C H A P T E R

1

Sediment Provenance: Influenceon Compositional Change From

Source to SinkR. Mazumder

Curtin University, Sarawak, Malaysia

O U T L I N E

Acknowledgment 4 References 4

The term “provenance” originates from the Latin word “provenire,” meaning to originate.Although commonly used to indicate source or parent rock from which sediments weregenerated, the term “provenance” actually encompasses all factors related to sedimentproduction, with “specific reference to the composition of the parent rocks as well as thephysiography and climate of the source area” (Weltje and Eynatten, 2004). Sedimentaryprovenance data play a critical role in assessing palaeogeographic reconstructions, inconstraining lateral displacements in orogens, in characterizing crust that is no longerexposed, in mapping depositional systems, in subsurface correlation, and in predictingreservoir quality (Haughton et al., 1991; Weltje and Eynatten, 2004; Garzanti et al., 2014;Bhattacharya et al., 2016).

The source to sink (S2S) is an approach that connects areas of sediment production withsites of transfer and locations of storage through the quantification of earth processes in abudgetary manner (Walsh et al., 2016; Bhattacharya et al., 2016). Understandably, sedimenttransport, climate, life, environment, diagenesis/lithification, and contemporaneous tecto-nism also have significant influences on sediment composition/geochemistry along theway from source to sink. The recent special issue of Earth Science Reviews (Walsh et al.,2016) presents several interesting recent to Miocene S2S sediment provenance studies on

1Sediment Provenancehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803386-9.00001-0 Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

different continents. One of the critical areas that deserves closer scrutiny by the S2S commu-nity is linking the present and the past (Walsh et al., 2016). As pointed out by Walsh et al.(2016), “there continues to be too much community disconnect among ‘modern’ (process),Quaternary and deep-time researchers.” It must be noted that researchers have undertakenprovenance analysis of much older (as old as early Archean) sedimentary deposits of the ma-jor cratonic blocks of the world, including those of Antarctica and Greenland (see Erikssonet al., 2004 and references therein). In spite of significant technological development andconsequent scientific advancement in last 20 years, there is almost no memoir/special publi-cation/book that treats sedimentary rocks from an S2S perspective. This book provides acritical and comprehensive overview as well as new data-based sediment provenanceanalyses from Precambrian to recent from several continents and will fill in the gap in theknowledge base.

The content of the book has been divided into 19 chapters. The first (Basu) is a criticalappraisal of the conceptual evolution and the enhanced scope of inquiries into the prove-nance of siliciclastic sediments. Van Loon et al. have traced the source of bio/siliciclasticbeach sands of the Apulian Coast of Italy. Their analyses reveal a wave-eroded lithifiedsand source for the beach sands and contribution from a wide variety of organisms. VanLoon and Pisarska-Jamro _zy have undertaken a detailed heavy mineral study of Pleistocenesandurs, ice-marginal valley and a nearby river in Poland, and have shown that heavymineral analyses can significantly contribute to the reconstruction of the pathway of sedimen-tary particles and of the changes in the heavy-mineral spectra from source to sink. Thehydraulic conditions prevailing during sediment transportation have the prime control onsediment dispersal patterns, and thus have a significant influence on the changes in sedimentcomposition during the journey from source to sink. Dasgupta has critically reviewed theproblematic aspects of paleohydraulic parameter reconstructions from primary sedimentarystructures and believes that quantitative methodology for the precise estimation of paleohy-draulic parameters from depositional sedimentary structures “is yet to be developed throughsystematic laboratory and field experiments that can be repeated and empirically verified.”

Sedimentological analysis of the Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic rocks (sandstones) of thePondicherry embryonic rift basin, India by Sarkar et al. clearly reveals cratonic source gainingrelative maturity toward the distal depositional setting. Variable degrees of mixing of felsicand mafic components and source-shifting as a consequence of rifting have been establishedby these authors. Nagarajan et al. have undertaken petrographic and geochemical analysesof Neogene Sibuti and Lambir formations, east Malaysia (Borneo). Their research indicatesderivation of sediments from recycled felsic provenance in a predominantly continental topassive margin setting associated with rifting of the proto-South China Sea during the earlyto middle Miocene. The origin of “V”-shaped elongated dune complexes of Madagascar(Chevron complexes) is disputed; Abbott et al. have argued against the Aeolian origin ofthese dune complexes. Their sedimentological (grain-size), micropaleontological, andgeochronological data from three dune complexes of Madagascar indicate these dunecomplexes are the depositional product of a Holocene megatsunami possibly related to aHolocene landslide, or bolide impact (Abbott et al.). Many fundamental problems of contour-ite research have been pointed out by Shanmugam in his detailed and critical review. Thecontourite domain, according to Shanmugam, is “still in a state of flux after nearly 60 yearsof research” because of those fundamental problems.

