Precambrian Research 239 (2013) 6–23 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Precambrian Research j o ur nal hom epa ge: www.elsevier.com/locate/precamres U–Pb detrital zircon provenance of the Saramuj Conglomerate, Jordan, and implications for the Neoproterozoic evolution of the Red Sea region Najel Yaseen a,∗ , Victoria Pease b , Ghaleb H. Jarrar a , Martin Whitehouse c a Department of Geology, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan b Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden c Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-10405 Stockholm, Sweden a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 16 March 2013 Received in revised form 21 August 2013 Accepted 2 October 2013 Available online 12 October 2013 Keywords: Arabian-Nubian Shield Saramuj Conglomerate Detrital zircon ages SIMS U–Pb a b s t r a c t The latest stage in the evolution of the northernmost Arabian-Nubian Shield is characterized by the development of volcano-sedimentary successions. In Jordan the Saramuj Conglomerate Formation is considered to be one of these post-tectonic basins. It is polymict and poorly sorted with wide range of clast compositions, roundness and size. We present the first SIMS U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from two sandstone samples representative for the conglomerate matrix and of four clasts from the Saramuj Conglomerate for provenance and age determinations. The relative probability curve for the matrix sam- ples indicates a major contribution (85%) from c. 600 to 650 Ma, subclusters at 624 and 640 Ma, a minor source from 700 to 750 Ma, and a clear gap between 650 and 700 Ma. These ages are consistent with those obtained from andesitic, rhyodacitic, granitic and gneiss clasts (624, 642, 650 and 734 Ma respectively). In contrast to the adjacent volcano-sedimentary successions in the Elat area, Sinai and the Eastern Desert, no ages older than 750 Ma were found. The good match between the known ages of the nearby exposed basement with the matrix ages and the immature nature of the sediments implies that the principal input was locally derived erosional detritus. The age of the youngest 10 detrital zircons at c. 615 Ma represents the maximum age of deposition, which is consistent with the stratigraphic position of the Saramuj Con- glomerate. Clast ages of 642 Ma and 650 Ma are interpreted as evidence for a magmatic source that has not been recognized in SW Jordan. This study implies that the volcano-sedimentary successions in the northernmost Arabian-Nubian shield may be broadly coeval but have distinct provenance and therefore evolved as isolated basins. Furthermore, U–Pb zircon provenance analysis allows us to recognize igneous products that are no longer preserved and/or exposed in the region. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The northernmost exposures of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) occur in the basement complexes of Jordan (Fig. 1). The ANS is a collage of juvenile Neoproterozoic crustal fragments derived from intra-oceanic island arcs of the Mozambique Ocean. These were accreted during closure of the Mozambique Ocean, in asso- ciation with the collision between East and West Gondwana, i.e., during East African Orogeny (Bentor, 1985; Kröner, 1985; Vail, 1985; Stoeser and Camp, 1985; Stern, 1994, 2002; Abdelsalam and Stern, 1996; Stein and Goldstein, 1996; Jarrar et al., 2003; Stoeser and Frost, 2006; Stern and Johnson, 2010). The ANS is bounded to the east and west by pre-Neoproterozoic crust (Stacey and Hedge, 1984; Sultan et al., 1990; Whitehouse et al., 1998, 2001; Abdelsalam et al., 2002; Johanson and Woldehaimanot, 2003; Meert, 2003). The ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +962 65355000. E-mail addresses: nyaseen@ju.edu.jo, ynajel@gmail.com (N. Yaseen). pre-Neoproterozoic crust in the northern part of the ANS has been reworked, as documented by U–Pb zircon geochronology (Sultan et al., 1990; Hargrove et al., 2006; Ali et al., 2009a,b; Be’eri-Shlevin et al., 2009; Breitkreuz et al., 2010; Morag et al., 2011). The tectono- magmatic evolution of the northern part of ANS is divided into two stages: an early part (880–740 Ma) representing the island arc accretion stage (Jarrar, 1985; Kröner et al., 1990, 1994; Bea et al., 2009; Morag et al., 2011, 2012) and a later post-collisional stage (680–580 Ma). The late Neoproterozoic post-collisional stage peaks at 630–620 Ma and is characterized by the intrusion of calc-alkaline and alkaline granitoids (Beyth et al., 1994; Jarrar et al., 2003; Be’eri-Shlevin et al., 2009b; Eyal et al., 2010; Morag et al., 2011). Continental collision resulting from convergence between East and West Gondwana took place between 650 and 625 Ma (Stern, 1994) and is consistent with the age of the youngest deformed granit- oids in the northern ANS (630 Ma, Jarrar, 1985; Be’eri-Shlevin et al., 2009b). The transition from a compressional to an extensional set- ting occurred at 610–600 Ma (Stern, 1994; Garfunkel, 1999; Genna et al., 2002; Jarrar et al., 2003) and was terminated by uplift and 0301-9268/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2013.10.008