Permian felsic magmatism in the Neoproterozoic Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex of the Malani Igneous Suite: Evidence from zircon U–Pb age

We report Permian (ca. 272 Ma ±5.4 Ma) felsic dykes that intrude into the Neoproterozoic (ca. 750 Ma) magmatic suite of the Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex (NPIC), the western extension of the Malani Igneous Suite (MIS). The NPIC consists of Neoproterozoic basement amphibolites and granites (riebeckite–aegirine gray granites and the biotite–hornblende pink granites), all of which are intruded by several generations of mafic and felsic dykes. Granitic magmatism occurred in the Late Neoproterozoic (ca. 750 Ma) due to the subduction‐, followed by the rift‐related tectonic regime during the breakup of the Rodinia supercontinent. U–Th–Pb zircon and monazite CHIME age data of 700–800 Ma from the earlier generation porphyritic felsic dykes suggest the dyke intrusion was coeval or soon after the emplacement of the host granites. Our findings of Permian age orthophyric felsic dykes provide new insights for the prevalence of active tectonics in the MIS during late Paleozoic. Textural features and geochemistry also make the orthophyric dykes distinct from the early‐formed porphyritic dykes and the host granites. Our newly obtained age data combined with geochemistry, suggest the existence of magmatism along the western margin of India (peri‐Gondwana margin) during Permian. Like elsewhere in the region, the Permian magmatism in the NPIC could be associated with the rifting of the Cimmerian micro‐continents from the Gondwana.     

Nick Rast and the recognition of the Avalonian Arc

Recognition of the eastern (Avalonian) margin of the northern Appalachian orogen as a Late Precambrian microcontinental arc terrane, rather than the opposing passive margin of the Proto-Atlantic (Iapetus) Ocean to that of eastern Laurentia, constituted a fundamental advance in Appalachian geology that profoundly influenced subsequent models for the orogen's plate tectonic evolution. This advance was first clearly articulated by Nick Rast and his students in 1976, who, by correlating rocks of the Avalon Platform with those of the British Midlands, established the Avalonian volcanic belt as a Japan-like microcontinent. Contrary to contemporary views of the Avalon Platform, which favored an extensional, Basin and Range-like setting for its volcanism, Rast argued on the basis of this correlation that the association of Avalonian volcanism with compressional orogeny, widespread calc-alkaline plutonism and, in Angelsey, with blueschists and ophiolitic rocks, indicated a convergent plate margin setting. Rast further proposed that the Avalonian volcanic belt was ensialic, and was bordered to the northwest and southeast by Precambrian oceanic domains. Contemporary reconstructions of the Avalonian and Cadomian belts as fragments of a Cordilleran-like accretionary orogen that developed along an active margin of Neoproterozoic Gondwana owe their origin to these early ideas and, while far removed from the tectonic model that Rast envisaged, are a direct heritage of his recognition of the Avalonian volcanic belt as a microcontinental arc terrane.     

Geochemistry and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of the Dongjiahe ophiolite complex from the western Bikou terrane

The Dongjiahe ophiolite complex occurring in the western Bikou terrane that is composed chiefly of serpentinite, listwanitizational peridotite, gabbro, cumulus gabbro, and sub-alkaline meta-basalt, possesses a rock association of typical ophiolite sequence. The metaperidotite is depleted in light rare earth element (LREE), whereas the gabbro and meta-basalt from the studied ophiolite sequence, generated by the same parental magmas those have close affinity to the MORB (Mid-ocean ridge basalt), their REE and immobile elements patterns imply an ocean in the northern margin of the Yangtze plate during the Neoproterozoic period. The zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating for the gabbro yields a weighted mean age of 839.2±8.2Ma, suggesting that the basin occurred during the Neoproterozoic period.

     

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb age and Nd isotopic study on the Nyainqêntanglha Group in Tibet

