Post-collisional sedimentation of the Early Mesozoic Munamdong Formation in South Korea

Post-collisional processes cause uplift and exhumation of the overthickened crust together with the formation of sedimentary basins. To determine the influence of post-collisional processes on sedimentation, we investigated the Early Mesozoic Munamdong Formation of the Yuljeon Basin in the Korean Peninsula, deposited immediately after the orogenic events caused by the collision of the North China Block and South China Block. Facies analysis shows that the Munamdong Formation was deposited in a streamflow-dominated alluvial fan under tropical/subtropical climatic conditions. Vertically, the Munamdong Formation exhibits a fining-upward trend with changes in stacking patterns, from highly amalgamated channel conglomerates to floodplain fines, indicating a progressive increase in the creation of accommodation space exceeding sediment supply. Moreover, the types of gravels in the conglomerate beds and the petrographic characteristics of the sandstones suggest that the sediments were supplied rapidly from nearby Precambrian high-grade metamorphic rocks and Triassic post-collisional plutons. These results indicate the supply of sediment from restricted sources, implying that the drainage basins did not widen even during intermittent quiescence of basin subsidence. We interpret the fining-upward trend and uniform composition of sediments to have resulted from rapid uplift and exhumation of the orogenic crust, together with rapid tectonic subsidence, possibly aided by post-collisional magmatism. This study shows that the Munamdong Formation reflects a close connection between surficial sedimentation and post-collisional tectonic processes. This study will help to fill the gap of understanding between deep crustal processes and post-collision sedimentation with insight into the Early Mesozoic tectonic environment of the East Asian continental margins.