Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Sedimentary Geology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sedgeo

Review

From static to dynamic provenance analysis—Sedimentary petrology upgraded

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The classical approach to sandstone petrology, established in the golden years of plate tectonics and based on the
Received 14 May 2015 axiom that “detrital modes of sandstone suites primarily reflect the different tectonic settings of provenance
Received in revised form 9 July 2015 terranes,” has represented a benchmark for decades. The composition of sand and sandstone, however, simply pro-
Accepted 22 July 2015
vides us with a distorted image of the lithological structure of source terranes and gives us little clue whether they
Available online 31 July 2015
are allochthonous or autochthonous, orogenic or anorogenic, young or old. What we may able to see reflected in de-
Keywords:
trital modes is the nature of source terranes (continental, arc, oceanic) and the tectonostratigraphic level reached by
Sandstone petrology erosion in space and time. The proposed new approach to the petrology of sand and sandstone (1) starts with a sim-
Unroofing trends ple classification scheme circulated since the 1960s, which is purely descriptive, objective, and free of ill-defined am-
Dickinson model biguous terms and (2) focuses on the nature and tectonostratigraphic level of source terranes. Further steps are
Bulk-sediment methods essential to upgrade provenance analysis. Acquiring knowledge from modern settings is needed to properly identify
Multi-mineral methods and wherever possible correct for physical and chemical processes introducing environmental and diagenetic bias
Single-mineral methods and thus address nature's complexities with adequate conceptual tools. Equally important is the integration of mul-
tiple techniques, ideally including bulk-sediment, multi-mineral, and single-mineral methods. Bulk-sediment pe-
trography remains the fundamental approach that allows us to capture the most precious source of direct
provenance information, represented by the mineralogy and texture of rock fragments. Bulk-sediment geochemis-
try, applicable also to silt and clay carried in suspension, is a superior method to check for hydraulic sorting, chem-
ical weathering, and fertility of detrital minerals in different sediment sources. Detrital geochronology,
thermochronology, and isotope geochemistry reveal the diverse time structures of source rocks and have become
necessary complementary techniques in modern provenance analysis. Inferences on geodynamic processes need
independent geological information and come last, but if tackled properly, they can lead us much farther than the
standard label obtained by using triangular diagrams uncritically as if they were infallible oracles.
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Complexity versus simplicity in provenance analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1. Starting from the simplicity of a descriptive classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2. Unraveling complexity by exploring modern Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. The integrated approach to provenance diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.1. Implicitly chosen grain-size windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2. Bulk-sediment methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3. Multi-mineral methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.4. Single-mineral methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4. The plate-tectonic paradigm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.1. From static to dynamic sedimentary petrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5. Tectonostratigraphic levels and unroofing trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.1. Unroofing of arc crust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.2. Unroofing of continental crust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5.3. Unroofing of oceanic lithosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.4. Mixed provenance in anorogenic settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.5. Mixed provenance in orogenic settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.6. The upgraded provenance model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

E-mail address: [email protected].

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.07.010
0037-0738/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
4 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13

6. Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

“Once you have accepted a theory and used it as a tool in your thinking, the ultimate risk is to find ourselves facing a sea of data without a
it is extraordinarily difficult to notice its flaws.” suitable vessel to sail. The rapid development of technological devices
[Kahneman, 2011, p. 277] should not make us feel that culture is superfluous, and thus induce us
to throw away the traditional keys to understanding.

1. Introduction 2. Complexity versus simplicity in provenance analysis

The origin of sedimentary petrology dates back to the late 19th French in origin and borrowed from the arts, the term “provenance” re-
century, with the invention of thin-section petrography by H.C. Sorby. fers to the succession of passages experienced by a work of art before
Provenance studies flourished in the first half of the 20th century, when reaching a museum or a private collection. Provenance analysis, an art by
P.D. Krynine – inspired in Moscow by the ideas of his teacher M.S. itself, is a thorny business (Zuffa, 1987; Weltje and von Eynatten, 2004).
Shvetsov – became the first strong advocate of tectonic control on sand- The primary signals imparted by source-rock lithologies undergo diverse
stone composition. A feverish activity in sedimentary petrology followed physical and chemical modifications during the sedimentary cycle, both
the first classification schemes proposed in the late 1940s (Krynine, 1948; before (“environmental bias”) and after deposition (“diagenetic bias”).
Pettijohn, 1954), and new classifications continued to proliferate through Physical and chemical processes produce fundamentally different
the 1950s and 1960s (McBride, 1963; Dott, 1964; Folk, 1980). Virtually all effects on sediment composition. The former complicate matters chiefly
of these were projected onto triangular diagrams, which force us to con- by distorting the primary signal and can be generally understood and
sider three parameters only at a time (quartz, feldspars, rock fragments, corrected for, whereas the latter may destroy a major and generally
or in other cases micas or “clay matrix"). The underlying conceptual unassessable part of the signal, which is thus virtually impossible to
schemes were not based on a thorough investigation of modern settings restore. Mechanical breakdown affects selectively the least durable
(Suttner, 1974) and did not benefit yet from the breakthrough of the unconsolidated sedimentary rock fragments (e.g., shale), but not sig-
plate-tectonic revolution. Major progress came with the work of nificantly most other framework grains (McBride and Picard, 1987;
Dickinson (1970), who a few years after Gazzi (1966) established opera- Garzanti et al., 2015a). Hydrodynamic sorting by size, density, and
tional rules to improve the reproducibility of detrital modes and showed shape controls intrasample and intersample variability, with effects
how to connect them with paleogeodynamic scenarios in a seemingly that can be identified and neutralized even in the extreme case of placer
straightforward univocal way (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979). The new lags (Garzanti et al., 2009).
paradigm hinged on the axiom that “detrital modes of sandstone suites Chemical weathering, negligible in cold or arid climates (Nesbitt and
primarily reflect the different tectonic settings of provenance terranes” Young, 1996; Potter et al., 2001; Garzanti et al., 2003), fosters develop-
(Dickinson, 1985, p. 333). A parallel, somewhat milder statement applied ment of thick soil profiles in hot humid climate, with prominent effects
to geochemical composition – echoing Crook (1974) – is Bhatia's (1983, (Garzanti et al., 2013a). Corrosion features of detrital minerals offer
p. 611) “close correlation exists between the geochemical composition important clues on their relative resistance to weathering (Velbel,
of sandstones and tectonic settings of sedimentary basins.” Such claims 2007; Andò et al., 2012) but tell us the state of what is preserved with-
reflect the enthusiasm of those years, when plate-tectonic theory finally out helping much to assess what was destroyed. Even quartz and zircon
made geologists aware of the fundamental controls of tectonic processes grains suffer from chemical dissolution, and there is no way to recalcu-
and seemed able to provide a fresh new explanation for each geological late accurately what is gone from what remains.
phenomenon. The power of suggestion was strong, and the enchantment Most drastic are the effects of post-depositional leaching, because the
persisted through time. Even though other schools refused to adopt the available time for chemical reactions is much longer, and intrastratal
same radical attitude and focused more on compositional modifications temperatures significantly higher. Many common heavy minerals are
during erosion, transport, and deposition (e.g., Suttner et al., 1981), sedi- chemically unstable during burial diagenesis and are dissolved exten-
mentary petrology has remained nailed to that vision for three decades, sively or even completely in sandstones older than the Plio-Pleistocene.
confirming that “knowledge is in the end based on acknowledgment” Pyroxene goes first, and next in succession, amphibole, epidote, titanite,
(Wittgenstein, 1974, #378). staurolite, and garnet; below 3–4 km, only zircon, tourmaline, rutile,
In provenance analysis, as in other fields, we may either trust a apatite, and Cr-spinel stand good chances to survive (Morton and
simplified model based on what is believed to be essential or surrender Hallsworth, 2007). In most ancient sandstones, heavy-mineral suites
to nature's baffling complexities and interpret each case as the unique consequently represent only the meager durable residue of the much
result of multiple competing causes, giving up the quest for a general richer and more varied original detrital population. The post-
theory (Paola and Leeder, 2011). To overcome such trade-off and to depositional dissolution of main framework grains may also be exten-
preserve the benefits that theory offers as a basis for interpretation sive, producing “diagenetic quartzarenites” in extreme cases (McBride,
(Weltje, 2012), we need to acknowledge that the lithological character- 1985). Burial diagenesis is not only an efficient serial killer. During lithi-
istics of parent rocks as inferred from detrital modes of a daughter sand- fication, cement and other authigenic phases may grow in abundance,
stone cannot be used blindly as a proxy for plate-tectonic setting. The distorting the original composition further, which represents a particu-
path leading from a handful of sand to a geodynamic scenario has larly serious problem for the interpretation of chemical analyses in the
long been known to be winding and fraught with difficulties (Basu, absence of careful petrographic observations. Moreover, chemical effects
1985; Johnsson, 1993). And yet, if we make the most of their great may be impossible to tell from those of recycling, a widespread phenom-
potential, then traditional petrographic methods can provide us with enon very hard to quantify for sandstone suites (Blatt, 1967; Dott, 2003).
a simple and very effective means to identify the nature and tecto-
nostratigraphy of source terranes, and thus with an unexcelled key 2.1. Starting from the simplicity of a descriptive classification
to track their erosional evolution through space and time. Whenever
basic tools such as the optical microscope are left aside in favor of To bring simplicity in the foreground, we must start anew from the
advanced efficient machines that produce a great deal of numbers on solid basis of accurate description and get rid of the encrustations of
a very minor and possibly non-representative fraction of the sediment, the past, including historical names such as “graywacke” or “arkose” still
 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13 5

