Constraints on the late Mesozoic regional angular unconformity in West Liaoning-North Hebei by LA-ICP-MS dating

The angular unconformity between the Tuchengzi Formation and the Zhangjiakou Formation in the Chengde area is commonly regarded as the direct evidence of boundary between Jurassic and Cretaceous systems, and as the evidence of tectonic transformation interfaces in Mesozoic Era in the West Liaoning-North Hebei. Moreover, the lower boundary age of the Zhangjiakou Formation in the Chengde was to be thought about 135 Myr in the past. Based on the detailed study and systematic sampling in Yixian-Beipiao, Lingyuan, Chengde and Luanping areas in the field, the authors obtained the following isotopic ages by means of LA-ICP-MS dating: In the Lingyuan area, the Zhangjiakou Formation and the Yixian Formation are in angular unconformable contact; the age range of the Zhangjiakou Formation volcanic rock is from 133 to 130 Myr (seven samples), and that of the Yixian Formation volcanic rock is from 126 to 121 Myr (eleven samples). In the Luotuoshan of Chengde, the Tuchengzi Formation and the Zhangjiakou Formation are in angular unconformable contact; the age at the lower Zhangjiakou Formation is about 124 Myr (one sample), which reflects that the age range of the lower Zhangjiakou Formation is from 129 to 124 Myr combined with the previous study. In the Luanping basin, there is the largest sediment gap in upper Mesozoic, whose lower boundary age is confined in 131 to 130 Myr. In the Yixian-Beipiao area, the second Member of the Yixian Formation, making up more than 3/4 thickness of the Yixian Formation, was formed in 126 to 119 Myr, and the age of the Yixian Formation at the bottom is about 132 Myr. Moreover, the upper boundary age of the Tuchengzi Formation is about 136 Myr in the West Liaoning-North Hebei region. Based on the above isotopic data combined with the geological characteristics in the field in the West Liaoning-North Hebei region, it reflects that there was a widespread tectonic event in the period of 136 to 126 Myr (mainly in 130-126 Myr) in the West Liaoning-North Hebei, and it formed the late Mesozoic regional angular unconformity. Moreover, the lower boundary ages of the late Mesozoic regional angular unconformity in different areas are different, and the tectonics and the creature assemblage are different in the strata at the top and bottom of the regional angular unconformity. It implies that the late Mesozoic regional angular unconformity is a regional interface of tectonic transformation in Mesozoic Era in the West Liaoning-North Hebei. (C) 2008 National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited and Science in China Press. All rights reserved.