Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

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Geology of the Fuding inlier in southeastern China: Implication for late PaleozoicCathaysian paleogeography

Xiumian Hu a,⁎, Zhicheng Huang a, Jiangang Wang a, Jinhai Yu a, Keding Xu b, Luba Jansa c, Wenxuan Hu a

a State Key Laboratory of Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, PR Chinab Zhejiang Branch of Oil and Gas Exploration, SINOPEC, Hangzhou, 310013, Chinac Geological Survey of Canada-Atlantic, Dartmouth, N.S. Canada

⁎ Corresponding author at: School of Earth SciencUniversity, Hankou Road 22, Nanjing 210093, PR Chifax: +86 25 8368 6016.

E-mail address: huxm@nju.edu.cn (X. Hu).

1342-937X/$ – see front matter © 2011 International Adoi:10.1016/j.gr.2011.09.016

a b s t r a c t

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 28 February 2011Received in revised form 27 July 2011Accepted 5 September 2011Available online 19 October 2011

Keywords:Late PaleozoicCathaysiaFuding inlierPaleogeography

The age and composition of the basement rocks underlying the Mesozoic volcanic rocks in southeasternChina have been long debated. New field investigation, stratigraphical and sedimentological studies of theFuding inlier in eastern Cathaysian block have identified the presence of three stratigraphic units. TheUpper Carboniferous carbonate unit, composed of silicified limestone, deposited on carbonate platform in acontinental shelf environment. The Lower Permian siliciclastic unit, consisting of slate and phyllite withminor arenites, deposited on shallow semi-restricted shelf. The third unit is a suite of Jurassic conglomeratesand sandstones deposited in alluvial fan environment. Provenance data indicate that the Fuding inlier waspart of the Wuyishan terrane in the eastern Cathaysian block. The U–Pb age and Hf isotope of detrital zirconsindicate that extensive magmatic activity happened during 280–360 Ma in the source area. The εHf values ofdetrital zircons point to magmatic mixing of juvenile material and Precambrian crust. The similarities in rockcompositions and detrital zircon ages among the Yeongnam massif in the Korean Peninsula, the Tananaocomplex in Taiwan and the Fuding inlier have led to the conclusion that these three regions most likelybelonged to the Wuyishan terrane, eastern Cathaysia during the late Paleozoic.

© 2011 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

More than 90% of the surface area of the eastern Cathaysian block(Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, southeastern China) (Fig. 1) is cov-ered by late Mesozoic volcanic rocks (Gilder et al., 1996; Wang andZhou, 2002; Zhou, 2007). The age and composition of the basementrocks underlying these Mesozoic volcanic rocks are poorly known. Afew Upper Paleozoic sedimentary rocks are exposed in the easternCathaysian block, such as strata in the Fuding inlier in Fujian province(Shi and Liu, 1980; Wu and Li, 1990; Ying et al., 1994) and in theQingtian inlier in Zhejiang province (Zhu et al., 1994). Paleozoic stratain the Fuding inlier were first reported as a suite of low-grade meta-morphic rocks by the Zhejiang Regional Geological Survey Team(1975). The presence of the fusulinid Pseudostaffella sphaeroidea inthe silicified limestone indicates the Late Carboniferous age (ZhejiangRegional Geological Survey Team, 1975), while conodonts from themicrocrystalline limestones indicate the Early Carboniferous–EarlyPermian (Ying et al., 1994). Shi and Liu (1980) suggested that the

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clastic sedimentary rocks in the Fuding inlier are flysch type andwere deposited in a deep-water environment. Consequently, thisarea was interpreted to present the late Paleozoic “Fu-Shan Trough”by Wang (1986) and this viewpoint was widely accepted. Althoughthe Upper Paleozoic sedimentary rocks are exposed in the Fuding in-lier, their stratigraphy, sedimentology and sedimentary sources forthe strata remain uncertain.

We investigated the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Fudinginlier (Fig. 2) and carried out provenance analysis of the clastic rocksbased on detrital modes of the sandstones, Nd isotopes of the fine-grained clastic sediments and U–Pb age and Hf isotopes of the detritalzircons. The new data allow us to examine and comment on the latePaleozoic palaeogeography of the eastern Cathaysian block.

2. Geological setting

The South China block (SCB) consists of the Yangtze block to thenorthwest and the Cathaysian block to the southeast (Fig. 1). The pre-sent boundary between these two blocks is the northeasterly trendingJiang-Shao fault in the east, but the southwestern extension of thisboundary is unclear (e.g. Charvet et al., 1994; Fig. 1). The timing of theamalgamation between the Yangtze and Cathaysian blocks remainscontroversial. The predominant view was an early Neoproterozoic agefor the amalgamation, ca. 900 to 880 Ma (Li et al., 2007, 2009) to ca.800 Ma (Zhao and Cawood, 1999; Wang et al., 2007, 2010a). The

Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seoul

Yongyang

Yangtze Block

SOUTHCHINA

tleBPHUeibaD-gnilniQ

Su-Lu U

HPBelt

Tans-NorthChina Orogen

CentralAsian Orogenic Belt

NORTHCHINA

negorOnangnaiJ

NM

GM

YM

IB

OB

Tan

-Lu

Faul

t

Fig. 2

Cathaysia Block

0 300 600 km

FuzhouTaipai

Nanjing

Beijing

Guangzhou

Tainanaocomplex

Wuyishanterrane

Nanling-Yunkaiterrane

T

Fig. 1. Tectonic framework of the eastern China and Korea Peninsulas (simplified from Yu et al., 2009, 2010). Abbreviation: NM—Nangrim massif, GM—Gyeonggi massif,YM—Yeongnam massif, IB—Imjingang orogenic belt and OB—Okcheon orogenic belt. T—Taebaeksan basin.