Fig. 1. Simple descriptive petrographic classification for sands and sandstones. Following the nomenclature scheme introduced by Crook (1960) and Dickinson (1970), sands and sandstones
are classified according to their main components exceeding 10% QFL. An adjective reflecting the dominant rock-fragment type may be added freely (e.g., volcaniclastic, sedimentaclastic,
metamorphiclastic, ultramaficlastic; Ingersoll, 1983). The lithic pole L should include carbonate and chert grains. Shown to the upper right is the same diagram in logratio space (Weltje, 2006).

inexplicably in vogue in geological teaching and literature. The brute term be included freely in the definition by a suitable modifier reflecting the
graywacke, referring undecidedly at the same time to color (gray), texture most common rock-fragment group (e.g., volcaniclastic, carbonaticlastic,
(“matrix-rich,” poorly sorted, angular), composition (lithic-rich but con- metamorphiclastic, ultramaficlastic; Ingersoll, 1983).
taining quartz and feldspar as well), sedimentary process (typically turbi- A ready objection is that the limited number of variables allowed by
dite), and even age (typically Paleozoic), has generated permanent graphical displays (three by the equilateral triangle, four by the equilat-
confusion since the early days of its introduction (Murchison, 1854, p. eral tetrahedron projected on the plane) cannot render justice to the
359; Folk, 1954; Krynine, 1956; Cummins, 1962; Dott, 1964; Dickinson, richness of detrital suites, including a great variety of rock fragments,
1970). Following Folk (1980, p. 128), a “graywacke” is nothing else than feldspars, and accessory minerals. To visualize a virtually unlimited
“a very hard, ugly, dirty, dark rock that you can't tell much about in number of variables in bidimensional space, we may recur then to the
field.” Arkose is at best an unnecessary ambiguous synonym of feldspar- biplot (Gabriel, 1971). This very efficient statistical/graphical tool
rich sandstone (Huckenholz, 1963). The attachment to such fantasy helps us not only to discriminate among sample groups but also to
names with the idea that “genesis must and does permeate our classifica- understand the mutual relationships among variables. Parameters
tion” (Pettijohn, 1948, p. 113) retarded analytical investigation by invol- other than compositions and of heterogeneous nature can be plotted
untarily promoting mythic thinking (sensu, Dickinson, 2003). Claiming as well (e.g., grain size in μm, distance from the source in km, time in
that genesis should be the basis for understanding is pretending to Ma), but the chosen scales of measurement have an impact on the
know beforehand what we want to investigate. Whenever we use “judg- graphical display. The biplot uses the logarithmic transformation and
ments as principles of judgment,” we soon find ourselves “going round in thus requires that data are all positive (i.e., all zero values in the entry
a circle” (Wittgenstein, 1974, #124 AND #191). table should be replaced by a suitably small positive number). The prin-
The simplest nomenclature, introduced by Crook (1960, p. 425) and cipal disadvantage is that each addition of a variable or of a sample
endorsed by Dickinson (1970, p. 697) and Weltje (2006), characterizes modifies the biplot. Provenance fields of reference, therefore, cannot
sands and sandstones by an adjective reflecting the relative abundance be defined as done commonly with Cartesian or triangular diagrams.
of their three main components (quartz, feldspars, lithic fragments). Ac-
cessory phyllosilicates or heavy minerals, generally less abundant and 2.2. Unraveling complexity by exploring modern Earth
markedly affected by hydraulic-sorting processes because of their platy
shape or high density, are neglected to reduce complexity and come clos- Our chance of making correct provenance diagnoses becomes small
er to a transport-invariant measure of sediment composition (Weltje, when geological age blurs our landmarks, and the complexity of natural
2004). The scheme proposed here (Fig. 1) is based on QFL detrital systems confounds us in a labyrinth of possibilities. The only hope to
modes obtained by the Gazzi–Dickinson point-counting method carry out the task successfully is to learn as much as we can from mod-
(Ingersoll et al., 1984; Zuffa, 1985), modified to record in full detail all en- ern cases, where we do not have to worry about the superposed effects
countered rock fragments, which is where the richest and most direct of diagenesis and full geological and geomorphological information on
provenance information lies (Suttner and Basu, 1985; Garzanti and source terranes and sediment-routing systems is available, thus provid-
Vezzoli, 2003). To define aphanitic lithic fragments (L pole) – including ing suitable conditions in which each control on sediment composition
all volcanic, ultramafic, metamorphic, and sedimentary types and thus can be identified and individually quantified (Ingersoll, 1990; Le Pera
also chert, limestone, and dolostone – we use the same 62.5 μm cutoff and Critelli, 1997). The study of modern settings helps us to perceive
(conventional boundary between silt and sand) as Dickinson (1970), the complexities of source-to-sink dispersal paths and the difficulties
whereas Gazzi (1966) proposed originally a 30 μm cutoff (boundary involved in the reconstruction of ancient landscapes (Allen, 2008;
between particles with cohesive and frictional behavior). The main com- Hinderer, 2012). Only by comparison with the modern can we under-
ponents, considered only where exceeding 10%QFL, are listed in order of stand and correct for hydraulic-sorting effects, evaluate the importance
abundance (e.g., in a quartzo-feldspatho-lithic sand L N F N Q N 10%QFL, of weathering and recycling, realize the uncertainties and potential
in a feldspatho-lithic sand L N F N 10%QFL N Q). Because there are as pitfalls nested in our thinking, and ultimately avoid moving in circle in
many rock-fragment types as rocks, useful additional information can the attempt to confirm our prejudices.
6 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13