1. SEDIMENT PROVENANCE: INFLUENCE ON COMPOSITIONAL CHANGE FROM SOURCE TO SINK2

Continental sequences generally record a strong influence of sediment source on deposi-tional facies and provide excellent opportunities for S2S analyses. Sato and Chan have un-dertaken a detailed sedimentological analysis of the Eocene Duchesne River formation ofthe Uinta Basin, Utah, USA, and have demonstrated how different source inputs controlsedimentary facies development and sandstone petrophysical properties in the sink. Theirstudy reveals the importance of sediment provenance analysis for exploration of fluvialsandstone reservoirs. Van Loon et al. have examined a series of lenses of limestone brecciafrom the Late Cambrian (Furongian) Chaomidian Formation in Shandong Province, Chinaand interpreted these as a consequence of fragmentation followed by sliding of a breccialayer from the parent layer (the source) to its depositional site (the sink). Long has examinedcherts of Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Tantalus Formation, in south-central Yukon,Canada. His study reveals that a large slab of Cache Creek was obducted over strata of theYukoneTanana terrane, and this now eroded slab was the source of chert in the Tantaluspiggyback basins.

Late Neoproterozoic to early Mesozoic sedimentary succession of the Tasmanides ofeastern Australia developed in an active plate margin setting. Multidisciplinary researchundertaken by Fergusson revels provenance switching between the developments ofigneous-dominated detritus related to adjoining magmatic arcs (e.g., the Macquarie Arc),and interactions with Gondwana-derived clastics. Chiarenzelli utilized detrital zircons inan upper amphibolite facies terrain to document sediment provenance and basin evolution,and to provide initial temporal constraints on sedimentation. Das et al. have presenteddetrital records of sediment provenance and its shift in the Mesoproterozoic SinghoraGroup, central India. Sengupta et al. inferred sedimentary provenance, timing of sedimen-tation, and metamorphism from a suite of metapelites from the Chotanagpur Granite GneissComplex, eastern India, and discussed their implications for Proterozoic tectonics in theeast-central part of the Indian shield. Mukhopadhaya et al. have undertaken SEM eCL fab-ric analysis of quartz framework population from the Mesoarchean Keonjhar Quartzitefrom Singhbhum Craton, eastern India. These authors have discussed implications of prov-enance analysis for the upper continental crustal evolution. Costa and Hofmann haveundertaken provenance analysis of detrital pyrite in the Mesoarchaean WitwatersrandBasin of South Africa, the world’s largest gold deposit. According to these authors, detritalpyrite is mainly derived from sedimentary sources and syn-sedimentary precipitates.Young has discussed the ice ages in earth history, “puzzling” paleolatitudes, and regionalprovenance of the ice sheets. According to Young, “the evolution of metazoans, climaxingwith the ‘Cambrian explosion,’ may have been accelerated by rapid and radical environ-mental changes associated with glaciations.” The world’s oldest sedimentary structuresare preserved in dolomitic carbonates, banded iron formations, volcaniclastic sedimentaryrocks, and very rare sandstones and conglomerates in the 3.7e3.8 billion years old Isuasupracrustal belt in North Atlantic craton (Greenland). The holistic appraisal of the Isuasupracrustals by Nutman et al. indicates they formed over a 100-million-year period insupra-subduction zone settings.

I strongly believe that a state-of-the art exposition of sediment provenance analyses willhelp to identify key issues and gaps in the existing knowledge base and initiate new researchto understand source rock characteristics, paleoweathering, paleoclimate, tectonics, andultimately, the evolution of continental crust.

1. SEDIMENT PROVENANCE: INFLUENCE ON COMPOSITIONAL CHANGE FROM SOURCE TO SINK 3

AcknowledgmentI am grateful to all contributors, reviewers, and colleagues at Elsevier, especially Tasha Frank and Marisa La Fleur,who supported me in various ways. I gratefully acknowledge infrastructural support provided by the Faculty ofEngineering and Science, Curtin University, Sarawak, Malaysia. Professors Kenneth Eriksson, Patrick G. Eriksson,and Christopher Fedo critically commented on the original book proposal and helped me to organize the book.

ReferencesBhattacharya, J.P., Copeland, P., Lawton, T.F., Holbrook, J., 2016. Estimation of source area, river paleo-discharge,

paleoslope, and sediment budgets of linked deep-time depositional systems and implications for hydrocarbonpotential. Earth Science Reviews 153, 77e110.

Eduardo Garzanti, E., Vermeesch, P., Padoan, M., Resentini, A., Vezzoli, G., Andò, S., 2014. Provenance of passive-margin sand (Southern Africa). Journal of Geology 122, 17e42.

Eriksson, P.G., Altermann, W., Nelson, D.R., Mueller, W., Catuneanu, O., 2004. The Precambrian Earth, Tempos andEvents. Elsevier Science, 966 p.

Haughton, P.D., Todd, S.P., Morton, A.C., 1991. Sedimentary provenance studies. In: Morton, A.C., Todd, S.P.,Haughton, P.D.W. (Eds.), Developments in Sedimentary Provenance Studies, 57. Geological Society SpecialPublication No, pp. 1e11.

Wals, J.P., Wiberg, P.L., Aalto, R., Nittrouer, C.A., Kuehl, S.A., 2016. Source-to-sink research: economy of the Earth’ssurface and its strata. Earth Science Reviews 153, 1e6.

Weltje, G.J., Von Eynatten, H., 2004. Quantitative provenance analysis of sediments: review and outlook. Sedimen-tary Geology 171, 1e11.

1. SEDIMENT PROVENANCE: INFLUENCE ON COMPOSITIONAL CHANGE FROM SOURCE TO SINK4