508 X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

Proterozoic crust of the Cathaysian block can be separated into two dis-tinct tectonic domains, the Wuyishan terrane to the northeast and theNanling-Yunkai terrane to the southwest (e.g. Yu et al., 2010). TheWuyishan terrane is characterized by dominant Paleoproterozoic(approximately 1.86 Ga) and lesser Neoarchean basement, whichsuffered strong Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic tectono-thermalreworking. By contrast, the Nanling-Yunkai terrane contains abundantNeoarchean and Grenvillian-aged magmatism (approximately1.0 Ga).

During the Phanerozoic time, the Cathaysian block experiencedfour main tectonic events. 1) The Kwangsian orogeny (Ting, 1929),which is traditionally called the Chinese Caledonian orogeny (Huanget al., 1980; Ren, 1991; Shu, 2006), is characterized by the angularunconformity that separates the Devonian-Permian cover fromstrongly deformed pre-Devonian strata (Huang et al., 1980) as wellas syn-deformational metamorphism and subsequent anatexis (e.g.Li et al., 2010). It is generally considered to be an early Paleozoic intra-continental orogen (Shu, 2006; Faure et al., 2009; Charvet et al., 2010;Li et al., 2010); 2) Late Paleozoic extensional rifting, which probablystarted in the Devonian (Zeng et al., 1993; Zhao et al., 1996; Wang et

al., 2010b); 3) The Indosinian orogeny, which extended from theLate Permian to the Middle Triassic, was a result of the collisionbetween the Indochina block and South China (Carter et al., 2001;Cai and Zhang, 2009); 4) Late Mesozoic magmatism along the south-eastern coast of South China (Charvet et al., 1994; Wang et al.,1995; Gilder et al., 1996; Zhou and Li, 2000; Griffin et al., 2002),which represents an active continental margin.

The Fuding inlier is located at approximately 20 km northwest ofFuding town in Fujian province. The Fuding inlier is about 20 km2 insize, and is in fault contact with the surrounding Cretaceous volcani-clastic rocks comprised mainly by volcaniclastic sandstones and tuffs(Fig. 2).

3. Stratigraphy and sedimentology

Due to extensive faulting, it was not possible to find a continuoussedimentary succession in the study area (Fig. 4a). However, we coulddefine three stratigraphic units in the field based on our geologicalmapping (Fig. 3).

Nanxi reservoir

70

74

67

234233

239241

242243

246

249

250

251

252253

254

139.3±1.2 Ma

248

J

J

P1

P66

232

237

245244

69

240

Housuntan

Luowu

Shizhukeng

Chaishanshan

Kengli

SijiaopingQukeng Guanyingtang

K1

P1

K1

K1

K1

K1

1

1

K1

71

K1

68

Hig

h w

ay

C2

Lingjiao

255

Nanxi

P1

230

231

500 m

233 GPS point

Slate and phyllite

Conglomerate

Sandstone

Micriticlimestone

Silicified ooliticlimestone

Main fault

238

256

257

K1

Dam

Fig.5a

7273

C2

235

236

Legend

120°06' 120°07'

27°2

1.5'

27°2

1'27

°21.

5'

P71

247

Nanxi lake

Fig. 2. Simplified geological map of the Fuding inlier. GPS point information can be found in the Appendix A.

509X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

3.1. Upper Carboniferous carbonate unit

The Upper Carboniferous carbonate unit in the study area is morethan 35 m thick and is comprised of three different types of lime-stones (Fig. 3):

1) Partially or completely silicified gray thin-bedded microcrystallinelimestone (Fig. 4b), enclosing silicified sponge spicule (up to 10%in weight) and crinoidal debris (Fig. 5a). The limestone wasmost likely deposited in a deep carbonate shelf environment.

2) Partially or completely silicified grayish-yellow thin-beddedbioclasticlimestone. The bioclastic debris includes echinoderm, fusulinid,algae and brachiopod. The bioclasts indicate deposition in an opencarbonate platform environment.

3) Gray thick-bedded silicified oolitic limestone (Fig. 4c), replaced bysilica with some residual oolitic structure preserved (Fig. 5b). Theooids are approximately 0.3 to 0.8 mm in diameter and have aradial fabric. A minor amount of crinoid debris and few bioclasticshells is also present. The sparry calcite cement filling the inter-granular pores was replaced by silica. This rock may have beendeposited in a high energy, very shallow-water environment,probably as oolitic shoal on a carbonate platform.

Fossils reported from these limestones include fusulinids (Pseu-dostaffella sphaeroidea, Beedeina sp. and Profusulinella), brachiopods(Neospirifer sp.) and conodonts (Idiognathodus delicates) (Wu and Li,1990; Ying et al., 1994), which indicates the Bashkirian–Moscovian(Late Carboniferous) age of the strata.

3.2. Lower Permian siliciclastic unit

The Lower Permian unit is comprised by black carbonaceous slate,silty slate and phyllite, occasionally interbedded with lithic arenitesand microcrystalline limestones (Fig. 3).

1) The black slate, silty slate and phyllite (Fig. 4d) are partially silici-fied and enclose plant debris. The total organic carbon (TOC) inthe slates varies from 0.34 to 2.5% in weight (Zhejiang PetroleumExploration Department, 1991). Shi and Liu (1980) suggestedthat these sediments in the Fuding inlier have flysch-type charac-teristics. However, we did not find any turbiditic structures duringthe field survey, such as the Bouma sequence, flute cast and nor-mal graded beds, etc. The black color of slates and the increasedorganic carbon content indicate at least a dysoxic depositionalenvironment and increased surface productivity at that time.The depositional environment of this unit was most probablysemi-restricted continental shelf.

