The first precise age constraints on the Jixian System of the Meso-to Neoproterozoic Standard Section of China: SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating of bentonites from the Wumishan and Tieling formations in the Jixian Section, North China Craton
Although known as the Meso-to Neoproterozoic Standard Section of China for more than half a century,the age of the famous Jixian Section (Jixian County,Tianjin City) has been rather poorly constrained,mainly by Rb-Sr and K-Ar ages that have proven unreliable and inaccurate in most cases.In recent years,significant progress has been made in studying the Meso-to Neoproterozoic geochronology of the North China Craton.To date,however,only one accurate U-Pb zircon age of 1625 ± 6Ma from volcanic rocks of the Dahongyu Formation,and two duplicate zircon U-Pb ages of about 1635Ma from mafic sills crosscutting the Chuanlinggou Formation of the Changchengian System in the lower part of the Jixian Section,has been reported.In addition,no one until now has obtained this kind of age dates directly from carbonate-dominated parts of the succession at the Jixian Section.Fortunately,bentonite beds were recently discovered for the first time in the Tieling and Wumishan formations at the Jixian Section,and ages of ~ 1440Ma (1439 ± 14Ma) and ~ 1485Ma (1483 ± 13Ma and 1487 ± 16Ma) for the bentonite beds were obtained by means of SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating.This achievement means that the shallow-marine,carbonate-dominated Tieling and Wumishan formations,the upper two stratigraphic units of the conventional Jixian System at the Jixian Standard Section,are now temporally constrained by direct zircon U-Pb dating.Furthermore,it is the first time that the Wumishan Formation from the entirety of the North China Craton has been precisely dated.Moreover,the current SHRIMP zircon age of about 1440Ma for the bentonite in the Tieling Formation at the Jixian Standard Section is the same as the age reported earlier in Pingquan County,Hebei Province,in the east Yanshan Mountains on the northern margin of the NCC.Consequently,this progress in age dating of the bentonite beds in the carbonate-dominated succession provides new,accurate,benchmark ages for further clarification of the chronostratigraphic framework of the well-known Jixian Meso-to Neoproterozoic Standard Section and helps to consolidate its position for correct correlation with relevant strata,both regionally and internationally.
Jixian SectionBentoniteTieling FormationWumishan FormationSHRIMP U-Pb datingMesoproterozoicNorth China Craton
李怀坤、苏文博、周红英、相振群、田辉、杨立公、Warren D HUFF、Frank R ETTENSOHN
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中国地质调查局天津地质矿产研究所,天津300170
中国地质大学地球科学与资源学院,北京100083
天津市蓟县中上元古界国家自然保护区管理中心,天津301900
Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0013
Department of Earth and Environment Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0053