Provenance of late Paleoproterozoic cover sequences in the central Gawler Craton: exploring stratigraphic correlations in eastern Proterozoic Australia using detrital zircon ages,Hf and Nd isotopic data

Provenance data from Paleoproterozoic and possible Archean sedimentary units in the central eastern Gawler Craton in southern Australia form part of a growing dataset suggesting that the Gawler Craton shares important basin formation and tectonic time lines with the adjacent Curnamona Province and the Isan Inlier in northern Australia. U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from the Eba Formation, previously mapped as the Paleoproterozoic Tarcoola Formation, yields exclusively Archean ages (ca 3300–2530 Ma), which are consistent with evolved whole-rock Nd and zircon Hf isotopic data. The absence of Paleoproterozoic detrital grains in a number of sequences (including the Eba Formation), despite the proximity of voluminous Paleoproterozoic rock units, suggests that the Eba Formation may be part of a Neoarchean or early Paleoproterozoic cover sequence derived from erosion of a multi-aged Archean source region. The ca 1715 Ma Labyrinth Formation, unconformably overlying the Eba Formation, shares similar depositional timing with other basin systems in the Gawler Craton and the adjacent Curnamona Province. Detrital zircon ages in the Labyrinth Formation range from Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic, and are consistent with derivation from >1715 Ma components of the Gawler Craton. Zircon Hf and whole-rock Nd isotopic data also suggest a source region with a mixed crustal evolution (ε_Nd –6 to –4.5), consistent with what is known about the Gawler Craton. Compared with the lower Willyama Supergroup in the adjacent Curnamona Province, the Labyrinth Formation has a source more obviously reconcilable with the Gawler Craton. Stratigraphically overlying the Eba and Labyrinth Formations is the 1656 Ma Tarcoola Formation. Zircon Hf and whole-rock Nd isotopic data indicate that the Tarcoola Formation was sourced from comparatively juvenile rocks (ε_Nd –4.1 to + 0.5). The timing of Tarcoola Formation deposition is similar to the juvenile upper Willyama Supergroup, further strengthening the stratigraphic links between the Gawler and Curnamona domains. Additionally, the Tarcoola Formation is similar in age to extensive units in the Mt Isa and Georgetown regions in northern Australia, also shown to be isotopically juvenile. These juvenile sedimentary rocks contrast with the evolved underlying sequences and hint at the existence of a large-scale ca 1650 Ma juvenile basin system in eastern Proterozoic Australia.     

Post-orogenic (<1500 Ma) thermal history of the Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic, Mt. Isa province, NE Australia

We present hornblende, white mica, biotite and alkali feldspar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data from Paleo-Mesoproterozoic rocks of the Mt. Isa Inlier, Australia, which reveal a previously unrecognised post-orogenic, non-linear cooling history of part of the Northern Australian Craton. Plateau and total fusion ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages range between 1500 and 767 Ma and record increases in regional cooling rates of up to 4 °C/Ma during 1440–1390 and 1260–1000 Ma. Forward modelling of the alkali feldspar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar Arrhenius parameters reveals subsequent increases in cooling rates during 600–400 Ma. The cooling episodes were driven by both erosional exhumation at average rates of 0.25 km/Ma and thermal relaxation following crustal heating and magmatic events. Early Mesoproterozoic cooling is synchronous with exhumation and shearing in the Arunta Block and Gawler Craton. Late Mesoproterozoic cooling could have either been driven by increased rates of exhumation, or a result of thermal relaxation following a heat pulse that was synchronous with dyke emplacement in the Arunta, Musgrave and Mt. Isa province, as well as Grenville-aged orogenesis in the Albany–Fraser Belt. Latest Neoproterozoic–Cambrian cooling and exhumation was probably driven by the convergence of part of the East Antarctic Shield with the Musgrave Block and Western Australia (Petermann Ranges Orogeny), as well as collisional tectonics that produced the Delamerian–Ross Orogen. Major changes in the stress field and geothermal gradients of the Australian plate that are synchronous with the assembly and break-up of parts of Rodinia and Gondwana resulted in shearing and repeated brittle reactivation of the Mt. Isa Inlier, probably via the displacement of long-lived basement faults within the Northern Australian Craton.     