2) Thin-bedded sandstone layers occur sporadically within the slate-dominated strata (Figs. 4e and 5c). Sandstones are mainly fine-grained lithic arenites (Fig. 6). Clastic grains are angular to subangularin shape and are poorly sorted with a diameter of 0.06 to 0.2 mm(Fig. 5c). The matrix is formed by illite. One bed of lithic arenite,located near a quartz vein (Fig. 4e), contained epidote and plagioclase(up to 10% in weight), resulting from local thermal metamorphism(Fig. 5e). The siltstone is dominated by lithic grains (60%) and quartz(40%), which are poorly sorted and poorly rounded. The matrixcomprises up to 25% of the siltstones. We suggest that these sand-stones and siltstones were probably deposited in a prodelta setting.

Upp

erC

arbo

nife

rous

C 2

K1 8

7

6

5

4

32

1

Conodonts: Streptognathodus

(Ying et al., 1994)fuchenensis,S. elongatus

J 1-2

P 1

510~15

002>

5

59>

vvv

C

C C

C

CC

C

CC

C C

C

CC

C

C

C

C

C

C

CC

C

CC

C

C

C

C

>15

M1-1

NX12

M1-17

NX23

NX18 NX18: 139.3±1.2 Ma

001>

(m)

Low

er P

erm

ian

Jura

ssic

Low

erC

reta

ceou

sAge Bed Lithology Zircon

sample

Lithological description Fossils/Age Sedimentary facies

Carbonate shelf

Open carbonate platform

platform marginal shoal

Continental shelf-prodelta

Alluvial fan

Gray, thin-bedded, microcrystallinelimestone, partially or completely silicified

Silicified bioclastic limestone

Silicified oolitic limestone

Carbonaceous slate, silty slateand phyllite, occasionallyinterbedded with lithic arenitesand microcrystalline limestones

Conglomerate, sandyconglomerate and coarsesandstone

Volcaniclastic sandstonesand tuff

Fault

Volcanics

Fault

Fault

Fig. 3. Composite stratigraphic column of the Fuding inlier. Legends as in Fig. 2.

510 X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

3) Microcrystalline limestones, intercalated within the slate succes-sion, are thin-bedded and contain crinoid debris replacedwith silica.We interpret them as being deposited on a deep carbonate shelf.

3.3. Jurassic coarse grained siliciclastic unit

A suite of siliciclastic rocks over 100 m thick is exposed in the centralpart of the Fuding inlier (Fig. 2). The lithology of the unit consists ofconglomerates, sandy conglomerates and coarse sandstones, whichunconformably overlie the late Paleozoic sedimentary successions.Conglomerates have sandy matrix (Fig. 4g) and are comprised by avariety of gravels and pebbles, including slate, phyllites, gneiss, volcanicrocks, granites, sandstones and silicified limestones (Fig. 5f). Thepebbles are several to over 10 cm in diameter and are angular towell-rounded in shape. Clasts of dark-colored slate and phyllite litho-clasts in the conglomerate are considered to have been derived fromthe erosion of the underlying Lower Permian. The sandstones includelithic arenites, subarkoses and arkosic arenites. Lithic grains withinthe sandstones are dominated by volcanic grains, phyllites, minorschists and slates. The feldspars are mainly K-feldspars with minorplagioclases. Large-scale cross-stratification and normal gradingwere observed in the strata. We interpret this lithologic suite asbeing deposited in alluvial fan environment. The age of this unit ispoorly constrained, but it is most likely of the Jurassic age basedon regional geologic considerations (Fujian Bureau of Geology andMineral Resources, 1997).

4. Sampling and methods

Over 50 sampleswere collected in the Fuding inlier (Fig. 2, AppendixA).More than 30 polished thin sectionswere prepared from sandstonesand fine-grained conglomerates for the petrographic analysis. Foursandstone sampleswere selected formodal analysiswith approximately400 framework grains counted per thin section. To minimize the effectof grain-size variations, the rock fragments were counted using theGazzi–Dickinson method (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979; Ingersoll et al.,1984).

Four slate samples from the Lower Permian were collected for theSm–Nd isotopic analysis. Approximately 100 mg of powder for eachsample was dissolved in a mixture of HF and HNO3 in Teflon beakers.Sm and Nd were then separated and purified by conventional cation-exchange techniques. The isotopic measurements of the purified Smand Nd solutions were performed on a Finnigan Triton TI thermalionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) at the State Key Laboratory ofMineral Deposits Research, Nanjing University. The mass fractionationcorrection for the Nd isotopic ratios was based on 146Nd/144Nd=0.7219. The blanks for Sm and Nd were 5×10−11 g. A two-stagemodel age calculation is used because the Nd model age results arecorrelated with the Sm/Nd ratio (Miller and Harris, 1989).

Two Lower Permian litharenite samples (08M1–1 and 08NX12)and two Jurassic pebbly sandstone samples (08M1–17 and 08NX23)were selected for the detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology analysis.The zircons were randomly selected from heavymineral concentrates.The selected zircons were then encased in epoxymounts and polished

Fig. 4. Field photos at the Fuding inlier. (a) Panoramic photo of Early Permian strata along the main road in the southwestern part of the Fuding inlier. (b) Upper Carboniferoussilicified microcrystalline limestone, GPS site 73. (c) Upper Carboniferous silicified oolitic limestones in tectonic contact with Lower Permian slates. GPS site 256. (d) Close-upview of the Lower Permian black slates, GPS Site 66. (e) Thin-bedded sandstone layers within the Lower Permian slate. The whitish band is a quartz vein near the sandstone. Sample08M1–1 was taken from this sandstone. GPS site 257. (f) Lower Permian sandstones beds sampled (08NX12) at GPS site 244. (g) Jurassic conglomerate showing abundant blacklithoclasts of slate and phyllite, GPS site 231.

