Woodlark Rift Research Articles

Insights into initial continental rifting of marginal seas from seismic evidence for slab relics in the mid-mantle of the Woodlark rift, southwestern Pacific

Abstract The initiation and evolution of marginal seas, especially those developing under a convergent setting, is one of the more enigmatic aspects of plate tectonics. Here, we report the presence of slab relics in the mid-mantle of the Woodlark rift in the southwestern Pacific based on a new map of the topography of the mantle discontinuities from a receiver function analysis and evidence from body-wave tomography. The widespread mantle transition-zone thickening rules out active mantle upwelling, and the revealed slab relics in both the upper and middle mantle may hydrate the upper mantle, which can be expected to further weaken the overlying lithosphere. Such a process can then promote initial continental rifting when this lithosphere is exposed to tensional stress like slab-pull stretching originating from the nearby active subduction.

Continental Break‐Up Under a Convergent Setting: Insights From P Wave Radial Anisotropy Tomography of the Woodlark Rift in Papua New Guinea

AbstractTo explore the dynamic mechanism of continental rifting within a convergent setting, we determine the first P wave radial anisotropic tomography beneath the Woodlark rift in southeastern Papua New Guinea, which develops within the obliquely colliding zone between the Australian and southwest Pacific plates. The rift zone is depicted as localized low‐velocity anomalies with positive radial anisotropy, which rules out a dominant role of active mantle upwelling in promoting the rift development and favors passive rifting with decompression melting as main processes. Downwelling slab relics in the upper mantle bounding the rift zone are revealed based on observed high‐velocity anomalies and negative radial anisotropy, which may contribute to the ultra‐high pressure rock exhumations and rift initiation. Our observations thus indicate that the Woodlark rift follows a passive model and is mainly driven by slab pull from the northward subduction of the Solomon plate.

The thermo-tectonic evolution of the actively exhuming Mai'iu Fault footwall – Suckling-Dayman metamorphic core complex – in the Woodlark Rift of Papua New Guinea

The Mai'iu Fault in the Woodlark Rift of southeastern Papua New Guinea is an active north-dipping low-angle normal fault (LANF) that has exhumed the spectacular Suckling-Dayman metamorphic core complex (SDMCC) in its footwall. While its youthful domal geomorphology suggests recent tectonic exhumation of the SDMCC, the cooling and exhumation history of this active metamorphic core complex have not been studied in detail before. Here we provide the first zircon and apatite fission-track (FT) and (U-Th)/He thermochronometric data on the SDMCC based on a suite of samples from slip-parallel footwall transects and syn-extensional alluvial deposits shed from the emerging dome. In addition, we double dated zircon using U–Pb LA-ICP-MS. These chronometric techniques are complemented by temperature and pressure estimates from Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material (RSCM) and Al-in-amphibole and Al-in-biotite barometry on footwall phyllites/schists and granitoids, respectively. The data indicate that slip on the Mai'iu Fault had initiated by ~4 Ma. We show that slip on the Mai'iu Fault has persisted at cm/year rates since the onset of extension, making it one of Earth's most rapidly slipping continental LANF. Integrating temperature estimates from FT and (U-Th)/He thermochronometry and RSCM, we calculated a down-dip, fault-parallel paleo-field temperature gradient along the now-exhumed part of the Mai'iu Fault of ~11 °C/km. For a likely range of pre-extensional geothermal gradients in the Woodlark Rift (10–20 °C/km), this paleo-field temperature gradient implies an average initial dip of the Mai'iu Fault of ~46°. Given the present dip of ~21° at the surface, the thermal data reinforce other evidence that the footwall of the Mai'iu Fault has been back-rotated to the south by ≥20° during progressive unroofing since fault inception, consistent with a rolling hinge style evolution of the SDMCC.

Tectonics of the Papua‐Woodlark Region

AbstractThe Papua‐Woodlark region exemplifies many plate tectonic processes, from active continental breakup to double plunging subduction zones. We present a synthesis of geological and geophysical data from the region and interpret these data to characterize the present plate boundaries. A subducted slab shown to underlie the Trobriand forearc is associated with the Papuan volcanic arc and the diapiric emplacement of felsic gneissic domes in the Woodlark rift from previously subducted continental materials in the mantle wedge. In contrast, the Suckling‐Dayman metamorphic core complex formed in the footwall of the Mai'iu extensional detachment, augmented by calc‐alkaline and high‐K magmatic intrusion and uplift. Utilizing Global Positioning System relative velocities, transform fault azimuths, ridge axis azimuths, and two fault slip directions, we derive a plate kinematic model for the Australia, Woodlark, Trobriand, and Solomon Sea plates to describe the neotectonics and provide insight to the past tectonics. We present two cases—with and without subduction at the Trobriand Trough—and favor the former based on our characterization of the plate boundaries. Our model estimates current Trobriand subduction rates of 4.5–4.7 mm/yr with obliquity increasing westwards, and full spreading rates, increasing eastwards along the Woodlark Basin spreading center, of 20–40 mm/yr. Based on seafloor morphology, we further estimate the time of the change in the pole of the Woodlark Basin opening at 450 Ka followed by a decrease in spreading rate and complete reorientation of the spreading axis fabric at 200 Ka.