3. The integrated approach to provenance diagnosis Traditional petrography is by far the most straightforward, cheap,
and efficient means to determine the mineralogical and textural para-
The best strategy to tackle complexity is to combine a diversified set meters characterizing the sand-sized sediment under examination.
of analytical methods and provenance tracers (Najman, 2006). Different Rich information on parent rocks is revealed directly by the detailed
techniques provide distinct points of view, from which disparate details study of rock fragments, which provide us with a firm basis for prove-
of the general picture can be revealed. Only by the painstaking careful nance diagnosis. In particular, the rigorous definition and systematic
integration of such diverse complementary pieces of information can determination of metamorphic rank for each counted metapelite, meta-
we hope to get a glimpse of the entire landscape. psammite, and metabasite rock fragment allows us to estimate the aver-
age metamorphic grade of parent rocks (MI index of Garzanti and
3.1. Implicitly chosen grain-size windows Vezzoli, 2003), and hence the crustal level reached by erosion in source
areas (Garzanti et al., 2006, 2010b). Although the recent tendency is to
Terrigenous sediments range from clay to boulders, spanning many rely more and more on sophisticated instruments for the collection of
orders of magnitude (i.e., from few microns to several meters). There numerical datasheets, the use of valuable data-acquisition machinery
is hardly a single method applicable to such a huge spectrum of does not automatically lead to valuable science, and basic examination
grain sizes. While choosing a certain analytical approach, we must re- of thin sections under the microscope remains very necessary.
main fully aware that we have consequently restricted our focus to the One microscope and thin sections are often enough to look at a sand-
limited – sometimes very limited – part of the grain-size spectrum sized sediment or sedimentary rock and unveil many of its secrets, even
that can be investigated by the chosen technique. The harder we work though the famed Kryninism “give me one thin section and I'll give you
on that size window, the easier it becomes to forget that we are in the the story of the Appalachian geosyncline” (Bates and Griffiths, 1971) is
meantime disregarding the rest. received as an obvious overstatement. There are quite a few important
Most techniques work well on sand only. Gravel must be generally provenance features that petrography cannot capture. Without the
tackled in the field, with limited means. Muds and mudstones, re- help of detrital geochronology, nothing is seen of the time structures
presenting the largest part of the sedimentary record (Blatt, 1985), are of source terranes, and we cannot guess whether they are young or
hardly dealt with by optical methods or single-grain techniques, and geo- old, allochthonous or autochthonous, and thus orogenic or anorogenic.
chemistry, X-ray diffraction, or Raman spectroscopy are generally used to There is no ready way to discriminate detritus derived from sections
monitor suspended load, which makes up the bulk of fluvial sediment of continental crust exposed along a rifted margin or incorporated
transport (Bangs Rooney and Basu, 1994; Andò et al., 2011; Bouchez tectonically in the external belt of an orogen, from neometamorphic
et al., 2011). Geochemistry is the only flexible technique that can be or paleometamorphic sources within the same orogen, from a neo-
equally employed on clay, silt, sand, and granules and therefore on most metamorphic axial belt or an old cratonic crust, from recent or old
components of the sediment flux (von Eynatten et al., 2012). Bulk petrog- ophiolitic sutures, from active neovolcanic and inactive paleovolcanic
raphy has a more limited range, being well suited to sand-sized sediments arcs or anorogenic volcanic fields. Geodynamic setting, therefore,
only. Information quality and analytical precision decrease quickly from cannot be inferred directly from detrital modes of sand and sandstone.
very fine sand to very coarse silt, and little can be done on cohesive Bulk-sediment geochemistry represents a suitable complementary
mud. Very coarse sand and fine gravel are suited only for the detailed approach, and the wide spectrum of chemical elements and their differ-
analysis of rock fragments because thin sections are too small to contain ent behavior provide invaluable information in sediment-generation
a representative sample of such coarse clasts. Pebbles, cobbles, and boul- studies. The abundance of ultradense species (e.g., zircon) can be calcu-
ders have to be studied one by one, which may provide precious informa- lated approximately from the concentration of elements hosted princi-
tion on the lithologies that yield specific detrital minerals, on the orogenic pally in that mineral (e.g., Zr, Hf), which makes geochemistry a most
versus anorogenic geochemical affinity of volcanic parent rocks, or on the efficient tool to assess the fertility of different sediment sources
age and exhumation histories of plutonic and metamorphic source ter- (Dickinson, 2008) as well as hydraulic-sorting effects leading to the
ranes (Bluck et al., 2006; Dunkl et al., 2009; Spalla et al., 2009). Where anomalous concentration of such minerals in different samples or size
sandstone clasts occur, within-clast point-counting is essential in the classes (Garzanti et al., 2010a, 2011). Most chemical elements, however,
study of recycling (Garzanti et al., 2013b; Limonta et al., 2015). are hosted in significant proportions in diverse detrital minerals, which
Heavy-mineral analyses can be performed down to medium silt size blurs the geochemical fingerprint of specific sources while detritus gets
under the optical microscope, and almost in the entire silt range with progressively homogenized during downstream transport in higher-
the help of Raman spectroscopy (Andò and Garzanti, 2014). Single- order rivers to the sea (Ingersoll, 1990; Garzanti et al., 2014). Moreover,
mineral techniques are applied to a more limited part of the grain-size those primary signals may be effaced by orders-of-magnitude stronger
spectrum (typically very coarse silt to lower medium sand; Lawrence hydrodynamic effects, and bulk-sediment geochemistry is thus general-
et al., 2011; von Eynatten and Dunkl, 2012). Focusing on one single ly revealed as a rather blunt tool for provenance diagnosis. A happy ex-
detrital-mineral population (e.g., zircons), representing a minimal part ception is represented by elements hosted preferentially in mafic and
of a minor part of the total sediment flux (e.g., sand bedload), brings ultramafic rocks (i.e., Cr, Ni and to a lesser extent Mg; von Eynatten
on the risk of ignoring the bulk of what lies out there in nature et al., 2003), which carry a signal commonly strong enough to survive
(Weltje and von Eynatten, 2004). downcurrent homogenization and environmental bias (Amorosi, 2012;
Garzanti et al., 2012). Sediment geochemistry is also widely used to
3.2. Bulk-sediment methods infer the extent of chemical weathering (Nesbitt and Young, 1982;
Price and Velbel, 2003; Borges et al., 2008; Shao et al., 2012), although
Because of the limitations implicit in any technique, in most prove- weathering, hydrodynamic, grain size, and provenance effects must
nance studies we end up to analyze sets of sediment samples that may be detangled carefully to avoid misinterpretations (Bloemsma et al.,
be scarcely representative of the entire spectrum of grain sizes contained 2012; Garzanti and Resentini, 2016-in this volume; von Eynatten et al.,
in the total sediment flux. To avoid making things worse by analyzing 2016-in this volume). The extensive dissolution of unstable minerals
sub-samples not even representative of the sample from which they and massive precipitation of cements and authigenic material during
were extracted, bulk-sample approaches should be the starting point of burial diagenesis may considerably reduce the usefulness of bulk-
any provenance investigation. Taking into account the largest possible sediment geochemistry in the provenance study of ancient sandstones.
fraction of total transported sediment is a pre-requisite to avoid the pit- Isotope ratios (e.g., 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd) provide important infor-
falls of source-rock fertility and to calculate sufficiently accurate sediment mation on crustal evolution (Goldstein and Jacobsen, 1988) and are gen-
budgets from which average erosion rates can be derived. erally less sensitive to environmental and diagenetic bias. The relative
