Provenance of the Mesoproterozoic Shennongjia Group in the north Yangtze Block, South China, and implications for reconstructions of the Nuna and Rodinia supercontinents

Abstract Magmatic activity in the range ca. 1.6–1.5 Ga is spatially restricted globally, and its distribution has been an important tool for constraining the reconstruction of the Nuna supercontinent. Abundant ca. 1.6 Ga detrital zircons have recently been discovered in the Luanshigou and Taizi formations of the middle Mesoproterozoic Shennongjia Group in the north Yangtze Block, South China. Detrital zircon age spectra and multi-dimensional scaling results indicate the Shennongjia Group was derived from variable sources. The ca. 1.6 Ga detrital zircons in the middle Mesoproterozoic units were probably sourced from Laurentia and Australia-Mawson, whereas detrital zircons of other age groups were provided by the local rock units in the north Yangtze Block. Similarities in sedimentary sequences, detrital zircon age spectra, and corresponding Hf isotopic patterns of the Shennongjia Group with other Mesoproterozoic successions in Yangtze Block (e.g., Baoban-Shilu, Huili, and Kunyang groups) suggest that the block contained a number of micro-blocks during the Mesoproterozoic. Furthermore, the compiled new and published detrital zircon data from the north Yangtze Block along with those from other continents containing ca. 1.6 Ga zircons reveal that the Yangtze Block was most likely situated within a rift zone between southeast Australia-Mawson and southwest Laurentia. The ca. 1.6 Ga zircons in the Shennongjia Group were derived from these bounding source regions during the middle Mesoproterozoic. By the late Mesoproterozoic, based on a comprehensive provenance analyses and comparison of detrital zircon data, the Yangtze Block was probably located on the margins of the Rodinia supercontinent, close to north-central India, Australia, and East Antarctica.