines. These models imply that the ancient marine strata are not favorable for the formation of the large-scale economic in situ potash deposits because the pre-Late Triassic tectonic plates that later aggregated to form modern China were mainly separate isolated terrains in the paleo-ocean. On such small blocks, the episodes of epeiric seas did develop evaporite precipitation from high-salinity bottom waters below the central portions of semi-restricted basins through the classic centripetal enrichment mechanism of seawater, in which a vertical stratification leads to a downward increase in the concentration of halogen ions. However, in contrast to most massive evaporite deposits that formed on larger tectonic plates, the typical basins on these small terrains did not have a large enough radius to concentrate brine ions to the same degree. Therefore, the precipitation of potash minerals from the saline brines did not attain adequate saturation for an extended time to form commercially economic in situ potash evaporites. We conclude that the probability of discovering an in situ commercial-quality deposit of marine potash deposit is very unlikely in China. However, potassium ions of concentrated seawater could be hosted within permeable subsurface lithologies in the form of an initial K+-rich residual brine. Potentially, such an initial K+-rich brine that was retained within pores in marine evaporites and carbonates could migrate into appropriate traps under the action of the geo-hydrodynamic field to produce a secondary K+-enrichment in fluids. A related dual-step K+-enrichment mechanism by geofluids often occurs in marine petroliferous basin, which results in a coupling of the hydrocarbon and K+-rich brine accumulations. Therefore, we suggest that future exploration for economic potash concentrations within China’s basins should be targeted toward potential K+-rich brines that may reside within traps of permeable carbonate reservoirs.

Sedimentary model of marine evaporites and implications for potash deposits exploration in China

We report the results of a combined study of detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and bulk‐rock elemental geochemistry on late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian clastic sedimentary rocks from South Jiangxi within Cathaysia. These clastic rocks are characterized by moderate chemical index of alteration (CIA) values of 73 and high Th/U ratios (>3.8), indicating moderate weathering of the source area. The relatively high index of compositional variability (ICV = 0.62–1.30) values indicates a source compositionally dominated by immature material that lacks alumina‐rich minerals. Bulk‐rock major and trace element systematics on discrimination diagrams are consistent with the source provenance being felsic‐intermediate igneous rocks of ancient continental crust origin. The geochemistry is also consistent with the clastic sedimentary rocks being deposited in a setting at or in the vicinity of passive continental margins. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages of the clastic rocks record five major age populations: 2,614–2,376 Ma (peak at ca. 2,482 Ma), 1,953–1,353 Ma, 1,000–900 Ma (peak at ca. 958 Ma), 850–730 Ma (peaks at ca. 845 and 763 Ma), and 685–571 Ma (peak at ca. 635 Ma). The age data provide a record of igneous activity in the source provenance: the 2,482 Ma peak is consistent with the global Neoarchean continental crust growth; the 1,953–1,353 Ma population correlates with the period of assembly and breakup of the Columbia supercontinent; the prominent peak at ca. 958 Ma corresponds to a common thermal–tectonic event associated with the assembly of Rodinia, and the 850–730 Ma population is consistent with the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent. The ca. 850 Ma age is indicative of initial stage of Rodinia breakup in South China. Our data also reveal a 670–530 Ma population that correlates well with the Pan‐African event associated with the formation of the Gondwana supercontinent, although no direct geological evidence for this event has been found within the SCB. Moreover, complex zircon morphology and comparisons of detrital zircon U–Pb age spectra in a global context suggest the late Neoproterozoic–Cambrian sedimentary rocks in the Cathaysia Block must have sourced from an exotic source with magmatic activities of late Archean, Grenvillian, and Pan‐African ages, which do not outcrop in the Cathaysia Block or adjacent regions and need to be further explored.

/pdf/provenance-depositional-setting-and-crustal-evolution-of-the-1rpk3cco54.pdf

Provenance, depositional setting, and crustal evolution of the Cathaysia Block, South China: Insights from detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of clastic rocks

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Detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of late Neoproterozoic – early Cambrian sedimentary rocks in the Cathaysia Block: constraint on its palaeo-position in Gondwana supercontinent

Sedimentary model of marine evaporites and implications for potash deposits exploration in China

Provenance, depositional setting, and crustal evolution of the Cathaysia Block, South China: Insights from detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of clastic rocks