 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13 7

sediment contribution from two sources with very distinct isotopic fin- provenance interpretations and in the correct assessment of recycling,
gerprints can be assessed accurately, but where detritus is derived from hydraulic, and diagenetic processes. The distortive fertility effect related
multiple tectonic domains with overlapping signatures, as commonly is to the different potential of different rock types to generate heavy min-
the case in orogenic settings or large river systems, then single isotopic ra- erals must always be taken into full account in the interpretation of
tios give equivocal responses and can serve us at best to check provenance heavy-mineral suites, which tend to document aberrantly a limited
estimates made independently with other methods (Clift et al., 2002; number of sources (e.g., mafic igneous and metamorphic rocks), where-
Padoan et al., 2011). Moreover, we must decipher the relative role played as several others are barely recorded (limestone, chert, shale, granite). In
by the detrital minerals that control the isotopic budget of bedload and the absence of significant weathering and diagenesis, mafic rocks may
suspended load in fluvial systems (Garçon et al., 2014). thus impose their mark on the heavy-mineral spectrum even where
their outcrops are sparse (Fig. 1 in Garzanti and Andò, 2007a).
3.3. Multi-mineral methods
3.4. Single-mineral methods
A complete panorama of the great potential of heavy-mineral stud-
ies is provided in the monumental book by Mange and Wright (2007) An excellent comprehensive synthesis of the advanced techniques
and in the detailed updated review by Morton (2012). The investigation and target minerals used in modern provenance analysis is provided
of multi-mineral suites reveals crucial provenance information for in von Eynatten and Dunkl (2012). Minerochemical methods can be
paleotectonic reconstructions (e.g., Dewey, 2005), especially if coupled applied to any detrital species displaying significant compositional var-
with petrographic observations. Two fundamental aspects for the iability, whereas geochronological and thermochronological methods
correct description and interpretation of heavy-mineral assemblages, are limited to the narrower range of suitable minerals containing unsta-
whether they are analyzed optically or by more advanced techniques ble isotopes. Fractionation by physical or chemical processes is less
(e.g., microprobe, QemScan), are however overlooked frequently. fastidious in the case of single-mineral approaches because size, shape,
The first aspect concerns the practical need to select a specific grain- density, and chemical durability vary less within a single-mineral popu-
size window for analysis wherever the presence of detrital grains with lation than within the entire detrital population.
great size differences makes laboratory procedures troublesome After the advent of detrital geochronology and thermochronology,
(Mange and Maurer, 1992). Under the wrong implicit assumption that we can now investigate the diverse time structures of source terranes
grain-size classes represent transport-invariant subpopulations, and (Vermeesch et al., 2009), a powerful complement to the traditional
with the illusion that narrowing the size-window increases consistency petrographic or geochemical approaches that provide information on
whereas in fact it is prone to maximize bias, several authors recom- the lithological structure of parent rocks only. Zircon, widespread in
mended to analyze a single class not more than 1ϕ or even only 0.5ϕ recycled sands and diagenized sandstones because of its durability, is
wide (125–250 μm, Carver, 1971; 63–125 μm, Morton, 1985; 90–125 μm, the most commonly targeted mineral. U-Pb age spectra of detrital
Bateman and Catt, 2007). Because high-density minerals settle at the zircons reflect the crystallization ages of exposed magmatic and
same velocity of – and hence are deposited together with – much coarser metamorphic rocks, whereas their fission-track age and length distribu-
low-density or platy minerals, the former concentrate in the fine tail of any tions – if not reset after deposition – are related to exhumation mode
sorted sediment, the latter in the coarse tail (Rubey, 1933; Garzanti et al., and timing in parent-rock domains. Zircon-rich felsic rocks, however,
2008). The different grain-size classes of a sorted sediment, therefore, will show up much better than zircon-poor ones even though their out-
have notably different composition, and bulk-sample or multiple- crop area or erosion rate are limited, and other source rocks will not
window analyses represent the only correct options to estimate the per- show up at all, including basalt, serpentinite, carbonate, or chert. Be-
centages of detrital minerals accurately. Provenance diagnoses or cause of zircon durability, age spectra may remain unchanged through
stratigraphic correlations cannot be made any more accurate at either successive recycling episodes and consequently homogeneous in time
local or regional scale by considering a homogeneously narrow size and space, ceasing to be useful provenance tracers (Garzanti et al.,
range for a texturally inhomogeneous suite of terrigenous rocks. To 2013c). And even zircon populations may be fractionated by hydrody-
minimize analytical bias, well-sorted sands should be analyzed in namic processes (Lawrence et al., 2011).
bulk, whereas the widest possible size-window centered about the The most insidious peril of single-mineral approaches is that the re-
mean should be chosen for poorly sorted sediments (Garzanti et al., searcher may end up to believe that “what he sees is all there is”
2009). Point-counting techniques are highly recommended for heavy- (Kahneman, 2011, p. 85). Provenance inferences obtained from a single
mineral analyses carried out on bulk-samples or wide grain-size mineral cannot be extrapolated to the bulk sediment unless its fertility
windows. This is because the discrepancy between the real volume in all potential sources is known accurately (Moecher and Samson,
percentages and the number percentages as determined by grain 2006; Malusà et al., submitted for publication), which is hardly ever
counting increases with the increasing width of the grain-size window the case. Zircon has exceptionally useful properties, but its average con-
analyzed, and volume percentages are systematically overestimated for tent in sediments is only 2 grains out of 10,000 (roughly corresponding
denser minerals that are smaller than settling-equivalent lower-density to 200 ppm of Zr in the upper continental crust; Taylor and McLennan,
minerals (Galehouse, 1971). Image analysis represents a useful comple- 1995). By focusing on zircon exclusively, we shall miss information
mentary technique to tackle such operational problems. from the remaining 99.98% of the sample. Exploring a very minor por-
The second aspect concerns the need to estimate not only the relative tion of the explorable may not turn out to be the clever strategy.
abundance of diverse heavy minerals but also their absolute abundance While a powerful beam of light illuminates a small detail, the rest of
(i.e., their concentration in the bulk sample; Garzanti and Andò, the picture remains in darkness.
2007a). The concentration (and not just the spectrum) of heavy minerals
in a sedimentary deposit depends on the composition of parent rocks 4. The plate-tectonic paradigm
and increases by more than an order of magnitude during progressive
unroofing of denser rocks found at deeper-seated crustal levels The plate-tectonic revolution of the 1960s and 1970s offered a new
(Garzanti et al., 2006). Equally drastic modifications of their elegant conceptual framework and opened up novel ways to explore
concentration (as well as of their spectrum) may occur by selective the history of continents and oceans. Past geodynamic scenarios could
entrainment of low-density grains in the depositional environment now be unveiled by trace-element signatures of igneous rocks (Pearce
(Garzanti et al., 2010a), or by selective leaching of unstable species and Cann, 1973; Winchester and Floyd, 1977), and the intuition that
during diagenesis (Gazzi, 1965; Andò et al., 2012). The concentration of the same could be done with the compositional signature of terrigenous
heavy minerals (as well as their spectrum) is therefore per se crucial in sediments inspired the outstanding contribution of the Dickinson
8 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13

