Research subject. Volcanogenic formations of the Navysh complex of the Ai Formation in the Taratash anticlinorium of the Southern Urals, which have been thought to be Lower Riphean. Results. The U-Pb dating of zircons from metabasalts of the Navysh complex were obtained, reflecting specific characteristics of their age. The isotope parameters of zircons of the К2247 sample divide them into two groups. The first group unites the ancient crystals aged Т1 = 2943 ± 31 and Т2 = 2713 ± 49 Ma, while crystals in the second group belongs to a much age - Т3 = 451.6 ± 9.1 and Т4 = 366.4 ± 6.0 Ma. No Riphean crystals were found in sample К2247. Conclusions. The dates obtained for the supposed Riphean complexes have shown that the Paleozoic magmatism took place not only in the eastern slope of the Urals, but also in the western slope. This process occurred several times.

Research subject. Magmatic complexes that are developed in the lower (volcanogenic-sedimentary) part of the Ai Formation of the Lower Riphean of the Taratash anticline in the Southern Urals. Results. For the frst time, the Lower Permian SHRIMP dating (288.6 ± 3.1 Ma by U-Pb method on zircon from monzogabbro) was obtained for a dike cutting the basalts of the Lower Paleozoic (420–450 Ma) age. Conclusions. On the eastern slope of the Urals there is a chain of massifs which are close in the age. The chain belongs to the Lower Permian Stepninsky monzogabbro-granosyenite-granite complex, represented by the Uiski, Vandyshevski, Biryukovski and Stepninski intrusions with the age of 281 ± 2, 280 ± 2 and 286 ± 2 Ma, correspondingly (U-Pb method after zircons, SHRIMP-II, VSEGEI) and earlier obtained dates 281 ± 4 Ma (Rb-Sr isochrone) and 283 ± 2 Ma (isotope Pb-Pb method after zircons). The Stepninsky complex was described earlier as plume-dependent. The monzogabbro dike, described in this paper, although being at a considerable distance from the Sepninsky complex, is situated at a strike of the chain of the stepninsky intrusions, is close to them by the composition and age and can be ascribed to the same plume episode. The idea of the plume character of the complex was ехрressed by us relatively long ago based on a superimposed character of the chain of the intrusions over the earlier, collisional Uralian structures. As for the geochemical character (monzogabbro) the dike conforms with one of two standard trends of the Stepninsky complex – monzonite (monzogabbro, monzodiorites, syenites).

Research subject. Magmatic complexes that are developed in the lower (volcanogenic-sedimentary) part of the Ai Formation of the Lower Riphean of the Taratash anticline in the Southern Urals. Results. For the frst time, the Lower Permian SHRIMP dating (288.6 ± 3.1 Ma by U-Pb method on zircon from monzogabbro) was obtained for a dike cutting the basalts of the Lower Paleozoic (420–450 Ma) age. Conclusions. On the eastern slope of the Urals there is a chain of massifs which are close in the age. The chain belongs to the Lower Permian Stepninsky monzogabbro-granosyenite-granite complex, represented by the Uiski, Vandyshevski, Biryukovski and Stepninski intrusions with the age of 281 ± 2, 280 ± 2 and 286 ± 2 Ma, correspondingly (U-Pb method after zircons, SHRIMP-II, VSEGEI) and earlier obtained dates 281 ± 4 Ma (Rb-Sr isochrone) and 283 ± 2 Ma (isotope Pb-Pb method after zircons). The Stepninsky complex was described earlier as plume-dependent. The monzogabbro dike, described in this paper, although being at a considerable distance from the Sepninsky complex, is situated at a strike of the chain of the stepninsky intrusions, is close to them by the composition and age and can be ascribed to the same plume episode. The idea of the plume character of the complex was ехрressed by us relatively long ago based on a superimposed character of the chain of the intrusions over the earlier, collisional Uralian structures. As for the geochemical character (monzogabbro) the dike conforms with one of two standard trends of the Stepninsky complex – monzonite (monzogabbro, monzodiorites, syenites).

The volcanics of the Navysh complex of the Lower Riphean Ai Formation in the Southern Urals are well studied petrochemically and dated by several methods. In 2013 zircons from a trachybasalt porphyrite (sample 2152) gave a concordant SHRIMP date 1752 +/- 11 Ma, which was used as a fundamental for the lower boundary of the Riphean with no special arguments against it. The later attempts to repeat this date for the Navysh volcanics were not successful: the collected zircons were either more ancient (> 2500 Ma), or more young (< 500 Ma). From the beginning, the zircons with such ages were regarded as xenogenic or secondary metasomatic, or belonging to paleozoic dykes intruding the Riphean volcanics. However, the clearly expressed mineralogical properties of the Paleozoic zircons and their frequent presence in volcanics, not dykes, led to a conclusion that the zircons and Navysh volcanics, containing them, and exposed within the area of development of the Ai Formation, are polychronous. To support this conclusion, the authors studied in more detail the zircons of the Navysh trachybasalts, developed in the Ai Formation. The main conclusion, obtained from this new data, was that the volcanics attributed to the Navysh complex, form a polychronous system, including both the Lower Riphean (1750 Ma) and Paleozoic (450 Ma) rocks. The zircons of these age groups differ in their mineralogical and geochemical properties supporting the idea that they belong to different primary sources which may be due to repeating plume processes, which partly reanimated - heated and melted-rocks of the previous cycle and/or created new sources of melts. Keywords: Riphean, Paleozoic, zircons, volcanics, Ai Formation, Sothern Urals

