Timing of the Wudangshan, Yaolinghe volcanic sequences and mafic sills in South Qinling: U-Pb zircon geochronology and tectonic implication

The Wudangshan, Yaolinghe volcanic-sedimentary sequences and doleritic-gabbroic sills comprise the largest exposed Precambrian basement in South Qinling. Zircons separated from 5 volcanic-pyroclastic samples of the Wudangshan Group, 2 volcanic samples of the Yaolinghe Group and one sample for the mafic sills were used for U-Pb dating by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). The results reveal that the Wudangshan volcanic sequence was formed at (755±3) Ma (a weighted mean from the 5 samples, MSWD=0.47), whereas the Yaolinghe volcanic suite and the mafic sill were crystallized at (685±5) (2 samples, MSWD=0.36) and (679±3) Ma (MSWD=1.6), respectively, which are equal to each other within analysis errors. These ages are markedly younger than those previously documented for the rocks. The newly obtained ages for the Wudangshan and Yaolinghe Groups are identical to those of the bottom Liantuo and slightly older than those of the Nantuo Formations, respectively, lower strata of the Nanhua (middle to late Neoproterozoic) stratotype section in eastern Three Gorges, Yangtze craton. A range of inherited magmatic zircons was recognized with ages of 830 to 780 Ma, which are typical of Neoprotzrozoic magmatisms recorded along the margins and interior of the Yangtze craton. Thus, there is Neoproterozoic basement comprising 830–780 Ma igneous suites in South Qinling; the inherited zircons were detrital sediments derived from the northern margin of the Yangtze craton. Accordingly, it is suggested that the South Qinling is a segment of the Yangtze craton before the Qinling Orogeny.