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Variscan sourcing of Westphalian (Pennsylvanian) sandstones in the Canonbie Coalfield, UK

Morton, Andrew; Fanning, Christopher; Jones, Neil

Description

The zircon age spectrum in a sample from the Canonbie Bridge Sandstone Formation (Asturian) of southern Scotland contains two main peaks. One is Early Carboniferous in age (348-318 Ma), and corresponds to the age of igneous activity during the Variscan Orogeny. The other is of late Neoproterozoic to early Cambrian age (693-523 Ma), corresponding to the Cadomian. Together, these two groups comprise 70 % of the zircon population. The presence of these two peaks shows unequivocally that a...[Show more]

dc.contributor.authorMorton, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorFanning, Christopher
dc.contributor.authorJones, Neil
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-10T22:16:42Z
dc.date.available2015-12-10T22:16:42Z
dc.identifier.issn0016-7568
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/51066
dc.description.abstractThe zircon age spectrum in a sample from the Canonbie Bridge Sandstone Formation (Asturian) of southern Scotland contains two main peaks. One is Early Carboniferous in age (348-318 Ma), and corresponds to the age of igneous activity during the Variscan Orogeny. The other is of late Neoproterozoic to early Cambrian age (693-523 Ma), corresponding to the Cadomian. Together, these two groups comprise 70 % of the zircon population. The presence of these two peaks shows unequivocally that a significant proportion of the sediment was derived from the Variscides of western or central Europe. The zircon population also contains a range of older Proterozoic zircons and a small Devonian component. These could have been derived from the Variscides, but it is possible that some were locally derived through recycling of northerly derived sandstones of Devonian-Carboniferous age. The zircon age data confirm previous suggestions of Variscide sourcing to the Canonbie area, made on the basis of petrographical, heavy mineral and palaeocurrent evidence, and extend the known northward distribution of Variscan-derived Westphalian sediment in the UK.
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.sourceGeological Magazine
dc.subjectKeywords: age determination; Carboniferous; Hercynian orogeny; petrography; Proterozoic; provenance; sandstone; Westphalian; zircon; United Kingdom Asturian; provenance; southern Scotland; Variscides; zircon
dc.titleVariscan sourcing of Westphalian (Pennsylvanian) sandstones in the Canonbie Coalfield, UK
dc.typeJournal article
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.citationvolume147
dc.date.issued2010
local.identifier.absfor040310 - Sedimentology
local.identifier.absfor040303 - Geochronology
local.identifier.absfor040311 - Stratigraphy (incl. Biostratigraphy and Sequence Stratigraphy)
local.identifier.ariespublicationu4027924xPUB216
local.type.statusPublished Version
local.contributor.affiliationMorton, Andrew, HM Research Associates Ltd
local.contributor.affiliationFanning, Christopher, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationJones, Neil, British Geological Survey
local.bibliographicCitation.issue5
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage718
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage727
local.identifier.doi10.1017/S0016756810000014
local.identifier.absseo970104 - Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences
dc.date.updated2016-02-24T10:28:58Z
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-78049461773
local.identifier.thomsonID000281372700007
CollectionsANU Research Publications

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