New dates of detrital zircons from sandstones expand the possibilities to interpret their source areas. These interpretations are often constrained by a formal comparison of the geochronological and compositional features of detrital crystals with any very remote complexes. However, there is another situation when the local complexes pretend to be a source of detrital material. Analyses of isotope–geochronological (SHRIMP and TIMS) dates of zircons, the U and Th concentrations, and the comparison of age histograms of primary zircons from Riphean volcanics and rocks of the Taratash complex and detrital zircons from the Vendian (Asha Group) and Lower Riphean (Ai Formation) sandstones have shown that zircon age variations and source areas of zircons are comparable in many aspects. It follows that the geochronological features of primary zircons from the Riphean volcanics and rocks of the Taratash complex as sources of detrital zircons for the Riphean and Vendian sandstones in the Southern Urals are controlled by redeposition processes, though the influence of distant source areas remains possible.

New age dates of detrital zircons of terrigenous rocks augmented the possibilities of interpretation of their provenance. Unfortunately this interpretation is restricted by a formal comparison of age-and-composition characteristics of detrital crystals with any very distant model objects. The paper deals with a situation when the role of a source of a detritus is claimed by local objects. When comparing the age parameters of primary and detrital crystals of zircons, the data on Riphean volcanics and ancient metamorphics of the Taratash complex of the Southern Urals were used. Specifying the ideas on the nature of the zircon clastics (detritus) and its relationships with primary zircons of sources, a role of processes of mechanical abrasion is pointed out, leading to a clearing of heterogenous primary grains of defect crystals, which results in an accumulation of crystals of more homogenous appearance. The analysis of SHRIMP and TIMS-dates of zircons and U and Th concentrations in them, and also a comparison of histograms of primary zircons from Riphean volcanics and rocks of the Taratash complex on one hand and the detrital zircons from the Vendian and Riphean sandstones of the Southern Urals on the other, have shown that the age variations of both are rather comparable. It means that the age characteristics of primary zircons from the Riphean volcanics and rocks of the Taratash complex as sources of zircon clastics for the Riphean and Vendian sandstones are regulated by processes of resedimentation, and a detrital fraction of zircons is formed at the expense of local objects. The participation of very distant sources is not excluded, but in our case it is not detected.

The absence of reliable radiometric data in Vendian deposits of the Uralian and other regions resulted in uncertainty of the ideas of the age of the lower boundary of Vendian. According to the decision of the Interdepartment Stratigraphic Committee, it is located at 600 ±10 Ma. Analysing zircons of granitoid pebbles from Kukkarauk Formation of the standard sections of Vendian in the Alatau anticlinorium, the authors obtained a concordant SHRIMP date - 713.6 ± 6.1 Ma; practically, it is up to now the only reliable date that can be used as a reference for the rocks in the provenance area of the Vendian basin in the Southern Urals which witness for a Vendian erosion of granites which are alike the granites of the Mazara and Barangulovo massifs, situated in the northern part of the Uraltau zone of the Southern Urals, to the east of the area of Vendian sedimentation.

New age determinations of detrital zircons of sandstones augmented the possibilities of interpretation of their provenance. This interpretation is often restricted by a formal comparison of age-and-composition characteristics of detrital crystals with any very distant model objects. A different situation arises when the role of a source of a detritus is claimed by local objects. The analysis of SHRIMP and TIMS - datеs of zircons and U and Th concentrations in them, and also a comparison of histograms of primary zircons from Riphean volcanics and rocks of the Taratash complex on one hand and the detrital zircons from the sandstones of Vendian (Asha series) and Lower Riphean (Ai Formation) on the other, have shown that the age variations of sources and clastics are comparable in many aspects. It means that the age characteristics of primary zircons from the Riphean volcanics and rocks of the Taratash complex as sources of zircon clastics for the Riphean and Vendian sandstones in the Southern Urals are regulated by processes of resedimentation, though the influence of distant sources is not excluded.

The formation time of 410.5 ± 1.1 Ma (zircon U/Pb SHRIMP) and the duration of rock crystallization (2–2.5 Ma) were determined for gabbro from the Nurali massif. The gabbro zircons showed a complicated polyphase structure. A new polygenous type of zonality including traces of primary growth and of the processes of crushing, dissolution, and substitution was discovered in the zircons. The formations of gabbro and ultramafites (lherzolites) of the massif are separated by a time break of 30–35 Ma determined by the genetic discontinuance.