511X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

to expose their cores. The U–Pb dating of the detrital zircon wasperformed by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spec-trometry (LA–ICP–MS) at the State Key Laboratory for Mineral DepositsResearch, Nanjing University, China, and at the State Key Laboratory ofLithosphere Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, ChineseAcademy of Sciences, following a previously describedmethod (Jacksonet al., 2004). The results and isotopic rates were calculated using theprogram GLITTER 4.4 (Van Achterbergh et al., 2001). Common Pbcorrections were carried out using method described by Andersen(2002). The age calculations and plotting of concordia diagramswere performed using ISOPLOT v.2.49 (Ludwig, 2001). Detrital zirconage interpretations are complicated by Pb loss, which produces discor-dance for the zircons in the approximately 1.8–2.5 Ga age range fromthe Fuding inlier. Fortunately, the patterns of discordance by Pb lossare recognizable on U–Pb concordia diagrams as an array that projectsfrom a greater than 1.8 Ga upper intercept to a very young lower inter-cept (Fig. 8). In this study, we use 207Pb/206Pb ages for zircons that

display discordance greater than 10%. For zircon ages that are concordantor slightly discordant (discordanceb10%), we use 206Pb/238U ages forgrains younger than 1 Ga and 207Pb/206Pb ages for grains older than 1 Ga.

The Hf isotope analyses of detrital zircons were performed using aNeptune multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spec-trometry (MC–ICP–MS) that was equipped with a 193 nm laser andhoused at the State Key Laboratory of Lithosphere Evolution, Instituteof Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The detailsabout the instrumental conditions and data acquisition can be found inWu et al. (2006). In this study, the 176Hf/177Hf ratio of standard zircon(91500) was 0.282265±11 (2 SD; n=18). To enable comparisonamong the laboratories, all of the Hf isotopic data were corrected byadjusting the 176Hf/177Hf ratio of 91,500 to 0.282305. During the calcu-lation, we adopted a depleted mantle model with (176Hf/177Hf)DM=0.28325 and (176Lu/177Hf)DM=0.0384 (Griffin et al., 2000), chondritewith (176Hf/177Hf)CHUR=0.282772 and (176Lu/177Hf)CHUR=0.0332(BlichertToft and Albarede, 1997) and an average continental crust

Fig. 5. Photomicrographs of rocks in the Fuding inlier. (a) Microcrystalline limestone, showing silicified sponge spicule, Upper Carboniferous, sample 08M1–14. (b) Silicified ooliticlimestone, Upper Carboniferous, sample 08M1–7. (c) Lithic arenites, showing abundant volcanic grains and angular to subangular quartz grains, Lower Permian, sample 08NX12.Lv—volcanic grain, Q—quartz. (d) Lithic arenites, showing abundant felsic volcanic grains, sample 08NX12. (e) Lithic arenites with epidote and plagioclase due to pyrometasomatismfrom a quartz vein, Lower Permian, sample 08M1–1. Ep—epidote, Pl—plagioclase. (f) Gravelly sandstone, showing phyllite grain, Jurassic, sample 08NX23.

512 X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

with (176Lu/177Hf)C=0.015 (Griffin et al., 2002). We used a decayconstant of 1.867×10−11 for 176Lu (Soederlund et al., 2004).

All the analytical results are given in Appendices B to F.

5. Provenance analysis

5.1. Nd isotopes of slate

As shown in Appendix C, the Lower Permian slate in the Fuding inlierhave old Nd model ages, ranging from 2.05 to 2.23 Ga (averaging2.14 Ga), which is approximately 1.7 Ga older than its depositionalage. This result indicates that the Lower Permian slates were mainlyderived from the erosion of the ancient Paleoproterozoic crust. TheεNd(t) values of those Early Permian slate (calculation refers to AppendixB) are −14.7 to −12.4 (averaging −13.5). On the εNd(t)–t(strata)

diagram (Fig. 7), these samples plot within the evolution zone of thePaleoproterozoic crust of South China (Shen et al., 2003, 2009). Further-more, the Nd model ages of these slates are all older than 2.0 Ga, mostprobably derived from the basement rocks of the Cathaysian blockrather than those of the southern Yangtze block (Shen et al., 2009).

5.2. Detrital modes of sandstones

Lower Permian sandstones in the Fuding inlier are classified aslithic arenites with averaged Q–F–L ratios of 43:0:57 (Appendix Band Fig. 6). Monocrystalline quartz grains dominate the grain frame-work with the quartz content being 34 to 53%. Lithic grains (47–66%)are dominated by felsic volcanic grains (Fig. 5d), and subordinate arelithoclast of shale and siltstones. No feldspar grains were observed.

Fuding (this study)

Jangseong Fm

(S. Korea)

Qm

Lt

DissectedArc

Transitional Arc

Undissected Arc

Cra

ton

Inte

rior

Quartzose

Recycled

Transitional

Recycled

Lithic

Recycled

Mixed

Tran

sitio

nal

Con

tinen

t

Q

LF

Con

tinen

tal B

lock

Pro

vena

nce Recycled

OrogenProvenance

Magmatic Arc Provenance

a b

Fig. 6. Q–F–L (a) and Qm–F–Lt (b) plots for the detrital modes of the Lower Permian sandstones from the Fuding inlier and the Taebaeksan basin (data from Lee and Sheen, 1998; Koet al., 1999). The provenance fields are from Dickinson (1985).

513X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

5.3. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages

Totally 72 zircons (sample 08NX12) and 138 zircons (sample08M1–1) were analyzed for U–Pb ages from the Lower Permian lithicarenites. Some zircons show discordance due to Pb losses (Fig. 8). Thezircon ages from sample 08NX12 form three age populations clusteredat 285 to 482 Ma (27%), 1.45–1.91 Ga (35%) and 2.07 to 2.63 Ga (38%)with peak ages at 311 Ma, 1.76, 1.78, 2.35 and 2.47 Ga. Sample 08M1–1 exhibits a similar age distribution with three age groups of 279 to447 Ma (58%), 1.46 to 1.89 Ga (24%) and 2.18 to 2.59 Ga (17%) andmajor peaks at 315 Ma, 1.77, 1.85, 2.4 and 2.49 Ga (Table 1 andFig. 9). Carboniferous–Permian zircons (ca 360–280 Ma) from thesesamples are abundant and comprise 22% to 52% of the total grains.The youngest zircon ages of 279±4, 283±4, 285±4 and 285±3 Ma, provide the maximum age constraint for the deposition.

