Provenance changes across the mid-Cretaceous unconformity in basins of northeastern China: Evidence for an integrated paleolake system and tectonic transformation

Abstract

Detrital zircon U-Pb dating and whole-rock Nd isotopic analyses were carried out on selected stratigraphic horizons across a major unconformity between synrift and postrift stages in the Songliao Basin and Dasanjiang basin group of NE China to constrain the crustal evolution of the source area providing detritus into these basins. The strata underlying the mid-Cretaceous unconformity in the Songliao Basin show regionally distinct detrital zircon age populations and Nd isotopic compositions, which generally are characterized by Phanerozoic age peaks and relatively depleted Nd isotopic compositions, indicating derivation from nearby highlands. In contrast, the overlying strata are dominated by Proterozoic zircon ages and enriched Nd isotopic compositions, which imply that the provenance source region shifted to the northern part of the North China craton. A coeval provenance change also affected the sedimentary architecture in the eastern Dasanjiang basin group, marking the migration of erosion centers from west to east. The contribution from Lesser Xing’an−Zhangguangcai ranges was pronounced during deposition of synrift strata but became negligible afterward in the Songliao and Dasanjiang areas, which is consistent with both basin complexes temporarily forming an extensive lake system during the early Late Cretaceous. This paleolake was likely responsible for transgressive events recorded in the Late Cretaceous strata of basins in NE China. Combining observations from seismic reflection profiles and the stratigraphic record of neighboring intracontinental sedimentary basins as well as widespread contemporaneous exhumation and denudation events, we suggest that the provenance variation in basin strata was controlled by large-scale tectonic transitions in East Asia. The switch from extension to contraction during the mid-Cretaceous is attributed to the docking of the Okhotomorsk block along the East Asian continental margin. The resulting lithospheric buckling might have been responsible for reshaping the basin-and-range configuration in NE Asia.

Geo‐thermochronological analysis reveals transition from transverse to axial detrital inputs during Cretaceous rifting in the Songliao Basin, NE China

“…F I G U R E 2 Summarized detrital zircon U-Pb KDEs or PDPs from the Shahezi, Yingcheng, Denglouku and Quantou Fms. in the Songliao Basin Cheng, 2019;Li et al, 2012Li et al, , 2020Li, Yu, et al, 2021;Liu, 2020;Song et al, 2022;Wang, Cheng, et al, 2022;Yang, 2014;Yu et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2017b, Zhang, 2018, andthis study). The Songliao Basin map showing Lower Cretaceous segmented volcanogenic grabens (in pink), which is covered by the basin-wide post-rift sedimentary sequence of the Upper Cretaceous (white), modified after (Wang, Chen, et al, 2016, Wang, Mattern, et al, 2016.…”

Geochronological and Paleomagnetic Constraints on the Lower Cretaceous Dalazi Formation from the Yanji Basin, NE China, and its Tectonic Implication

“…Provenance changes across the mid-Cretaceous unconformity between the syn-rift and post-rift stages in northeastern China have been observed [13,31,77]. For example, the underlying Yincheng Formation and the overlying Denglouku Formation in the Songliao Basin (Figure 8c); the underlying Dongshan/Houshigou Formation and the overlying Hailang Formation in the Dasanjiang Basin (Figure 8d); and the underlying Yimin Formation and the overlying Qingyuangang Formation in the Hailaer Basin (Figure 8e).…”

“…The age of this tectonic activity in the Yanji Basin is precisely constrained to ~106-101 Ma [35]. A tectonic switch from extension to contraction might result from the process of the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate beneath the Eurasia plate, that is, from slab rollback to NW-SE direction subduction during this time [13,65,77]. Further provenance studies between the Dalazi and Longjing formations in the Yanji Basin and precise radiometric dates from neighboring continental rift basins, such as the Songliao, Dasanjiang, and Hailaer basins, will broaden our knowledge of this tectonic activity and its implications for the nature of the continental margin evolution of northeast Asia during the late Mesozoic.…”

“…Cretaceous non-marine strata in northern China have attracted wide attention from geologists and paleontologists because they contain a large number of exceptionally preserved fresh-water vertebrates (the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota) [1,2], a nearly complete terrestrial Cretaceous record [3][4][5][6][7][8], a series of geodynamic (e.g., [9]) and paleoenvironmental events [10,11]. Comprehensive research in the Songliao, Hailaer, and Dasanjiang basins [12,13] in northeastern China, and in the Jiaolai Basin in northern China [14,15] has advanced our knowledge of the evolutionary process of the continental rift basin and the terrestrial climatic changes. These data provide crucial evidence that the integration of marine and terrestrial records and how terrestrial systems respond to both regional-and global-scale environmental changes.…”

“…Regional unconformity between the Dalazi and Longjing formations was identified through seismic, geologic and logging data, which may represent the syn-rift and post-rift stages in the Yanji Basin [30]. The terrestrial volcanic-sedimentary basins in northeastern Asia record this stratigraphic unconformity during the mid-Cretaceous, such as the Songliao Basin, the Dasanjiang Basin, and the Hailaer Basin [13,31]. However, the precise age constraint on the unconformity in the Yanji Basin and its stratigraphic correlation to other terrestrial rift basins in northeastern China remains unclear due to the lack of a precise chronologic framework, which prevents our understanding of the tectonic evolution during this time.…”