Collisional successor basins of western China: Impact of tectonic inheritance on sand composition

Research Article| March 01, 1993 Collisional successor basins of western China: Impact of tectonic inheritance on sand composition S. A. GRAHAM; S. A. GRAHAM 1School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar M. S. HENDRIX; M. S. HENDRIX 1School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar L. B. WANG; L. B. WANG 1School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. R. CARROLL A. R. CARROLL 1School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information S. A. GRAHAM 1School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 M. S. HENDRIX 1School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 L. B. WANG 1School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 A. R. CARROLL 1School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1993) 105 (3): 323–344. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1993)1052.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation S. A. GRAHAM, M. S. HENDRIX, L. B. WANG, A. R. CARROLL; Collisional successor basins of western China: Impact of tectonic inheritance on sand composition. GSA Bulletin 1993;; 105 (3): 323–344. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1993)1052.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Provenance interpretations from sandstone detrital modes are widely used as criteria for inferring tectonic settings of ancient sedimentary basins. Although global schemes of sandstone petrography generally work quite well, they fail to adequately identify the correct tectonic setting of sands of modern basins of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, because of the complicated tectonic history of sediment-source terranes. Modern sands of the Junggar and Turpan basins are markedly litharenitic because of derivation from upper Paleozoic arc sequences that form the bedrock of the northern Tian Shan and Bogda Shan. In contrast, sands of the Tarim basin are compositionally much more varied, ranging from quartzofeldspathic to litharenitic. Tarim sands reflect derivation from plutonic and thrusted sedimentary and metamorphic terranes exposed in surrounding mountain ranges. Extrabasinal carbonate sedimentary-lithic fragments, intentionally omitted from provenance analyses by some workers, are important provenance indicators in Tarim samples.Interpreted in terms of schemes for global sandstone composition, Junggar and Turpan basin sands suggest an arc-related setting; Tarim sands suggest settings with erosional access to arc terranes, basement (for example, rifts), and sedimentary-metamorphic sequences (for example, foreland basins). Modern basins of Xinjiang, however, do not easily fit any of these tectonic settings, and composition of modern sand reflects relict source terranes rather than current tectonic setting. In fact, Xinjiang basins are difficult to fit into most basin classifications. Modern Xiujiang basins are deformed at their margins by active thrust belts, and to a lesser extent, by strike-slip faults associated with the Cenozoic Himalayan collision, and were built upon Mesozoic retroarc-foreland basins. We term the modern basins of Xinjiang "collisional successor basins" in recognition of their tectonic setting and history. The highly varied composition of Xinjiang basin sands may be typical of collisional successor basins, particularly where the tectonically accreted substrate of the basins consists of numerous and diverse small terranes. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.