konstantinou et al., 2014

Provenance of Quartz Arenites of the Early Paleozoic Midcontinent Region, USAAuthor(s): Alexandros Konstantinou, Karl R. Wirth, Jeffrey D. Vervoort, David H. Malone,Cameron Davidson and John P. CraddockSource: The Journal of Geology, (-Not available-), p. 000Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/675327 .

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[The Journal of Geology, 2014, volume 122, p. 000–000] � 2014 by The University of Chicago.All rights reserved. 0022-1376/2014/12202-0005$15.00. DOI: 10.1086/675327

1

Provenance of Quartz Arenites of the Early PaleozoicMidcontinent Region, USA

Alexandros Konstantinou,1,* Karl R. Wirth,2 Jeffrey D. Vervoort,3 David H. Malone,4

Cameron Davidson,5 and John P. Craddock2

1. Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA;2. Geology Department, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota 55105, USA; 3. Department of Geology,Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164, USA; 4. Department of Geography-Geology,

Illinois State University, Campus Box 4400, Normal, Illinois 61790, USA; 5. Geology Department,Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota 55057, USA

A B S T R A C T

Quartz arenites characterize much of the early Paleozoic sedimentary history of the midcontinent region. Despitenumerous studies, the century-long debate on how these arenites formed is still unresolved, primarily because of thecompositional and textural purity of the deposits. In this study, we present an extensive data set of detrital zircongeochronology from the early Paleozoic supermature arenites of the midcontinent region, and we offer new constraintsabout their origin. Our results coupled with compiled provenance information from older basins and orogens mayindicate that the Cambrian and Ordovician arenites represent sediment reworking primarily of two different olderbasins. The Cambro-Ordovician sediment was transported to the midcontinent region by two early Paleozoic riversystems that sourced from the paleo-east (Huron basin) and paleo-northeast (midcontinent rift region).

Online enhancement: supplementary table.

Introduction

The provenance of quartz arenites has puzzled ge-ologists for more than a century, largely becausethe textural maturity and compositional purity ofsuch deposits leave few clues about the source ofdetritus (e.g., Sardeson 1896; Dott et al. 1986; Dott2003). The early Paleozoic (Cambrian-Ordovician)quartz arenites of the midcontinent region (fig. 1),such as the Cambrian Jordan and Ordovician St.Peter Sandstones (Runkel et al. 2007), are excep-tional examples of thin sheets of widespread are-nites deposited in low-relief cratonal settings overperiods of tens of millions of years. Chemicalweathering has been proposed to play an importantrole in the development of the compositional andtextural maturity of these rocks (Runkel et al. 1998,2012; Driese et al. 2007). Evidence to support thisidea comes from interbedded finer-grained feld-

Manuscript received August 25, 2013; accepted December10, 2013; electronically published March 19, 2014.

* Author for correspondence; e-mail: [email protected].

spathic sandstone layers that are rich in potassiumfeldspar but contain only trace amount of plagio-clase feldspar (Odom 1975; Odom and Ostrom1978). Because potassium feldspar is more chemi-cally resistant than plagioclase feldspar, and be-cause both minerals have similar resistance tophysical weathering, Runkel and Tipping (1998)suggested that chemical weathering in the cratonalinterior, which now exposes large areas of saprolite,may have resulted in a source area dominated min-eralogically by quartz grains.

Although chemical weathering appears to pro-vide a viable mechanism to explain the composi-tional purity of the early Paleozoic quartz arenites,the mechanism producing the textural maturity ofthese deposits is less certain, since chemical weath-ering has been inferred to play a minor role in de-veloping the roundness and sphericity of the quartzgrains and the well-sorted nature of the strata (e.g.,Runkel et al. 2012 and references therein), thus re-quiring an alternative explanation for the round-


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


000 A . K O N S T A N T I N O U E T A L .

Figure 1. Map of the Lake Superior region showing the major orogenic and province boundaries, the extent of theearly Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, the regional domes and basins in the area, and paleocurrent indicators in EarlyPaleozoic strata. Also shown are sample locations with pie charts of the detrital zircon populations of each sample.Map compiled from Ostrom (1970), Odom and Ostrom (1978), Mossler (1987), Dott et al. (1986), Smith et al. (1993),and Runkel (1994).

ness and sphericity of the quartz grains in the earlyPaleozoic strata. Experimental studies by Kuenen(1959) showed that very prolonged and extremelylong-distance fluvial sediment transport from crys-talline sources may explain the textural maturity

of the early Paleozoic quartz arenites. As the cra-tonal interior of the midcontinent region today ex-poses primarily crystalline rocks, Odom (1975;Odom and Ostrom 1978) proposed that the texturalmaturity of the quartz arenites resulted from a pro-



Journal of Geology P R O V E N A N C E O F Q U A R T Z A R E N I T E S 000

longed history of erosion in the swash zones of mar-ginal marine (beach) environments. Transportationand abrasion of the quartz grains also may havebeen achieved by wind, which is a more effectiveprocess to enhance rounding, as evidenced by eo-lian deposits within some of the early Paleozoicarenites (Dott et al. 1986). In fact, eolian transportand wind abrasion has been proposed to be moreeffective in producing the textural maturity of thesandstone deposits, especially in the unvegetatedlandscape of the early Paleozoic (Dott et al. 1986,2003).