Fig. 2. Composition of modern sands generated along divergent plate margins (after Garzanti et al., 2001, 2013a, 2013c, 2014, 2015a, 2015b plus unpublished data; the lithic pole L includes
carbonate and chert grains). These four data sets, covering passive margins sands around southern Africa, much of the East Africa and Red Sea-Levant rift system from Botswana to Syria
and the entire Nile catchment, demonstrate that detrital modes cannot be used as a proxy for plate-tectonic setting. (A) Anorogenic and orogenic sands overlap extensively and cannot be
discriminated by their QFL modes. (B) Sands of dissected continental block provenance are controlled strictly by climate-related weathering. Sands of undissected to transitional continental
block provenance may plot in the recycled orogen field. The anorogenic volcanic and magmatic arc fields overlap completely. (C) Quartzo-feldspatho-lithic suspended load derived from
Ethiopian volcanic highlands mixes with feldspatho-quartzose bedload shed by crystalline basement exposed in the Blue Nile catchment; quartzose White Nile sands are coarser than
volcaniclastic Atbara sediments. Main Nile sediments thus overlap all three Dickinson's (1985) provenance subdivisions, depending on their grain size: silty levees plot in the magmatic
arc field (MA), fine bar sands in the recycled orogen field (RO), and medium bar sands in the continental block field (CB). (D) Sediments eroded from rift shoulders are mixtures in virtually
all proportions of detritus from crystalline basement (dissected continental block provenance), sedimentary covers (undissected continental block provenance), and volcanic fields
(anorogenic volcanic provenance).

school in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as various geochemical studies ancient plate-tectonic settings could be testified univocally by - and
(Bhatia, 1983; Roser and Korsch, 1986). The hope that the mark of thus inferred unequivocally from - detrital modes of sandstones gave

Fig. 3. Composition of modern sands generated along convergent plate margins (after Garzanti et al., 2007; the lithic pole L includes carbonate and chert grains). The five primary types of
orogenic provenance overlap widely on the QFL plot, which forbids its uncritical use as an oracle. The key information lies in the rock fragments. A quick glance at the microscope is
sufficient to discriminate volcaniclastic to plutoniclastic sands of magmatic arc provenance, basalticlastic to ultramaficlastic sands of Ophiolite provenance, metamorphiclastic sands of
Axial Belt provenance, sedimentaclastic to basementaclastic sands of continental block provenance, and lithic to quartzose sands of recycled clastic provenance. Grey arrows highlight
unroofing trends for each provenance. Fields after Dickinson (1985): MA = magmatic arc; CB = continental block; RO = recycled orogen. Colored scale bars are all 250 μm.
E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13 9
10 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13

rise to great scientific interest and a boom of sandstone-petrology stud- dynamic approach (Garzanti et al., 2001, 2002b, 2004, 2010b). Consider-
ies in successive years. By emphasizing plate-tectonic control, however, ing the evolution of source areas in time provides us with a richer per-
the new model pushed to the background the compositional modifica- spective in provenance analysis, leading us to examine the stratigraphic
tions induced by physical and chemical processes during the sedimen- record carefully and to look for the trace of eroding source terranes
tary cycle and all details of sediment generation. Moreover, the within changing paleogeographic scenarios (e.g., table 2 in Garzanti
geodynamic framework of reference was conceptually simplified to et al., 2012).
the point that disillusion inevitably followed, and in successive decades, To make a step forward, however, some of the tenets on which the
petrographic methods were progressively abandoned in favor of more classic paradigm is based need to be abandoned. First of all, the illusion
sophisticated approaches in the quest of those magical solutions that that sediment composition is controlled strictly by plate-tectonic set-
traditional techniques seemed unable to provide. ting, whereas in reality sediment composition simply provides us with
Criticism of the model came early but was largely limited to specific a distorted image of the lithological structure of source terranes. Second,
exceptions (Mack, 1984) rather than on more substantial flaws, such as the illusion that sediments generated in different settings should plot
the oversimplification of orogenic domains and the disregard of rift- diligently in separate places within a QFL diagram, whereas in reality
related settings, anorogenic volcanism, and ophiolitic sources. Carbon- they simply do not (Figs. 2, 3).
ate rock fragments, widespread in all but the wettest monsoonal and
equatorial climates (Zuffa, 1985, 1987), were largely neglected. Chert 5. Tectonostratigraphic levels and unroofing trends
was considered typical of Subduction Complex provenance, which is
contradicted by studies of modern depositional systems (Garzanti The idea that sediment composition is primarily controlled by the
et al., 2002a, 2013b). But above all, sandstone petrography alone cannot tectonostratigraphic level undergoing erosion in the source area was
tell us the age of igneous or metamorphic source rocks, or whether they first expressed clearly by Krynine (1948), who envisaged the continental
are allochthonous or autochthonous. Orogenic and anorogenic prove- crust as consisting of three layers: sediments on top, metamorphic rocks
nances, therefore, can hardly be discriminated (Fig. 2), and geodynamic and veins next, and plutonic igneous rocks at depth. With increasing
setting cannot be univocally inferred from detrital modes of sandstones. amounts of tectonic activity (and/or time), these successively deeper
Another major problem with the Dickinson model is that it was built layers are brought to the surface and act as a source for sediments, yield-
mostly on ancient sandstone suites, more than 80% and 90% of clastic ing in succession “quartzite,” lithic-rich “graywacke,” and feldspar-rich
units considered respectively in Dickinson and Suczek (1979) and “arkose” (Folk, 1980, p. 108). A similar partition is found in continental
Dickinson et al. (1983) being older than the Neogene. Because ancient block provenance, subdivided by Dickinson and Suczek (1979, p. 2175)
geodynamic settings are assumed rather than known, the model is part- into craton interior subprovenance characterized by quartzose sand
ly based on circular reasoning. The rigorous analysis by Weltje (2006), with low P/F ratio, and uplifted basement subprovenance characterized
following that of Molinaroli et al. (1991), shows that the identified con- by quartzo-feldspathic sand. The occurrence of more lithic sand wherever
tinental block, magmatic arc, and recycled orogen provenances can be erosion fails to completely remove supracrustal sedimentary or metamor-
distinguished by Dickinson's plots with a success rate of only 64% to phic rocks overlying crystalline basement was acknowledged, and transi-
78%. These considerations indicate clearly that, despite its fame and tional continental subprovenance formalized later on (Dickinson et al.,
faithful application in so many provenance studies, the model cannot 1983). These three subdivisions, broadly equivalent to Krynine's and con-
be used blindly as an oracle (and even less as a classification). firmed by studies of modern rift settings, define an unroofing trend
The mistake, however, does not reside in the model but rather in its (Garzanti et al., 2001). To emphasize this aspect, the corresponding labels
uncritical use. Models are not meant to be infallible, but just conceptual “undissected,” “transitional,” and “dissected” can be used also for conti-
tools built because they are easier to handle than nature itself (Borges, nental block provenance, and not for magmatic arc provenance only.
1960). As for spherical cows (Paola and Leeder, 2011), we should appre- Not only arc crust (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979) or continental crust
ciate the theoretical simplification rather than taking them as gospel (Garzanti et al., 2006), but even ophiolitic allochthons including oceanic
truth. Dickinson himself (1985, p. 351; 1988, p. 9) advised to use ternary crust and underlying mantle can be envisaged as a progressively erod-
diagrams as graphical devices to illustrate mixing of detritus from diverse ing multilayer source of sediment (Ophiolite provenance; Garzanti
end-member sources rather than rigidly as discrimination oracles of uni- et al., 2002b). The expected petrofacies successions associated with
versal validity. Such a flexible creative approach allows us to describe sed- unroofing of deeper tectonostratigraphic levels in these three distinct
iment mixing in space and time (Dickinson, 1985, pp. 352–354), thus cases define the building blocks of the dynamic provenance model pre-
moving forward from the standard choice of a static paleogeographic sce- sented here in its essence. How to deal with the complexities caused by
nario to the methodical definition of unroofing trends reflecting the dy- mixing of sediments with different provenances in anorogenic and oro-
namic evolution of diverse crustal sources (Fig. 3). genic settings will be briefly discussed next.

