Detrital zircon U–Pb laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry age data on sandstones from Mesozoic successions on Svalbard are used to investigate provenance changes over time, constrain potential source areas, and to test and refine previous interpretations of the Mesozoic filling of the Barents Sea. The zircon age data indicate a western Laurentian (North Greenland) source in the Early and Middle Triassic. The westerly derived sediments most likely include reworked older sediments with proto-sources in Canada and Greenland. Sediments reaching Svalbard in the Late Triassic display a distinct Uralide signature that demonstrates derivation from the east. Zircon age populations in Late Triassic–Early Jurassic sands suggest mixing of zircons from the Early and Middle Triassic and Late Triassic sediments; the data are interpreted to reflect reworking of older Mesozoic sands and possible renewed input of sediments from the west. The data thus demonstrate a shift from westerly to easterly sediment sources in the early Late Triassic. The Early and Middle Triassic zircon age signature in this study appears to resurface in published Early Cretaceous provenance data from Svalbard, suggesting that sediment input from the east ceased during the Jurassic, and shifted back to westerly sources.Supplementary material:A summary of U–Pb isotopic results, Concordia diagrams of U–Pb age data, K–S test results and cumulative probability plots for all samples are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18652.

Zircon U-Pb and rutile trace element data are used to investigate the provenance of late Devonian to early Permian terrestrial sandstones in the Embla and Flora oil fields on the north flank of the Mid North Sea High, central North Sea. Two Old Red Sandstone samples (ORS 1) are dominated by 1.2-0.9 Ga Grenvillian zircons and low-to medium-grade rutile, with sparse Cambro-Ordovician Caledonian zircons (2-4%) and high-grade rutiles (0-5%). The samples are interpreted as recycled metasediments from the Scottish Caledonides. Two other Old Red Sandstone samples (ORS 2) contain a high proportion of Caledonian, mainly Silurian zircons (15-19%) and high-grade rutiles (15-18%); we propose that these components are traceable to the Krummedal sequence on East Greenland (and related sediments). We interpret the data to reflect a temporal evolution of the regional drainage system from northwestern to northeastern sources, with high-grade detritus reaching the Mid North Sea High in the Famennian-early Carboniferous. A late Carboniferous and an early Permian sandstone yielded zircon and rutile signatures compatible with recycling of Palaeozoic sediments north of southernmost Scotland, probably reflecting inversion tectonics. Recycling of Mesoproterozoic to Palaeozoic sediments is thus a prominent feature of the studied late Palaeozoic sandstones.Supplementary material: Electron microprobe data from rutile trace element analyses, additional rutile temperature plots and zircon LA-ICPMS U-Pb data are available at http://www.geolsoc. org.uk/SUP18617