The 1800–1100 Ma tectonic evolution of Australia

This paper presents a plate tectonic model for the evolution of the Australian continent between ca. 1800 and 1100 Ma. Between ca. 1800 and 1600 Ma episodic orogenesis occurred along the southern margin of the continent above a north-dipping subduction system. During this interval multiple orogenic events occurred. The West Australian Craton collided with the North Australian Craton (ca. 1790–1770 Ma), the Archaean nucleus of the Gawler Craton amalgamated with the North Australian Craton (ca. 1740–1690 Ma), and numerous smaller terranes accreted along the western Gawler Craton and the southern Arunta Inlier (ca. 1690–1640 Ma). The pattern of accretion suggests southward migration of the plate margin, which occurred due to a combination of slab rollback and back stepping of a subduction system behind the accreted continental blocks. Coeval with subduction a series of continental back-arc basins formed in the interior of the North Australian Craton and parts of the South Australian Craton, which were attached to the North Australian Craton prior to 1500 Ma. Extension of the North Australian Craton led to the opening of an oceanic basin along the eastern margin of the continent at ca. 1660 Ma. Continuing divergence was accommodated by oceanic spreading whereas the continental basins thermally subsided resulting in the development of sag-phase basins throughout the North Australian Craton. This oceanic basin was subsequently consumed during convergence, which ultimately led to development of a ca. 1600–1500 Ma orogenic belt along the eastern margin of Proterozoic Australia. Between ca. 1470 and 1100 Ma, the South Australian Craton, consisting of the Curnamona Province and the Gawler Craton rifted from the North Australian Craton and was re-attached in its present configuration during episodic ca. 1330–1100 Ma orogenesis, which is preserved in the Albany-Fraser Belt and the Musgrave Block.     

Evolution of the Mount Woods Inlier, northern Gawler Craton, Southern Australia: an integrated structural and aeromagnetic analysis

Structural mapping integrated with interpretation and forward modelling of aeromagnetic data form complimentary and powerful tools for regional structural analysis because both techniques focus on architecture and overprinting relationships. This approach is used to constrain the geometry and evolution of the sparsely exposed Mount Woods Inlier in the northern Gawler Craton. The Mount Woods Inlier records a history of poly-phase deformation, high-temperature metamorphism, and syn- and post-orogenic magmatism between ca. 1736 and 1584 Ma. The earliest deformation involved isoclinal folding, and the development of bedding parallel and axial planar gneissic foliation (S₁). This was accompanied by high-temperature, upper amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism at ca. 1736 Ma. During subsequent north–south shortening (D₂), open to isoclinal south–southeast-oriented F₂ folds developed as the Palaeoproterozoic successions of the inlier were thrust over the Archaean nuclei of the Gawler Craton. The syn-D₂ Engenina Adamellite was emplaced at ca. 1692 Ma. The post-D₂ history involved shear zone development and localised folding, exhumation of metamorphic rocks, and deposition of clastic sediments prior to the emplacement of the ca. 1584 Ma Granite Balta Suite. The Mount Woods Inlier is interpreted as the northern continuation of the Kimban Orogen.     

Changes in Relative Plate Motion during the Isan Orogeny (1670-1500 Ma) and Implications for Pre-Rodinia Reconstructions

Foliation inflexion/intersection axes(FIAs)preserved within porphyroblasts that grew throughout Isan orogenesis reveal significant anticlockwise changes in the direction of bulk horizontal shortening between 1670 and 1500 Ma from NE-SW,N-S,E-W to NW-SE.This implies an anticlockwise shift in relative plate motion with time during the Isan orogeny.Dating monazite grains amongst the axial planar foliations defining three of the four FIAs enabled an age for the periods of relative plate motion that produced these structures to be determined.Averaging the ages from monazite grains defining each FIA set revealed 1649±12 Ma for NE-SW shortening,1645±7 Ma for N-S shortening,and 1591±10 Ma for that directed E-W.Inclusion trail asymmetries indicate shear senses of top to the SW for NW-SE FIAs and dominantly top to the N for E-W FIAs,reflecting thrusting towards the SW and N.No evidence for tectonism related to early NE-SW bulk horizontal shortening has previously been detected in the Mount Isa Inlier.Amalgamation of the Broken Hill and possibly the Gawler provinces with the Mount Isa province may have taken place during these periods of NE-SW and N-S-directed thrusting as the ages of tectonism are similar.Overlapping dates,tectonic,metamorphic,and metallogenic similarities between eastern Australia(Mount Isa and Broken Hill terranes)and the southwest part of Laurentia imply a most probable connection between both continental masses.Putting Australia in such position with respect to North America during the Late-Paleo-to-Mesoproterozoic time is consistent with the AUSWUS model of the Rodinia supercontinent.     

