Abstract
The precise timing and nature of the final assembly of the supercontinent Nuna, marked by the collision of proto-Australia and Laurentia (North America) between 1.65 and 1.50 Ga, has remained elusive. The final Nuna suture has been speculated to be concealed in northeastern Australia, but univocal evidence for crustal thickening across the suture zone has been critically lacking. Here we report new garnet petrological and geochronological results of samples from both sides of the inferred suture. The precise garnet Lu-Hf dates show uniformly synchronous prograde metamorphism between 1606 Ma and 1598 Ma, representing crustal thickening in the Georgetown Inlier and simultaneous basin inversion in the Mount Isa Inlier. Broad-scale orogenesis is further supported by the asymmetrical bivergent thrust wedge imaged by deep seismic reflection in the northeastern Australia continental crust. The precisely dated collision-related processes in northeastern Australia correlate with 1.61-1.59 Ga orogenesis recorded within South Australia and North America, suggesting a large-scale collision of Laurentia with Australia-East Antarctica, and pinpointing the final assembly of the supercontinent Nuna.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 959-962 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Geology |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2018 |
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1.6 Ga crustal thickening along the final Nuna suture. / Pourteau, Amaury; Smit, Matthijs A.; Li, Zheng-Xiang; Collins, William J.; Nordsvan, Adam R.; Volante, Silvia; Li, Jiangyu.
In: Geology, Vol. 46, No. 11, 11.2018, p. 959-962.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - 1.6 Ga crustal thickening along the final Nuna suture
AU - Pourteau, Amaury
AU - Smit, Matthijs A.
AU - Li, Zheng-Xiang
AU - Collins, William J.
AU - Nordsvan, Adam R.
AU - Volante, Silvia
AU - Li, Jiangyu
PY - 2018/11
Y1 - 2018/11
N2 - The precise timing and nature of the final assembly of the supercontinent Nuna, marked by the collision of proto-Australia and Laurentia (North America) between 1.65 and 1.50 Ga, has remained elusive. The final Nuna suture has been speculated to be concealed in northeastern Australia, but univocal evidence for crustal thickening across the suture zone has been critically lacking. Here we report new garnet petrological and geochronological results of samples from both sides of the inferred suture. The precise garnet Lu-Hf dates show uniformly synchronous prograde metamorphism between 1606 Ma and 1598 Ma, representing crustal thickening in the Georgetown Inlier and simultaneous basin inversion in the Mount Isa Inlier. Broad-scale orogenesis is further supported by the asymmetrical bivergent thrust wedge imaged by deep seismic reflection in the northeastern Australia continental crust. The precisely dated collision-related processes in northeastern Australia correlate with 1.61-1.59 Ga orogenesis recorded within South Australia and North America, suggesting a large-scale collision of Laurentia with Australia-East Antarctica, and pinpointing the final assembly of the supercontinent Nuna.
AB - The precise timing and nature of the final assembly of the supercontinent Nuna, marked by the collision of proto-Australia and Laurentia (North America) between 1.65 and 1.50 Ga, has remained elusive. The final Nuna suture has been speculated to be concealed in northeastern Australia, but univocal evidence for crustal thickening across the suture zone has been critically lacking. Here we report new garnet petrological and geochronological results of samples from both sides of the inferred suture. The precise garnet Lu-Hf dates show uniformly synchronous prograde metamorphism between 1606 Ma and 1598 Ma, representing crustal thickening in the Georgetown Inlier and simultaneous basin inversion in the Mount Isa Inlier. Broad-scale orogenesis is further supported by the asymmetrical bivergent thrust wedge imaged by deep seismic reflection in the northeastern Australia continental crust. The precisely dated collision-related processes in northeastern Australia correlate with 1.61-1.59 Ga orogenesis recorded within South Australia and North America, suggesting a large-scale collision of Laurentia with Australia-East Antarctica, and pinpointing the final assembly of the supercontinent Nuna.
KW - MT ISA INLIER
KW - PRE-RODINIA SUPERCONTINENT
KW - EASTERN FOLD BELT
KW - NORTH QUEENSLAND
KW - MESOPROTEROZOIC SUPERCONTINENT
KW - NORTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA
KW - GEORGETOWN INLIER
KW - NE AUSTRALIA
KW - BROKEN-HILL
KW - METAMORPHISM
U2 - 10.1130/G45198.1
DO - 10.1130/G45198.1
M3 - Article
VL - 46
SP - 959
EP - 962
JO - Geology
JF - Geology
SN - 0091-7613
IS - 11
ER -