Dating of young (<1 Ma) tephras: Using U‐Pb (zircon) and (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He (zircon, apatite, magnetite) chronometers to unravel the eruption age of a tephra in the Woodlark Rift of Papua New Guinea

AbstractThe dating of volcanic tephras forms a critical cornerstone of chronostratigraphy and is paramount for the resolution of the geological timescale. (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He dating is an emerging tool in Quaternary tephrochronology and ideally suited to date tephras <1 Ma. We present zircon, magnetite and apatite (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He combined with zircon U‐Pb data for a Pleistocene tephra in syn‐rift strata of the Woodlark Rift in Papua New Guinea. The results reveal a young He age mode (~0.5 to 0.8 Ma), consistent with an autocrystic zircon U‐Pb crystallisation age of 0.8 ± 0.1 Ma, as well as a broad range of older (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He (~1.6 to 10.2 Ma) and U‐Pb (~4.4 to 107 Ma) ages. These data demonstrate the potential of integrated U‐Pb and (U‐Th[‐Sm])/He multi‐method chronometry for dating the youngest coherent age mode, detecting contaminant grains and evaluating the isotopic systematics of these techniques.

The petrology, geochronology and tectono-magmatic setting of igneous rocks in the Suckling-Dayman metamorphic core complex, Papua New Guinea

Southeastern Papua New Guinea has hosted magmatism throughout the Cenozoic, with the latest phase being concurrent with active extension in the Woodlark Rift. There, the Suckling-Dayman metamorphic core complex (SDMCC) has exhumed middle-crustal rocks in the past few million years along a still-active low-angle normal fault, the Mai'iu Fault. Uplift of the SDMCC has exposed metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks of Late Cretaceous-Pleistocene age that record an evolution from oceanic spreading to subduction, to collision, and finally to subduction-inversion and extensional exhumation. We present new petrographic, whole-rock geochemical and geochronologic (zircon U–Pb LA-ICP-MS) data from the SDMCC to reconstruct its long-term evolution. The dominant footwall-lithology of the SDMCC, the Goropu Metabasalt, has a MORB composition. Detrital zircons from metasedimentary beds intercalated with these basalts yield U–Pb-based maximum estimates for deposition of ~103 and ~72 Ma, suggesting a Late Cretaceous spreading age of the oceanic protolith. Bulk compositions of low-grade tholeiitic meta-gabbroic and -tonalitic rocks (Yau Igneous Complex) that intrude the Goropu Metabasalt reveal both enriched and depleted light rare earth element patterns. Zircon U–Pb ages from the Yau Igneous Complex range between ~60 and ~57 Ma, providing a minimum age for the formation of the Goropu Metabasalt. Much younger syn-extensional granitoids in the mafic footwall of the SDMCC have calc-alkaline to high-K compositions and U–Pb ages on zircon between ~3.7 and ~2.0 Ma. Our data indicate that the Mai'iu Fault had re-activated a Paleogene thrust as an extensional detachment fault by 3.7 ± 0.2 Ma. U–Pb ages of detrital zircons in modern streams draining the footwall of the SDMCC essentially reflect the ages revealed by the Paleocene and Plio-Pleistocene intrusions. Xenocrystic zircons in the Plio-Pleistocene granitoids imply that the crust underlying the metabasaltic carapace of the SDMCC consists chiefly of Australian-continent derived sedimentary rocks.

A revision of Callulops doriae (Anura: Microhylidae), with descriptions of four new species.

