Detrital zircon record and tectonic setting

Detrital zircon spectra reflect the tectonic setting of the basin in which they are deposited. Convergent plate margins are characterized by a large proportion of zircon ages close to the depositional age of the sediment, whereas sediments in collisional, extensional and intracratonic settings conta...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geology
Main Authors: Cawood, P. A., Hawkesworth, C. J., Dhuime, B.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
LAURENTIAN MARGIN
SEDIMENTARY-ROCKS
NORTH-ATLANTIC
APPALACHIANS
CONSTRAINTS
AUSTRALIA
RODINIA
BREAKUP
BELT
AGES
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1983/a451fb4e-9746-4ab1-b851-35dd9f780bd4
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/a451fb4e-9746-4ab1-b851-35dd9f780bd4
https://doi.org/10.1130/G32945.1
Description
Summary:Detrital zircon spectra reflect the tectonic setting of the basin in which they are deposited. Convergent plate margins are characterized by a large proportion of zircon ages close to the depositional age of the sediment, whereas sediments in collisional, extensional and intracratonic settings contain greater proportions with older ages that reflect the history of the underlying basement. These differences can be resolved by plotting the distribution of the difference between the measured crystallization ages (CA) of individual zircon grains present in the sediment and the depositional age (DA) of the sediment. Application of this approach to successions where the original nature of the basin and/or the link to source are no longer preserved constrains the tectonic setting in which the sediment was deposited.

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