Abstract
In this study, element geochemistry and zircon chronology are used to analyze the Oligocene sediments in the Baiyun Sag, Zhujiang River Mouth Basin. The experimental results are discussed with respect to weathering conditions, parent rock lithologies, and provenances. The chemical index of alteration and the chemical index of weathering values of mudstone samples from the lower Oligocene Enping Formation indicate that clastic particles in the study area underwent moderate weathering. Mudstone samples exhibit relatively enriched light rare earth elements and depleted heavy rare earth elements, “V”-shaped negative Eu anomalies, and negligible Ce anomalies. The rare earth element distribution curves are obviously right-inclined, with shapes and contents similar to those of post-Archean Australian shale and upper continental crust, indicating that the samples originated from acid rocks in the upper crust. The Hf-La/Th and La/Sc-Co/Th diagrams show this same origin for the sediments in the study area. For the samples from the upper Enping deltas, the overall age spectrum shows four major age peaks ca. 59–68 Ma, 98–136 Ma, 153–168 Ma and 239–260 Ma. For the Zhuhai Formation samples, the overall age spectrum shows three major age peaks ca. 149 Ma, 252 Ma and 380 Ma. The detrital zircon shapes and U-Pb ages reveal that during Oligocene sedimentation, the sediments on the northwestern margin of the Baiyun Sag were supplied jointly from two provenances: Precambrian-Paleozoic metamorphic rocks in the extrabasinal South China fold zone and Mesozoic volcanic rocks in the intrabasinal Panyu Low Uplift, and the former supply became stronger through time. Thus, the provenance of the Oligocene deltas experienced a transition from an early proximal intrabasinal source to a late distal extrabasinal source.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amendola U, Perri F, Critelli S, et al. 2016. Composition and provenance of the Macigno Formation (Late Oligocene-Early Miocene) in the Trasimeno Lake area (northern Apennines). Marine and Petroleum Geology, 1: 146–167, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.10.019
Armstrong-Altrin J S, Nagarajan R, Madhavaraju J, et al. 2013. Geochemistry of the Jurassic and Upper Cretaceous shales from the Molango Region, Hidalgo, eastern Mexico: Implications for source-area weathering, provenance, and tectonic setting. Comptes Rendus Geoscience, 345(4): 185–202, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crte.2013.03.004
Benyon C, Leier A L, Leckie D A, et al. 2016. Sandstone provenance and insights into the paleogeography of the McMurray Formation from detrital zircon geochronology, Athabasca Oil Sands, Canada. AAPG Bulletin, 100(2): 269–287, doi: https://doi.org/10.1306/10191515029
Bhat M I, Ghosh S K. 2001. Geochemistry of the 2.51 Ga old Rampur group pelites, western Himalayas: implications for their provenance and weathering. Precambrian Research, 108(1–2): 1–16
Cao Licheng, Jiang Tao, Wang Zhenfeng, et al. 2015. Provenance of Upper Miocene sediments in the Yinggehai and Qiongdongnan basins, northwestern South China Sea: Evidence from REE, heavy minerals and zircon U-Pb ages. Marine Geology, 1: 136–146, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2015.01.007
Cao Licheng, Shao Lei, Qiao Peijun, et al. 2018. Early Miocene birth of modern Pearl River recorded low-relief, high-elevation surface formation of SE Tibetan Plateau. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 1: 120–131, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.05.039
Castillo P, Lacassie J P, Augustsson C, et al. 2015. Petrography and geochemistry of the carboniferous-Triassic trinity peninsula group, west Antarctica: implications for provenance and tectonic setting. Geological Magazine, 152(4): 575–588, doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756814000454
Chen Shuhui, Qiao Peijun, Zhang Houhe, et al. 2018. Geochemical characteristics of Oligocene-Miocene sediments from the deep-water area of the northern South China Sea and their provenance implications. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 37(2): 35–43, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-017-1127-7
Compston W, Williams I S, Kirschvink J L, et al. 1992. Zircon U-Pb ages for the early Cambrian time-scale. Journal of the Geological Society, 149(2): 171–184, doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.149.2.0171