Chronology and evolution of the Middle Proterozoic Albany‐Fraser Orogen,Western Australia

Geochemical and Sm‐Nd isotopic data, and 19 ion‐microprobe U‐Pb zircon dates are reported for gneiss and granite from the eastern part of the Albany‐Fraser Orogen. The orogen is dominated by granitic rocks derived from sources containing both Late Archaean and mantle‐derived components. Four major plutonic episodes have been identified at ca 2630 Ma, 1700–1600 Ma, ca 1300 Ma and ca 1160 Ma. Orthogneiss, largely derived from ca 2630 Ma and 1700–1600 Ma granitic precursors, forms a belt along the southeastern margin of the Yilgarn Craton. These rocks, together with gabbro of the Fraser Complex, were intruded by granitic magmas and metamorphosed in the granulite facies at ca 1300 Ma. They were then rapidly uplifted and transported westward along low‐angle thrust faults over the southeastern margin of the Yilgarn Craton. Between ca 1190 and 1130 Ma, granitic magmas were intruded throughout the eastern part of the orogen. These new data are integrated into a review of the geological evolution of the Albany‐Fraser Orogen and adjacent margin of eastern Antarctica, and possibly related rocks in the Musgrave Complex and Gawler Craton.     

Rhenium–osmium systematics of the Mount Isa copper orebody and the Eastern Creek Volcanics,Queensland, Australia: implications for ore genesis

The syn-tectonic breccia-hosted Mount Isa Cu deposit in northwest Queensland is the largest sediment-hosted Cu deposit in Australia. Whole-rock samples of chalcopyrite-rich Cu ore form an isochron with a Re–Os age of 1,372 ± 41 Ma. This age is more than 100 Ma younger than the previously accepted age of Cu ore formation, an Ar–Ar mineral age for biotite separated from the host rocks within the alteration envelope to the Cu orebody. This discrepancy cannot be unequivocally resolved due to a lack of other absolute geochronological constraints for Cu mineralisation or the deformation event associated with Cu emplacement. The 1,372 ± 41 Ma date may reflect (a) the time of Cu deposition, (b) the time of a hydrothermal event that reset the Re–Os signature of the Cu ore or (c) mixing of the Re–Os isotope systematics between the host rocks and Cu-bearing fluids. However, a range of published Ar–Ar and Rb–Sr dates for potassic alteration associated with Cu mineralisation also records an event between 1,350 and 1,400 Ma and these are consistent with the 1,372 Ma Re–Os age. The 1.8 Ga Eastern Creek Volcanics are a series of tholeiitic basalts with a primary magmatic Cu enrichment which occur adjacent to the Mount Isa Cu deposit. The whole-rock Os isotopic signature of the Eastern Creek Volcanics ranges from mantle-like values for the upper Pickwick Member, to more radiogenic/crustal values for the lower Cromwell Member. The Re–Os isotope signature of the Cu ores overlaps with those calculated for the two volcanic members at 1,372 Ma; hence, the Os isotope data are supportive of the concept that the Os in the Cu ores was sourced from the Eastern Creek Volcanics. By inference, it is therefore postulated that the Eastern Creek Volcanics are the source of Cu in the Mount Isa deposit, as both Os and Cu are readily transported by oxidised hydrothermal fluids, such as those that are thought to have formed the Cu orebody. The Pickwick Member yields a Re–Os isochron age of 1,833 ± 51 Ma, which is within error of previously reported age constraints. The initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os isotopic ratio of 0.114 ± 0.067 (γOs = −0.7) is slightly subchondritic, and together with other trace element geochemical constraints, is consistent with a subcontinental lithospheric mantle source. The Pickwick Member records a minimum age of ca. 1.95 Ga for melt depletion in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the Mount Isa Inlier prior to the extraction of the magmas which formed the Eastern Creek Volcanics. This corresponds with the end of subduction-related magmatism along the eastern margin of the Northern Australian Craton, which included the Mount Isa Inlier.     

Temporal constraints on the timing of high-grade metamorphism in the northern Gawler Craton: implications for assembly of the Australian Proterozoic