In addition to special conditions of weathering,transportation, and abrasion conditions proposed toexplain the textural maturity of the early Paleozoicquartz arenites in the midcontinent region, otherworkers have proposed that the textural (and com-positional) maturity can be achieved more effec-tively by recycling older, already texturally maturestrata (e.g., Amaral and Pryor 1977; Runkel 1994;Johnson and Winter 1999). Nevertheless, whileeach of the processes described above may havebeen important in the formation of the early Pa-leozoic quartz arenites, there is still no consensusthat can fully account for the textural maturity andcompositional purity of these rocks (see Runkel etal. 2012 and references therein).

The purpose of this study is to better understandthe origin of compositionally and texturally matureearly Paleozoic quartz arenites of the midcontinentregion, by adding geochronologic data to the exist-ing heavy mineral studies in the region (e.g., Tyleret al. 1940). To address this question we dated de-trital zircon populations (n p 1578; U-Pb with laserablation [LA] ICP-MS) of 15 samples from Cam-brian and Ordovician quartz arenites. We coupledour results with an extensive detrital zircon geo-chronologic database (n p 2729) from older sedi-mentary deposits such as the Archean Huron Basin(2400–2200 Ma), the Proterozoic Animikie Group(2200–1800 Ma), the deposits in the Paleoprotero-zoic Baraboo Interval (∼1730–1630 Ma), and theMesoproterozoic midcontinent rift deposits (1110–1030 Ma). Based on the detrital zircon populationsof the early Paleozoic quartz arenites and the oldersource basins, we have identified two possiblesource regions that most probably were eroded andrecycled during early Paleozoic sedimentation. Weperformed simplified mixing models between theHuron Basin and midcontinent rift detrital zirconpopulations, and we are able to demonstrate thatthe detrital zircon populations of the early Paleo-zoic quartz arenites may represent mixtures be-tween these two older sources.

Regional Geology and Stratigraphy

Early Paleozoic marine and fluvial strata exposedin the midcontinent region are composed mostlyof interbedded feldspathic sandstone, thin sheets ofquartz sandstone, and lesser mudstone and carbon-ate rocks (fig. 2). These strata rest unconformablyon Archean (Superior Province) and Proterozoicbasement rocks (Penokean, Yavapai, and Mazatzalorogens and midcontinent rift; fig. 1; Dott et al.1986; Van Schmus et al. 1996). The early Paleozoicstrata were deposited during a northward sea trans-gression that flooded the broad lowland of the Hol-landale Embayment, which is bounded by the Wis-consin dome to the northeast and the Wisconsinarch to the east (fig. 1; Galarowich 1997). The sed-iment was deposited on a nearly flat, unvegetatedcratonic landscape that was weathered and erodedfor hundreds of millions of years (e.g., Dott 2003).Wind and rivers transported sediment toward thesouthwest (fig. 1) and distributed clastic sedimentsin thin, flat widespread sheets, covering large areasfrom Minnesota (northwest) to Missouri (south-east).

Late Cambrian strata like the Eau Claire For-mation, Mount Simon, Wonewoc, Tunnel CityGroup, and Jordan Sandstones are predominantlycomposed of feldspathic and quartz arenites withminor thinly bedded dolostone (fig. 2). These stratawere deposited during the Sauk transgressive cycleon a shallow marine shelf sloping south and south-east, and their ages are well constrained by fossils(e.g., Feniak 1948; Berg 1952; Nelson 1956; Sloss1963; Mossler 1987; Byers and Dott 1995). Lowerand Middle Ordovician strata are composed of do-lostones (e.g., Oneota Dolomite and Shakopee For-mation) and quartz arenites such as the St. PeterSandstone. Large extents of Ordovician strata weredeposited during sea level rise of the Tippecanoetransgression (base of Middle Ordovician; Sloss1963; Meyers and Peters 2011). Regional evidencesuch as facies relationships and paleoshorelinetrends support placing the source and direction ofsediment transport in the northeast relative to thepresent-day arrangement of the midcontinent re-gion (e.g., Dott et al. 1986; Runkel 1992, 1994; Run-kel et al. 2007).

