Geochemistry and provenances of the Jurassic terrigenous rocks of the Upper Amur and Zeya–Dep troughs, eastern Central Asian fold belt

Abstract

This paper reports the results of complex geochemical and Sm–Nd isotope-geochemical studies of terrigenous rocks of the Upper Amur and Zeya–Dep troughs, as well as U–Pb geochronological studies of detrital zircons. It is established that the studied troughs have orogenic nature, which is of key significance for understanding the geodynamic evolution of East Asia in the Mesozoic. Such interpretation is consistent with structural features of the troughs (migration of basin axis inward the continent with time, stratigraphic rejuvenation in the same direction), which are typical of foreland basins regarded as analogues of foreland (marginal) troughs. Obtained data indicate that orogenic processes responsible for the formation of the Mongol-Okhotsk fold belt began in the Early Jurassic.