I investigate the taxonomy of frogs currently assigned to the single species Callulops doriae, which is unique in the genus for its warty, dark-spotted dorsum and large yellow or orange blotches in the groin and on the hidden surfaces of the thighs. I show that many species are currently encompassed under this single name, I remove Manthophryne neuhaussi from synonymy, and I describe four new species, three of which have long been in museum collections, and one of which is newly collected by me. Each of these new species is most readily distinguished by their unique color patterns, but additional morphological features-primarily morphometric-also serve to distinguish among them. Despite this partition of C. doriae, additional museum specimens cannot be assigned to any of the species treated here and certainly represent unrecognized species. But the poor states of preservation of some of these and the absence of color-pattern information in life preclude describing them until new material of each is available. Three of the six species treated herein, which occur in the southern portion of the Papuan Peninsula, were previously included in a molecular phylogeny, and inferred dates of divergence for them accord well with the geological dynamism of this region created by opening of the Woodlark Rift. In two cases, pairs of species are reported in general sympatry, and elevational data suggest that these species are likely to segregate elevationally where their ranges approach each other. At least four of the species treated herein are known to produce viscous glandular secretions that presumably deter predators, and I describe the defensive display of one of these, which I presume is aposematic.

Evolution of a rapidly slipping, active low-angle normal fault, Suckling-Dayman metamorphic core complex, SE Papua New Guinea

Evolution of a rapidly slipping, active low-angle normal fault, Suckling-Dayman metamorphic core complex, SE Papua New Guinea

How fast can low-angle normal faults slip? Insights from cosmogenic exposure dating of the active Mai’iu fault, Papua New Guinea

Abstract Is there an upper limit to normal fault slip rates? The Mai’iu fault, located within the rapidly extending Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea, is one of few active continental low-angle normal faults (LANFs) globally. There is ongoing debate regarding how commonly normal faults slip at shallow (<30°) dips, and at what rates. We present a global compilation of reported slip rates on active and inactive extensional detachments that suggests that such faults may slip at >10–20 mm/yr—faster than any reported high-angle normal fault. Cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating (10Be in quartz) of the lowermost Mai’iu fault scarp supports this finding, indicating slip at 11.7 ± 3.5 mm/yr over the past ∼5.5 k.y. Our results highlight the long-term viability of LANFs, and show that the Mai’iu fault represents one of Earth’s fastest active continental normal faults. Rapid and large-displacement slip is likely enabled by extremely low fault frictional strength.

A joint inversion for shear velocity and anisotropy: the Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea

A joint inversion for shear velocity and anisotropy: the Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea

Paleomagnetic evidence for vertical‐axis rotations of crustal blocks in the Woodlark Rift, SEPapua New Guinea: Miocene to present‐day kinematics in one of the world's most rapidly extending plate boundary zones

AbstractThe continental Woodlark Rift, in SE Papua New Guinea lies west of a propagating oceanic spreading center in the Woodlark Basin and is currently one of few places on Earth where active continental breakup is thought to be occurring. Here north‐south extension is localized on a few major normal faults. We determined characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) components from demagnetization profiles of >300 individual specimens. From these, 157 components contribute to paleomagnetic directions for six formations. We compare Early Miocene (∼20 Ma) to Late Pliocene (3.0 ± 0.5) ChRM mean directions, at four localities, with contemporaneous expected field directions corresponding to the Australian Plate. Time‐varying finite rotations from Cape Vogel Peninsula (28–12°) suggest anticlockwise rotation had begun by ∼15 Ma. This rotation may have been accompanied by rifting, ∼7 Ma earlier than previously inferred. Furthermore, that early extension may have occurred south of the present rift, and that deformation later migrated north of the Peninsula. Pliocene vertical‐axis rotations are consistent with GPS‐determined plate motions, suggesting that contemporary rift kinematics were established by ∼3 Ma. Finite anticlockwise rotation (10.1 ± 7.6°) in the Amphlett Islands is accordant with seafloor spreading in the Woodlark Basin, suggesting this locality has seen the full Woodlark plate motion since 3 Ma. Clockwise rotation of the Goodenough Bay Block (−6.5 ± 11.2°) since the Late Miocene has accomplished transfer of deformation between major extensional corridors, and an especially rapid local rotation (−16.3 ± 9.5°) in NW Normanby Island may suggest an incipient dextral transfer fault.

Cathodoluminescence guided zircon Hf isotope depth profiling: Mobilization of the Lu–Hf system during (U)HP rock exhumation in the Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea

Cathodoluminescence image guided Hf isotope depth profiling by laser ablation of zircons from two quartzofeldspathic host gneisses constrains the Lu–Hf system's behavior during rapid exhumation of (U)HP rocks in the Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea. Investigation of the depth profiling technique in individual and composite zircon standards demonstrates that it is possible to resolve ~8μm thick domains in which εHf(present) differs by as little as 4units. In a metasedimentary gneiss, 2.89±0.29Ma zircon overgrowths on Cretaceous aged inherited cores have radiogenic εHf(present) indicating growth in a medium that was originally in equilibrium with garnet undergoing recrystallization (the ‘garnet effect’ of Zheng et al., 2005). In a separate gneiss sample that originated as an exhumation related anatectic melt, 3.66±0.13Ma zircons lacking inheritance contain sub-domains that differ from each other by >15 εHf(present). Some of these sub-domains are radiogenic and can be explained by the ‘garnet effect’, whereas others also contain highly elevated Lu and Yb in addition to their radiogenic Hf compositions, thus necessitating a medium derived from the complete breakdown of garnet. Zircons in this sample also contain non-radiogenic sub-domains that grew in the presence of Hf mobilized from the surrounding rocks of the subducted and metamorphosed remnants of the Australian continental margin. The results confirm that rapid exhumation of (U)HP rocks can result in the following: 1) transmission of radiogenic Hf (and sometimes Lu and the other HREE) from garnet bearing mafic lithologies into the quartzofeldspathic gneisses, and 2) mobilization and transport of unradiogenic Hf present within the quartzofeldspathic remnants of subducted continental crust.

Continental breakup and UHP rock exhumation in action: GPS results from the Woodlark Rift, Papua New Guinea

AbstractWe show results from a network of campaign Global Positioning System (GPS) sites in the Woodlark Rift, southeastern Papua New Guinea, in a transition from seafloor spreading to continental rifting. GPS velocities indicate anticlockwise rotation (at 2–2.7°/Myr, relative to Australia) of crustal blocks north of the rift, producing 10–15 mm/yr of extension in the continental rift, increasing to 20–40 mm/yr of seafloor spreading at the Woodlark Spreading Center. Extension in the continental rift is distributed among multiple structures. These data demonstrate that low‐angle normal faults in the continents, such as the Mai'iu Fault, can slip at high rates nearing 10 mm/yr. Extensional deformation observed in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, the site of the world's only actively exhuming Ultra‐High Pressure (UHP) rock terrane, supports the idea that extensional processes play a critical role in UHP rock exhumation. GPS data do not require significant interseismic coupling on faults in the region, suggesting that much of the deformation may be aseismic. Westward transfer of deformation from the Woodlark Spreading Center to the main plate boundary fault in the continental rift (the Mai'iu fault) is accommodated by clockwise rotation of a tectonic block beneath Goodenough Bay, and by dextral strike slip on transfer faults within (and surrounding) Normanby Island. Contemporary extension rates in the Woodlark Spreading Center are 30–50% slower than those from seafloor spreading‐derived magnetic anomalies. The 0.5 Ma to present seafloor spreading estimates for the Woodlark Basin may be overestimated, and a reevaluation of these data in the context of the GPS rates is warranted.

The Early-Middle Miocene subduction complex of the Louisiade Archipelago, southern margin of the Woodlark Rift

Field, microstructural, and 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic data from the Louisiade Archipelago, the southern rifted margin of the Woodlark Basin in SE Papua New Guinea, document an accretionary wedge that formed during Early-Middle Miocene N-dipping subduction of the Australian margin and transpression along the Australian-Pacific plate boundary. Metasedimentary rocks of the Calvados Schist and the metagabbros that intrude them were metamorphosed at up to greenschist-facies conditions. Three tectonic foliations (S1–S3) are present and F1–F3 fold hinges plunge ESE or WNW, parallel to mineral, stretching, and intersection lineations. Fold vergence is dominantly to the SW, and top-to-the-SW thrusting of ultramafic rocks over the Calvados Schist is documented locally on Rossel Island. The data suggest progressive deformation associated with NNE-SSW shortening and ESE-WNW extension via dissolution-precipitation creep and, more locally, dislocation creep. 40Ar/39Ar step-heating analyses of three white mica separates yield Middle Miocene plateau or plateau-like segments that are affected by variable Pliocene argon loss and are interpreted as syntectonic mica growth during metamorphism and deformation followed by partial resetting just prior to the onset of seafloor spreading in the Woodlark Basin. A ∼12 Ma 40Ar/39Ar age from a dacite sill of the Panarora Volcanics provides a minimum age constraint for the termination of northward subduction and a maximum age for crosscutting brittle strike-slip faults. These data are critical to constraining the subduction-exhumation history of the world's youngest high-ultrahigh-pressure terrane and further support analogies between SE Papua New Guinea and the Early Oligocene Western Alps.