The Nyainqêntanglha Group is traditionally viewed as the oldest metamorphic basement in the Lhasa block, but its formation age and tectonic setting remain debate. Zircons extracted from the metamorphic sequence of volcanics and intrusions of the Nyainqêntanglha Group, 10 km west of Nam Co in northern Lhasa block, have been investigated by cathodoluminescence (CL), backscattered (BSE) and dated by ion microprobe (SHRIMP). We conclude that the U-Pb age of 787 ê9 Ma of zircons from the trondhjemite imposes a constraint on maxi-mum protolith age, and minimum formation age of the Nyainqêntanglha Group is constrained by U-Pb age of 748 ê8 Ma of zircons from the granite. The formation age of the Nyainqêntanglha Group is consistent with sedimentary age of Greater Himalayan rocks, showing that they devel-oped coevally in an arc-basin tectonic setting of Neoproterozoic active continental margin along the northern margin of the India shield. The inherited zircons from the tholetiite and granite give older 207 Pb/206 Pb ages from 947 to 1766 Ma. The positive å Nd(t) value indicates that the mafic rocks were derived from the depleted mantle, but contaminated by the older continental crustal material. Integrated Nd model age and U-Pb age data provide excellent evidence for the existence of Mesoproterozoic basement in the Lhasa block during Neoproterozoic time.     

Petrochemistry of sandstones from Neoproterozoic basins of the Bastar craton, Central Indian Shield: Implications for paleoweathering, provenance and tectonic history

Petrographic analysis and chemical analysis of major and trace elements including rare earth elements of the Neoproterozoic sandstones from the Chandarpur Group and the Tiratgarh Formation have been carried out to determine their provenance, tectonic setting and weathering conditions. All sandstone samples are highly enriched in quartz but very poor in feldspar and lithic fragments. Petrographically and geochemically these sandstones are classified as subarkose, sublitharenite and arenite. The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA mean 68) and Th/U ratios (mean 4.2) for these sandstones suggest their moderate weathering nature. Generally, all sandstone samples are strongly depleted in major elements (except SiO₂), trace elements (except Zr) and REE in comparison with Post Archean Australian Shale (PAAS) and Upper Continental Crust (UCC). Their mineralogy and mean of elemental ratios suitable for determination of provenance and tectonic setting, e.g. Al₂O₃/SiO₂ (0.02), K₂O/Na₂O (10), Eu/Eu* (0.67), (La/Lu)n (10.4), La/Sc (3), Th/Sc (1.2), La/Co (0.22), Th/Co (0.08), and Cr/Th (7.2), support a felsic source and a passive margin tectonic setting for these sandstones. Also these key elemental ratios do not show much variation over a range of SiO₂. Thus we attest their significance in determining source rock characteristics of quartz rich sandstones. Chondrite‐normalized REE patterns with LREE enrichment and a strong negative Eu anomaly are also attributed to felsic source rock characteristics for these sandstones. The source rocks identified are granite and gneiss of the Bastar craton. Minor amounts may have been derived from older supracrustals of the Bastar craton. However, the major element data of the Paleoproterozoic Sakoli schists when compared with those of the Neoproterozoic sandstones indicate that the schists were derived from a mafic source and deposited in an active continental margin tectonic setting. There is, however, little difference in CIA values between the Paleoproterozoic Sakoli schists and Neoproterozoic sandstones, indicating prevailing of similar (moderate‐intense) weathering conditions throughout the Proterozoic in the Bastar craton. Our study also suggests a change in the provenance and tectonic setting of deposition of sediments from dominantly a mafic source and an active continental margin in the Paleoproterozoic to dominantly granite and gneiss (felsic source) and a passive continental margin in the Neoproterozoic in the Bastar craton.     

Geochemical characteristics of Bikou volcanic group and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic composition: Evidence for breakup event in the north margin of Yangtze plate,Jining era

The geodynamic setting of the Bikou volcanic group is a critical question to trace the Precambrain tectonic framework and evolution for the Yangtze plate. This study has suggested that the Bikou volcanic group is composed of several residual oceanic crust units: MORB (mid-ocean ridge basalt), Alk-OIB (alkaline ocean island basalt) and Th-OIB (tholeiitic ocean island basalt) as well as subduction-related volcanic rocks. According to field observation, those distinct rocks occurred collectively in form of tectonic contact, implying that the Bikou volcanic group was an ophiolitic mélange. Coupled with geochronological data, a perished oceanic basin at the northern margin of the Yangtze block during Neoproterozoic was tested by this ophiolitic mélange. Meanwhile, the isogeochemical data suggest that the ocean occurred in the Southern Hemisphere identical to Indian, South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans in terms of their Dupal anomalies, and the original source of the rocks could be probably mixing by EMI and EMII component caused by dehydration melting of subducting oceanic crust during subduction process. On the basis of geochemical characteristics of the studied rocks, the Bikou volcanic group could imply that a partial breakup event occurred in the northern margin of Yangtze plate during the Neoproterozoic era.

