Detrital Zircon Records and Tectono-Sedimentary Evolution of the Mesoproterozoic Changcheng Period Strata in the Ordos Rift Zone, Western North China Craton

The Meso-Neoproterozoic period is sometimes referred to as the “Boring Billion” or “Earth’s Middle Age,” spanning the time between the formation of the Columbia supercontinent and the Rodinia supercontinent. This period records a key transition in the supercontinent cycle, shaping the global tectonic regime and paleogeographic pattern. In this study, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) zircon U-Pb geochronological analysis was conducted on five sandstone samples from the Ordos Rift Zone in the western North China Craton to constrain the regional tectonic evolution and basin development processes. The detrital zircon ages can be divided into multiple age groups, with zircon grains older than 1.8 Ga derived from the basement of the North China Craton, while the younger zircon populations (< 1.8 Ga) are associated with Mesoproterozoic magmatic events. Through an integrated approach combining zircon geochronology, major and trace element analysis, and sandstone modal analysis, the tectonic setting and parent rock properties of the provenance area were identified. The tripartite sedimentary cycle of volcanic rocks, continental-margin clastic rocks, and marine carbonate rocks in the Changcheng Period of the Ordos Rift Zone was finely delineated, and the response times (2.0  Ga, 1.8  Ga, and 1.6  Ga) of the assembly, consolidation, and breakup processes of the Columbia supercontinent in the western North China Craton were calibrated, respectively. The results show that the vertical sedimentary sequence of the Changcheng System in the Ordos Rift Zone corresponds to the rift evolution stages, forming a tripartite evolutionary cycle of igneous rocks–continental-margin clastic rocks–marine carbonate rocks, which records the transition process of tectonic activity from intense to stable. Three distinct stages of basin evolution during 1.8–1.4 Ga were defined: the initial rift stage and the rift expansion stage correspond to the disintegration of the Columbia supercontinent (1.8–1.6 Ga), and the passive continental margin stage coincides with a slowdown of the late supercontinent breakup rate (1.6–1.4 Ga). The detailed characterization of the regional tectonic evolution and rift zone sedimentary filling process during the Changcheng Period in the Ordos Basin reveals the source‑to‑sink spatiotemporal sedimentary pattern controlled by the rift system, providing key constraints for the evolution of the western margin of the North China Craton during the Precambrian supercontinent transition and offering new insights into the response of the North China Craton to global-scale geodynamic processes.