Journal of Earth Science, Vol. 21, No. 3, p. 257–271, June 2010 ISSN 1674-487X Printed in China DOI: 10.1007/s12583-010-0090-4 Detrital Zircon Geochronology and Provenance of Core Sediments in Zhoulao Town, Jianghan Plain, China Wang Jietao (王节涛) Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Li Chang’an* (李长安) Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China; Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Yang Yong (杨勇), Shao Lei (邵磊) Faculty of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China ABSTRACT: In our study, the U-Pb age spectrum of detrital zircons from terrigenous sediments is used to determine the sources. The Middle and Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River drain the western Yangtze craton and eastern Tibetan plateau, and take lots of sediments to the Jianghan (江汉) plain. Detrital zircons collected from Zhoulao (周老) core provide an ideal sample for the provenance studies. Here we report LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages of 125 detrital zircons from one sand sample in the core sedi- ments, which is recovered from a depth of 86.76–88.58 m and the paleomagnetic age is about 800 kaBP, in Zhoulao Town. The 125 zircons reveal nine major age peaks of >3.0, 2.5–2.3, 2.0–1.7 Ga, 838–723, 453–415, 257, 212, 166 and <17 Ma. Only two zircons have ages of 14.8 and 16.5 Ma, their appearance indicates that the headwater of the Yangtze River had reached the Tibetan plateau about 800 ka ago. Our results also show that the Hanjiang (汉江) River did not influence the sediments of the Zhoulao core obviously at that time. KEY WORDS: detrital zircon, U-Pb age, provenance, Zhoulao core, Jianghan plain. INTRODUCTION The evolution of the Yangtze River, the largest This study was jointly supported by the National Natural Sci- ence Foundation of China (Nos. 40771213, 40672206), and the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2004CB720204). *Corresponding author: chanli@cug.edu.cn © China University of Geosciences and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 Manuscript received September 26, 2009. Manuscript accepted December 20, 2009. river in China, has been a hot topic for a long time (Xiang et al., 2007; Yang et al., 2006; Chen et al., 2001; Li J J et al., 2001; Li and Zhang, 1997; Yang, 1988; Shen, 1965; Ren, 1957; Li C S, 1956; Lee, 1934; Ye and Xie, 1925; Li S G, 1924). Since the beginning of the 20th century, the formation of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River has attracted more and more fa- mous scientists at home and abroad, but none of the formation times of Three Gorges has been widely ac- cepted (Xiang et al., 2007; Yang et al., 2006; Li J J et al., 2001; Li and Zhang, 1997; Yang, 1988; Shen, 1965; Ren, 1957; Li C S, 1956; Lee, 1934; Ye and Xie, 1925; Li S G, 1924), and few provenance studies have