Abstract
The limited shortening and crustal thickening in the Arabian–Nubian Shield (ANS) during central Gondwana amalgamation have preserved the pre-continental collision accretionary orogen in a manner that allows us to reconstruct past plate tectonic kinematics. We interpret this to show remarkable changes in plate tectonic motions at ca. 720 Ma that reflect a major change in subduction of the Mozambique Ocean. This is represented in the ANS by the transition from earlier (presently oriented) NE–SW trending suture zones (Bi’r Umq–Nakasib and Yanbu–Sol Hamed) to younger approximately NNW–SSE trending sutures (Keraf and Nabitah). This plate reorganization event is seen elsewhere in the planet at this time and is interpreted to represent the beginning of Neoproterozoic India’s southward progression from Tonian high latitudes to more equatorial locations as it advanced orthogonally towards the Neoproterozoic African continents on one side and obliquely against Western Australia on the other. The geology of the ANS provides vital constraints in the endeavour of reconstructing the plate tectonic circuit of the globe in deep time.
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