LA-ICPMS U–Pb data from metamorphic monazite in upper amphibolite and granulite-grade metasedimentary rocks indicate that the Nawa Domain of the northern Gawler Craton in southern Australia underwent multiple high-grade metamorphic events in the Late Paleoproterozoic and Early Mesoproterozoic. Five of the six samples investigated here record metamorphic monazite growth during the period 1730–1690 Ma, coincident with the Kimban Orogeny, which shaped the crustal architecture of the southeastern Gawler Craton. Combined with existing detrital zircon U–Pb data, the metamorphic monazite ages constrain deposition of the northern Gawler metasedimentary protoliths to the interval ca 1750–1720 Ma. The new age data highlight the craton-wide nature of the 1730–1690 Ma Kimban Orogeny in the Gawler Craton. In the Mabel Creek Ridge region of the Nawa Domain, rocks metamorphosed during the Kimban Orogeny were reworked during the Kararan Orogeny (1570–1555 Ma). The obtained Kararan Orogeny monazite ages are within uncertainty of ca 1590–1575 Ma zircon U–Pb metamorphic ages from the Mt Woods Domain in the central-eastern Gawler Craton, which indicate that high-grade metamorphism and associated deformation were coeval with the craton-scale Hiltaba magmatic event. The timing of this deformation, and the implied compressional vector, is similar to the latter stages of the Olarian Orogeny in the adjacent Curnamona Province and appears to be part of a westward migration in the timing of deformation and metamorphism in the southern Australian Proterozoic over the interval 1600–1545 Ma. This pattern of westward-shifting tectonism is defined by the Olarian Orogeny (1600–1585 Ma, Curnamona Province), Mt Woods deformation (1590–1575 Ma), Mabel Creek Ridge deformation (1570–1555 Ma, Kararan Orogeny) and Fowler Domain deformation (1555–1545 Ma, Kararan Orogeny). This westward migration of deformation suggests the existence of a large evolving tectonic system that encompassed the emplacement of the voluminous Hiltaba Suite and associated volcanic and mineral systems.     

Relationships between magmatism and deformation in northern Yorke Peninsula and southeastern Proterozoic Australia

The ca 1600–1580 Ma time interval is recognised as a significant period of magmatism, deformation and mineralisation throughout eastern Proterozoic Australia. Within the northern Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, this period was associated with the emplacement of multiple phases of the Tickera Granite, an intensely foliated quartz alkali-feldspar syenite, a leucotonalite and an alkali-feldspar granite. These granites belong to the broader Hiltaba Suite that was emplaced at shallow crustal levels throughout the Gawler Craton. Geochemical and isotopic analysis suggests these granite phases were derived from a heterogeneous source region. The syenite and alkali-feldspar granite were derived from similar source regions, likely the underlying ca 1850 Ma Donington Suite and/or the ca 1750 Ma Wallaroo Group metasediments with some contamination from an Archean basement. The leucotonalite is sourced from a similar but more mafic/lower crustal source. Phases of the Tickera Granite were emplaced synchronously with deformation that resulted in development of a prominent northeast-trending structural grain throughout the Yorke Peninsula region. This fabric is associated with composite events resulting from folding, shearing and faulting within the region. The intense deformation and intrusion of granites within this period resulted in mineralisation throughout the region, as seen in Wheal Hughes and Poona mines. The Yorke Peninsula shares a common geological history with the Curnamona Province, which was deformed during the ca 1600–1585 Ma Olarian Orogeny, and resulted in development of early isoclinal and recumbent folds overprinted by an upright fold generation, a dominant northeast-trending structural grain, mineralisation, and spatially and temporally related intrusions. This suggests correlation of parts of the Gawler Craton with the Curnamona Province, and that the Olarian Orogeny also affected the southeastern Gawler Craton.     

TECTONIC STRUCTURE OF THE WESTERN BLACK SEA REGION

The lack of preserved Phanerozoic units within the Proterozoic Mount Isa Inlier of northern Australia renders it difficult to determine its Phanerozoic tectonic history. However, thermo-chronological methods provide a means for assessing this problem. Apatite fission-track data from the central and southern parts of the Inlier reveal periods of post-early Carboniferous accelerated cooling. Apatite fission-track ages vary from 235 to 390 Ma and corresponding mean track lengths range from 11.76 to 13.55 microns. These results record a protracted cooling history below about 110 ± 10° C. The earlier period of cooling revealed by the data occurred during middle Carboniferous time. The event resulted in >2 km of exhumation across the Inlier and probably was in response to intra-continental deformation associated with the Alice Springs Orogeny and tectonics in the adjacent Tasman Orogen.

A high proportion of partly annealed fission tracks in the samples suggests that rocks now exposed across the Inlier resided at the top of the apatite partial annealing zone (approximately 60° C to 70° C) following the mid-Carboniferous cooling. Modeling of the fission-track age and length parameters suggests that approximately 30° C to 50° C of cooling occurred over the past 100 Ma. Assuming a geothermal gradient of 25° C/km, this corresponds to 1.2-2.0 km of exhumation. The post-Middle Cretaceous cooling possibly is related to extensional tectonics at the southern and eastern margins of the Australian plate during the Mesozoic and Tertiary periods and to the more recent collision at the northern margin of the plate.