Samples 08M1–17 and 08NX23 are Jurassic pebbly sandstones. Atotal of 118 zircon ages were obtained for the provenance analysis.The zircon ages have two predominant populations at 281 to 404 Ma(39%) and 1.31 to 2.05 Ga (52%) as well as a subordinate cluster at2.24 to 2.52 Ga (8%) (Table 1 and Fig. 9). The broad similarity inthedetrital zircon age spectrumbetween the Lower Permian and Jurassicclastic rocks suggests that they have the same source or that the Jurassic

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

CHUR

εNd(

t)

t /Ma

this study

Shen et al.,2003

Shen et al.,2009

Evolutional region of Proterozoic

anihChtuoSnitsurc

Fig. 7. εNd(t) vs. age (Ma) plot of the Lower Permian slate from the Fuding inlier, withcomparison to the εNd(t) values from other areas in eastern Cathayian block by Shen etal. (2003, 2009).

sediments were sourced from the late Paleozoic strata. The youngestages from the Jurassic sample are 281±4, 287±3, 301±5 and 307±5Ma. A lack of Late Permian–Jurassic zircons might indicate a magmaticquiescence period in the source area.

We also analyzed zircons from the Cretaceous volcaniclastic rocksthat surround the Paleozoic strata in the Fuding inlier. Sample 08NX18gave a weighted average age of 139.3±1.2 Ma (n=14, MSWD=0.31)(Fig. 10), confirming an Early Cretaceous age.

5.4. Detrital zircon Hf isotopes

Zircons (n=131) from two Lower Permian sandstones (08NX12and 08M1–1) were submitted to Hf isotopic analysis. On the εHf(t)vs. U–Pb age diagram, the zircons are distributed into three distinctgroups (Fig. 11). Zircons of ca. 2.2 to 2.6 Ga age have εHf(t) values of−8.7 to +6.6 with two-stage Hf model ages (TDMC ) between 2.7 Gaand 3.5 Ga, which indicate that the host magma of these zirconswas derived from Meso- to Neoarchean crustal materials. Zircons ofca. 1.6 to 1.9 Ga have εHf(t) values of −15.5–+0.4 with Hf modelages of 2.5 to 3.4 Ga similar to 2.2–2.6 Ga zircons. This suggests that

08M1-1

2400

2000

1600

1200

800

08NX12

2400

2000

1600

1200

800

08M1-17

2400

2000

1600

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800

08NX23

Pb/

U

0 Pb/ U

2400

2000

1600

1200

800

08NX12, Permian sandstone, n=72;

08M1-1, Permian sandstone, n=138;

08NX23, Jurassic conglomerate, n=60;

08M1-17, Jurassic conglomerate, n=57.

Fig. 8. U–Pb concordia diagram of the detrital zircon from the Fuding inlier.

Table 1Detrital zircon U–Pb age distribution in the Fuding inlier.

Age Sample Zirconnumbers

Major age ranges (Ma) Major age peaks (Ma) Percentage of thePaleozoic zircons

Jurassic 08M1–17 and08NX23

118 281–373 (n=45), 1732–1897 (n=54),2240–2521 (n=9).

306 (n=3), 333 (n=25), 368 (n=6), 1760 (n=5),1860 (n=46), 2335 (n=3), 2485 (n=3)

39% (48 grains)

Permian 08M1–1 138 279–366 (n=74), 1709–1894 (n=28),2274–2592 (n=21).

292 (n=18), 315 (n=31), 337 (n=9), 351 (n=7),362 (n=4), 1738 (n=6), 1775 (n=7), 1855 (n=10),2318 (n=4), 2399 (n=4), 2428 (n=4), 2488 (n=5), 2571 (n=3)

58% (80 grains)

Permian 08NX12 72 285–360 (n=16), 1611–1911 (n=24),2291–2494 (n=21).

300 (n=5), 311 (n=6), 319 (n=5), 340 (n=3),1629 (n=5), 1685 (n=3), 1723 (n=4), 1757 (n=5),1778 (n=5), 2295 (n=3), 2355 (n=6), 2394 (n=4), 2467 (n=4)

28% (20 grains)

514 X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

their host magma was derived from the same sources. Zircons of ca.280 to 400 Ma are characterized by negative εHf(t) values that varyfrom −34.3 to −3.1 and TDMC between 1.5 Ga and 3.5 Ga. A widerange of εHf(t) values indicates that the host melt of these zirconsprobably originated from the mixed sources of an old continentalcrust, similar to the source of Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic zircons,and juvenile magma or young crust (ca. 1.5 Ga) to different extent.

6. Discussion

6.1. Constrain on the depositional age of the siliciclastic unit

The age of the siliciclastic unit in the Fuding inlier is poorly con-strained because of the general lack of fossils. In the siliciclastic unit,

30

10

(a) 08M1-17&08NX23(Jurassic, Fuding)

n=117

60

20

(b) 08M1-1&08NX12(Permian, Fuding)

n=211

10

30(c) Eastern Yangtze

(Paleozoic strata)n=364

(Wang et al., 2010)

30

90(d) Nanling-Yunkai

(Paleozoic strata)n=1022

(Wang et al., 2010; Xiang et al., 2010;Yao et al., 2011)

9

3

(e) Taebaeksan basin(Permian, Korea)

n=47(Li et al., 2009)

30

10

(f) Western Gyeonggi massif(Paleozoic, Korea)

n=114(Cho et al., 2010)

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

Zircon U-Pb age (Ma)

Rel

ativ

e ag

e pr

obab

ility

Fig. 9. U–Pb age distributions of detrital zircon from the Jurassic conglomerate(a), Lower Permian sandstones (b) in the Fuding inlier, SE China, with comparisonswith the detrital zircons from Paleozoic strata (c) from eastern Yangtze (Wang et al.,2010b) and Nanling-Yunkai terrane (d) (Wang et al., 2010b; Xiang and Shu, 2010;Yao et al., 2011), Carboniferous–Early PermianManhang Formation (e) in the Taebaeksanbasin (Li et al., 2009) and Paleozoic strata (f) from the western Gyeonggi massif, Korea(Cho et al., 2010).