4.1. From static to dynamic sedimentary petrology 5.1. Unroofing of arc crust

The seminal article by Dickinson and Suczek (1979) opened the door As envisaged in the simplest way, arc crust consists of andesitic
for plate tectonics to enter the field of sedimentology, and plate-tectonic volcanic covers made of vitric groundmass, plagioclase, and pyroxenes,
control on sediment composition has remained the dominant paradigm overlying tonalitic/granodioritic batholiths made of quartz, plagioclase,
for the subsequent decades. The model works excellently for magmatic K-feldspar, biotite, and hornblende. Ideal unroofing trends are thus char-
arcs, the geodynamic setting most thoroughly investigated in successive acterized by a progressive increase in quartz, K-feldspar, and hornblende
years (Marsaglia and Ingersoll, 1992 and references therein). Magmatic at the expense of volcanic lithics and pyroxenes, with consequent transi-
arcs are relatively easy to model as commonly isolated simple systems. tion from feldspatho-lithic volcaniclastic sand rich in pyroxenes
The classical unroofing trend from volcaniclastic to plutoniclastic detritus (undissected magmatic arc provenance) to quartzo-feldspathic
associated with progressive deepening of erosion into the arc massif, de- plutoniclastic sand rich in amphibole (dissected magmatic arc prove-
fined originally in the Great Valley forearc sequence (Dickinson and Rich, nance; Marsaglia and Ingersoll, 1992; Garzanti and Andò, 2007b).
1972; Ingersoll, 1983), confirmed subsequently its validity even in more
complex orogenic settings (Garzanti et al., 1996). Such an application of 5.2. Unroofing of continental crust
triangular diagrams to predict changing detrital modes during unroofing
of the source terrane (e.g., Fig. 3 in Dickinson, 1985) indicated the way to Continental crust has a heterogeneous polymetamorphic structure
tackle other anorogenic and orogenic provenances with the same inherited from a series of previous orogenic cycles. It can be idealized
 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13 11

as a tectonostratigraphic multilayer composed, from top to bottom, of belts, Indo-Burman-type subduction complexes). These are not just vari-
unmetamorphosed cover strata, upper-crustal anchimetamorphic to ants within a single orogenic spectrum but represent different geological
greenschist-facies metasediments, middle-crustal amphibolite-facies objects generated by subduction processes with different geometry and
gneisses and granitoids, and lower-crustal granulites and mafic involving plates of different nature (continental or oceanic) in the foot-
intrusions. Metamorphic grade, rock density, abundance of plutonic wall or hanging wall. Consequently, they are made of different materials
protoliths, and ratio of mafic to felsic products all tend to increase and shed sediments with different composition. Second, orogens are
from shallower to deeper tectonostratigraphic levels (Handy, 1990). seen as resulting from the juxtaposition and superposition of a limited
Sands derived from continental blocks have been classically thought number of tectonic domains arranged in subparallel linear belts that joint-
of as consisting chiefly of quartz and feldspar and thus fundamentally dis- ly contribute mixed detritus to the associated sedimentary basins
tinguished according to their quartz/feldspar ratio, which increases with (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979, p. 2176). Five types of such elongated geo-
weathering or recycling and decreases with active tectonic uplift (Folk, logical domains can be identified as the primary building blocks of all
1980, pp. 130–133; Dickinson, 1985). Sands released from supracrustal composite orogens (magmatic arcs, obducted or accreted ophiolites,
rocks, however, may range from quartzose to lithic sedimentaclastic neometamorphic axial belts, accreted remnants of rifted continental mar-
(Fig. 2), including a variety of rock-fragment types and very poor heavy- gins, and accreted clastic wedges), each producing predictable detrital
mineral suites dominated by zircon, tourmaline, and rutile (undissected modes, heavy-mineral assemblages and unroofing trends (Fig. 3). Such
continental block provenance). Mid-crustal crystalline basements shed five primary provenances (magmatic arc, ophiolite, axial belt, continental
instead feldspatho-quartzose to quartzo-feldspathic sand with rich block, and recycled clastic) can be recombined to describe the full com-
hornblende-dominated suites (dissected continental block provenance). plexities of mixed detrital signatures produced by erosion of different
The metamorphic index (MI) increases steadily when and where erosion types of orogenic prisms.
cuts deeper into the crustal multilayer (Garzanti et al., 2006).
5.6. The upgraded provenance model
5.3. Unroofing of oceanic lithosphere
The provenance model presented here considers several essential
Tectonically accreted or obducted sections of oceanic lithosphere that
aspects neglected in the Dickinson model (i.e., rift-related settings,
escaped subduction and orogenic metamorphism consist of thin abyssal
anorogenic volcanism, ophiolitic allochthons, and recycling), but in-
siliceous oozes mantling pillow basalts made of vitric groundmass, plagio-
cludes only six (three more) primary provenance types (continental
clase laths and pyroxene, overlying in turn diabase dykes yielding epidote
block, magmatic arc, ophiolite, axial belt, anorogenic volcanic, and
and actinolite grown during oceanic metamorphism. The underlying
recycled clastic). Continental block and recycled clastic provenances
gabbros or gabbro-norites, with small plagiogranite bodies at the top
are common to both anorogenic and orogenic settings because detrital
and ultramafic cumulates at the base, are mostly made of calcic plagio-
modes cannot distinguish between autochthonous and allochthonous
clase, pyroxenes, hornblende and olivine. Commonly harzburgitic mantle
continental crust, and because recycling may occur along both divergent
peridotites represent the base of the ophiolitic multilayer. During
and convergent plate margins. Recycled orogen provenance is dropped
unroofing, feldspatho-lithic basalticlastic sand rich in lathwork volcanic
in favor of Axial Belt provenance, which has a more restricted definition
grains and pyroxene (undissected ophiolite provenance) is ideally re-
(Garzanti et al., 2010b).
placed by lithic ultramaficlastic sand dominated by lizardite-serpentinite
The dynamic upgraded model allows for progressive changes of
rock fragments and rich in enstatite, olivine and minor Cr-spinel (dissect-
sediment mineralogy in space and time during the erosional evolution
ed ophiolite provenance; Garzanti et al., 2002b). Orthopyroxene-phyric
of the same source area. The trends of unroofing defined for different
boninite grains may be common in detritus from undissected
primary provenances show wide overlap on the QFL diagram (Fig. 3),
suprasubduction-zone ophiolites (Fig. 3; Garzanti et al., 2000).
and several converge toward quartzo-feldspathic and hornblende-rich
“ideal arkose” resulting from erosion of mid-crustal granitoid rocks
5.4. Mixed provenance in anorogenic settings
similarly exposed in dissected continental blocks, dissected arc massifs
or dissected orogenic belts (Dickinson, 1985; Carrapa and Di Giulio,
Lithologic assemblages exposed at divergent plate margins include
2001). The QFL plot thus cannot be used to infer provenance directly
continental basements and cover rocks stripped down to various levels
but remains valid to outline mixing of detritus from diverse end-
along the rift shoulders (continental block provenance), as well as rift-
member sources (Dickinson, 1988), or as a basic graphic tool for classi-
related volcanic rocks shedding feldspatho-lithic volcaniclastic sand rich
fication (Fig. 1). The most robust key to provenance diagnosis lies in
in clinopyroxene (anorogenic volcanic provenance; Fig. 2). Where pull-
the rich mineralogical and textural spectrum displayed by rock frag-
apart basins are tectonically inverted during late rifting stages, recycling
ments, as in the equally varied heavy-mineral suites where not depleted
of syn-rift clastic successions may produce quartz-rich sands with poor
drastically by diagenetic dissolution.
heavy-mineral suites (recycled clastic provenance; Garzanti et al.,
2014). Sediments generated in anorogenic settings, such as those found
in diverse tracts of the huge Nile catchment, can thus be modeled as mix- 6. Concluding remarks
tures of these three end-member provenances (Garzanti et al., 2015b).
Detrital modes of sandstones cannot tell us the plate-tectonic setting
5.5. Mixed provenance in orogenic settings in which they were produced because petrography alone cannot
discriminate allochthonous versus autochthonous, orogenic versus
Modeling orogenic detritus poses difficult problems, solved in the anorogenic, or young versus old parent rocks. If we pay detailed atten-
Dickinson model by the loose definition of three orogenic settings and tion to rock fragment types and to both relative and absolute heavy-
corresponding subprovenances (subduction complex, collision orogen/ mineral concentrations, then sandstone composition can reveal the
suture belt, foreland uplift/fold-thrust belt) lumped under the generic tectonostratigraphic level reached by erosion in continental, arc, and
label of recycled orogen provenance (Dickinson and Suczek, 1979). Be- oceanic source-rock domains. If we set ourselves free from obsolete or
cause of unclear operational criteria, such subcategories were seldom simplistic views and refrain from mythic thinking (Dickinson, 2003),
used subsequently. A more articulate solution is based on two successive then plate-tectonic processes and their evolution in space and time
logical steps (Garzanti et al., 2007). First, a limited number of orogen ar- can be eventually unveiled by using an integrated set of bulk-
chetypes are identified (Himalayan-type collision orogens, Andean-type sediment, multi-mineral, and single-mineral techniques, coupled with
cordilleras, Oman-type obduction orogens, Apennine-type thin-skinned the indispensable complementary geological information.
12 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13