The spatial variation of apatite fission-track data within the Inlier indicates that the three major structural belts-the Western fold belt, Kalkadoon-Leichhardt belt, and the Eastern fold belt-exhibit similar thermal histories on a regional scale. It also indicates that the main N-S fault zones bounding the belts have not been reactivated in a vertical sense along their entire length since ～350 Ma. However, adjacent smaller-scale fault-bounded blocks within the belts demonstrate variable cooling histories, suggesting that reactivation of favorably oriented minor faults within the Inlier, including segments of the major faults, probably occurred during this time interval. Variations in apatite fission-track data along the 1994 Australian Geological Survey Organization/Australian Geodynamics Co-operation Research Center (AGSO/AGCRC) Mount Isa seismic traverse indicate that up to 1 km of vertical displacement has occurred between two major intrabelt fault zones since middle Carboniferous time.     

U–Pb zircon,zircon Hf and whole-rock Sm–Nd isotopic constraints on the evolution of Paleoproterozoic rocks in the northern Gawler Craton

U–Pb zircon analyses from a series of orthogneisses sampled in drill core in the northern Gawler Craton provide crystallisation ages at ca 1775–1750 Ma, which is an uncommon age in the Gawler Craton. Metamorphic zircon and monazite give ages of ca 1730–1710 Ma indicating that the igneous protoliths underwent metamorphism during the craton-wide Kimban Orogeny. Isotopic Hf zircon data show that 1780–1750 Ma zircons are somewhat evolved with initial ε_Hf values –4 to +0.9, and model ages of ca 2.3 to 2.2 Ga. Isotopic whole rock Sm–Nd values from most samples have relatively evolved initial ε_Nd values of –3.7 to –1.4. In contrast, a mafic unit from drill hole Middle Bore 1 has a juvenile isotopic signature with initial ε_Hf zircon values of ca +5.2 to +8.2, and initial ε_Nd values of ～+3.5 to +3.8. The presence of 1775–1750 Ma zircon forming magmatic rocks in the northern Gawler Craton provides a possible source for similarly aged detrital zircons in Paleoproterozoic basin systems of the Gawler Craton and adjacent Curnamona Province. Previous provenance studies on these Paleoproterozoic basins have appealed to the Arunta Region of the North Australian Craton to provide 1780–1750 Ma detrital zircons, and isotopically and geochemically similar basin fill. The orthogneisses in the northern Gawler Craton also match the source criteria and display geochemical similarities between coeval magmatism in the Arunta Region of the North Australian Craton, providing further support for paleogeographic reconstructions that link the Gawler Craton and North Australian Craton during the Paleoproterozoic.     

A U‐Pb zircon study of the Mesoproterozoic Charleston Granite,Gawler Craton,South Australia

The Charleston Granite from the Gawler Craton, South Australia, has been dated by the ion‐microprobe U‐Pb zircon method at 1585 ± 5 Ma (2σ). This confirms previous interpretations of population‐style U‐Pb zircon analyses which record a slightly older age due to the presence of inherited zircon. Inherited cores are present in many zircon crystals, and while the age of some cores can not be accurately determined due to extreme loss of radiogenic Pb, others have ages of ～ 1780, ～ 1970, and > 3150 Ma. These cores record a diverse crustal heritage for the Charleston Granite and indicate that ancient crustal material (> 3150 Ma) is present at depth in the Gawler Craton. This is also suggested by available Nd isotopic data for both the Charleston Granite and other Gawler Craton Archaean rocks. The Rb‐Sr and K‐Ar biotite ages from the Charleston Granite of 1560 to 1570 Ma are close to the U‐Pb zircon crystallization age and suggest that the granite has not experienced sustained thermal disturbance (> 250° C) since emplacement and cooling. However, a much younger Rb‐Sr total‐rock age of 1443 ± 26 Ma probably reflects low‐temperature disturbance to the Sr isotope system in feldspar.     

