TY - JOUR
T1 - The Early Paleocene Ranikot Formation, Sulaiman Fold-Thrust Belt, Pakistan
T2 - Detrital Zircon Provenance and Tectonic Implications
AU - Qasim, Muhammad
AU - Ashraf, Junaid
AU - Ding, Lin
AU - Tanoli, Javed Iqbal
AU - Khan, Imran
AU - Rehman, Mohib Ur
AU - Awais, Muhammad
AU - Ahmad, Jalil
AU - Tayyab, Owais
AU - Jadoon, Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/3/15
Y1 - 2023/3/15
N2 - This study reports on the detrital zircon provenance of the sandstones of Early Paleocene Ranikot Formation exposed in the Fort Munro section, Sulaiman fold-thrust belt, Pakistan. This marks the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sequence. The detrital zircon U-Pb ages reported are mainly clustered around ~460–1100 Ma, ~1600–1900 Ma and ~2300–2600 Ma. The age cluster ~460–1100 Ma is mainly matched well with the Tethyan Himalaya. However, the age clusters ~1600–1900 Ma and ~2300–2600 Ma matched fairly with the lesser Himalayas and Higher Himalayas. In addition, the sandstone petrography suggests the craton interior provenance. The two younger Cretaceous zircon ages may be derived from the Tethyan Himalaya volcanic rocks as supported by a high (>0.3) Th/U ratio. Furthermore, the absence of the ophiolitic component ~115–178 Ma suggests that the western ophiolite may be emplaced at the same time as Ranikot Formation deposited or later. Moreover, the absence of the Eurasian (zircon with ages <100 Ma) in the Ranikot Formation excludes the possibility of the early collision along the western margin, as reported in earlier studies.
AB - This study reports on the detrital zircon provenance of the sandstones of Early Paleocene Ranikot Formation exposed in the Fort Munro section, Sulaiman fold-thrust belt, Pakistan. This marks the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sequence. The detrital zircon U-Pb ages reported are mainly clustered around ~460–1100 Ma, ~1600–1900 Ma and ~2300–2600 Ma. The age cluster ~460–1100 Ma is mainly matched well with the Tethyan Himalaya. However, the age clusters ~1600–1900 Ma and ~2300–2600 Ma matched fairly with the lesser Himalayas and Higher Himalayas. In addition, the sandstone petrography suggests the craton interior provenance. The two younger Cretaceous zircon ages may be derived from the Tethyan Himalaya volcanic rocks as supported by a high (>0.3) Th/U ratio. Furthermore, the absence of the ophiolitic component ~115–178 Ma suggests that the western ophiolite may be emplaced at the same time as Ranikot Formation deposited or later. Moreover, the absence of the Eurasian (zircon with ages <100 Ma) in the Ranikot Formation excludes the possibility of the early collision along the western margin, as reported in earlier studies.
KW - Ranikot Formation
KW - Sulaiman fold-thrust belt
KW - U-Pb geochronology
KW - detrital zircon
KW - provenance
KW - western Indian margin
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152464239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85152464239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/c4d990b3-4b01-30a4-a393-cd07893abc26/
U2 - 10.3390/min13030413
DO - 10.3390/min13030413
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85152464239
SN - 2075-163X
VL - 13
JO - Minerals
JF - Minerals
IS - 3
M1 - 413
ER -