Recently, some scholars have proposed that the South China Block (SCB) was controlled by a compressive tectonic regime in the middle–late Early Cretaceous, challenging the belief that the SCB was under an extensional setting during the Cretaceous. The Early Cretaceous tectonic setting constraint in the SCB can offer vital insight to clarify the Mesozoic subduction history of the Paleo‐Pacific. Therefore, to determine the SCB tectonic regime during the Early Cretaceous, this study investigated sedimentary rocks from the Lower Cretaceous Heshui Formation in the Xingning Basin, a foreland basin located in the southeastern SCB. Provenance analysis was performed using sandstone modal analysis, sandstone geochemical characteristics, and detrital zircon geochronology. Based on the results, we discussed basin sediment sources and the SCB tectonic regime during the Early Cretaceous. The results showed that the maximum Heshui Formation depositional age was 103 Ma ± 1.6 Ma in the Early Cretaceous Albian. Detrital framework modes and geochemical characteristics of sandstone indicated that Heshui Formation's source rocks were granites and sedimentary rocks. The detrital zircon U–Pb ages could be classified into two major and four subordinate age populations. The Wuyi Terrane to the north and southeast coastal regions to the east were the primary potential Heshui Formation source areas. However, the lower and upper sandstones are different in the peak ages, ~437 and ~146 to 104 Ma, respectively, indicating that the major source area shifted from the Wuyi Terrane to the southeastern coastal regions during the late Early Cretaceous. The sandstone modal analysis results indicated that the source area comprised mainly collisional–orogenic material. The SCB was under a compressive tectonic regime during the late Early Cretaceous and this compression action continued until at least 103 Ma ± 1.6 Ma.

中文翻译：

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华南地块早白垩世晚期受压环境的沉积记录-以广东省兴宁盆地为例

最近，一些学者提出，华南地块（SCB）是在白垩纪中晚期的一个受压构造构造控制的，这挑战了人们认为该SCB在白垩纪时期处于伸展构造的观点。SCB中的早白垩世构造背景约束可以为阐明古太平洋中生代俯冲历史提供重要的见识。因此，为确定白垩纪早期的SCB构造类型，本研究调查了位于SCB东南的前陆盆地兴宁盆地下白垩统和水组的沉积岩。使用砂岩模态分析，砂岩地球化学特征和碎屑锆石年代学来进行物源分析。根据结果​​，我们讨论了白垩纪早期的盆地沉积物来源和SCB构造体系。结果表明，早白垩世阿尔本期最大的水水组沉积年龄为103 Ma±1.6 Ma。砂岩的碎屑构架模式和地球化学特征表明，鹤水组的烃源岩为花岗岩和沉积岩。碎屑锆石的U–Pb年龄可分为两个主要年龄年龄段和四个从属年龄年龄段。北部的武夷地貌和东部的东南沿海地区是河水组的主要潜在源区。然而，下部砂岩和上部砂岩的峰值年龄不同，分别为〜437和〜146至104 Ma，这表明在白垩纪晚期，主要烃源区从武夷地貌向东南沿海地区转移。砂岩模态分析结果表明，震源区主要由碰撞造山材料构成。在早白垩世晚期，SCB处于压缩构造状态，这种压缩作用一直持续到至少103 Ma±1.6 Ma。