Precambrian Basement and Late Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic Tectonic Evolution of the SW Yangtze Block, South China: Constraints from Zircon U–Pb Dating and Hf Isotopes

Zircon U–Pb dating and Hf isotopic analyses are performed on clastic rocks, sedimentary tuff of the Dongchuan Group (DCG), and a diabase, which is an intrusive body from the base of DCG in the SW Yangtze Block. The results provide new constraints on the Precambrian basement and the Late Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic tectonic evolution of the SW Yangtze Block, South China. DCG has been divided into four formations from the bottom to the top: Yinmin, Luoxue, Heishan, and Qinglongshan. The Yinmin Formation, which represents the oldest rock unit of DCG, was intruded by a diabase dyke. The oldest zircon age of the clastic rocks from the Yinmin Formation is 3654 Ma, with εHf(t) of −3.1 and a two-stage modeled age of 4081 Ma. Another zircon exhibits an age of 2406 Ma, with εHf(t) of −20.1 and a two-stage modeled age of 4152 Ma. These data provide indirect evidence for the residues of the Hadean crustal nuclei in the Yangtze Block. In combination with the published data, the ages of detrital zircons from the Yinmin Formation yielded three peak ages: 1.84, 2.30 and 2.71 Ga. The peaks of 1.84 and 2.71 Ga are global in distribution, and they are best correlated to the collisional accretion of cratons in North America. Moreover, the peak of 1.84 Ga coincides with the convergence of the global Columbia supercontinent. The youngest age of the detrital zircon from the Yinmin Formation was 1710 Ma; the age of the intrusive diabase was 1689 ± 34 Ma, whereas the weighted average age of the sedimentary tuff from the Heishan Formation was 1414 ± 25 Ma. It was presumed that the depositional age for DCG was 1.71–1.41 Ga, which was in accordance with the timing of the breakup of the Columbia supercontinent. At ~1.7 Ga, the geochemical data of the diabase were characterized by E-MORB and the region developed the same period A-type granites. Thus, 1.7 Ga should represent the time of the initial breakup of the Yangtze Block. Furthermore, the Yangtze Block continues to stretch and breakup until ~1.4 Ga, which is characterized by the emergence of oceanic island, deep-sea siliceous rock and flysch, representing the final breakup. In brief, the tectonic evolution of the Yangtze Block during the Late Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic coincided with the events caused by the convergence and breakup of the Columbia supercontinent, because of which, the Yangtze Block experienced extensive magmatic activity and sedimentary basin development during this period