Collision of Gondwana and Laurentia in the late Palaeozoic created new topography, drainages, and foreland basin systems that controlled sediment dispersal patterns on southern Laurentia. We utilize sedimentological and detrital zircon data from early Permian (Cisuralian/Leonardian) submarine-fan deposits in the Midland Basin of west Texas to reconstruct sediment dispersal pathways and palaeogeography. New sedimentological data and wire-line log correlation suggest a portion of the early Permian deposits have a southern entry point. A total of 3259 detrital zircon U-Pb and 357 εHf data from 12 samples show prominent groups of zircon grains derived from the Appalachian (500–270 Ma) and Grenville (1250–950 Ma) provinces in eastern Laurentia and the peri-Gondwana terranes (800–500 Ma) incorporated in the Alleghanian-Ouachita-Marathon orogen. Other common zircon groups of Mesoproterozoic-Archaean age are also present in the samples. The detrital zircon data suggest throughout the early Permian, Appalachia and Gondwana detritus was delivered by a longitudinal river system that flowed along the Appalachian-Ouachita-Marathon foreland into the Midland Basin. Tributary channels draining the uplifted Ouachita-Marathon hinterland brought Gondwana detritus into the longitudinal river with headwaters in the Appalachians or farther northeast. This drainage extended downstream westward and delivered sediments into the Permian Basin near the west terminus of the Laurentia-Gondwana suture. Estimated rates of deposition and proportions of zircons from more local (Grenville) versus more distal (Pan-African) sources indicate that river strength decreased throughout early Permian time. Primary sediment delivery pathway was augmented by minor input from the Ancestral Rocky Mountains and wind deflation of fluvial sediments north and east of the basin. Slope failure associated with early Permian deposition in the southeastern margin of the Midland Basin triggered gravity flows leading to submarine fan deposition.

冈瓦纳和劳伦西亚在古生代晚期的碰撞创造了新的地形，排水系统和前陆盆地系统，从而控制了劳伦西亚南部的沉积物扩散模式。我们利用得克萨斯州西部米德兰盆地二叠纪早期（海拉尔/伦纳德）海底扇沉积物的沉积学和碎屑锆石数据来重建沉积物扩散途径和古地理。新的沉积学数据和线测井相关性表明，早期的二叠纪沉积物有一个南部入口。来自12个样品的总共3259个碎屑锆石U-Pb和357εHf数据显示了劳伦西亚东部和冈多瓦纳山地的阿巴拉契亚（500-270 Ma）和格林伦维尔（1250-950 Ma）省的突出锆石晶粒群（800-500 Ma）并入Alleghanian-Ouachita-Marathon造山带。样品中还存在中元古生代-Archaean时代的其他常见锆石组。碎屑锆石数据表明，整个二叠纪早，阿巴拉契亚和冈瓦纳碎屑都是由纵向河流系统输送的，该河流系统沿阿巴拉契亚－沃希塔－马拉松前陆流入中部盆地。支流隆起的瓦希塔－马拉松腹地的支流河道将冈瓦纳碎屑带入纵河，阿巴拉契亚山脉或东北偏远地区的上游水源。该排水向下游向西延伸，并将沉积物输送到Laurentia-Gondwana缝合线西端附近的二叠纪盆地。来自更多本地（格伦维尔）和较远端（泛非）来源的沉积速率和锆石的比例估计表明，整个二叠纪初期河道的强度都在下降。祖先洛矶山脉的少量投入以及盆地北部和东部河流相沉积物的风蚀作用增强了主要的泥沙输送路径。与米德兰盆地东南缘二叠纪早期沉积有关的斜坡破坏触发了重力流，导致海底扇形沉积。