Detrital zircon geochronology was performed on15 samples collected over a large geographic area(1400 # 500 km; fig. 1; table S1, available online)and from eight different units of the compositeearly Paleozoic stratigraphy (fig. 2). Our sampleswere collected from units inferred to have been de-posited on fairly discrete, well-developed shoreface



Figure 2. Generalized early Paleozoic stratigraphy of the midcontinent region (modified from Mossler 2008), showingthe location of the samples discussed in this study and the age of the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary. The detritalzircon relative probability curves for each sample are also shown; the fill pattern of the probability curve is the samefor samples from the same formation. Note that the Y-axis of each of the relative probability plot is not the samescale. The shaded gray bands indicate the ages of important nearby basement terranes: (1) Grenville orogen andmidcontinent rift, (2) anorogenic granite-rhyolite suite, (3) Penokean-Yavapai-Mazatzal orogens, (4) Superior Province,and (5) Minnesota River Valley and Wyoming Province.




environment affected by longshore drift and tidalcurrents (e.g., Runkel et al. 2007). This area wasfed by a mixed eolian and fluvial system that erodedand transported material from rocks exposedwithin the midcontinent region (e.g., Dott 2003).

Description of Possible Sediment Sources

The paleogeography of the midcontinent region al-lows for multiple sources of sediment contributingmaterial in the early Paleozoic seas. The crystallinebasement in the midcontinent region is composedof the Archean Superior Province, Paleo-Mesopro-terozoic orogenic provinces (Penokean-Yavapai-Mazatzal) and the Middle Proterozoic midconti-nent rift (fig. 1), all of which have been proposedas first-cycle sources of sediment for the early Pa-leozoic quartz arenites (e.g., Runkel and Tipping1998). More distal sediment sources may also in-clude the crystalline rocks of the Grenville orogen.

The textural maturity of the early Paleozoicquartz arenites led early workers to propose thatfirst-cycle weathering of this crystalline basementcannot fully explain the formation of the super-mature arenites (e.g., Thiel 1935; Ostrom 1970; Os-trom and Odom 1978). Following the work of oth-ers, (e.g., Amaral and Pryor 1977; Runkel 1994;Johnson and Winter 1999) we have also identifiedsome older basins or sedimentary packages thatmay have been reworked and acted as possible sed-iment sources for the early Paleozoic quartz are-nites. The deposits in the Huron basin in the northshore of Lake Huron in Ontario, exposes low-meta-morphic-grade interbedded sequences of texturallymature aluminous pebble orthoquartzite, argillite,and mudstones and volumetrically less significantdiamictite, collectively interpreted as syn-rift andglaciogenic sequences (Young 1973; Young et al.2001). The upper part of the Huron basin exposesmore mature and more widespread quartzareniticsandstones that are thought to reflect the transitionfrom syn-rift to passive margin deposition (Younget al. 2001). The Paleoproterozoic Baraboo Intervalexposes coarse-grained metasedimentary clasticrocks in Wisconsin (e.g., Van Schmus et al. 1996).The Animikie Group in Minnesota, Wisconsin, andMichigan expose a thick (∼8 km) sequence of meta-sedimentary rocks composed of schist, conglom-erate, banded iron formations, and compositionallymature quartzite such as the Pokegama quartzite.The pre-to-syn-rift basin deposits of the BasalGroup of the midcontinent Rift system (Kewee-nawn) is made up of small exposures of well-sortedsandstones with felsic lithic fragments (e.g., Bes-semer Sandstone) and is exposed in northern Min-

nesota and Wisconsin. The postrift basin exposingthe Oronto Group is made up of conglomerate,shale, and a thick sequence of coarse red sandstone(Freda Sandstone), and the postrift deposits of theBayfield Group are composed of siliciclastic stratathat generally become more mature and quartz-richupsection, such as the Orienta, Fond du Lac, andHinckley Sandstones (e.g., Craddock et al. 2013aand references therein).

Methods for Detrital Zircon Geochronology

Approximately 25 kg of rock for each of the 15samples was collected, crushed and pulverized to1400-mm powder, using a chipmunk crusher and adisk mill. Mineral separation was carried out usinga Wilfley table, heavy liquids, and a vertical and asloped Frantz magnetic barrier separator on thefraction sieved to !250 mm. Large populations(500�) of zircon from each sample were poured andmounted on epoxy pucks with the Peixe (Dickinsonand Gehrels 2003) and FC-1 (Paces and Miller 1993)standards, to avoid bias during handpicking (e.g.,Slama and Kosler 2012). The mounts were imagedusing cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging, andthese images were used during the analysis to helpidentify zircon from other heavy mineral grains andto help place the analytical spot in an ideal locationby avoiding inclusions and potential metamictzones. Approximately 120 randomly selected zir-cons were analyzed from each sample for U-Pb iso-tope ratios, exceeding the recommended number ofanalyses suggested by Vermeesch (2004) for statis-tically characterizing a sample.

