title: 1.8 Billion Years of Detrital Zircon Recycling Calibrates a Refractory Part of Earth's Sedimentary Cycle.
abstract: Detrital zircon studies are providing new insights on the evolution of sedimentary basins but the role of sedimentary recycling remains largely undefined. In a broad region of northwestern North America, this contribution traces the pathway of detrital zircon sand grains from Proterozoic sandstones through Phanerozoic strata and argues for multi-stage sedimentary recycling over more than a billion years. As a test of our hypothesis, integrated palynology and detrital zircon provenance provides clear evidence for erosion of Carboniferous strata in the northern Cordillera as a sediment source for Upper Cretaceous strata. Our results help to calibrate Earth's sedimentary cycle by showing that recycling dominates sedimentary provenance for the refractory mineral zircon.
authors.affiliation: Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hadlari
authors.affiliation: University of Leeds, School of Geography, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Graeme T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Swindles
authors.affiliation: Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Galloway
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary, Department of Geoscience, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Kimberley M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary, Department of Geoscience, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Kyle C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Sulphur
authors.affiliation: University of Alberta, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Larry M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Heaman
authors.affiliation: Memorial University of Newfoundland, Department of Earth Sciences, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
authors.forename: Luke P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Beranek
authors.affiliation: Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Fallas
mesh_terms: D018534:Earth, Planet; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D008903:Minerals / Q000737:chemistry; D017640:Silicates / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D015040:Zirconium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008903:Minerals; D017640:Silicates; C003784:zircon; D015040:Zirconium