Thesis
Determining the regional-scale detrital zircon provenance of the middle-late Ordovician Kinnikinic (Eureka) Quartzite, east-central Idaho, U.S.
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/103706
Abstract
The Middle-Late Ordovician Kinnikinic Quartzite and its lateral equivalents in the western North American Cordillera extend from the Peace River Arch, British Columbia to northern Mexico. Deposited in a high energy, shallow-shelf marine environment, these quartzites represent a unique episode of mature siliciclastic deposition along an otherwise carbonate-dominated passive margin of western Laurentia. The Peace River Arch was suggested via U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology to be the sole source of sediment for the Ordovician quartzites, a model which requires longshore currents to transport sediment over 2000 km, precluding sediment input from underlying rocks and potentially exposed sources east of the passive margin. The Kinnikinic Quartzite differs from most of its coeval units along the Laurentian margin, in that many of its eastern exposures were deposited unconformably on Mesoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks or Ordovician plutons along the Lemhi Arch. Laser ablation ICP-MS U-Pb geochronology of 1439 individual detrital zircon grains from eleven samples (four locations) of Kinnikinic Quartzite provides a distinct spectrum of ages: ~0.9-1.3 Ga, 1.8-2.0 Ga, ~2.0-2.2 Ga, and ~2.4-2.9 Ga. This age spectrum suggests provenance links to sources east of the Paleozoic passive margin, rather than to the north. It is hypothesized that the Trans-Hudson Arch (and Saskatchewan craton), adjacent Paleoproterozoic-Archean provinces (Wyoming, Hearne, and Rea), and possibly recycled underlying metasedimentary units (Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup and lateral equivalents) are major contributors of sediment. The detrital zircon populations of all samples of Kinnikinic Quartzite are similar, but slight changes in populations occur. Changes in detrital zircon populations occur spatially between sample locations and temporally within sample locations. Measures of overlap and similarity calculated for each sample of Kinnikinic Quartzite against each other provide a numerical evaluation of the spatial and temporal provenance variation. The average overlap is 0.665, and average similarity is 0.823. Spatial and temporal variations in provenance are suggested to be a result of long-term sea level fluctuations systems tracts, which are capable of covering (TST, HST), or uncovering (LST, FSST) broad areas of potential source rocks.
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Details
- Title
- Determining the regional-scale detrital zircon provenance of the middle-late Ordovician Kinnikinic (Eureka) Quartzite, east-central Idaho, U.S.
- Creators
- Eric Edward. Baar
- Contributors
- Michael Pope (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Environment, School of the (CAHNRS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900524869301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis