Dataset of detrital zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic compositions for the late Paleozoic–Mesozoic strata in the North China block

Abstract

The construction of databases of detrital zircon is important for Earth science research. A total of 27,915 U–Pb ages and 4,968 Hf isotopic compositions of detrital zircons from the upper Paleozoic–Mesozoic strata of the North China Block were compiled from articles in the Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure. This dataset yields five age groups, at 3.9–1.0 Ga, 1,000–540 Ma, 540–360 Ma, 360–240 Ma and 240–95 Ma. The 3.9–1.0 Ga group has two peaks at ~2.5 and ~ 1.85 Ga. The 1,000–540 Ma and 540–380 Ma groups have three peaks at ~920 Ma, 780–750 Ma and ~ 440 Ma. Detrital zircon grains with ages of 360–240 Ma have multiple age peaks at ~380, ~320, ~280 and ~250 Ma. The group with ages of 240–95 Ma yields four peak ages at ~220, ~180, ~160 and ~120 Ma. Corresponding εHf(t) values range from −81.3 to +41.9, with two-stage Hf model ages (T_DM2) of 4,335–204 Ma. This dataset provides a comprehensive and systematic archive of detrital zircon data for Paleozoic–Mesozoic successions in the North China Block, which can be used to track tectono-sedimentary and crustal evolution. In using this dataset, two issues need to be considered. First, the number of detrital zircon analyses from each sample varies markedly, which may influence the interpretation of the dataset. Second, there may be large uncertainties in the stratigraphic ages assigned to the samples.