In situ analysis of the zircons was accomplishedusing LA-ICP-MS in the geochronological lab atWashington State University WSU), using the rou-tine described by Chang et al. (2006), and at theUniversity of Arizona (UA) LaserChron facility, us-ing the methods and analytical procedures of Geh-rels et al. (2006 and 2008). The analytical data arereported in table S1 with uncertainties reported atthe 1j level (only analytical error). The differencein analytical error between the samples analyzedat the geochronology lab at WSU and at the UALaserChron facility is due to the fact that a typicalanalytical run at WSU counts U-Pb isotopes forabout twice as long as during a run at UA. Also, atthe WSU facility, the user pays closer attention tothe analytical run, identifying burn-through anal-yses and changes in the U-Pb ratios through theanalysis, both for the samples and standards. Onthe other hand, the UA facility performs more rapidanalyses with a higher throughput in terms of data.

Analyses that are 110% discordant or 15% re-




Figure 3. Detrital zircon cumulative probability density functions (PDFs) for the compiled detrital zircon data forfive older basins that are possible sources for early Paleozoic sediments. See text for references of the compiled data.Vertical and numbered shaded age ranges are the same as in figure 2.

versely discordant were excluded from further con-sideration. The 207Pb/206Pb isotope ratios were usedto calculate the zircon crystallization age and con-struct the pie charts (fig. 1) and the relative prob-ability density plots (fig. 2) using Isoplot (Ludwig2003). The same data set was used to calculate therelative proportions of different age ranges for theternary diagram of figure 4 to construct the cu-mulative probability density function using the Ex-cel macro of Gehrels et al. (2008).

Results

Detrital Zircon Geochronology of PaleozoicSamples. Our collective detrital zircon data showonly a limited number of discrete age populationsthat are consistent with known Laurentian crys-talline sources (Whitmeyer and Karlstrom 2007;figs. 2, 3). All samples have two dominant zirconage populations with modes at 2550–2800 and 900–1350 Ma. Zircon ranging from 2550–2800 Ma areinferred to be sourced from the Archean SuperiorProvince (Bickford et al. 2006; Whitmeyer andKarlstrom 2007; figs. 2, 3), and zircon from 900–1350 Ma are inferred to be ultimately sourced fromcrystalline rocks of the Grenville orogen (Moores1991; Dalziel 1992; Whitmeyer and Karlstrom2007; figs. 2, 3) or the 1085–1109 Ma midcontinentrift (e.g., Vervoort et al. 2007). Smaller populationsof zircon have ages from 3100–3500, 1600–1950,and 1350–1500 Ma. Finally, a trace amount of zir-

con was dated between 1950 and 2600 Ma (figs. 2,3). All of these detrital zircon populations have po-tential crystalline sources in Laurentia such as theMinnesota River Valley subprovince and WyomingProvince (3100–3600 Ma; Bickford et al. 2006;Schmitz et al. 2006); the Paleo-Mesoproterozoicorogens of the Penokean, Yavapai, and MazatzalProvinces (1600–1950 Ma; e.g., Karlstrom andBowring 1988; Holm 1999; Karlstrom et al. 2003);and the anorogenic granite-rhyolite suite (1350–1500 Ma; Bickford and Van Schmus 1985).

The early Paleozoic quartz arenites contain onlyrare zircons of Neoproterozoic age. The three youn-gest detrital zircons (955, 971, and 976 Ma) fromall 15 early Paleozoic samples (n p 1578) are ∼500Ma older than the depositional age of the early Pa-leozoic quartz arenites. North American sources ofzircon that are younger than ∼950 Ma but that arenot represented in the early Palezoic quartz arenitesinclude the 770–735 Ma (Devlin et al. 1988; Col-pron et al. 2002) and 570–550 Ma (Colpron et al.2002) rift-related provinces of the western NorthAmerican margin, the 600–550 Ma rift provinces ofthe eastern margin of North America (Whitmeyerand Karlstrom 2007), and rocks formed during the500–430 Ma Taconic orogeny (Drake et al. 1989;Wise and Ganis 2009). Even though the GrenvilleProvince has been repeatedly reported to be over-fertile in zircon production and thus overrepre-sented in detrital zircon studies (e.g., Hietpas et al.2011), our large detrital zircon data set limits the




Figure 4. Ternary diagram showing the compositions of individual Cambrian and Ordovician samples in terms ofthree simplified zircon components (Archean, Proterozoic, and Grenville). Also shown are the estimated detritalzircon populations of the five possible source basins and mixing lines connecting the Huron basin and midcontinentrift (All and Upper) detrital zircon populations.

chance (!1%) of missing a population with a frac-tion of ∼0.003 (0.3%) from a natural sample (Ver-meesch 2004). Therefore, if the early Paleozoic mid-continent region drained an area with rocksyounger than ca. 950 Ma, zircons with this agerange should have been observed in our detrital zir-con data.

The early Paleozoic arenites dated in this studyhave relatively few zircons with ages between 1600and 1900 Ma. The relative lack of 1600–1900 Mazircons in Cambrian and Ordovician sediments hasalso been observed by Johnson and Winter (1999)and is surprising since this period was an importanttime of orogenesis in the midcontinent region (e.g.,Whitmeyer and Karlstrom 2007). In addition, sev-eral of our samples were collected from localitieswhere the strata have been inferred to be depositeddirectly above or proximal to the locations of Pa-leoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic crystallinebasement (fig. 1; e.g., Karlstrom and Bowring 1988;

Holm 1999; Karlstrom et al. 2003). It is worth not-ing that 1600–1900 Ma zircons are abundant inolder basins, such as the Animikie basin and theBasal and Oronto Groups of the midcontinent riftsequence (Wirth et al. 2006a, 2006b; Craddock etal. 2013a, 2013b; fig. 3).

The detrital zircon populations of each sampleare shown in figures 1, 2, and 4. Although manysamples appear to have similar zircon age popula-tions with large proportions of 2550–2800 (SuperiorProvince) and 900–1350 Ma (Grenville) zircons,with lesser contributions from the other sourcesmentioned above, there are substantial differencesin the proportions of detrital zircon ages betweenthe Cambrian and the Ordovician samples (figs. 2,4). Specifically, the Cambrian samples are domi-nated (160%) by 2550–2800 Ma (Superior Province)zircon, some have significant (up to 15%) propor-tions of 1350–1500 Ma (anorogenic granite-rhyolitesuite) zircon, and all of them are depleted (!15%)




in 900–1350 Ma (Grenville) zircon compared to theOrdovician arenites. In contrast, most of the Or-dovician samples are dominated (160%) by 900–1350 Ma (Grenville) zircon have small (110%) pro-portions of 1350–1500 Ma (anorogenic granite-rhy-olite suite) zircon and most are depleted (!50%) in2550–2800 Ma (Superior Province) zircon relativeto the Cambrian samples (figs. 2, 4).

Detrital Zircon Signatures of Possible SedimentSources. For the purpose of this study, we compiledand summarized the detrital zircon populations ofthe sedimentary packages and basins described in“Description of Possible Sediment Sources” as pos-sible sediment sources: Huronian Basin (Rainbirdand Davis 2006); Animikie Group (Craddock et al.2013b); the Paleoproterozoic Baraboo Interval(Holm et al. 1998; Van Wyck and Norman 2004;Medaris et al. 2007; Wartman et al. 2007); midcon-tinent rift basins (Wirth et al. 2006a, 2006b; Kon-stantinou et al. 2008; Craddock et al. 2013a). Thedetrital zircon populations of these sources areshown on figure 3 and were used to compare withour results for the early Paleozoic quartz arenites.Most of the samples used in detrital zircon geo-chronology from these older sources were arenitesand sandstones/quartzites.

Our detrital zircon compilation (fig. 3) from theHuron Basin (n p 269) is entirely composed of Ar-chean zircons (mostly 2500–2700 Ma; Rainbird andDavis 2006). The Animikie basin (n p 984), ex-posed in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, hasa zircon population of mostly Archean zircons(∼65%), with ∼15% ranging from 2000 to 2500 Maand ∼20% ranging from 1750 to 1900 Ma. The de-posits in the Paleoproterozoic Baraboo Interval(Wisconsin) contain ∼35% Archean zircon, with∼10% ranging from 2000 to 2500 Ma and ∼55%ranging from 1700 to 1950 Ma (n p 288; fig. 3). Themidcontinent rift basin (Basal, Oronto, and BayfieldGroups in northern Minnesota; fig. 3) is more com-plex than the older basins and is composed of ∼18%Archean zircon, with ∼22% at 1700–1950 Ma,∼10% at 1350–1500 Ma, and ∼50% at 900–1350 Ma(n p 1188; fig. 3). Finally, the detrital zircon sig-nature of the upper midcontinent rift basin (Bay-field Group), contains ∼5% Archean zircon, with∼10% at 1600–1900 Ma, ∼10% at 1350–1500 Ma,and ∼75% at 900–1350 Ma (n p 514; fig. 3). Theinferred crystalline sources for these zircon popu-lations are the same as those described in “DetritalZircon Geochronology of Paleozoic Samples.”

Detrital Zircon Mixing Models. In order to betterconstrain which (if any) of the deposits of olderbasins may have been reworked into the early Pa-leozoic quartz arenites, we simplified the detrital

zircon signatures of the samples reported in thisstudy (fig. 2) and the five possible source regions(older basins) into three end-member zircon agegroups: (1) ∼900–1350 Ma of the Grenville orogenand the midcontinent rift, (2) ∼1400–1900 Ma ofthe Paleo-Mesoproterozoic orogenies, and (3)∼2450–3700 Ma of the Archean basement. Discrim-inating the detrital zircon analyses into percentagesfrom these three age groups allows us to use a ter-nary diagram (fig. 4) to plot the detrital zircon com-position of the five possible source regions and theCambrian and Ordovician samples reported in thisstudy (figs. 2, 3, 4). This ternary diagram is used toassess which sources better reflect mixtures of thecompositions of the Cambrian and Ordovician de-trital zircon signatures as shown by the gray linesin figure 4. Based on this simplified analysis, theCambrian samples appear to reflect mixtures be-tween the midcontinent rift basin and the Huronbasin or the Archean basement (fig. 4), and the Or-dovician samples appear to be mixtures betweenthe Bayfield Group of the midcontinent rift (uppersection of midcontinent rift in fig. 4) and the Huronbasin or the Archean basement.

Based on the insights from this simplified three-component mixing model, we calculated the cu-mulative detrital zircon age probability densityfunctions (PDFs) of the three potential sourceregions (fig. 3) and calculated simple mixing PDFsbetween the Huron basin, the average midconti-nent rift, and the upper section of the midcontinentrift at 10% intervals (figs. 5, 6). As an example, thetable in figure 5 shows a portion of the PDF of theHuron basin (column 2) and the average midcon-tinent rift basin (column 3). Columns 4–7 showexamples of mixing of the two components at 20%intervals. For instance, column 4 is the calculateddetrital zircon PDF of a mixture of 20% Huron ba-sin and 80% average midcontinent rift basin. Thevalues in column 4 were calculated by multiplyingthe values of column 2 (Huron basin) by 0.2 andadding them to the product of column 3 (midcon-tinent rift) and 0.8. The cumulative PDF diagramin figure 5 shows the results of the mixing modelbetween these two sources at 20% intervals. Allthe results from the mixing models, at 10% inter-vals are shown in figure 6, together with the cu-mulative PDFs of the Cambrian (fig. 6A) and Or-dovician samples from this study (fig. 6B).

We acknowledge that this type of source analysisis susceptible to artificial bias based on the zirconfertility of the source and the natural grain-sizesorting associated with depositional environments.However, most of our samples represent the samedepositional environment (mature sandstones de-



Figure 5. Table outlining an example of how the cumulative probability density functions (PDFs) mixing modelswere calculated. This example is a portion of the mixing model between the Huron basin and the midcontinent rift,at 20% mixing intervals. The resulting model was used to construct the PDF diagram on the right. See text for details.




Figure 6. Probability density function plots of the Cambrian (A) and Ordovician (B) samples of early Paleozoic quartzarenites. For comparison, the results of mixing models between the Huron and the midcontinent rift basins (A) andthe Huron and upper midcontinent rift basins (B) are also shown at 10% intervals. A color version of this figure isavailable online.

posited in a shore-face environment) and the po-tential detrital zircon sources are mostly siliciclas-tic strata (arenites) with possibly similar zirconabundance.

The modeling results indicate that the detritalzircon populations of the five Cambrian samplescan be explained by mixing of the detrital zirconsignature of the Paleoproterozoic Huron basin andthe Mesoproterozoic midcontinent rift basin. Threesamples (KP-72, KP-73, and KP-74; fig. 6A) are in-ferred to represent mixtures of ∼20% Huron basinzircon population and ∼80% midcontinent rift ba-sin zircon population. Two samples (KP-51 and KP-52) are inferred to represent mixtures of ∼45% Hu-ron basin and ∼55% midcontinent rift basin zirconpopulations. The Ordovician samples indicate amuch larger spread in mixing between the Paleo-proterozoic Huron basin and the Mesoproterozoicupper midcontinent rift basin (Bayfield Group) interms of their zircon populations (fig. 6B). However,most samples (9 out of 10) represent mixtures of155% upper midcontinent rift basin zircon popu-lation and !45% Huron basin zircon population.Only one sample (KP-70) appears to be dominatedby the Huron basin detrital zircon signature (fig.6B). Note that these mixing models may not di-rectly reflect the relative volume of sediment de-

rived from the two sources, since the relative frac-tion of zircon crystals within the strata of thesetwo basins is unconstrained.