Zircons were separated from syenites of the Avashla intrusion in the Kurgass anticline of the Bashkir megaanticlinorium in the Southern Urals. The obtained samples were dated using the U–Pb procedure by means of a SHRIMP II ion microprobe. The integrated mineralogical, geochemical, and isotope studies of zircons resulted in primary data on the origin and current conditions of zircons in syenites of the Avashla intrusion. The relics of early zircon generations (1320–1340 Ma) allowed us to specify the geological position of syenites along with the stratigraphic location of the enclosing sedimentary rocks. The time of the transformation (metamorphism) of the zircons at the Middle–Upper Riphean boundary is represented by a dating of 1097±20 Ma, which is of importance for specifying the boundary age and for revealing a geological event that started a new development stage of the stratoregion in the Upper Riphean.

Из сиенитов Авашлинской интрузии были выделены цирконы и проведено их датирование U–Pb-методом с помощью ионного микрозонда SHRIMP-II. На основании минералогических, геохимических, изотопных исследований цирконов получена информация о происхождении и современном состоянии цирконов в сиенитах интрузии. Реликты ранней (1320–1340 млн лет) генерации цирконов уточнили геологическую позицию сиенитов и стратиграфическое положение вмещающих их осадочных отложений. Время метаморфизма цирконов на рубеже среднего–верхнего рифея отражает датировка 1097 ± 20 млн лет, имеющая важное значение для уточнения возраста рубежа и выявления геологического события, с которого начинается новый этап развития страторегиона в верхнем рифее.

The age data (U–Pb, SHRIMP II) of zircons from rutile eclogites of the Maksutov Complex (MC) (village Shubino, Southern Urals) were subdivided into three age groups. The Neoproterozoic zircons (561 ± 10 Ma) recorded the formation stage of eclogites, the protolith of which was diabase and gabbro-diabase bodies. The Neoarchean ancient zircons (2884 ± 36 Ma) belong to the mantle substratum, which was repeatedly transformed (2303 ± 12, 2008 ± 18, 1626 ± 59 Ma). Zircons of early Ordovician–early Silurian age (433–477 ± 6 Ma; 340 ± 40 Ma) recorded superimposed processes, corresponding to high-pressure metamorphism.

Изученные (U-Pb-метод, SHRIMP II) цирконы из рутиловых эклогитов максютовского комп- лекса (д. Шубино) образуют три возрастных кластера. Цирконы неопротерозойские (561 ± 10 млн лет), фиксируют образование эклогитов, субстратом для них были диабазовые, габбро-диабазовые тела. Древние цирконы неоархейские (2884 ± 36 млн лет), отвечают мантийному субстрату, который был неоднократно (2303 ± 12; 2008 ±18; 1626 ± 59 млн лет) преобразован. Цирконы раннего ордовика-раннего карбона (433-477 ± 6; 340 ± 40 млн лет) отражают наложенные процессы, соответствующие высокобарическому метаморфизму.

Before our studies, it was considered that the Bagrusha rhyolite–porphyry complex (BC) including veins and thin dykes occurring in the Kusa region among deposits presumably of the Satka and Avzyan Formations of the Lower and Middle Riphean, respectively. Based on the U–Pb SHRIMP and IDTIMS studies of zircons from rhyodacite—porphyry, we established the age of the BC formation of T0 = 1348.6 ± 3.2 Ma for the first time. The age obtained is inconsistent with the idea on the Paleozoic age of the BC and the geological situation shown on geological maps of the region. The age (T0 = 1348.6 ± 3.2 Ma) of rhyodacite–porphyry from the BC provides evidence for acid volcanism controlled by the Mashak (Middle Riphean) magmatic event in the region, and deposits hosting volcanic rocks of the BC cannot be younger than the base of the Middle Riphean, i.e., the Mashak Formation, which was not previously distinguished by researchers in the western part of the Kusa and Bakal–Satka regions. At the same time, it is possible that deposits hosting dykes and veins of the granite–rhyolite formation may have a Bakal (Lower Riphean) age.

The paper reports the results of mineralogical, geochemical, and geochronological (TIMS and SHRIMP) study of heterogeneous zircons from granites of the Mazara Massif, South Urals. Obtained data revealed the Mesoproterozoic age (1550–1390 Ma) of a granite protolith and the Neoproterozoic age of their formation (745–710 Ma). In the La–Sm/La diagram, the zircons of the massif occupy an intermediate position between the fields of magmatic and metasomatic (hydrothermal) zircons. This “intermediate” field is proposed to ascribe to the late magmatic zircons, which provides more reliable characterization of zircon formation throughout the entire crystallization history of a granite melt, up to the appearance of genetically metamict metasomatic hydrozircons.

The age trend (SHRIMP U/Pb) of the evolution of zircon is obtained for the first time in lherzolites of the Nurali Massif. Zircons are subdivided into groups by the crystallomorphological and geochemical features. These specific features in zircon development are confirmed by the age dates. Precambrian dates (no younger than 1190 Ma) correspond to mantle sources of the lherzolite block. The Early Silurian (445–448 and 439–440 Ma) wass the time of lherzolite magmatism of 10–15 Ma in duration. The Middle Devonian (382.9 ± 8.7 Ma) corresponded to postmagmatic processes related to the effect of gabbro–diorite intrusions crowning in the Nurali Massif.