Detrital zircon U–Pb age constraints on the provenance of submarine channels in Ledong area, Yinggehai Basin, South China Sea

To better understand the provenance and its evolution of the submarine channels of Huangliu and Yinggehai Formation in the Ledong area, the Yinggehai Basin, 200 single detrital zircons from two sandstone samples were collected from submarine channels, and the U–Pb dating was carried out. The results show that the detrital zircon ages from the submarine channel of Huangliu Formation have a narrow range from 78 to 264 Ma with two major age peaks at ca. 96 and 235 Ma, accompanied by two subordinate age peaks at ca. 78 and 159 Ma. In contrast, the detrital zircon ages from the submarine channel of Yinggehai Formation have a wide range from 94 to 3076 Ma with three major age peaks at ca. 95, 235, and 449 Ma, accompanied by five subordinate age peaks at ca. 144, 177, 376, 549 and 801Ma. The characteristics of provenance evolution for submarine channels were furtherly analyzed using 3-MDS and source unmixing methods. The sediments in the submarine channel of Huangliu Formation were originated from the Changhua River, Beili River, Wanglou River, and Ningyuan River in the west of Hainan Island, and their relative contributions for the submarine channel were 65%, 3.5%, 6.4%, and 25.1%, respectively. The sediments in the submarine channel of Yinggehai Formation were provided with mixed source by the Red River, Wanglou River, and Ningyuan River, and their relative contributions for the submarine channel were 82.6%, 4.3%, and 13.1%, respectively. The transition of submarine channel provenance from near source of Huangliu Formation to distant source of the Yinggehai Formation may be due to the uplift of the Tibet Plateau during Pliocene. •The U–Pb age populations of detrital zircons from the Huangliu and Yinggehai Formation in Ledong area are quite different.•There are significant changes in the provenance direction of the Huangliu and Yinggehai Formation submarine channels.•The provenance transformation of the submarine channels is related to the uplift of the Tibet Plateau.