Discussion

Early Paleozoic Isolation of the MidcontinentRegion. The detrital zircon data from the early Pa-leozoic quartz arenites of the midcontinent regionreported here provide new insights into the prov-enance of these strata. The absence of zircon frommagmatic sources !950 Ma exposed at the marginsof the continent during the early Paleozoic probablyreflects little to no sediment transport from thedistal margins of Laurentia. This can be attributedto the intracratonic setting of the Hollandale Em-bayment and deposition of the early Paleozoicquartz arenites in a restricted drainage basin iso-lated from the margins of the continent during thistime (fig. 7). Transport of sediment from the paleo-northern edge of Laurentia may have been re-stricted due to the northwesterly slope of the con-tinent during the early Paleozoic, which forcedsediment transport from the paleo-southeast to thepaleo-northwest (fig. 7). Transport of sediment fromthe southeastern margin of Laurentia may havebeen restricted by the partitioning of the craton



Figure 7. Simplified early Paleozoic map of Laurentia (gray shaded region) showing the locations of older basinsinferred to be the major detritus sources for early Paleozoic strata (modified from Runkel et al. 2012; Craddock etal. 2013a, 2013b; Jin et al. 2013). Also shown are major paleogeographic features (domes and basins) and the possiblesediment routes from the two inferred source regions to the early Paleozoic depositional center. Paleoequator fromJin et al. (2013).




into distinct structural basins and domes that re-sulted in the sedimentologic isolation of the mid-continent region (fig. 7). The absence of zircon fromPaleozoic basement sources from the paleo-south-eastern margin (e.g., present-day Appalachians),also implies indirectly that the 900–1350 Ma zirconfound in the early Paleozoic arenites in the mid-continent region, do not represent first-cycleweathering from the crystalline rocks of the Gren-ville orogen, which also would have been exposedin the paleo-southeastern margin (fig. 7). If the ad-jacent Grenville and Phanerozoic basement rocks,exposed at the paleo-southeastern margin of Lau-rentia, were major sources for the early Paleozoicarenites in the midcontinent region, we would ex-pect both Mesoproterozoic (Grenville age) and 430–600 Ma (rift provinces of the eastern margin ofNorth America) detrital zircon populations. In-stead, we only observe only Grenville-age zircon inour detrital zircon data set from the early Paleozoicquartz arenites. This supports the interpretationthat the 900–1350 Ma zircon found in the earlyPaleozoic arenites does not represent first-cycleweathering from the crystalline rocks of the Gren-ville orogen.

Arguments against First-Cycle Origin of Early Paleo-zoic Arenites. The observed low abundance of1600–1900 Ma zircons can be used as an argumentagainst the derivation of the early Paleozoic quartzarenites from first-cycle weathering of the nearby1600–1900 Ma crystalline basement terranes (cf.Johnson and Winter 1999). This is especially ap-plicable to the crystalline rocks of the Penokeanorogen (1800–1900 Ma), which would have beenexposed during the deposition of the oldest units(e.g., Mount Simon and Eau Claire Sandstones).Furthermore, the low abundance of 1600–1900 Mazircons and the absence of 2000–2500 Ma zircon inthe early Paleozoic quartz arenites, precludes sed-iment contributions from the synorogenic Paleo-Mesoproterozoic strata and the deposits in the An-imikie basin, both of which have large (40%–60%)fractions of zircon with ages 1600–2500 Ma (figs.3, 4). The Archean detrital zircon populations(∼2500–2800 Ma) of the early Paleozoic quartz ar-enites are very similar regardless of stratigraphicposition. All the Cambrian and Ordovician sampleshave a strong peak at 2700 Ma, very similar to thesignature of the Huron basin. The Archean base-ment in the North American plate cover a largeregion north of the present-day midcontinent re-gion, and even though it spans a large range in age,it is dominated by crystalline rocks that range from2500 to 2800 Ma. If Archean zircons from the early

Paleozoic quartz arenites were derived from thevast areas of heterogeneous Archean basement(3600–2500 Ma; e.g., Bickford et al. 2006; Schmitzet al. 2006; Whitmeyer and Karlstrom 2007), onemight expect more variability between samples inthe population modes of the detrital zircon signa-tures than is actually observed (fig. 2). Instead, thehomogeneous Archean zircon population in ourEarly Paleozoic samples resembles the detrital zir-con signature of the Huron Basin. Thus, our inter-pretation is that first-cycle erosion of the Archeanbasement is probably not the dominant mechanismby which this uniform Archean population is gen-erated, leading us to interpret the Huron basin asa more plausible source of the relatively homoge-neous age population of Archean zircon.