Condie K C. 1993. Chemical composition and evolution of the upper continental crust: Contrasting results from surface samples and shales. Chemical Geology, 104(1–4): 1–37
Condie K C, Boryta M D, Liu Jinzhong, et al. 1992. The origin of khondalites: geochemical evidence from the Archean to Early Proterozoic granulite belt in the North China craton. Precambrian Research, 59(3–4): 207–223
Cullers R L, Bock B, Guidotti C. 1997. Elemental distributions and neodymium isotopic compositions of Silurian metasediments, western Maine, USA: Redistribution of the rare earth elements. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 61(9): 1847–1861, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(97)00048-3
Dickinson W R, Gehrels G E. 2003. U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from Permian and Jurassic eolian sandstones of the Colorado Plateau, USA: paleogeographic implications. Sedimentary Geology, 163(1–2): 29–66
Dominik J, Stanley D J. 1993. Boron, Beryllium and Sulfur in Holocene sediments and peats of the Nile delta, Egypt: Their use as indicators of salinity and climate. Chemical Geology, 104(1–4): 203–216
Fan Majie, Mankin A, Chamberlain K. 2015. Provenance and depositional ages of Late Paleogene fluvial sedimentary rocks in the Central Rocky Mountains, U.S.A. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 85(11): 1416–1430, doi: https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2015.87
Fedo C M, Nesbitt H W, Young G M. 1995. Unraveling the effects of potassium metasomatism in sedimentary rocks and paleosols, with implications for paleoweathering conditions and provenance. Geology, 23(10): 921–924, doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023<0921:UTEOPM>2.3.CO;2
Fedo C M, Young G M, Nesbitt H W, et al. 1997. Potassic and sodic metasomatism in the southern province of the Canadian shield: Evidence from the paleoproterozoic serpent formation, Huronian Supergroup, Canada. Precambrian Research, 84(1–2): 17–36
Floyd P A, Leveridge B E. 1987. Tectonic environment of the Devonian Gramscatho basin, south Cornwall: framework mode and geochemical evidence from turbiditic sandstones. Journal of the Geological Society, 144(4): 531–542, doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.144.4.0531
Jiang Tao, Cao Licheng, Xie Xinong, et al. 2015. Insights from heavy minerals and zircon U-Pb ages into the middle Miocene-Pliocene provenance evolution of the Yinggehai Basin, northwestern South China Sea. Sedimentary Geology, 1: 32–42, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.07.011
Li Xianhua. 2000. Cretaceous magmatism and lithospheric extension in Southeast China. Journal of Asian Earth Science, 18(3): 293–305, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(99)00060-7
Liu An, Wu Shimin. 2011. A discussion on the formation of granite in the Pearl River Mouth Basin and its implication to hydrocarbon resource. Earth Science Frontiers (in Chinese), 18(1): 141–148
Liu Chang, Clift P D, Carter A, et al. 2017. Controls on modern erosion and the development of the Pearl River drainage in the late Paleogene. Marine Geology, 1: 52–68, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2017.07.011
Liu Chaohui, Liu Fulai, Shi Jianrong, et al. 2016. Depositional age and provenance of the Wutai group: Evidence from zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopes and whole-rock geochemistry. Precambrian Research, 1: 269–290, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2016.06.002
Liu Yongsheng, Gao Shan, Hu Zhaochu, et al. 2010. Continental and oceanic crust recycling-induced melt-peridotite interactions in the trans-North China orogen: U-Pb dating, Hf isotopes and trace elements in zircons from mantle xenoliths. Journal of Petrology, 51(1–2): 537–571
Liu Yongsheng, Hu Zhaochu, Gao Shan, et al. 2008. In situ analysis of major and trace elements of anhydrous minerals by LA-ICP-MS without applying an internal standard. Chemical Geology, 257(1–2): 34–43
Ma Ming, Chen Guojun, Lyu Chengfu, et al. 2019. The formation and evolution of the Paleo-Pearl River and its influence on the source of the northern South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 1: 171–189, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.04.035