Evidence for late Paleoproterozoic (ca 1690–1665 Ma) high- to ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism in southern Australia: Implications for Proterozoic supercontinent models

Oxidised metasediments in the western Gawler Craton southern Australia record late Paleoproterozoic high-temperature (HT) to ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism. The HT-UHT rocks are magnetite-rich and come from drill core in an unexposed region of the Gawler Craton. Coarse-grained cordierite-bearing assemblages that potentially contained osumilite are overprinted by orthopyroxene-sillimanite-bearing assemblages, which in turn are overprinted by garnet. This microstructural record indicates a metamorphic evolution involving early high-T, low-P conditions that were overprinted by lower thermal gradient assemblages. In situ LA–ICP–MS monazite U-Pb age dating yields a range of ages between 1850 and 1530 Ma with large populations at ca 1690–1650 Ma and ca 1600 Ma. Elsewhere in the Gawler Craton HT and UHT metamorphism occurred in the earliest Mesoproterozoic (ca 1580 Ma). The timing of the Australian UHT events coincides with several other documented examples and occurred during the postulated existence of the Columbia supercontinent. If arguments that link the formation of UHT belts to supercontinental amalgamation are valid, then the existence of ca 1700 to 1600 Ma UHT metamorphism may place additional constraints on the timing of Columbian assembly.     

Petrogenesis of ca 1.50 Ga granitic gneiss of the Coompana Block: filling the ‘magmatic gap’ of Mesoproterozoic Australia

The Coompana Block is an essentially unknown basement province that separates the Gawler Craton of South Australia from the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. Previously unstudied granitic gneiss intersected by deep drilling in the Coompana Block represents an important period of within-plate magmatism during a time of relative magmatic quiescence in the Australian Proterozoic. Granitic gneiss intersected at ～1500 m depth in Mallabie 1 diamond drillhole is metaluminous and dominantly granodioritic in composition. The granodiorites have distinctive A-type chemistry characterised by high contents of Zr, Nb, Y, Ga, LREE with low Mg#, Sr, CaO and HREE. U – Pb LA-ICPMS dating of magmatic zircons provides an age of 1505 ± 7 Ma, interpreted as the crystallisation age of the granite protolith. ? _Nd values are high with respect to exposed crust of the Musgrave Province and Gawler Craton, and range from +1.2 to +3.3 at 1.5 Ga. The granitic gneiss is interpreted to be a fractionated melt of a mantle-derived parental melt. The tectonic environment into which the precursor granite was emplaced is not clear. One possibility is emplacement within an extensional environment. Regardless, the granitic gneiss intersected in Mallabie 1 represents magmatic activity during the ‘Australian Mesoproterozoic magmatic gap’ of ca 1.50 – 1.35 Ga, and is a possible source for ca 1.50 detrital zircons found in sedimentary rocks of Tasmania and Antarctica, and metasedimentary rocks of the eastern Musgrave Province.     

The Arunta Inlier: a complex ensialic mobile belt in central Australia. Part 1: Stratigraphy,correlations and origin

The Arunta Inlier is a 200 000 km² region of mainly Precambrian metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rock in central Australia. To the N it merges with similar rocks of lower metamorphic grade in the Tennant Creek Inlier, and to the NW it merges with schist and gneiss of The Granites‐Tanami Province. It is characterized by mafic and felsic meta‐igneous rocks, abundant silicic and aluminous metasediments and carbonate, and low‐ to medium‐pressure metamorphism. Hence, the Arunta Inlier is interpreted as a Proterozoic ensialic mobile belt floored by continental crust. The belt evolved over about 1500 Ma, and began with mafic and felsic volcanism and mafic intrusion in a latitudinal rift, followed by shale and limestone deposition, deformation, metamorphism and emergence. Flysch sedimentation and volcanism then continued in geosynclinal troughs flanking the ridge of meta‐igneous rocks, and were followed by platform deposition of thin shallow‐marine sediments, further deformation, and episodes of metamorphism and granite intrusion.     

Interpretation of a ca. 1600–1580 Ma metamorphic core complex in the northern Gawler Craton,Australia

The Mount Woods Domain in the Gawler Craton, South Australia records a complex tectonic evolution spanning the Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic. The regional structural architecture is interpreted to represent a partially preserved metamorphic core complex that developed during the ~1600–1580 Ma Hiltaba Event, making this one of the oldest known core complexes on Earth. The lower plate is preserved in the central Mount Woods Domain, which comprises the Mount Woods Metamorphics. These rocks yield a detrital zircon maximum depositional age of ~1860 Ma and were polydeformed and metamorphosed to upper amphibolite to granulite facies during the ~1740–1690 Ma Kimban Orogeny. The upper plate comprises a younger succession (the Skylark Metasediments) deposited at ~1750 Ma. Within the upper plate, sedimentary and volcanic successions of the Gawler Range Volcanics were deposited into half graben that evolved during brittle normal faulting. The Skylark Shear Zone represents the basal detachment fault separating the upper and lower plate of the core complex. The geometry of normal faults in the upper plate is consistent with NE-SW extension.Both the upper and lower plates are intruded by ~1795–1575 Ma Hiltaba Suite granitic and mafic plutons. The core complex was extensively modified during the ~1570–1540 Ma Kararan Orogeny. Exhumation of the western and eastern Mount Woods Domain is indicated by new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar biotite cooling ages that show that rock packages in the central Mount Woods Domain cooled past ~300 °C ± 50 °C at ~1560 Ma, which was ~20 million years before equivalent cooling in the western and eastern Mount Woods Domain. Exhumation was associated with activity along major syn-Kararan Orogeny faults.     