     

塔里木陆块在Rodinia超大陆中位置的新认识——来自地层对比和古地磁的制约

塔里木周缘的新元古代地层中均记录了涉及Rodinia聚合和裂解的构造热事件,但塔里木在Rodinia超大陆中位置尚存争议.本文综合地层对比以及古地磁的研究方法,将塔里木陆块在Rodinia超大陆中置于澳洲板块的西北缘,并且塔里木的西南缘(现今位置)和澳洲的西北缘(现今位置)相连.基于塔里木周缘的构造热事件和塔里木、澳洲运动学特征分析,认为塔里木陆块周缘在约800~700 Ma中发生了强烈的裂谷事件,导致塔里木从Rodinia超大陆中裂解,但塔里木并没有完全从澳洲裂离,而是随澳洲一起,加入冈瓦纳大陆.在约450 Ma左右,塔里木与澳洲发生分离,其原因为古特提斯洋的扩张.     

Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes of the Early Paleozoic maficultramafic dykes and basalts from South Qinling belt and their implications for mantle composition

Late Early Paleozoic mafic-ultramafic dykes and volcanic rocks from the South Qinling belt are char- acterized by εNd( t ) = 3.28― 5.02, (87Sr/86Sr)i= 0.70341― 0.70555, (206Pb/204Pb)i = 17.256― 18.993, (207Pb/204Pb)i= 15.505―15.642, (208Pb/204Pb)i=37.125―38.968, ?8/4=21.18―774.43, ?7/4=8.11―18.82. These charac- teristics suggest that they derived from a Middle Neoproterozoic mantle with isotopic compositions of mixed HIMU, EMII and minor EMI components. We interpret that these rocks were melting products of depleted mantle modified by subducted ancient oceanic crust and continental margin sediments along the northern margin of Yangtze block during Early Neoproterozoic.     

Neoproterozoic and Cambrian successions deposited on the East European platform and Cadomian basement area in Poland

Summary A short review of the Neoproterozoic and Cambrian sedimentary and volcanogenic successions in Poland is concerned with depositional and tectonic developments. The successions accumulated in shallow shelf and deeper slope environments. They overlie Palaeoproterozoic crystalline basement of the Baltic Craton and Gondwana-derived Neoproterozoic Cadomian basement. This discrepancy in the nature of the basement is viewed as indicating distinct terranes. During the course of Palaeozoic time, the discrete terranes were assembled along the Teisseyre-Tornquist Lineament and the Trans-European Suture Zone adjacent to the Baltica palaeocontinent.     

P-T-t path of metamorphism for the Julin Group and its geodynamical implications in Yuanmou, Yunnan

The metamorphic complex of the Julin Group occurs in the Yuanmou area of Yunnan Province on the western margin of the Yangtze Platform, and connects with the Kangdian metamorphic complex to the north. Based on the detailed petrographic observations and studies of garnet growth zoning, aP-T-t path has been reconstructed for the staurolite-kyanite zone in the Julin Group. This path is characterized by (1) a counter-clockwise evolutional trend, (2) a quicker increase of temperature than that of pressure in the initial prograde metamorphism, but slower near the peak, then temperature and pressure simultaneously reaching the peak metamorphic conditions, and (3) a slow near-isobaric cooling during the retrograde process. TheP-T-t path for prograde metamorphism is closely related to magmatic accretion in the arc setting. The magmatic accretion model, metamorphism type and tectonic setting may be compared with the global Grenville tectono-metamorphic events, and related to the assembly of the Rodinia at the late Mesoproterozoic-early Neoproterozoic (∼1.0 Ga). The retrogradeP-T-t path shows a slow near-isobaric cooling, indicating sustained heat supplies from the upper mantle and no rapid erosion. This heat source may be originated from the Neoproterozoic (∼0.82 Ga) breakup of the Rodinia.     