160

120

0.018

0.020

0.022

0.024

0.026

0.12 0.15 0.18207Pb/235U

206 Pb

/238 U

Sample 08NX18Cretaceous volcanics139.3±1.2 Ma (2σ)MSWD=0.31

136

140

144

)a

M(e

gA

140

130

150

Fig. 10. Zircon U–Pb concordia diagram of Cretaceous volcanic rock in the Fuding inlieand the 206Pb/238U weighted age.

Ying et al. (1994) found the conodonts Streplogmathodus fuchenensis,S. elongates and Gondolella sp. from interbedded limestones withinthe slates, which gave an age of the Middle Carboniferous to EarlyPermian for this unit. It is generally accepted that the youngestconcordant detrital zircon age can be used to constrain the maximumdepositional age. In this study, the youngest detrital zircons (AppendixD) from thin-bedded sandstones (samples 08NX12 and 08M1–1) in theFuding inlier are approximately 280–285 Ma (Fig. 9), indicating thattheir depositional ages could not be older than the Artinskian stage(Early Permian, according to the time scale of Gradstein et al., 2004).Therefore, we suggested that the siliciclastic unit would be mostprobably Early Permian in age.

6.2. Fuding inlier was part of the northern Wuyishan terrane

Geologically, the Fuding inlier locates on the northeast of theCathaysian block and belongs to the northern part of the Wuyishanterrane (Fig. 1). Moreover, the Nd isotopes and detrital zircon geo-chronology from the Permian clastic sediments suggests that theFuding inlier is tectonically part of the Wuyishan terrane (Fig. 9). TheEarly Permian slates have Nd model age of 2.05–2.23 Ga, indicatingexistence of ancient Paleoproterozoic crust in the source area. In fact,the Paleoproterozoic basement rocks have been widely documentedin the Wuyishan terrane (e.g., the Badu Group, Li, 1997; Wan et al.,2007; Yu et al., 2009, 2011). In this study, the detrital zircon U–Pbages from the Lower Permian sandstones shows two age peaks ofPaleoproterozoic–Neoarchean magmatism at 1.6–1.9 Ga and 2.2–2.6 Ga,respectively. The late Paleoproterozoic (1.6–1.9 Ga) magmatism waswidely developed in the northern Wuyishan subterrane (Gan et al.,1995; Li, 1997;Wan et al., 2007; Xu et al., 2007; Yu et al., 2009), including

r

-20

-10

0

10

0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

Zircon ages (Ga)

Depleted mantle

Chondrite

ε Hf

Fuding inlier (this study)

Basement rocks of the Wuyi-shan terrane (Yu et al., 2010)

Tananao complex and Eocenestrata in Taiwan (Lan et al., 2009)

(T)

Fig. 11. εHf vs. U–Pb age plot of detrital zircons from the Lower Permian sandstones inthe Fuding inlier. Data from basement rocks of the Wuyishan terrane and the Tananaocomplex and Eocene strata in Taiwan are from Yu et al. (2010) and Lan et al. (2009),respectively.

515X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

the Paleoproterozoic granites and metamorphic rocks of the Badu andTianjinping groups in southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian (Fig. 12).The early Paleoproterozoic–Neoarchean (2.2–2.6 Ga) zircons wereobserved in the northern and central Wuyishan subterranes(Fig. 12) as inherit zircons and considered to represent possiblyArchean basement rocks (Yu et al., 2011). Detrital zircon Hf isotopesalso support their sources from the northern Wuyishan terrane. Onthe εHf(t) vs. U–Pb age diagram (Fig. 11), zircons from the basementrocks in the northernWuyishan terrane (Yu et al., 2010) overlap signif-icantly with those Paleoproterozoic–Neoarchean detrital zircons in theFuding inlier, whichmay indicate that the clastics of these sedimentaryrocks are mainly from the northern Wuyishan terrane itself.

ThewidespreadNeoproterozoic (0.72 to 0.82 Ga )magmatic activityin the central and southern parts of the Wuyishan terrane (WanquanGroup, Mamianshan Group, Mayuan Group, Taoxi Group) (Li et al.,2005; Yu et al., 2006; Wan et al., 2007; Yu et al., 2010) (Fig. 12). In theNanling–Yunkai terrane, the Grenvillian period (ca 1.0 Ga) and themid-Proterozoic magmatism are widely distributed (Wang et al.,2008; Yu et al., 2009, 2010; Wang et al., 2010b; Xiang and Shu, 2010;Yao et al., 2011) (Fig. 9). Those magmatic ages both in the southern

(a) Permian sandstones(this study)

n=211

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

Zircon U-Pb age (Ma)

Rel

ativ

e ag

e pr

obab

ility

(b) Northern Wuyishann=71

(c) Central Wuyishann=135

(d) Southern Wuyishann=87

Fig. 12. Zircon U–Pb age probability diagrams for different areas in the Wuyishanterrane of the Cathaysian Block. Age data sources: (a) Fuding inlier (this study);(b) northern Wuyishan (Yu et al., 2009); (c) central Wuyishan (Wan et al.,2007); (d) southern Wuyishan (Yu et al., 2010).

and central Wuyishan and the Nanling–Yunkai terranes are notrecorded in the detrital zircons from the Fuding inlier (Fig. 9). Also,the detrital zircons from Early Permian sandstones in Fuding inliershow different age patterns with those from eastern Yangtze terrane(Fig. 9), while the latter has abundant detrital zircons of ~1.1 Gaand~0.86–0.78 Ga (Wang et al., 2010b). Therefore, we suggested thatthe detrital zircons in the Fuding inlier were most probably sourcedfrom the northern part of the Wuyishan terrane.

