Zircon SHRIMP U-Th-Pb dating of the Wengjialing Formation in the eastern segment of the Jiangnan orogenic belt in northeast Jiangxi Province and its geological implications

Abstract: Zircon dating of tuff bedding from the Wengjialing Formation in the east segment of the Jiangnan orogenic belt within northeast Jiangxi Province is reported for the first time in this paper (841.2±5.1 Ma), which constrains the age of the Wengjialing Formation, suggesting that it lies above Tianli schist and beneath the Taoyuan Formation. In combination with a large number of high precision ages obtained for the Jiangnan orogenic belt recently, the authors hold that the Wengjialing Formation corresponds to the Fanjingshan Group, the Sibao Group, the Lengjiaxi Group, and the Shuangqiaoshan Group. The Taoyuan Group overlying the Wengjialing Formation was formed in the same period as the volcanic rocks which intruded into the Fanjingshan Group, the Sibao Group, the Lengjiaxi Group, and the Shuangqiaoshan Group, and also occurred simultaneously with the “Pingshui Group” in Pujiang City, Zhejiang Province, and the “Zhangcun Formation” in Jiangshan City, Zhejiang Province. At 830 Ma, a magma event was widely developed from west to east in the Jiangnan orogenic belt.