Models for the Provenance of Early Paleozoic Super-mature Arenites. The observations outlined aboveregarding the detrital zircon populations of theearly Paleozoic quartz arenites (figs. 2, 6) indicatethat early Paleozoic strata in the midcontinent re-gion are probably recycled sediments from twoolder basinal deposits: the midcontinent rift locatedto the paleo-northeast (fig. 7) and the large Prote-rozoic Huron basin to the paleo-east (fig. 7), whichare consistent with paleocurrent data and the pos-sible transport direction parallel to the direction oftrade winds (fig. 1; Jin et al. 2013). Our interpre-tation that the early Paleozoic quartz arenites arederived from recycled sediments from two majorProterozoic basins suggests that sediment was de-livered to the midcontinent region by two majorlong-lived (∼50 Ma) river systems that drained andwere sourced from the paleo-northeast (midconti-nent rift region; e.g., Runkel 1994) and paleo-east(Huron basin region; e.g., Amaral and Pryor 1977;fig. 7). Sediment transport from other sources de-scribed above (e.g., the Baraboo Interval deposits)to the midcontinent region, was restricted by localpaleotopography such as the Wisconsin dome, andsediment from these sources may have been de-posited in the Michigan basin.

Based on known paleogeographic features of themidcontinent region, there are two possible modelsfor westward sediment transport from the Huronbasin to the early Paleozoic shoreline. One modelcalls for transport of Huron basin sediment to thewest between the Michigan basin and the Wiscon-sin dome (fig. 7) and then to the north (approximatearea of Minnesota) via longshore drift and eolianprocesses. This scenario is problematic since it re-quires a large volume of sediment to bypass therapidly subsiding Michigan basin (e.g., Smith et al.1993) and subsequently transport and deposit this




sand in the much more slowly subsiding Hollan-dale Embayment in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

A second model calls for fluvial and eolian trans-port of sediment along a paleo-northwesterly routeto the areas of the midcontinent rift. This sedimentwould be mixed and transported with sedimentfrom the midcontinent rift basin, before final trans-port to the paleo-west with deposition in the Cam-bro-Ordovician seas (fig. 7). This scenario requiresfurther transport (∼2500 km assuming a sinuosityof the fluvial channel system of 2; the present-daydistance is ∼1250 km) of sediment via fluvial andeolian processes and deposition in wave-dominateddeltas that are later reworked along the shore bylongshore drift and winds. These processes mayhave acted along the shore the Cambrian and Or-dovician and may help explain the textural matur-ity of the early Paleozoic quartz arenites. Based onthe present-day exposures of the lower part of theHuron basin, much of strata are less texturally ma-ture than the early Paleozoic quartz arenites. Theupper section of the Huron basin is generally morecompositionally and texturally mature than thelower part (Young et al. 2001). Quartz arenites inthe midcontinent rift basin are generally compo-sitionally and texturally mature (e.g., Ojakangasand Morey 1982), and thus, recycling similar rocks(e.g., Runkel 1994) may require less transport dis-tance to produce the textural maturity of the earlyPaleozoic arenites. Our interpretation of the tex-tural maturity observed in the early Paleozoicquartz arenites of the midcontinent region, is thatit was achieved by recycling older basin sedimentsand transporting them over large distances (∼2500km) in vigorous eolian and fluvial currents thatshifted laterally in flat, unvegetated areas (Dott2003).

Conclusions

Detrital zircon U-Pb data from the early Paleozoicsupermature arenites (198% quartz) of the midcon-tinent region (figs. 2, 6) indicate that the Cambrianand Ordovician quartz arenites were ultimatelysourced from a limited number of crystallinesources. Most zircon was originally derived fromthe Grenville orogen (950–1350 Ma) and the Ar-chean Superior Province (2550–2800 Ma), withlesser zircon contributions from the 1350–1500 Maanorogenic granite-rhyolite suite and the 1600–1950 Ma Paleo-Mesoproterozoic orogens (figs. 2, 6).These detrital zircon signatures, together with de-trital information compiled from older basins (figs.3, 4, 6), indicate that the Cambrian and Ordovicianarenites possibly represent recycled sediment fromtwo older basins, the Huron basin and midconti-nent rift, where the sediment previously underwentat least one cycle of erosion, transportation, anddeposition. We present a model for the origin of theearly Paleozoic quartz arenites where sediment wasbrought to the midcontinent region by river andeolian systems that were sourced from the paleo-east (Huron basin; fig. 7) and paleo-northeast (mid-continent rift region; fig. 7), and the final texturalmaturity of the arenites was achieved by vigorouseolian (e.g., Dott 2003) and fluvial abrasion duringthis long transport.

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

This project was carried out as part of a Keck projectstarted in 2005–2006 and funded by the Keck Ge-ology Consortium. We also acknowledge the Cy-prus Fulbright Commission, which funded A. Kon-stantinou in his undergraduate studies atMacalester College. We would like to thank K.Surpless, T. Runkel, S. Whitmeyer, B. Dott, and G.Medaris for helping improve this manuscript.

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