McLennan S M. 1989. Rare earth elements in sedimentary rocks: Influence of provenance and sedimentary processes. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 21(1): 169–200
McLennan S M, Hemming S, McDaniel D K, et al. 1993. Geochemical approaches to sedimentation, provenance, and tectonics. In: Johnsson M J, Basu A, eds. Processes Controlling the Composition of Clastic Sediments. Boulder: Geological Society of America, 21–40
Nesbitt H W, Young G M. 1982. Early proterozoic climates and plate motions inferred from major element chemistry of lutites. Nature, 299(5885): 715–717, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/299715a0
Pang Xiong, Chen Changmin, Peng Dajun, et al. 2008. Basic geology of Baiyun deep-water area in the northern South China Sea. China Offshore Oil and Gas (in Chinese), 20(4): 215–222
Price J R, Velbel M A. 2003. Chemical weathering indices applied to weathering profiles developed on heterogeneous felsic metamorphic parent rocks. Chemical Geology, 202(3–4): 397–416
Roddaz M, Viers J, Brusset S, et al. 2006. Controls on weathering and provenance in the Amazonian foreland basin: Insights from major and trace element geochemistry of Neogene Amazonian sediments. Chemical Geology, 226(1–2): 31–65
Rudnick R L, Gao Shan. 2003. Composition of the continental crust. Treatise on Geochemistry, 1: 1–64
Shao Lei, Cao Licheng, Pang Xiong, et al. 2016a. Detrital zircon provenance of the Paleogene syn-rift sediments in the northern South China Sea. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 17(2): 255–269, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GC006113
Shao Lei, Cui Yuchi, Stattegger K, et al. 2019. Drainage control of Eocene to Miocene sedimentary records in the southeastern margin of Eurasian Plate. GSA Bulletin, 131(3–4): 461–478
Shao Lei, Lei Yongchang, Pang Xiong, et al. 2005. Tectonic evolution and its controlling for sedimentary environment in Pearl River Mouth Basin. Journal of Tongji University (Natural Science) (in Chinese), 33(9): 1177–1181
Shao Lei, Qiao Peijun, Zhao Meng, et al. 2016b. Depositional characteristics of the northern South China Sea in response to the evolution of the Pearl River. Geological Society of London Special Publications, 429(1): 31–44, doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/SP429.2
Shi Hesheng, Xu Changhai, Zhou Zuyi, et al. 2011. Zircon U-Pb dating on granitoids from the northern South China Sea and its geotectonic relevance. Acta Geologica Sinica, 85(6): 1359–1372, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-6724.2011.00592.x
Shu Tao, Shan Yansheng, Tang Dazhen, et al. 2016. Mineralogy, major and trace element geochemistry of Shichanggou oil shales, Jimusaer, southern Junggar Basin, China: Implications for provenance, palaeoenvironment and tectonic setting. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 1: 432–445, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2016.06.014
Sun Jie, Zhan Wenhuan, Qiu Xuelin. 2011. Relationship between tectonic evolution and petroleum systems in Baiyun Sag, Pearl River Mouth Basin. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology (in Chinese), 31(1): 101–107
Sun Rui, Li Zhong, Zhao Zhigang, et al. 2020. Characteristics and origin of the Lower Oligocene marine source rocks controlled by terrigenous organic matter supply in the Baiyun Sag, northern South China Sea. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 187: 106821, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2019.106821
Taylor S R, McClennan S M, 1985. The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 312
Wang Wei, Yang Xianghua, Bidgoli T S, et al. 2019. Detrital zircon geochronology reveals source-to-sink relationships in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, China. Sedimentary Geology, 1: 81–98, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2019.04.004
Wang Wei, Ye Jiaren, Bidgoli T, et al. 2017. Using detrital zircon geochronology to constrain Paleogene provenance and its relationship to rifting in the Zhu I depression, Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 18(11): 3976–3999, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GC007110
Wang Wei, Ye Jiaren, Yang Xianghua, et al. 2015. Sediment provenance and depositional response to multistage rifting, Paleogene, Huizhou Depression, Pearl River Mouth Basin. Earth Science—Journal of China University of Geosciences (in Chinese), 40(6): 1061–1071, doi: https://doi.org/10.3799/dqkx.2015.088