6.3. Source rocks and tectonic setting induced from clastic sediments

Detrital modes of the Lower Permian sandstones in the Fudinginlier are dominated by lithic grains (mainly felsic volcanic, shalesand siltstones) and monocrystalline quartz grains. On the QFL ternarydiagram (Fig. 6; Dickinson, 1985), these sandstones are located in the‘recycled orogen’ provenance field. However, there is no geologicalevidence for a late Paleozoic orogenic event in the Cathaysian block.Alternatively, occurrence of volcanic grains and abundant Carboniferousto Early Permian detrital zircons points to a volcanic provenance. Felsicvolcanic grains in the sandstones could have been derived from thevolcanic rocks, while lithoclasts of clay and siltstones and some ofquartzes may be recycled from the basement or sedimentary covers.Detrital zircons from the sandstones indicate that the volcanism inthe source area was active with peaks at ca 330 Ma and ca 310 Ma.However, regional correlation shows that late Paleozoic magmatismwas rarely reported from the Cathaysian block (Wang and Liu, 1986;Charvet et al., 1994; Zhou et al., 2006), with only a small amount ofgranites from Hainan (267–262Ma, Li et al., 2006) and rare basaltsfrom southwestern Fujian (Early Carboniferous, Huang, 1982). This resultleads us to question where the magmatism has occurred. The EarlyPermian paleogeographic maps of South China (Chen et al., 1994; Liuand Xu, 1994; Wang and Jin, 2000) show that the land was situatedin the eastern and northern parts of the Cathaysian block during thisperiod, and the west Cathaysian block was covered by a widespreadsea (Grabau, 1924; Chen et al., 1994; Liu and Xu, 1994; Wang andJin, 2000). Therefore, we speculate that the Carboniferous–Early Permianmagmatism as well as the source area of sandstones located eithernorthern or eastern side of the depositional area.

The εHf(t) values of the Carboniferous–Early Permian zircons variesgreatly from −34.3 to −3.1, indicating mixed sources of old Precam-brian basement and juvenile crustmaterial (Fig. 11). Thus, the tectonicsetting in the source area should account for continuous magmatismand magmatic mixing. Two possibilities may be considered: rifting-related magmatism or subduction-related magmatism. Geologically,the South China block experienced extensional rifting during latePaleozoic (Zeng et al., 1993; Zhao et al., 1996). Those volcanic clasticscan come from rifting-related volcanic rocks near the Fuding inlier.Meanwhile, the possibility of subduction-related magmatism cannotbe ruled out. Mesozoic igneous activity in east Cathaysia was suggestedto be related to the initiation and activation of subduction of the PacificOcean lithosphere (Gilder et al., 1996; Wang and Zhou, 2002). Unfortu-nately, little is known aboutwhen Pacific Ocean lithosphere began to besubducted under the Asian continent. As a lack of geochemical andisotopic data from these volcanic grains in the sandstones, we cannotconfirm the tectonic setting in the source area.

6.4. Relationships with the Yeongnammassif in the Korean Peninsula andthe Tananao metamorphic complex in the Taiwan

The Korean Peninsula can be subdivided into five tectonic units orterranes (Fig. 1). From the south to the north, these are: Yeongnammassif, Okcheon (Ogcheon) Belt, Gyeonggi (Kyonggi) massif, ImjingangBelt and Nangrim massif/Pyeongnam basin (Chough et al., 2000). TheQinling–Dabei–Sulu Belt, which represents the suture between SouthChina and North China (Yin and Nie, 1993), extends into Korea eitheralong the Imjingang Belt (Ree et al., 1996) or the Hongseong–Odesan

PANGEA

PALEOTETHYANOCEAN

NA

EC

OCI

FIC

AP

60°S

30°S

0°

30°NNorth China

SouthChina

AustraliaGreaterIndia

Baltica

Africa

Arabia

Fuding

Japan

North Korea

Early Permian(~280Ma)

Qiangtang

Iran LhasaIndonesia

Malaysia

Indochina

Late Paleozoicvolcanism

Sibumasu

Yeongnam

Tananao

Fig. 13. An Early Permian (~280 Ma) paleogeographical map (modified after Golonka and Fork, 2000; Zhu et al., 2010), illustrating that the Fuding inlier was most possibly derivedfrom a volcanic source developed on the eastern margin of the South China block. We suggest that the Fuding inlier, the Yeongnammassif and the Tananao complex belonged to theWuyishan terrane, eastern Cathaysia during the Early Permian.

516 X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

belt within the Gyeonggi massif (Oh et al., 2005; Kim et al., 2011a, b).The southernmost terrane, the Yeongnam massif, is mostly correlatedwith the Cathaysian block (Metcalfe, 2006). Recently, Yu et al. (2009,2011) found that the Yeongnam massif shares similar geologicalfeatures with the Wuyishan terrane, such as: 1) Paleoproterozoicmagmatism at 1.91 to 1.83 Ga, which appears in the Wuyishan terraneaswell as in the Yeongnammassif (Chough et al., 2000; Lee et al., 2000;Sagong et al., 2003); 2) basement rocks in both areas have similar Ndmodel ages of 2.75 to 2.84 Ga (Lee et al., 2000; Sagong et al., 2003);and 3) Triassic medium- to high-grade metamorphism and graniticmagmatism are widely distributed in both terranes (Wang et al.,1995). All of these observations suggest that the crustal evolution ofthe Yeongnam massif is comparable with the Wuyishan terrane of theCathaysian block from the Paleoproterozoic up to the Triassic.

