Detrital zircon characteristics of the Lower Cretaceous Isachsen Formation, Sverdrup Basin: source constraints from age and Hf isotope data
Detrital zircons from the Lower Cretaceous Isachsen Formation of the Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, have been dated by the U–Pb method and analyzed for Hf isotopes by laser ablation microprobe – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LAM–ICP–MS). Five samples from four locations on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands display similar ranges of U–Pb ages, with significant zircon populations at 2.8–2.6, 1.9–1.8, 1.7–1.6, and 1.2–1.0 Ga. Major hiatuses occur between 2.4 and 2.0 Ga and from 0.96 to 0.5 Ga. Low initial eHf values indicating recycled crust components are significant in Palaeoproterozoic (1.9–1.8 Ga) and Neoarchaean (2.8–2.6 Ga) zircon populations. Other U–Pb age populations in the studied samples are dominated by zircon with positive eHf values, indicating a significant contribution from mantle-derived protoliths. The eHf values seen within a given U–Pb age population are generally consistent, with only minor scatter among the different samples. U–Pb and Hf data closely res...