A New Reconstruction for Permian East Gondwana Based on Zircon Data From Ophiolite of the East Australian Great Serpentinite Belt

Abstract

AbstractThe Great Serpentinite Belt of eastern Australia is a ∼1500 km long dismembered ophiolite assumed to be Cambrian based on studies of small (typically <50 m2) exotic meta‐igneous inclusions despite contrasting ages (Cambrian—Devonian) and complex P‐T histories. To overcome these issues, we studied a ∼18 km2 coherent block of dismembered ophiolite that provides robust geological context to sampling the ophiolite. Zircon U‐Pb‐Hf‐O isotope and trace analyses from three plagiogranite dykes cutting massive gabbro confirm ∼283–277 Ma ages and a mantle source. As a result, we argue older Cambrian to Devonian plagiogranite and subducted blocks were inherited from previous subduction events in eastern Australia. These findings allow us to match the Great Serpentinite Belt with the contemporary Dun Mountain ophiolite (New Zealand) and the Koh ophiolite (New Caledonia), thus supporting a new, integrated Pacific Gondwana margin paleogeography involving multiple arcs and subduction zones.