Implications of U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology analysis for the depositional age, provenance, and tectonic setting of continental Mesozoic formations in the East Malaya Terrane, Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Mesozoic strata in the East Malaya Terrane of Peninsular Malaysia record a long but poorly constrained history of basin evolution. In this study, we report LA‐ICP‐MS U–Pb geochronology analyses of detrital zircons in the continental Mesozoic sequences from the Bertangga and Gerek formations of Peninsular Malaysia, with the aim to constrain the depositional ages and provenances of the continental Mesozoic strata as well as the Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the East Malaya Terrane. The Bertangga Formation yields populations of U–Pb zircon ages of Jurassic (139 to 194 Ma), Permo−Triassic (226 to 274 Ma), Ordovician−Devonian (372 to 459 Ma), Neoproterozoic (631 to 876 Ma), and Mesoproterozoic−Palaeoproterozoic (1,448 to 2,629 Ma). In contrast, the Gerek Formation yields significant Carboniferous grains, but with an approximate zircon age range relative to the Bertangga Formation. The new data indicate a maximum Late Jurassic depositional age for the previously undated Bertangga Formation. Similarly, young zircon grain ages in the Gerek Formation also indicate a maximum Late Jurassic depositional age. Collectively, these results on detrital zircons correlate well with a regional tectonic uplift and erosion to a tectonic stability of the East Malaya Terrane basin during the Mesozoic.