The Pengguan tectonic dome of Longmen Mountains, Sichuan Province: Mesozoic denudation of a Neoproterozoic magmatic arc-basin system

Neoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic complexes occur as tectonic domes in the Longmen Mountains of the western margin of the Yangtze Block, and are important in reconstructing the Rodinian supercontinent and constraining the timing and mechanism of tectonic denudational processes. The Pengguan dome consists of granitic intrusions and metamorphic rocks of the Huangshuihe Group and is tectonically overlain by ductilly deformed Sinian to Paleozoic strata. The plutonic intrusions consist of granites with abundant amphibolite enclaves. New LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating yielded an emplacement age of 809±3 Ma and a protolith age of 844±6 Ma for the granite. The granitic rocks have geochemical signatures typical of A-type granites, indicating their formation under an extensional environment, by melting of newly formed tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) rocks. A detachment fault, characterized by variable ductile shear deformation of S-C fabric and ESE-ward kinematics, separates the Pengguan dome from the Sinian-Paleozoic cover. 40Ar/39Ar dating of muscovite from the mylonite in the detachment fault of the dome demonstrates that ductile deformation occurred at ~160 Ma. This study indicates the existence of a Neoproterozoic magmatic arc-basin system, which was denudated by a Jurassic middle crustal ductile channel flow along the Longmenshan thrust belt.     

A visage of early Paleozoic Japan: Geotectonic and paleobiogeographical significance of Greater South China

The current state of knowledge on the early Paleozoic evolution of Japan is reviewed. Although early Paleozoic Japan marked the foundation of long‐lasting subduction‐related orogenic growth throughout the Phanerozoic, details of this have not been fully revealed. Nevertheless, U‐Pb dating of zircons both in Paleozoic granitoids and sandstones is revealing several new aspects of early Paleozoic Japan. The timing of the major tectonic change, from a passive continental margin setting (Stage I) to an active one (Stage II), was constrained to the Cambrian by identifying the oldest arc granitoid, high‐P/T blueschist, and terrigenous clastics of arc‐related basins. Ages of recycled zircons in granitoids and sandstones provided critical information on the homeland of Japan, i.e. the continental margin along which proto‐Japan began to grow. The early Paleozoic continental margin that hosted the development of an arc‐trench system in proto‐Japan had cratonic basement composed mostly of Proterozoic crust with a minor Archean component. The predominant occurrence of Neoproterozoic zircons in Paleozoic rocks, as xenocrysts in arc granitoids and also as detrital grains in terrigenous clastics, indicates that the relevant continental block was a part of South China, probably forming a northeastern segment of Greater South China (GSC) together with the Khanka/Jiamsi/Bureya mega‐block in Far East Asia. GSC was probably twice as large as the present conterminous South China on mainland Asia. Paleozoic Japan formed a segment of a mature arc‐trench system along the Pacific side of GSC, where the N–S‐trending Pacific‐rim orogenic belt (Nipponides) developed with an almost perpendicular relationship with the E–W‐trending Central Asian orogenic belt. The faunal characteristics of the Permian marine fauna in Japan, both with the Tethyan and Boreal elements, can be better explained than before in good accordance with the relative position of GSC with respect to the North China block during the late Paleozoic.     

Peripheral bulge—a causal mechanism for the Lower/Middle Ordovician unconformity along the western margin of the Northern Appalachians

This report proposes a plate tectonic model that can explain the Early/Middle Ordovician erosional unconformity observed along much of the western margin of the Appalachian orogen. In order for the model to apply, the Taconic allochthons must represent an outer arc (accretionary wedge) and the related subduction zone and Benioff zone must have dipped east (this report reviews the evidence for these assumptions). If these suppositions are correct, then the observed unconformity may have resulted from upwarp along a peripheral bulge (which occurs seaward of present-day oceanic trenches) as the Ordovician continental margin drifted east into the trench. Theoretical calculations show that the amount of uplift experienced by a continental plate over a peripheral bulge is on the order of the amount of uplift observed on the unconformity in Newfoundland. Furthermore, the sequence of events in Taconic times along the western margin of the Appalachian orogen supports the hypothesis that the paleocontinental margin drifted east over a peripheral bulge and on into the trench. The Ordovician shallow-water carbonate bank on the continental margin of the North American plate was uplifted (peripheral bulge) and then rapidly down-dropped to abyssal depths (continental margin entering trench) where it was first covered by flysch and then structurally overlain by the Taconic allochthons (continental margin underthrusting the outer arc). The present western boundary of the maximum relief on the unconformity would delineate the trend and approximate position of the bulge when the craton jammed the subduction zone and ceased convergence with the island arc (in Caradocian times).     

