Geochemistry and detrital zircon records of the Ruyang-Luoyu groups,
southern North China Craton: Provenance, crustal evolution and
Paleo–Mesoproterozoic tectonic implications
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Abstract
Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks in the southern margin of the North China Craton (NCC) are represented
by the Ruyang and Luoyu groups. We studied the sedimentary rocks from the Yunmengshan and Beidajian
formations of the Ruyang Group and the Cuizhuang and Sanjiaotang formations of the Luoyu Group.
Detrital zircon grains from these formations have U–Pb age populations of 3.64–3.31 Ga, 2.96–2.86 Ga,
2.72–2.59 Ga, 2.56–2.47 Ga, 2.45–2.0 Ga, 1.99–1.85 Ga and 1.84–1.65 Ga. The geochemical features of the
sedimentary rocks suggest that some of the sediments were sourced from intermediate to felsic magmatic rocks.
The age groups of the detrital zircon are roughly consistent with the tectono-thermal events in the southern
margin of the NCC. The Hf isotopic compositions of detrital zircon from the sedimentary rocks in Ruyang and
Luoyu groups suggest that significant crustal growth and reworking of the NCC took place during the Neoarchean
and early- to mid-Paleoproterozoic, while crustal reworking at the Paleoarchean and late-Paleoproterozoic, and
crustal growth at the Mesoarchean. We suggest the depositional times of the Ruyang Group and Luoyu Group are
constrained to no older than 1.75–1.7 Ga and 1.7–1.65 Ga, respectively. Formation of late-Paleoproterozoic basins
related to the strike slip and extrusion tectonics that cross-cut the NCC during the late Paleoproterozoic (<1.75
Ga), and the late Paleoproterozoic sedimentation once isochronous developed in the southern margin of the NCC
through the Taihang region of the interior NCC and linked the Yanshan–Liaoxi regions of the northern NCC.
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