Properties of Conglomerates from the Middle Ordovician Dongchong Formation and Its Response to the Yunan Orogeny in the Yunkai Area, South China

• Published in: Minerals
• Main Authors: Zhihong Wang, Zhihong Li, Zhijun Niu, Chu’an Li, Hao Chen, Xiaoming Lin, Kun Hu, Huazhou Yao
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
• Subjects: Yunan orogeny; Yunkai area; Ordovician; South China; conglomerates; detrital zircons; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/min13080998

The strata in the Shita Mountain, Yunkai region, are predominantly composed of clastic rocks with intercalated limestones. However, the precise stratigraphic age remains uncertain due to the scarcity of fossils. Previously, conglomerate layers in this region were considered indicative of the Yunan Orogeny during the Cambrian–Ordovician transition. However, through the identification of 12 lithofacies types and 5 lithofacies combinations in the conglomerate layers of the Shita Mountain section, it has been confirmed that these layers represent a fan delta depositional environment characterized by debris flow, traction flow, torrent, and rock flow. Based on the presence of brachiopod fossils dating to the Early–Middle Ordovician, we propose a novel two-episode model for the Yunan Orogeny. The first episode corresponds to submarine fan deposition, while the second episode involves tectonic uplift and a short-term sedimentary hiatus. Further analysis of the detrital zircon provenance reveals a strong affinity among the Yunkai area, India, Antarctica, the Lhasa, the Himalayas, Southern Qiangtang, and Western Australia during the Early–Middle Ordovician transition under the Gondwana assemblage background.