Constraining depositional models in the Barents Sea region using detrital zircon U–Pb data from Mesozoic sediments in Svalbard

Abstract

Abstract Detrital zircon U–Pb laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry age data on sandstones from Mesozoic successions on Svalbard are used to investigate provenance changes over time, constrain potential source areas, and to test and refine previous interpretations of the Mesozoic filling of the Barents Sea. The zircon age data indicate a western Laurentian (North Greenland) source in the Early and Middle Triassic. The westerly derived sediments most likely include reworked older sediments with proto-sources in Canada and Greenland. Sediments reaching Svalbard in the Late Triassic display a distinct Uralide signature that demonstrates derivation from the east. Zircon age populations in Late Triassic–Early Jurassic sands suggest mixing of zircons from the Early and Middle Triassic and Late Triassic sediments; the data are interpreted to reflect reworking of older Mesozoic sands and possible renewed input of sediments from the west. The data thus demonstrate a shift from westerly to easterly sediment sources in the early Late Triassic. The Early and Middle Triassic zircon age signature in this study appears to resurface in published Early Cretaceous provenance data from Svalbard, suggesting that sediment input from the east ceased during the Jurassic, and shifted back to westerly sources. Supplementary material: A summary of U–Pb isotopic results, Concordia diagrams of U–Pb age data, K–S test results and cumulative probability plots for all samples are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18652 .