Origin of the early Cenozoic belt boundary thrust and Izanagi–Pacific ridge subduction in the western Pacific margin

The belt boundary thrust within the Cretaceous–Neogene accretionary complex of the Shimanto Belt, southwestern Japan, extends for more than ~ 1 000 km along the Japanese islands. A common understanding of the origin of the thrust is that it is an out of sequence thrust as a result of continuous accretion since the late Cretaceous and there is a kinematic reason for its maintaining a critically tapered wedge. The timing of the accretion gap and thrusting, however, coincides with the collision of the Paleocene–early Eocene Izanagi–Pacific spreading ridges with the trench along the western Pacific margin, which has been recently re‐hypothesized as younger than the previous assumption with respect to the Kula‐Pacific ridge subduction during the late Cretaceous. The ridge subduction hypothesis provides a consistent explanation for the cessation of magmatic activity along the continental margin and the presence of an unconformity in the forearc basin. This is not only the case in southwestern Japan, but also along the more northern Asian margin in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Sikhote‐Alin. This Paleocene–early Eocene ridge subduction hypothesis is also consistent with recently acquired tomographic images beneath the Asian continent. The timing of the Izanagi–Pacific ridge subduction along the western Pacific margin allows for a revision of the classic hypothesis of a great reorganization of the Pacific Plate motion between ~ 47 Ma and 42 Ma, illustrated by the bend in the Hawaii–Emperor chain, because of the change in subduction torque balance and the Oligocene–Miocene back arc spreading after the ridge subduction in the western Pacific margin.     

华南晋宁期造山运动──地质年代学和地球化学制约

综合了前人和作者最新的地质年代学和地球化学研究成果,对华南晚元古代晋宁期造山运动的演化提供了化学地球动力学制约晚元古代早期（0．97－1．0Ga）的皖南、赣东北和桂北蛇绿岩在元素地球化学上具有相似的岛弧特征,但它们的Nd同位素组成明显不同新获得的高精度结石U－Ph年龄资料表明,桂北地区的本洞、三防和元宝山等三个主要花岗岩岩体均形成于820-825Ma,排除了本区有中元古代晚期花岗岩的存在．扬子南缘中元古代到三叠纪各个时代地层中的泥质沉积岩的TDM在晚元古代早期从约1．8Ga急剧降低至约1．3Ga,反映了这个时期的沉积物源区有大量新生馒源物质的加入．根据研究资料,提出了华南和扬子块体晋宁期陆-弧-陆碰撞模式     

Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb ages and trace element geochemistry of the Kuhai gabbro and the Dur’ngoi diorite in the southern east Kunlun tectonic belt,Qinghai, Western China and their geological implications

Timing of the intermediate-basic igneous rocks developed in the area of Kuhai-A’nyêmaqên along the southern east Kunlun tectonic belt is a controversial issue. This paper presents new zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating data for igneous zircons from the Kuhai gabbro and the Dur’ngoi diorite in the Kuhai-A’nyemaqen tectonic belt, which are 555±9 Ma and 493±6 Ma, respectively. The trace element geochemical features of the Kuhai gabbro and the Dur’ngoi diorite are similar to those of ocean island basalts (OIB) and island arc basalts (IAB), respectively. Thus, the Kuhai gabbro with the age of 555±9 Ma and OIB geochemical features is similar to the Yushigou oceanic ophiolite in the North Qilian orogen, whereas the Dur’ngoi diorite with the age of 493±6 Ma and IAB geochemical features is similar to the island arc volcanic rocks developed in the north Qaidam. The Late Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovician ophiolite complex in the area of Kuhai-A’nyêmaqên suggests that the southern margin of the “Qilian-Qaidam-Kunlun” archipelagic ocean in this period was located in the southern east Kunlun tectonic belt. Therefore, the southern east Kunlun tectonic belt in the early Paleozoic is not comparable to the Mianlüe tectonic belt in the Qinling orogenic belt.

     

基于双差定位法的鄂尔多斯块体西北缘地震精定位研究

针对鄂尔多斯块体西北缘地震活动的复杂性及目前台网定位方法存在偏差的问题,采用双差定位法对2009—2019年发生在鄂尔多斯块体西北缘的地震事件进行重新定位.经研究表明,双差定位之后地震分布更集中,鄂尔多斯块体西缘的地震沿银川吉兰泰断陷带分布,北缘的地震沿河套断陷带分布,地震定位精度明显提高,这与块体周缘复杂的地质构造背...     