Interestingly, the Early Permian clastic rocks in the Fuding inliershow similar geological features to the Early Permian strata in theTaebaeksan basin, located between the Gyeonggi and Yeongnammassifs in South Korea. Detrital zircon ages from theManhang Formation(Carboniferous–Early Permian) show two main age clusters at 288–358Ma and 1.78–1.89 Ga, respectively, with major peaks at 305 Ma and1.87 Ga (Li et al., 2009). The detrital zircon age distribution is very similarto that we have found in the Fuding inlier (Fig. 9), but different to thedetrital zircons from thewestern Gyeonggimassif where have fourmajorage components of ~2.5–2.4 Ga, 1.0–0.9 Ga, ~820–750Ma, ~430 Ma (Choet al., 2010) (Fig. 9). In addition, the detrital modes of the Lower PermianJangseong Formation in the Taebaeksanbasin (Lee and Sheen, 1998; Ko etal., 1999) are also similar to those in the Fuding inlier (Fig. 6a). Sand-stones from both places comprises poorly sorted, angular to sub-rounded quartz and lithic fragments, without feldspar grains. Themuchgreater proportion of lithic grains in the Early Permian sandstonesin Fuding may be ascribed to different criteria in grain-counting. Wecount the microcrystalline felsic detritus as lithic grains whereas otherresearchers (e.g., Lee and Sheen, 1998) count as polycrystalline quartzes

(Fig. 6b). Together, our data further support that Yeongnammassif waspart of the Wuyishan terrane of the Cathaysian block and suggests thatthe Early Permian Taebaeksan basin of the Yeongnam massif and theFuding inlier might be connected and share the same sources (Fig. 13).

The pre-Cenozoic Tananao metamorphic complex in the CentralRange of Taiwan consists of voluminous schist and marble as well asof scattered bodies of granitic rocks and amphibolite. A few fusulinidsand corals, possibly of the Late Permian age (Yen, 1953), and Jurassicto Early Cretaceous dinoflagellates (Chen, 1989) were discoveredfrom the Tananao Complex. U–Pb zircon dating of meta-granitesand gneisses show two stages of magmatism at 190 to 200 Ma and85 to 90 Ma (Jahn et al., 1986; Yui et al., 2009). The Tananao complexwas considered to represent an exposed portion of theAsian continentalcrust (Ho, 1986), with rocks originating from the Permian to Cretaceousperiods, and exhumed during late Cenozoic arc-continent collision(Beyssac et al., 2007). Recently, Lan et al. (2009) reported detritalzircons older than 2.3 Ga from the Tananao complex and Eocenerocks of the Central Range of Taiwan and documented a majorage group of 2.3 to 2.6 Ga (Fig. 11). Both the age population and Hfisotopic compositions of those detrital zircons are very similar tothe Paleoproterozoic to late Neoarchean zircons from the Wuyishanterrane (Figs. 9 and 11). Considering that Permian fusulinids andcorals and similar 2.3–2.6 Ga detrital zirconswere found in the Tananaocomplex, we speculate that at least the Late Paleozoic part of theTananao complex may have being the eastern part of the Cathaysianblock during the Permian period (Fig. 13).

7. Conclusion

Field investigation, petrological, sedimentological and geochrono-logical studies identified three lithostratigraphic units in the Fudinginlier, which is located in the northern Fujian province of China. TheUpper Carboniferous carbonate rocks are composed of silicified

517X. Hu et al. / Gondwana Research 22 (2012) 507–518

microcrystalline limestone, bioclastic limestone and oolitic limestone,which were deposited on shallow carbonate shelf and in carbonateshoal environments. The Lower Permian siliciclastic unit is comprisedof black organic-carbon-enriched slate, silty slate and phyllite, whichare occasionally interbedded with lithic arenites and microcrystallinelimestones. This sequence was deposited on moderately deep,semi-restricted shelf and in prodelta environments, with high surfacebioproductivity. Jurassic coarse clastic rocks, represented by a suite ofconglomerates and coarse-grained sandstones, were deposited influvialor alluvial fan environments.

The Nd isotopes and detrital zircon U–Pb–Hf isotopes indicate thatthe late Paleozoic Fuding inlier was part of the Wuyishan terrane ofthe Cathaysia continental block. A group of detrital zircons from sand-stones shows that the main age peak extends from approximately280 to 360 Ma, indicating prolonged magmatic activity in the sourcearea through the Carboniferous to Early Permian. The εHf(t) valuesof these zircons vary from −34.3 to −3.1, suggesting mixing of themagma sourced from juvenile material andmelted Precambrian base-ment rocks.

The similarities in the rock compositions and the detrital zirconages among the Yeongnammassif in the Korean Peninsula, the Tananaocomplex in Taiwan and the Fuding inlier have led us to conclude that allthree regions were likely part of the Wuyishan terrane, Cathaysianblock during the late Paleozoic.

Acknowledgements

This study benefited greatly from discussions with Professor DeziWang. We appreciate Professor FuyuanWu for his help with the zirconHf isotope analysis. We thank Dr. Thomas Frank for his English revision.Constructive comments from Prof. J. Charvet and two anonymousreviewers are greatly appreciated. This study was financially supportedby the State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research (no. 2008-I-01), Nanjing University and the SINOPEC Cathaysian project.

Appendix A. Supplementary data

Appendix A GPS points in the Fuding inlier.Appendix B The detrital modes of the Lower Permian sandstones

from the Fuding inlier.Appendix C Sm-Nd isotopic compositions of the Lower Permian

slates from the Fuding inlier.Appendix D Detrital zircon U-Pb isotope data measured by LA-

ICPMS from the Fuding inlier.Appendix E Detrital zircon Hf-isotope data measured by MC-LA-

ICPMS from the Fuding inlier.Supplementary data to this article can be found online at doi:10.

1016/j.gr.2011.09.016.

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