provenance of zaygun formation, based on petrography, modal analysis and geochemistry in sarbandan section, central alborz

petrography, modal analysis of sandstones and major elements geochemistry of shales of early cambrian zagun formation in sarbandan section, central alborz, are used to identify their provenance (including parent rocks, tectonic setting and paleo-weathering). petrography of the sandstones and plotting their point counting data on qt44, f47, l9 and qm44, f45 ,lt11 diagrams imply that they are arkose, with mainly a plutonic and high- to medium-grade metamorphic source rock in a basement uplift under a dry to sub-humid climate which were deposited in a transition from rift to passive margin tectonic setting. however, the major elements geochemical data show that these sandstones are dominantly arkose and the shales are dominantly iron-free. these results refer to erosion from a quartzose-sedimentary provenance (old quartz grains from rocks such as granite and acidic gneiss) and deposition in a passive continental margin tectonic setting with moderate chemical weathering under dry to sub-humid climatic condition. however, there is a discernible consistency among all different approaches (petrography, modal analysis and geochemistry) in sarbandan section as well as the similar studied in zagun type section. consequently, the results imply a uniform condition of the hinterland and the basin for deposition of the zagun formation in central alborz during early cambrian.