The Composition and Reconstruction of the Source Area for the Late Precambrian Terrigenous Rocks of the Oselkovaya Series (Biryusa Prisayanie)

Abstract

Abstract:We present results from petrographic and lithogeochemical studies of the Late Precambrian terrigenous rocks (sandstones, gravelites, and aleuritic sandstones) from the Oselkovaya series of Prisayanie. The studies were conducted to reconstruct the primary composition of the rocks in the source area. It has been found that the rocks in the lower part of the cross-section of this series (Marninskaya suite, and the lower part of the Udinskaya suites) are represented by more coarse-grained terrigenous rocks (gravelites, and sandstones) as compared to the upper part of the cross-section (the upper part of the Udinskaya suite, and the Aisinskaya suite) with sandstones and aleuritic sandstones. Gravelites and sandstones from the lower part of the Oselkovaya series show indicators of epigenetic changes that are less intensively expressed in the rocks from the upper part of the cross-section. The upper and lower parts of the Oselkovaya series are significantly different in terms of lithogeochemistry. The lower rocks show quite low contents of Na2O and ratios K2O/Na2O ranging between 10 and 75. In the terrigenous sediments of the upper part, values of K2O/Na2O do not exceed 1-2. Sandstones and gravelites in the lower part of the Oselkovaya series are characterized by reduced concentrations of radioactive, rare-earth, and highly charged elements, as well as lower concentrations of Ni and Co relative to concentrations of these elements in sandstones and aleuritic sandstones of the Oselkovaya series. The petrographic and lithogeochemical characteristics of the terrigenous sediments of the lower and upper parts of the Oselkovaya series suggest different sources of the denudation of these rocks into the sedimentation basin. It is suggested that acid rocks were the denudation source of the terrigenous rocks in the lower part of the series, and the sandstones and aleuritic sandstones in the upper part of the series were sourced from rocks of a mixed (acid-base) composition. The composition of the rocks in the source area was reconstructed, and the published ages of detrital zircons from the sandstones of the upper and lower parts of the Oselkovaya series were taken into account. The reconstruction suggests that the lower part of the Oselkovaya series resulted from the destruction of the basement rocks in the Siberian craton. The upper part of the Oselkovaya series seems to have formed in the basin, wherein the denudation took place from the orogen formed as a result of the accretion of micro-continents and island arcs of the Paleo-Asian Ocean to the south-western margin of the Siberian craton.