Main sedimentary sequences and stages of major cratonic basins during the breakup of Rodinia

Abstract

This paper summarizes the main sedimentary sequences of major cratonic basins during the breakup of Rodinia and the assembly of Gondwana and extracts evolutionary stages of the Neoproterozoic basins around the Paleo‐Pacific Ocean and Iapetus Ocean tracts. During the breakup of Rodinia, sedimentary sequences and evolutionary stages of the main basins in major cratonic blocks, such as Yangtze, Australia, Eastern American, Western American, and Western Africa cratons, mostly experienced intracratonic rifting, drifting or passive continental margin, carbonate platform construction, and foreland basin stages. The time of rifting to drifting transition in Congo‐São‐Francisco precisely marked the closure of the Adamastor Ocean between Congo‐São‐Francisco and Rio de la Plata and presaged the opening of the Iapetus Ocean. The time of rifting to drifting transition of Eastern American of Laurentia and West Africa initiated at ~580 Ma also signified the opening of the Iapetus Ocean. The time of drifting stage of the main basins around the Paleo‐Pacific Ocean tracts is not only earlier than those of the Iapetus Ocean tracts but also is characterized by diachronism. The time of drifting onset of basins in the Yangtze Block is ~720 Ma, the time of drifting initiation of the Adelaide Fold Belt in South Australia is 680 Ma, and the time of drifting stage of the south‐western margin of Laurentia occurred at 550 Ma. The different times of rifting to drifting transition of the Adelaide Fold Belt in South Australia, the Yangtze Craton, and Western American of Laurentia signified the nonisochronous opening of the Neoproterozoic Paleo‐Pacific Ocean.

Detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and provenance of the Neoproterozoic Lower Roan Group, Chambishi Basin, North‐eastern Zambia: Implication for rift evolution of the Congo Craton

“…Recent geochronological studies have identified Archaean detrital zircons (2.8–2.4 Ga) in the Nosib Group of the Damara Supergroup (Débora et al, ; Jacob, Moore, & Armstrong, ; McGee, Halverson, & Collins, ), whereas no Archaean zircons were found in the Lower Roan Group of the Katanga Supergroup. The different age spectra between the Nosib and Lower Roan groups contradict with the suggestion that the two groups have had similar tectonic history; (d) different views still exist on whether the Congo Craton was part of the Rodinia Supercontinent (De Waele, Johnson, & Pisarevsky, ; Kröner & Cordani, ; Li et al, ; Pisarevsky, Wingate, Powell, Johnson, & Evans, ; Wu et al, ), which call for a new rift model that encompasses the recent geological findings.…”

Central China Orogen along the Silk Road (Part I): Tectono‐thermal evolution and its links

“…In the paper by Wang, Jiang, and Xia (), analysis of an Early Paleozoic alkaline ultramafic intrusion in the Qilian orogenic belt was undertaken. A much wider theme is addressed in the paper by Wu et al () who examine the sedimentary sequences in cratonic basins, especially Yangtze Craton, during the break‐up of Rodinia. In the paper by Peng et al (), the focus of the study was on Early Paleozoic arc magmatism and metamorphism in the northern Qilian Block.…”

Macrostratigraphy of the Ediacaran System in North America

“…For example, the "Wilson cycle" of ocean basin opening and closure (Wilson, 1966), and associated supercontinent break-up and assembly, has left an unambiguous and overwhelmingly strong signal in the continental-scale, 1 s torder (∼10 8 -year) distribution and extent of Phanerozoic sedimentary rock globally and in North America (Dewey and Spall, 1975;Vail et al, 1977;Ronov et al, 1980;Nance et al, 1988;Condie 1998Condie , 2000Condie , 2004Groves et al, 2005;Miller et al, 2005;Peters 2006;Hawkesworth and Kemp, 2006;Cawood et al, 2013;Nance et al, 2014;Peters and Husson, 2017;Wu et al, 2017;Merdith et al, 2019). Superimposed on this 1 s t -order Phanerozoic supercontinent cycle are 2 n d -order (∼10 7 -year-year), continental-scale sequences, first identified by Larry Sloss in North America as "tectonostratigraphic" units (Sloss, 1963), which formed in response to the accretion of arcs and other marginal tectonic events (Walcott, 1972;Dott, 1983;Haq et al, 1987;Ross and Ross, 1987;Gurnis, 1992;Burgess and Gurnis, 1995;Burgess et al, 1997;Miller et al, 2005;Burgess, 2008;Haq and Schutter, 2008).…”