1.8–1.5-Ga links between the North and South Australian Cratons and the Early–Middle Proterozoic configuration of Australia

The Archaean and Early–Middle Proterozoic (1.8–1.5 Ga) terranes of the North Australian Craton and the South Australian Craton are separated by 400 km of ca. 1.33–1.10-Ga orogenic belts and Phanerozoic sediments. However, there is a diverse range of geological phenomena that correlate between the component terranes of the two cratons and provide evidence for a shared tectonic evolution between approximately 1.8 and 1.5 Ga. In order to honour these correlations, we propose a reconstruction in which the South Australian Craton is rotated 52° counterclockwise about a pole located at 136°E and 25°S (present-day coordinates), relative to its current position. This reconstruction aligns the ca. 1.8–1.6-Ga orogenic belts preserved in the Arunta Inlier and the Gawler Craton and the ca. 1.6–1.5-Ga orogenic belts preserved in the Mount Isa Block and the Curnamona Province. Before 1.5 Ga, the South Australian Craton was not a separate entity but part of a greater proto-Australian continent which was characterised by accretion along a southward-migrating convergent margin (ca. 1.8–1.6 Ga) followed by convergence along the eastern margin (ca. 1.6–1.5 Ga). After 1.5 Ga, the South Australian Craton broke away from the North Australian Craton only to be reattached in its current position during the ca. 1.33–1.10 Ga-Albany–Fraser and Musgrave orogenies.     

U–Pb,Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd isotopic constraints on provenance and depositional timing of metasedimentary rocks in the western Gawler Craton: Implications for Proterozoic reconstruction models

The Gawler Craton forms the bulk of the South Australian Craton and occupies a pivotal location that links rock systems in Antarctica to those in northern Australia. The western Gawler Craton is a virtually unexposed region where the timing of basin development and metamorphism is largely unknown, making the region ambiguous in the context of models seeking to reconstruct the Australian Proterozoic.Detrital zircon data from metasedimentary rocks in the central Fowler Domain in the western Gawler Craton provide maximum depositional ages between 1760 and 1700 Ma, with rare older detrital components ranging in age up to 3130 Ma. In the bulk of samples, ?_Nd(1700 Ma) values range between ?4.3 and ?3.8. The combination of these data suggest on average, comparatively evolved but age-restricted source regions. Lu–Hf isotopic data from the ca 1700 Ma aged zircons provide a wide range of values (?_Hf(1700 Ma) +6 to ?6). Monazite U–Pb data from granulite-grade metasedimentary rocks yield metamorphic ages of 1690–1670 Ma. This range overlaps with and extends the timing of the widespread Kimban Orogeny in the Gawler Craton, and provides minimum depositional age constraints, indicating that basin development immediately preceded medium to high grade metamorphism.The timing of Paleoproterozoic basin development and metamorphism in the western Gawler Craton coincides with that in the northern and eastern Gawler Craton, and also in the adjacent Curnamona Province, suggesting protoliths to the rocks within the Fowler Domain may have originally formed part of a large ca 1760–1700 Ma basin system in the southern Australian Proterozoic. Provenance characteristics between these basins are remarkably similar and point to the Arunta Region in the North Australian Craton as a potential source. In this context there is little support for tectonic reconstruction models that: (1) suggest components of the Gawler Craton accreted together at different stages in the interval ca 1760–1680 Ma; and (2) that the North Australian Craton and the southern Australian Proterozoic were separate continental fragments between 1760 and 1700 Ma.     