Acknowledgments Dickinson, W.R., 1988. Provenance and sediment dispersal in relation to paleotectonics
and paleogeography of sedimentary basins. In: Kleinspehn, K.L., Paola, C. (Eds.),
New perspectives in basin analysis. Springer, Berlin, pp. 3–25.
Hilmar von Eynatten and Istvan Dunkl kindly invited me to present Dickinson, W.R., 2003. The place and power of myth in geoscience: an associate editor's
these thoughts in the form of a talk at the 2nd WSGS held in Goettingen perspective. American Journal of Science 303, 856–864.
Dickinson, W.R., 2008. Impact of differential zircon fertility of granitoid basement rocks in
in June 2014. The ideas exposed herein stem from fruitful continuing North America on age populations of detrital zircons and implications for granite
collaboration with many friends around the world including Yani petrogenesis. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 275, 80–92.
Najman, Pieter Vermeesch, and Xiumian Hu, and enjoyable strenuous Dickinson, W.R., Rich, E.I., 1972. Petrologic intervals and petrofacies in the Great Valley
sequence, Sacramento Valley, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin 83,
work carried out through the years with Sergio Andò, Giovanni Vezzoli, 3007–3024.
and our beloved undergraduate and postgraduate students at Milano- Dickinson, W.R., Suczek, C.A., 1979. Plate tectonics and sandstone composition. American
Bicocca. Careful acute reviews by Abhijit Basu and Gert Weltje and pre- Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 63, 2164–2172.
Dickinson, W.R., Beard, L.S., Brakenridge, G.R., Erjavec, J.L., Ferguson, R.C., Inman, K.F.,
cious comments by Hilmar von Eynatten and Alberto Resentini are
Knepp, R.A., Lindberg, F.A., Ryberg, P.T., 1983. Provenance of North American Phaner-
gratefully acknowledged. ozoic sandstones in relation to tectonic setting. Geological Society of America Bulletin
93, 222–235.
Dott, R.H., 1964. Wacke, graywacke and matrix—what approach to immature sandstone
References classification? Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 34, 625–632.
Dott, R.H., 2003. The importance of eolian abrasion in supermature quartz sandstones and
Allen, P.A., 2008. From landscapes into geological history. Nature 451, 274–276. the paradox of weathering on vegetation-free landscapes. The Journal of Geology
Amorosi, A., 2012. Chromium and nickel as indicators of source-to-sink sediment transfer 111, 387–405.
in a Holocene alluvial and coastal system (Po Plain, Italy). Sedimentary Geology 280, Dunkl, I., Frisch, W., Kuhlemann, J., Brügel, A., 2009. Pebble population dating as an addi-
260–269. tional tool for provenance studies—examples from the Eastern Alps. Geological
Andò, S., Garzanti, E., 2014. Raman spectroscopy in heavy-mineral studies. In: Scott, R.A., Society of London, Special Publication 324, 125–140.
Smyth, H.R., Morton, A.C., Richardson, N. (Eds.), Sediment provenance studies in Folk, R.L., 1954. The distinction between grain size and mineral composition in
hydrocarbon exploration and production. Geological Society London Special Publica- sedimentary-rock nomenclature. The Journal of Geology 62, 344–359.
tion 386, pp. 395–412. Folk, R.L., 1980. Petrology of sedimentary rocks. Hemphill's, Austin (184 pp.).
Andò, S., Vignola, P., Garzanti, E., 2011. Raman counting: a new method to determine Gabriel, K.R., 1971. The biplot graphic display of matrices with application to principal
provenance of silt. Rendiconti Lincei 22, 327–347. component analysis. Biometrika 58, 453–467.
Andò, S., Garzanti, E., Padoan, M., Limonta, M., 2012. Corrosion of heavy minerals during Galehouse, J.S., 1971. Point counting. In: Carver, R.E. (Ed.), Procedures in sedimentary
weathering and diagenesis: a catalogue for optical analysis. Sedimentary Geology petrology. Wiley, New York, pp. 385–407.
280, 165–178. Garçon, M., Chauvel, C., France-Lanord, C., Limonta, M., Garzanti, E., 2014. Which minerals
Bangs Rooney, C., Basu, A., 1994. Provenance analysis of muddy sandstones. Journal of control the Nd–Hf–Sr–Pb isotopic compositions of river sediments? Chemical Geolo-
Sedimentary Research 64, 2–7. gy 364, 42–55.
Basu, A., 1985. Influence of climate and relief on compositions of sands released at source Garzanti, E., Andò, S., 2007a. Heavy-mineral concentration in modern sands: implications
areas. In: Zuffa, G.G. (Ed.), Provenance of arenites. Reidel, Dordrecht, NATO ASI Series for provenance interpretation. In: Mange, M., Wright, D. (Eds.), Heavy minerals in
148, pp. 1–18. use, Developments in Sedimentology Series 58. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 517–545.
Bateman, R.M., Catt, J.A., 2007. Provenance and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of Garzanti, E., Andò, S., 2007b. Plate tectonics and heavy-mineral suites of modern sands.
superficial deposits, with particular reference to post-depositional modification of In: Mange, M.A., Wright, D.T. (Eds.), Heavy minerals in use, Developments in Sedi-
heavy-mineral assemblages. In: Mange, M.A., Wright, D.T. (Eds.), Heavy minerals in mentology Series 58. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 741–763.
use, Developments in Sedimentology Series 58. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 151–188. Garzanti, E., Resentini, A., 2016. Provenance control on chemical indices of weathering
Bates, T.F., Griffiths, J.C., 1971. Memorial of Paul Dimitri Krynine. The American Mineralo- (Taiwan river sands). Sedimentary Geology 336, 80–94 (in this volume).
gist 56, 690–698. Garzanti, E., Vezzoli, G., 2003. A classification of metamorphic grains in sands based on
Bhatia, M.R., 1983. Plate tectonics and geochemical composition of sandstones. The their composition and grade. Journal of Sedimentary Research 73, 830–837.
Journal of Geology 91, 611–627. Garzanti, E., Critelli, S., Ingersoll, R.V., 1996. Paleogeographic and paleotectonic evolution
Blatt, H., 1967. Provenance determinations and recycling of sediments. Journal of of the Himalayan Range as reflected by detrital modes of Tertiary sandstones and
Sedimentary Petrology 37, 1031–1044. modern sands (Indus transect, India and Pakistan). Geological Society of America
Blatt, H., 1985. Provenance studies and mudrocks. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 55, Bulletin 108, 631–642.
69–75. Garzanti, E., Andò, S., Scutellà, M., 2000. Actualistic ophiolite provenance: the Cyprus case.
Bloemsma, M.R., Zabel, M., Stuut, J.B.W., Tjallingii, R., Collins, J.A., Weltje, G.J., 2012. Model- The Journal of Geology 108, 199–218.
ling the joint variability of grain size and chemical composition in sediments. Garzanti, E., Vezzoli, G., Andò, S., Castiglioni, G., 2001. Petrology of rifted-margin sand
Sedimentary Geology 280, 135–148. (Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Yemen). The Journal of Geology 109, 277–297.
Bluck, B.J., Dempster, T.J., Aftalion, M., Haughton, P.D.W., Rogers, G., 2006. Geochro- Garzanti, E., Canclini, S., Moretti Foggia, F., Petrella, N., 2002a. Unraveling magmatic and
nology of a granitoid boulder from the Corsewall Formation (Southern Uplands): orogenic provenances in modern sands: the back-arc side of the Apennine thrust-
implications for the evolution of southern Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology belt (Italy). Journal of Sedimentary Research 72, 2–17.
42, 29–35. Garzanti, E., Vezzoli, G., Andò, S., 2002b. Modern sand from obducted ophiolite belts
Borges, J.L., 1960. Del rigor de la ciencia. El Hacedor. Emece Editores, Buenos Aires, p. 103. (Oman, U.A.E.). The Journal of Geology 110, 371–391.
Borges, J.B., Huh, Y., Moon, S., Noh, H., 2008. Provenance and weathering control on river Garzanti, E., Andò, S., Vezzoli, G., Dell'Era, D., 2003. From rifted margins to foreland basins:
bed sediments of the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Russian Far East. Chemical investigating provenance and sediment dispersal across desert Arabia (Oman, UAE).
Geology 254, 52–72. Journal of Sedimentary Research 73, 572–588.
Bouchez, J., Lupker, M., Gaillardet, J., France-Lanord, C., Maurice, L., 2011. How important is it Garzanti, E., Vezzoli, G., Lombardo, B., Andò, S., Mauri, E., Monguzzi, S., Russo, M., 2004.
to integrate riverine suspended sediment chemical composition with depth? Clues from Collision-orogen provenance (Western and Central Alps): detrital signatures and
Amazon River depth-profiles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 75, 6955–6970. unroofing trends. The Journal of Geology 112, 145–164.
Carrapa, B., Di Giulio, A., 2001. The sedimentary record of the exhumation of a granitic Garzanti, E., Andò, S., Vezzoli, G., 2006. The continental crust as a source of sand (Southern
intrusion into a collisional setting: the lower Gonfolite Group, Southern Alps, Italy. Alps cross-section, Northern Italy). The Journal of Geology 114, 533–554.
Sedimentary Geology 139, 217–228. Garzanti, E., Doglioni, C., Vezzoli, G., Andò, S., 2007. Orogenic belts and orogenic sediment
Carver, R.E., 1971. Heavy-mineral separation. In: Carver, R.E. (Ed.), Procedures in provenances. The Journal of Geology 115, 315–334.
Sedimentary Petrology. Wiley, New York, pp. 427–452. Garzanti, E., Andò, S., Vezzoli, G., 2008. Settling equivalence of detrital minerals and grain-
Clift, P.D., Lee, J.I., Hildebrand, P., Shimizu, N., Layne, G.D., Blusztajn, J., Blum, J.D., Garzanti, size dependence of sediment composition. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 273,
E., Khan, A.A., 2002. Nd and Pb isotope variability in the Indus River system: implica- 138–151.
tions for sediment provenance and crustal heterogeneity in the Western Himalaya. Garzanti, E., Andò, S., Vezzoli, G., 2009. Grain-size dependence of sediment composition
Earth and Planetary Science Letters 200, 91–106. and environmental bias in provenance studies. Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Crook, K.A.W., 1960. Classification of arenites. American Journal of Science 258, 419–428. 277, 422–432.
Crook, K.A.W., 1974. Lithogenesis and geotectonics: the significance of compositional Garzanti, E., Andò, S., France-Lanord, C., Vezzoli, G., Galy, V., Najman, Y., 2010a. Mineralog-
variation in flysch arenites (graywackes). In: Dott, R.H., Shaver, R.H. (Eds.), Modern ical and chemical variability of fluvial sediments. 1. Bedload sand (Ganga–Brahmapu-
and ancient geosynclinal sedimentation. Society of Economic Paleontologists and tra, Bangladesh). Earth and Planetary Science Letters 299, 368–381.
Mineralogists Special Publication 19, pp. 304–310. Garzanti, E., Resentini, A., Vezzoli, G., Andò, S., Malusà, M.G., Padoan, M., Paparella, P.,
Cummins, W.A., 1962. The greywacke problem. Geological Journal 3, 51–72. 2010b. Detrital fingerprints of fossil continental-subduction Zones (axial belt prove-
Dewey, J.F., 2005. Orogeny can be very short. Proceedings of the National Academy of nance, European Alps). The Journal of Geology 118, 341–362.
Sciences of the United States of America 102, 15286–15293. Garzanti, E., Andò, S., France-Lanord, C., Galy, V., Censi, P., Vignola, P., 2011. Mineralogical
Dickinson, W.R., 1970. Interpreting detrital modes of graywacke and arkose. Journal of and chemical variability of fluvial sediments. 2. Suspended-load silt (Ganga–Brahma-
Sedimentary Petrology 40, 695–707. putra, Bangladesh). Earth and Planetary Science Letters 302, 107–120.
Dickinson, W.R., 1985. Interpreting provenance relations from detrital modes of sand- Garzanti, E., Resentini, A., Vezzoli, G., Andò, S., Malusà, M., Padoan, M., 2012. Forward
stones. In: Zuffa, G.G. (Ed.), Provenance of arenites. Reidel, Dordrecht, NATO ASI compositional modelling of Alpine orogenic sediments. Sedimentary Geology 280,
Series 148, pp. 333–361. 149–164.
 E. Garzanti / Sedimentary Geology 336 (2016) 3–13 13

