Provenance of the southeastern South China Block in the Late Triassic and initiation of Paleo-Pacific subduction: Evidence from detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology

During the late Paleozoic–early Mesozoic era, the sediment transport system and tectonic regime in the southeastern margin of the South China Block (SESCB) all changed, significantly affected by the Paleo-Pacific subduction. This study uses detrital zircon geochronology to discuss the Late Triassic source-to-sink system in the SESCB and provides some references for the Paleo-Pacific subduction process. The paleogeography and similarity of detrital zircon age distribution reveal three sinks in the SESCB during the Late Triassic: 1. the Yangchun–Kaiping–Gaoming area, comprising major age ranges of 260–220, 460–400, and 1,200–800 Ma, which might be sourced from the Yunkai Terrane; 2. the Jiexi–Kanshi–Nanjing area, characterized by the significant age component of 2,000–1,800 Ma, which corresponded to the Wuyi Terrane; 3. the Xinan area, consisting of significant age groups of 290–250 Ma and 380–320 Ma, which might be sourced from the magmatic rocks formed by the Huinan Movement and Paleo-Pacific subduction. The Upper Triassic strata contain many 290–250 Ma zircons, and their trace elements suggested a magmatic arc existed near the SESCB during the 290–250 Ma. Thus, we propose that the Paleo-Pacific subduction might have begun in the Early Permian.