Abstract:
[Objective] The Yangtze Block was a crucial component of the Gondwana supercontinent. During the Ediacaran-early Cambrian, its western margin underwent a marked transition from carbonate-dominated to siliciclastic-dominated depositional environments. However, the tectonic dynamics controlling this sedimentary facies shift of early Cambrian sedimentation remain poorly constrained. The exposed thick Early Cambrian terrigenous clastic rocks on the western Yangtze Block are key archives for tracing sediment sources and studying the geotectonic background of the Early Cambrian .[Method] This study carried out systematic detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and whole-rock element analysis on the lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation on the western Yangtze Block to study above question. [Results] The results indicate: (1) The clastic rocks exhibit high-field-strength elements (HFSEs) and large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs; e.g., Th, Zr, Hf, Ba, Pb) consistent with upper crustal compositions, whereas Sr, Sc, V, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn show depletion relative to upper continental crust (UCC)-particularly pronounced for Sr, Cr, V, and Cu. The immobile elements (Th, Sc, Hf, Zr, Ho) and rare earth elements (RREEs; e.g, La, Ce, Yb) suggest a dominantly felsic igneous provenance of the upper continental crust; (2) Primary age clusters of detrital zircon U-Pb ages in the Qiongzhusi Formation are ca.590-500Ma and ca.880-720 Ma, with subordinate groups at 1900-1500 Ma and 2500-2400 Ma. [Conclusions]Integrated with regional data and prior studies, we propose that the early Cambrian detritus was largely derived from the Ediacaran-Early Cambrian magmatic rocks in the Longmenshan tectonic belt (Ediacaran-early Cambrian), and the late Neoproterozoic felsic magmatic rocks of the Panxi-Hannan magmatic arc, Ailaoshan Magmatic Arc and the Jiangnan Orogen. The Proto-Tethyan Ocean's subduction beneath the western Yangtze during the Ediacaran-early Cambrian converted the western Yangtze from a passive to an active continental margin, and formed a late Ediacaran-early Cambrian magmatic arc. This arc supplied voluminous early Cambrian detritus, ultimately shifting the western Yangtze margin to a siliciclastic-dominated depositional system. [Significance]These findings reveal the provenance linkages between the western Yangtze and adjacent orogenic belts, thereby providing critical constraints for reconstructing the tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of the South China Block during the Ediacaran-Early Cambrian.