Garzanti, E., Padoan, M., Andò, S., Resentini, A., Vezzoli, G., Lustrino, M., 2013a. Weathering Morton, A.C., Hallsworth, C., 2007. Stability of detrital heavy minerals during burial
and relative durability of detrital minerals in equatorial climate: sand petrology and diagenesis. In: Mange, M.A., Wright, D.T. (Eds.), Heavy minerals in use, Developments
geochemistry in the East African Rift. The Journal of Geology 121, 547–580. in Sedimentology Series 58. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 215–245.
Garzanti, E., Limonta, M., Resentini, A., Bandopadhyay, P.C., Najman, Y., Andò, S., Vezzoli, Murchison, R.I., 1854. Siluria. Murray, London (523 pp.).
G., 2013b. Sediment recycling at convergent plate margins (Indo-Burman Ranges Najman, Y., 2006. The detrital record of orogenesis: a review of approaches and tech-
and Andaman-Nicobar Ridge). Earth-Science Reviews 123, 113–132. niques used in the Himalayan sedimentary basins. Earth-Science Reviews 74, 1–72.
Garzanti, E., Vermeesch, P., Andò, S., Vezzoli, G., Valagussa, M., Allen, K., Khadi, K.A., Al- Nesbitt, H.W., Young, G.M., 1982. Early Proterozoic climates and plate motions inferred
Juboury, I.A., 2013c. Provenance and recycling of Arabian desert sand. Earth-Science from major element chemistry of lutites. Nature 299, 715–717.
Reviews 120, 1–19. Nesbitt, H.W., Young, G.M., 1996. Petrogenesis of sediments in the absence of chemical
Garzanti, E., Vermeesch, P., Padoan, M., Resentini, A., Vezzoli, G., Andò, S., 2014. Prove- weathering: effects of abrasion and sorting on bulk composition and mineralogy.
nance of passive-margin sand (southern Africa). The Journal of Geology 122, 17–42. Sedimentology 43, 341–358.
Garzanti, E., Resentini, A., Andò, S., Vezzoli, G., Vermeesch, P., 2015a. Physical controls on Padoan, M., Garzanti, E., Haravan, Y., Villa, I.M., 2011. Tracing Nile sediment sources by Sr
sand composition and relative durability of detrital minerals during long-distance and Nd isotope signatures (Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan). Geochimica et Cosmochimica
littoral and eolian transport (coastal Namibia). Sedimentology 62, 971–996. Acta 75, 3627–3644.
Garzanti, E., Andò, S., Padoan, M., Vezzoli, G., El Kammar, A., 2015b. The Nile sediment Paola, C., Leeder, M., 2011. Environmental dynamics: simplicity versus complexity. Nature
system: processes and products. Quaternary Science Reviews http://dx.doi.org/10. 469, 38–39.
1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.011. Pearce, J., Cann, J., 1973. Tectonic setting of basic volcanic rocks determined using trace
Gazzi, P., 1965. On the heavy mineral zones in the geosyncline series, recent studies in the element analyses. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 19, 290–300.
Northern Apennines, Italy. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 35, 109–115. Pettijohn, F.J., 1948. A preface to the classification of the sedimentary rocks. The Journal of
Gazzi, P., 1966. Le arenarie del flysch sopracretaceo dell' Appennino modenese: correlazioni Geology 56, 112–117.
con il flysch di Monghidoro. Mineralogica et Petrographica Acta 12, 69–97. Pettijohn, F.J., 1954. Classification of sandstones. The Journal of Geology 62, 360–365.
Goldstein, S.J., Jacobsen, S.B., 1988. The Nd and Sr isotopic systematics of river water Potter, P.E., Huh, Y., Edmond, J.M., 2001. Deep-freeze petrology of Lena River sand, Siberia.
suspended material: implications for crustal evolution. Earth and Planetary Science Geology 29, 999–1002.
Letters 87, 249–265. Price, J.R., Velbel, M.A., 2003. Chemical weathering indices applied to weathering profiles
Handy, M.R., 1990. The exhumation of cross sections of the continental crust: structure, developed on heterogeneous felsic metamorphic parent rocks. Chemical Geology
kinematics and rheology. In: Salisbury, M.H., Fountain, D.M. (Eds.), Exposed cross- 202, 397–416.
sections of the continental crust. Kluwer, Amsterdam, pp. 485–507. Roser, B.P., Korsch, R.J., 1986. Determination of tectonic setting of sandstone-mudstone
Hinderer, M., 2012. From gullies to mountain belts: a review of sediment budgets at suites using SiO2 content and K2O/Na2O ratio. The Journal of Geology 94, 635–650.
various scales. Sedimentary Geology 280, 21–59. Rubey, W.W., 1933. The size-distribution of heavy minerals within a water-laid sand-
Huckenholz, H.G., 1963. Mineral composition and texture in graywackes from the Harz stone. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 3, 3–29.
Mountains (Germany) and in arkoses from the Auvergne (France). Journal of Shao, J., Yang, S., Li, C., 2012. Chemical indices (CIA and WIP) as proxies for integrated
Sedimentary Petrology 33, 914–918. chemical weathering in China: inferences from analysis of fluvial sediments. Sedi-
Ingersoll, R.V., 1983. Petrofacies and provenance of Late Mesozoic forearc basin, northern mentary Geology 265, 110–120.
and central California. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 67, Spalla, M.I., Zanoni, D., Gosso, G., Zucali, M., 2009. Deciphering the geologic memory of a
1125–1142. Permian conglomerate of the Southern Alps by pebble P–T estimates. International
Ingersoll, R.V., 1990. Actualistic sandstone petrofacies: discriminating modern and ancient Journal of Earth Sciences 98, 203–226.
source rocks. Geology 18, 733–736. Suttner, L.J., 1974. Sedimentary petrographic provinces: an evaluation. In: Ross, C.A. (Ed.),
Ingersoll, R.V., Bullard, T.F., Ford, R.L., Grimm, J.P., Pickle, J.D., Sares, S.W., 1984. The effect Paleogeographic provinces and provinciality. Society of Economic Paleontologists and
of grain size on detrital modes: a test of the Gazzi–Dickinson point-counting method. Mineralogists Special Publication 21, pp. 75–84.
Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 54, 103–116. Suttner, L.J., Basu, A., 1985. The effect of grain size on detrital modes: a test of the Gazzi–
Johnsson, M.J., 1993. The system controlling the composition of clastic sediments. In: Dickinson point-counting method: discussion. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 55,
Johnsson, M.J., Basu, A. (Eds.), Processes controlling the composition of clastic sedi- 616–618.
ments. Geological Society of America Special Paper 284, pp. 1–19. Suttner, L.J., Basu, A., Mack, G.H., 1981. Climate and the origin of quartz arenites. Journal of
Kahneman, D., 2011. Thinking, fast and slow. Penguin, London (499 pp.). Sedimentary Petrology 51, 1235–1246.
Krynine, P.D., 1948. The megascopic study and field classification of sedimentary rocks. Taylor, S.R., McLennan, S.M., 1995. The geochemical evolution of the continental crust.
The Journal of Geology 56, 130–165. Reviews of Geophysics 33, 241–265.
Krynine, P.D., 1956. Alice in Graywackeland. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 26, 188–189. Velbel, M.A., 2007. Surface textures and dissolution processes of heavy minerals in the
Lawrence, et al., 2011. Hydrodynamic fractionation of zircon age populations. Geological sedimentary cycle: examples from pyroxenes and amphiboles. In: Mange, M.A.,
Society of America Bulletin 123, 295–305. Wright, D.T. (Eds.), Heavy minerals in use, Developments in Sedimentology Series
Le Pera, E., Critelli, S., 1997. Sourceland controls on the composition of beach and fluvial 58. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 112–150.
sand of the northern Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, Italy: implications for actualistic Vermeesch, P., Avigad, D., McWilliams, M.O., 2009. 500 m.y. of thermal history elucidated
petrofacies. Sedimentary Geology 110, 81–97. by multi-method detrital thermochronology of North Gondwana Cambrian sand-
Limonta, M., Garzanti, E., Resentini, A., Andò, S., Boni, M., Bechstädt, T., 2015. Multicyclic stone (Eilat area, Israel). Geological Society of America Bulletin 121, 1204–1216.
sediment transfer along and across convergent plate boundaries (Barbados, Lesser von Eynatten, H., Dunkl, I., 2012. Assessing the sediment factory: the role of single grain
Antilles). Basin Research 1–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bre.12095. analysis. Earth-Science Reviews 115, 97–120.
Mack, G.H., 1984. Exceptions to the relationship between plate tectonics and sandstone von Eynatten, H., Barcelò-Vidal, C., Pawlowsky-Glahn, V., 2003. Composition and discrim-
composition. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 54, 212–220. ination of sandstones: a statistical evaluation of different analytical methods. Journal
Malusà, M.G., Resentini, A., Garzanti, E., 2015. Hydraulic sorting and mineral fertility bias of Sedimentary Research 73, 47–57.
in detrital geochronology. Gondwana Research (submitted for publication). von Eynatten, H., Tolosana-Delgado, R., Karius, V., 2012. Sediment generation in modern
Mange, M.A., Maurer, H.F.W., 1992. Heavy minerals in colour. Chapman and Hall, London glacial settings: grain-size and source-rock control on sediment composition. Sedi-
(147 pp.). mentary Geology 280, 80–92.
Mange, M.A., Wright, D.T., 2007. Heavy minerals in use. Developments in Sedimentology von Eynatten, H., Tolosana-Delgado, R., Karius, V., Bachmann, K., Caracciolo, L., 2016.
Series 58. Elsevier, Amsterdam (1283 pp.). Sediment generation in humid Mediterranean setting: grain-size and source-rock
Marsaglia, K.M., Ingersoll, R.V., 1992. Compositional trends in arc-related, deep-marine control on sediment geochemistry and mineralogy (Sila Massif, Calabria). Sedimenta-
sand and sandstone: a reassessment of magmatic-arc provenance. Geological Society ry Geology 336, 67–79 (in this volume).
of America Bulletin 104, 1637–1649. Weltje, G.J., 2004. A quantitative approach to capturing the compositional variability of
McBride, E.F., 1963. A classification of common sandstones. Journal of Sedimentary Petrol- modern sands. Sedimentary Geology 171, 59–77.
ogy 33, 664–669. Weltje, G.J., 2006. Ternary sandstone composition and provenance: an evaluation of the
McBride, E.F., 1985. Diagenetic processes that affect provenance determinations in ‘Dickinson model’. In: Buccianti, A., Mateu-Figueras, G., Pawlowsky-Glahn, V. (Eds.),
sandstones. In: Zuffa, G.G. (Ed.), Provenance of arenites. Reidel, Dordrecht, NATO Compositional data analysis: from theory to practice. Geological Society of London
ASI Series 148, pp. 95–113. Special Publications 264, pp. 611–627.
McBride, E.F., Picard, D.M., 1987. Downstream changes in sand composition, roundness Weltje, G.J., 2012. Quantitative models of sediment generation and provenance: State of
and gravel size in a short-headed, high-gradient stream, Northwestern Italy. Journal the art and future developments. Sedimentary Geology 280, 4–20.
of Sedimentary Petrology 57, 1018–1026. Weltje, G.J., von Eynatten, H., 2004. Quantitative provenance analysis of sediments: an
Moecher, D.P., Samson, S.D., 2006. Differential zircon fertility of source terranes and introduction. Sedimentary Geology 171, 1–11.
natural bias in the detrital zircon record: implications for sedimentary provenance Winchester, J.A., Floyd, P.A., 1977. Geochemical discrimination of different magma series
analysis. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 247, 252–266. and their differentiation products using immobile elements. Chemical Geology 20,
Molinaroli, E., Blom, M., Basu, A., 1991. Methods of provenance determination tested with 325–343.
discriminant function analysis. Journal of Sedimentary Research 61, 900–908. Wittgenstein, L., 1974. On Certainty. Basil Blackwell, Oxford (#1-676).
Morton, A.C., 1985. Heavy minerals in provenance studies. In: Zuffa, G.G. (Ed.), Prove- Zuffa, G.G., 1985. Optical analyses of arenites: influence of methodology on compositional
nance of arenites. Reidel, Dordrecht, NATO ASI Series 148, pp. 249–277. results. In: Zuffa, G.G. (Ed.), Provenance of arenites. Reidel, Dordrecht, NATO ASI Se-
Morton, A.C., 2012. Value of heavy minerals in sediments and sedimentary rocks for prov- ries 148, pp. 165–189.
enance, transport history and stratigraphic correlation. In: Sylvester, P. (Ed.), Quanti- Zuffa, G.G., 1987. Unravelling hinterland and offshore palaeogeography from deep-water
tative mineralogy and microanalysis of sediments and sedimentary rocks. arenites. In: Leggett, J.K., Zuffa, G.G. (Eds.), Marine clastic sedimentologyConcepts and
Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course Series 42, pp. 133–165. case studies. Graham and Trotman, London, pp. 39–61.