SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating from K-bentonite in the top of ordovician of Wangjiawan Section, Yichang, Hubei, China

The Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Hirnantian Stage (the latest stage of the Ordovician System) is defined at a point 0.39m below the base of the Kuanyinchiao Bed in the Wangjiawan North Section, which is the upper most "golden spike" of the Ordovician. However, this "golden spike" is lack of reliable geochronology data. This article gives a sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMPII) zircon U-Pb dating for a K-bentonite sample from the Kuany-inchiao Bed in the Wangjiawan North Section. The age of the K-bentonite sample is 443.2 +/- 1.6 Ma, that is to say, the isotopic age of the uppermost of Hirnantian Stage, the point of Ordovician-Silurian boundary, should be near to, but slightly younger than 443.2 +/- 1.6 Ma. This age is identical to the Ordovician-Silurian boundary age 443.7 +/- 1.5 Ma as declared by International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). So, this research provides some good geochronlogical data for the Hirnantian Stage and the Ordovician-Silurian boundary as well as the global correlation.