Elastic thickness structure of South America estimated using wavelets and satellite-derived gravity data

We used a wavelet formulation of the classical spectral isostatic analysis to invert satellite-derived gravity and topography/bathymetry for elastic thickness (T_e) over South America and its surrounding plates. To provide a homogeneous representation of the gravity field for this vast region, we corrected free-air anomalies derived from a combination of terrestrial/marine gravity data with data from the GRACE and CHAMP satellite missions (model EIGEN-CG03C) by a simple Bouguer slab using a smoothed representation of surface relief (wavelengths > 125 km). The resulting Bouguer anomaly compares well with terrestrial data acquired in the Central Andes and allows T_e to be confidently estimated for values greater than 10 km. The T_e map resolves regional-scale features that are well-correlated with known surface structures and shows maximum values of 100 ± 15 km over the Archean–Neoproterozoic core of the continent, decreasing to less than 30 km around continental margins. Several regions of the oceanic plates and continental margins have an elastic thickness less than 10 km. We performed a quantitative analysis by comparing the elastic thickness with the thermal structure predicted from the age of oceanic crust and igneous–metamorphic rocks. This demonstrates that oceanic plates have been weakened by thermal interaction with hotspots and locally by fracturing and hydration near the trench. We observe that only the nucleus of the continent has resisted the thermomechanical weakening induced by the rifting of Africa and South America along the passive margin and the Andean orogeny along the active margin. This latter region shows along-strike variations in T_e that correlate with the geotectonic segmentation of the margin and with the pattern of crustal seismicity. Our results reveal that the rigidity structure follows the segmentation of the seismogenic zone along the subduction fault, suggesting a causal relationship that should be investigated in order to improve the understanding and predictability of great earthquakes and tsunamis.     

四川盆地东西陆块中下地壳结构存在差异

四川盆地是中上扬子克拉通的主要组成部分.作为我国三大稳定克拉通之一,扬子克拉通经历了自太古代以来的长期演化,直到新元古代晚期与华夏板块发生碰撞拼合前,一直被认为是一个稳定的统一陆块.基底包括了新太古宙-新元古代岩层,其上广泛被新元古代晚期至显生宙地层覆盖,仅有~2.9—2.95Ga基底岩石零星出露于四川盆地的西缘、西南缘和三峡地区,使得对于沉积盖层之下的中下地壳的性质和分布规模的认识十分有限.重力异常则能够宏观揭示区域结构特征.本文通过刨除沉积盖层和莫霍面起伏引起的重力异常而获得了中下地壳的重力异常,反映了四川盆地东西陆块中下地壳存在结构差异,结合深地震反射资料、航磁异常和地球化学资料,证实了该分界线位于重庆—华蓥一线,故而推测中上扬子克拉通在太古宙-古元古代可能存在东西两个陆核.     

Opening time and filling pattern of the Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin, western Yangtze Continent, South China

The Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin is a continental rift basin in the western Yangtze Continent. Determining its time of opening and subsequent filling pattern is an important aspect of understanding the formation and evolution of the Yangtze Continent, South China. The Luliang Formation is the early filling in the eastern part of this rift basin, and its deposition age and filling sequence are significant for studies of the regional stratigraphic correlation, opening time, and filling pattern of this basin. Having been correlated to the upper part of the Mesoproterozoic Kunyang Group or to the Neoproterozoic Chengjiang Formation, the age and regional stratigraphic correlation of the Luliang Formation have long been uncertain. This is due to a lack of reliable absolute age constraints. To address this issue, the first zircon SHRIMP U-Pb geochronology has been established for this formation, yielding two high-precision isotopic ages of 818.6±9.2 and 805±14 Ma for the tuff layers at the bottoms of the lower and upper members of the Luliang Formation, respectively. Given the error factor, the bottom age of the lower member of the Luliang Formation can be interpreted as ca. 820 Ma, corresponding to the bottom age of the lower part of the Banxi Group, which is the early filling of the Neoproterozoic Xianggui Rift Basin, a representative basin of the Neoproterozoic rift basins in the Yangtze Continent, South China. The bottom age of the upper member of the Luliang Formation can be interpreted as ca. 800±5 Ma, corresponding to the bottom age of the Chengjiang Formation in the western part of the Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin and also corresponding to the bottom age of the upper part of the Banxi Group in the Neoproterozoic Xianggui Rift Basin. These ages indicate that the Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin shares the same opening time and filling sequences as those of the other Neoproterozoic rift basins in South China. Basin analysis shows that the Neoproterozoic Kangdian Rift Basin is a typical half-graben basin, with its main boundary fault in the west and basin center in the east. This basin consisted of mini unidirectional half-graben basins in its juvenile stage and simplified to become a large united half-graben basin in its mature stage, i.e., a supradetachment basin.