Mesoproterozoic Tasmania: Witness to the East Antarctica–Laurentia connection within Nuna

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 2015 Mesoproterozoic Tasmania: Witness to the East Antarctica–Laurentia connection within Nuna Jacob A. Mulder; Jacob A. Mulder * 1ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES), School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 79, TAS 7001, Australia *E-mail: Jacob.Mulder@utas.edu.au Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jacqueline A. Halpin; Jacqueline A. Halpin 1ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES), School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 79, TAS 7001, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Nathan R. Daczko Nathan R. Daczko 2ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems and GEMOC, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Jacob A. Mulder * 1ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES), School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 79, TAS 7001, Australia Jacqueline A. Halpin 1ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES), School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 79, TAS 7001, Australia Nathan R. Daczko 2ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems and GEMOC, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia *E-mail: Jacob.Mulder@utas.edu.au Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 04 Apr 2015 Revision Received: 15 Jun 2015 Accepted: 16 Jun 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2015 Geological Society of America Geology (2015) 43 (9): 759–762. https://doi.org/10.1130/G36850.1 Article history Received: 04 Apr 2015 Revision Received: 15 Jun 2015 Accepted: 16 Jun 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Jacob A. Mulder, Jacqueline A. Halpin, Nathan R. Daczko; Mesoproterozoic Tasmania: Witness to the East Antarctica–Laurentia connection within Nuna. Geology 2015;; 43 (9): 759–762. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G36850.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Most recent paleogeographic reconstructions of the supercontinent Nuna juxtapose the North Australian craton, Mawson continent (South Australia–East Antarctica), and Laurentia between 1.6 Ga and 1.3 Ga but differ in their relative positioning. The >10-km-thick siliciclastic Rocky Cape Group of Tasmania was deposited in an opening marine basin on the margin of East Antarctica during Nuna breakup. Based on a similar detrital zircon signature and depositional age, the Rocky Cape Group has been correlated with the upper Belt-Purcell Supergroup in Laurentia, thus representing a key tie point within Nuna. Here the detrital zircon age signature of Mesoproterozoic Rocky Cape Group quartzites is investigated by comparing new detrital zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic data to an extensive compilation of zircon isotopic data from Australia, East Antarctica, and Laurentia. Our analysis demonstrates that the Rocky Cape Group is unlikely to have been sourced from any geological terrane exposed in present-day Australia. Instead, zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic data from basement terranes in Laurentia and East Antarctica show striking similarities to the Rocky Cape Group detrital signature. Paleocurrent data indicate that the majority of sediment in the Rocky Cape Group was sourced from Laurentia, which was to the southeast (present-day coordinates) of Tasmania, supporting a SWEAT-like (southwest United States–East Antarctica) configuration for Nuna. We suggest that rifting left a thinned continental connection between East Antarctica and Laurentia onto which the lower-middle Rocky Cape Group was deposited between 1.45 and 1.30 Ga. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.