Stratigraphic framework for the Leichhardt and Calvert Superbasins: Review and correlations of the pre‐ 1700 Ma successions between Mt Isa and McArthur River

New stratigraphic, geochemical and palaeomagnetic data from the Peters Creek Volcanics are used to revise the correlations of part of the Palaeoproterozoic of northern Australia. The revised geological history for these cover rocks of the Murphy Inlier is extrapolated into the 1800–1700 Ma successions of the McArthur Basin and Mt Isa regions. New stratigraphic subdivisions and relationships are contrasted with the established lithostratigraphic schemes and also with conflicting published tectono‐stratigraphic interpretations. For the first time, a plethora of stratigraphic units can be rationalised into two major superbasins, the Leichhardt and Calvert Superbasins, and into eight pseudo‐chronostratigraphic basin phases (Associations A‐H). There are few absolute age constraints, but lateral correlations of the units in these eight basin phases are proposed. Results from the overlying Isa Superbasin (<1670 Ma) suggest that these eight associations probably represent second‐order supersequences. Mixed non‐marine and marine coarse clastics, deposited between about 1790 and 1780 Ma dominate Associations A and B. In the Mt Isa region these were deposited in an initial rift then a thermal relaxation or sag phase. To the northwest, however, the succession is dominated by rift facies. Association C is a widespread flood basalt and immature clastic suite that was deposited in clearly defined, north‐trending half‐grabens in the Mt Isa region. Along the southern edge of the Murphy Inlier, however, geophysically defined half‐grabens, filled with magnetic rocks (basalt), trend orthogonal to those at Mt Isa. North of the inlier Association C is much thinner, and little can be deduced about its palaeogeography. Association D is only present in the Mt Isa region as the Myally Subgroup. Differing views on its tectonic setting and environments of deposition, as presented in recent papers, are reviewed. Association E, deposited around 1755 Ma, is a regional sag phase with mixed clastic‐carbonate, shallow‐marine lithofacies in all areas. There is a major gap in the rock record between about 1750 and 1735 Ma which is probably related to widespread basin inversion. The Mid‐Tawallah Compressional Event (McArthur River area) and the Wonga Extension Event (Eastern Succession, Mt Isa) are both about this age. The overlying Association F is a thin, laterally uniform, upward‐fining succession that commences with shallow‐marine clastics and evolves through deeper marine clastics and ends in evaporitic facies. There are broad similarities between Associations F and E so interpretation as a third regional sag is favoured. The absence of Association F at Mt Isa may indicate that basin inversion was longer lived in the southeast. The youngest associations, G and H, are complex interstratified mixtures of felsic‐mafic igneous rocks and immature clastics. U–;Pb zircon SHRIMP ages appear to cluster around 1725 Ma and 1710 Ma, but they may all be part of one thermal event. These eight associations may represent the tectono‐magmatic response of the lithosphere during and after the Strangways Orogeny (1780–1730 Ma).     

Shaping the Australian crust over the last 300 million years: Insights from fission track thermotectonic imaging and denudation studies of key terranes

Apatite fission track thermochronology is a well‐established tool for reconstructing the low‐temperature thermal and tectonic evolution of continental crust. The variation of fission track ages and distribution of fission track lengths are primarily controlled by cooling, which may be initiated by earth movements and consequent denudation at the Earth's surface and/or by changes in the thermal regime. Using numerical forward‐modelling procedures these parameters can be matched with time‐temperature paths that enable thermal and tectonic processes to be mapped out in considerable detail. This study describes extensive Australian regional fission track datasets that have been modelled sequentially and inverted into time‐temperature solutions for visualisation as a series of time‐slice images depicting the cooling history of present‐day surface rocks during their passage through the upper crust. The data have also been combined with other datasets, including digital elevation and heat flow, to image the denudation history and the evolution of palaeotopography. These images provide an important new perspective on crustal processes and landscape evolution and show how important tectonic and denudation events over the last 300 million years can be visualised in time and space. The application of spatially integrated denudation‐rate chronology is also demonstrated for some key Australian terranes including the Lachlan and southern New England Orogens of southeastern Australia, Tasmania, the Gawler Craton, the Mt Isa Inlier, southwestern Australian crystalline terranes (including the Yilgarn Craton) and the Kimberley Block. This approach provides a readily accessible framework for quantifying the otherwise undetectable, timing and magnitude of long‐term crustal denudation in these terranes, for a part of the geological record previously largely unconstrained. Discrete episodes of enhanced denudation occurred principally in response to changes in drainage, base‐level changes and/or uplift/denudation related to far‐field effects resulting from intraplate stress or tectonism at plate margins. The tectonism was mainly associated with the history of continental breakup of the Gondwana Supercontinent from Late Palaeozoic time, although effects related to compression are also recorded in eastern Australia. The results also suggest that the magnitude of denudation of cratonic blocks has been significantly underestimated in previous studies, and that burial and exhumation are significant factors in the preservation of apparent ‘ancient’ features in the Australian landscape.