Sedimentary characteristics and detrital zircon <scp>U–Pb</scp> isotopes of the Upper Permian–Lower Triassic strata in eastern Ordos Basin, Central North China

A series of tectonic activities induced by the subduction of the Palaeo‐Asian Ocean (PAO) in the Palaeozoic have been recorded in the North China Craton (NCC). Sedimentary strata provide some precious records to reconstruct the basin evolution in the NCC. In this study, we carried out detrital zircon LA‐ICP‐MS U–Pb dating, sandstone modal analysis, bulk‐rock major, and trace elemental measurements for the Sunjiagou and Liujiagou formations in the eastern Ordos Basin to trace the material source. The results show that the sedimentary rocks were mostly sourced from active continental margins. The detrital zircon ages of the Sunjiagou and Liujiagou formations spread from &gt;3,000 to 250 Ma with peaks of main age populations at 2,508, 1,890, 430, and 270 Ma. Based on the age comparison and the southward palaeocurrents, we consider that the source material of these sedimentary rocks comes from the northern margin of the NCC. This in turn indicates that the amalgamation of the PAO and the NCC should have finished at least by the end of the Late Permian.