Wu Yuanbao, Zheng Yongfei. 2004. Genesis of zircon and its constraints on interpretation of U-Pb age. Chinese Science Bulletin, 49(15): 1554–1569, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03184122
Xu Xisheng, O’Reilly S Y, Griffin W L, et al. 2007. The crust of Cathaysia: Age, assembly and reworking of two terranes. Precambrian Research, 158(1–2): 51–78
Yan Quanshu, Shi Xuefa, Castillo P R. 2014. The late Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the South China Sea: A petrologic perspective. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 1: 178–201, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2014.02.005
Yu Jinhai, Wang Lijuan, Zhou Xinmin, et al. 2006. Compositions and formation history of the basement metamorphic rocks in Northeastern Guangdong Province. Earth Science (in Chinese), 31(1): 38–48
Zeng Zhiwei, Yang Xianghua, Zhu Hongtao, et al. 2017. Development characteristics and significance of large delta of upper Enping Formation, Baiyun sag. Earth Science (in Chinese), 42(1): 78–92
Zeng Zhiwei, Zhu Hongtao, Yang Xianghua, et al. 2019. Using seismic geomorphology and detrital zircon geochronology to constrain provenance evolution and its response of Paleogene Enping Formation in the Baiyun Sag, Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea: Implications for paleo-Pearl River drainage evolution. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 1: 663–680, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2019.02.051
Zhang Gongcheng. 2010. Tectonic evolution of deepwater area of northern continental margin in South China Sea. Acta Petrolei Sinica (in Chinese), 31(4): 528–533, 541
Zhang Gongcheng, Mi Lijun, Wu Shiguo, et al. 2007. Deepwater area—the new prospecting targets of northern continental margin of South China Sea. Acta Petrolei Sinica (in Chinese), 28(2): 15–21
Zhang Gongcheng, Qu Hongjun, Liu Shixiang, et al. 2015. Tectonic cycle of marginal sea controlled the hydrocarbon accumulation in deep-water areas of South China Sea. Acta Petrolei Sinica (in Chinese), 36(5): 533–545
Zhang Gongcheng, Shao Lei, Qiao Peijun, et al. 2020. Cretaceous-Palaeogene sedimentary evolution of the South China Sea region: A preliminary synthesis. Geological Journal, 55(4): 2662–2683, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.3533
Zhang Gongcheng, Yang Haizhang, Chen Ying, et al. 2014. The Baiyun Sag: A giant rich gas-generation sag in the deepwater area of the Pearl River Mouth Basin. Natural Gas Industry (in Chinese), 34(11): 11–25
Zhao Meng, Shao Lei, Qiao Peijun. 2015. Characteristics of detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of the Pearl River Sands and its implication on provenances. Journal of Tongji University (Natural Science) (in Chinese), 43(6): 915–923
Zhou Di, Sun Zhen, Chen Hanzong, et al. 2008. Mesozoic paleogeography and tectonic evolution of South China Sea and adjacent areas in the context of Tethyan and Paleo-Pacific interconnections. Island Arc, 17(2): 186–207, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1738.2008.00611.x
Zhou Xinmin, Li Wuxian. 2000. Origin of Late Mesozoic igneous rocks in southeastern China: implications for lithosphere subduction and underplating of mafic magmas. Tectonophysics, 326(3–4): 269–287
Acknowledgements
We thank Xianghua Yang from China University of Geosciences for his help. We specially thank to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and corrections, which have greatly improved the quality of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 91528303; the National Science and Technology Major Project under contract Nos 2016ZX05026, 2011ZX05025 and 2008ZX05025; the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China under contract No. 2009CB219400; the Foundation for Excellent Youth Scholars of NIEER, CAS.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sun, R., Ma, M., Zhong, K. et al. Geochemistry and zircon U-Pb ages of the Oligocene sediments in the Baiyun Sag, Zhujiang River Mouth Basin. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 40, 123–135 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-020-1628-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-020-1628-7