Complete data set of petrological, geochemical (major, trace, and rare earth elements), and U–Pb zircon analysis from the Tamatán Group, NE Mexico
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Abstract From samples of the Paleozoic Tamatán Group (Huizachal–Peregrina Anticlinorium, Tamaulipas, Mexico), petrographic (qualitative and modal) and geochemical analyses (major, trace, and rare earth elements) were conducted. The first U–Pb geochronological data on detrital zircons of the Tamatán Group were generated using four samples. The data presented here contains a broad overview of photomicrography, recalculated modal point-count data, raw geochemical data, and simple statistics of selected geochemical parameters. The data presented in this article are interpreted and discussed in the research article titled “Provenance and tectonic setting of the Tamatán Paleozoic sequence, NE Mexico: Implications for the closure of the Rheic Ocean at the northwestern part of Gondwana” [1]. Value of the data • Important data available for researchers conducting research on the Northwestern margin of Gondwana and adjacent areas. • Data collection available for sedimentologists, working with geochemical data. • Data made availabla to construct integrated geological models for the Northwestern Margin of Gondwana and adjacent areas. • A complete geochemical dataset for the Tamatán Group. • Tectonic activity, weathering, and provenance data of the Tamatán Group are provided. • First U-Pb geochronological data of the Tamatán Group Data This article provides data from 105 samples. From 70 samples, photomicrographs were taken and point-counted and modal analyses on recalculated petrographic parameters were provided were provided. Geochemical analyses (major, trace, and rare earth elements [REE]) of 73 samples were conducted. Four samples for U–Pb geochronological zircon analyses were made. The sample location is given with the geographical and UTM coordinates of each sample. Each sample is located on a geological map. The petrographic and geochemical data are presented as raw data and displayed as a simple statistic of the selected petrography and geochemical parameters, respectively. Additionally, outcrop photographs are provided. Acknowledgements Financial support for this work was provided by a Ph.D. fellowship from the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT). The first author, a Ph.D. student at the postgraduate program of the Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (FCT/UANL), wants to thank Sergio Padilla-Ramírez, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada B.C, México and Susana Rosas-Montoya and Daniela Tazzo (CICESE) for their help in the preparation and analysis of the geochronological data. Special thanks to L.A. Elizondo-Pacheco, N.Z. Morales-Alemán, and D.C. Rodríguez-Campero y M. Rodríguez-Escamilla (FCT/UANL) for their assistance in the field. The geochemical and geochronological analyses were supported by the PAICyT projects CT-129-09 and CN-940-19, which was granted by the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León.
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The cartographic basis for the fieldwork comprised Servicio Geológico Nacional topographical maps on a scale of 1:10,000 and is based on geological maps proposed by [30] and [31]. The outcrops (Figure 1) and sample sites were located on the geological map. A detailed description of the sampling and sample processing is given in Table 1. The lithological descriptions were performed following the method described by Tucker (2011). The stratigraphic sections were measured based on the sections described in [32] and [31]. Thin sections, documented in Tables 6–9, are characterized and photographed using a Leica MC170HD polarization microscope and a HC FL PLAN 2.5 × 0.07 camera under parallel and crossed Nicols conditions. According to the Gazzi–Dickinson technique to minimize the effects of the size of the clasts, modal analyses were performed on 71 samples by counting 400–600 points [33]. The modal composition and statistical parameters of the point counting were based on previous works [02], [04], [05], [03], [11], [34], [10], and [09]. The 95% and 99% confidence intervals for Student’s t-test [06] were plotted in optically distinct shades (see Figures 12–20; Tables 2–5). The analyses were performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry for major elements and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for trace elements at ACME Analytical Laboratories Ltd. in Vancouver, Canada. The analyses are provided in Table 9. For this data collection, the distributions of the elements in the random samples were described using the arithmetic mean and confidence limits (95% and 99%, respectively) supplied by Student’s t-test ([06]). Four samples underwent U–Pb geochronological analysis. A detailed description of the geochronological processing and analytic methods is given [01]. The raw and processed data are listed in Tables 16, 18, 20, and 22. The four samples were processed following standard procedures at the geology department of Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada Baja California. U–Pb data were analyzed in zircon grains using laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry at the Central Analytical Facilities, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. All the geochronological data were plotted into the Wetherill Concordia and relative age probability diagram ([43]).