Cretaceous to early Paleogene sediment provenance transition from continental to magmatic arc systems in the Northwestern Pacific Region

Harisma Harisma; Sota Niki; Takafumi Hirata; Hajime Naruse

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-55471-1

Cretaceous to early Paleogene sediment provenance transition from continental to magmatic arc systems in the Northwestern Pacific Region

Sci Rep. 2024 Mar 27;14(1):7280. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-55471-1.

Authors

Harisma Harisma¹, Sota Niki², Takafumi Hirata², Hajime Naruse³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geological Engineering, Halu Oleo University, Kampus Hijau Bumi Tridharma, Anduonohu, Kendari, Sulawesi Tenggara, 93232, Indonesia. harisma.buburanda@gmail.com.
² Geochemical Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
³ Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan. naruse@kueps.kyoto-u.ac.jp.

Abstract

Unraveling the Paleo-Kuril Arc's origins is key to understanding northwest Pacific tectonics. The Paleo-Kuril Arc is viewed as an intraoceanic arc from trench subduction between the Izanagi and Pacific Plates. Alternatively, several studies suggest the Paleo-Kuril Arc as a continental magmatic arc, hypothesizing the existence of a mid-oceanic ridge and Paleogene subduction, placing the Paleo-Kuril Arc near the Okhotsk Block's southern edge. This study clarifies these hypotheses, previously clouded by limited geochronological data on deposits in the Paleo-Kuril Arc. We conducted U-Pb dating to examine the origins of detrital zircons from the Cretaceous-Paleogene Tokoro and Nemuro Belts of the Paleo-Kuril Arc. Cluster analysis, merging new and existing data, identified two unique detrital zircon age clusters. The abundance of Precambrian zircons in Cretaceous-Paleocene Paleo-Kuril Arc sandstones (Type 1 Cluster) suggests a continental magmatic origin, supporting the ridge subduction model. However, an early Eocene shift to a consistent local volcanic source (Type 2 Cluster) highlights a significant provenance change. This geochronological evidence, indicating a separation from continental sources, calls for further research to decode the simultaneous development of sediment sources in different geological belts, potentially tied to the ridge subduction event.