Timing of UHP exhumation and rock fabric development in gneiss domes containing the world's youngest eclogite Facies rocks, southeastern Papua New Guinea

AbstractThe youngest known ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) rocks in the world occur in the Woodlark Rift of southeastern Papua New Guinea. Since their crystallization in the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene, these eclogite facies rocks have been rapidly exhumed from mantle depths to the surface and today they remain in the still‐active geodynamic setting that caused this exhumation. For this reason, the rocks provide an excellent opportunity to study rates and processes of (U)HP exhumation. We present New Rb–Sr results from 12 rock samples from eclogite‐bearing gneiss domes in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, and use those results to examine the time lag between (U)HP metamorphism and later ductile thinning, penetrative fabric development and accompanying metamorphic retrogression at amphibolite facies conditions during their exhumation. A Rb–Sr age for a sample of mafic eclogite (with no preserved coesite) from the core zone of the Mailolo gneiss dome (Fergusson Island) provides a new estimate of the timing of HP metamorphism (5.6 ± 1.6 Ma). The strongly deformed quartzofeldspathic and granitic gneisses (90–95% by volume) that enclose variably retrogressed relict blocks of mafic eclogite (5–10% by volume) yield Rb–Sr isochron ages from 4.4 to 2.4 Ma. For the UHP‐bearing gneisses of Mailolo dome, previously published U–Pb ages on zircon and our Rb–Sr isochron ages are consistent with a mean time lag of 2.2 ± 1.5 Ma (~95% c.i.) for passage of the rock between eclogite and amphibolite facies conditions. New thermobarometric data indicate that the main syn‐exhumational foliation developed at amphibolite facies conditions of 630–665 °C and 12.1–14.4 kbar. These pressure estimates indicate that the lower crust of the Woodlark Rift was unusually thick (>40 km) at the time of the amphibolite facies overprint, possibly as a result of accumulation and underplating of UHP‐derived material from below. Our data imply a minimum unroofing rate of 10 ± 7 mm year−1 (~95% c.i.) for the (U)HP body from minimum HP depths (73 ± 7 km) to lower crustal depths. This minimum unroofing rate reinforces previous inferences that the exhumation from the mantle to the surface of the gneiss domes in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands took place at plate tectonic rates. On the basis of previous structural studies and the new thermobarometry, we attribute the high (cm year−1) exhumation to diapiric ascent of the partially molten terrane from mantle depths, with a secondary contribution from pure shear thinning of the terrane after its arrival in the crust.

Zircon growth in (U)HP quartzo-feldspathic host gneisses exhumed in the Woodlark Rift of Papua New Guinea

To understand zircon behavior as a function of bulk composition and metamorphic grade in the world's youngest (U)HP terrane, we report U-Pb SIMS spot-mode and depth-profiling analyses for quartzo-feldspathic gneisses. Zircons from two gneisses contain Cretaceous inherited cores, with μm sized metamorphic rims requiring depth profiling for reliable dating. Linear regression of the common-Pb uncorrected data for rims yield 206Pb/238U ages of 2.89 ± 0.29 Ma and 2.77 ± 0.99 Ma (concordia intercept ages at 95% confidence). The older age is within two-sigma error of previously reported 206Pb/238U ages on zircons from mafic eclogite within the gneiss, indicating that rims formed on inherited cores within host gneisses during eclogite facies metamorphism. At the (U)HP locality zircons from host gneiss lack inheritance and yield a 206Pb/238U age of 3.66 ± 0.13 Ma. These results are younger than previously reported 206Pb/238U ages on zircons from coesite eclogite within the gneiss, but are within error of the youngest reported LA-ICP-MS 206Pb/238U zircon ages on retrogressed mafic eclogite. We also report intragrain geochemical heterogeneity, indicated by zircon Hf, Y, and Ti variations in depth profiles which suggest chemical disequilibrium over the interval of zircon growth. Collectively, these results indicate that zircon recrystallization and new growth of zircon rims on relict grains occurred during eclogite facies metamorphism and during subsequent retrogression, but not at (U)HP conditions. Comparison between results from PNG and other (U)HP terranes bolsters previous suggestions that the PNG (U)HP terrane evolved rapidly.

Anisotropy beneath a highly extended continental rift

AbstractWe have employed shear wave splitting techniques to image anisotropy beneath the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, in southeastern Papua New Guinea. Our results provide a detailed picture of the extending continent that lies immediately ahead of a propagating mid‐ocean ridge tip; we image the transition from continental to oceanic extension. A dense shear wave splitting data set from a 2010 to 2011 passive‐source seismic deployment is analyzed using single and multichannel methods. Splitting delay times of 1–1.5 s are observed and fast axes of anisotropy trending N‐S, parallel to rifting direction, predominate the results. This trend is linked to lattice‐preferred orientation of olivine, primarily in the shallow convecting mantle, driven by up to 200 km of N‐S continental extension ahead of the westward‐propagating Woodlark Rift. This pattern differs from several other continental rifts that evince rift‐strike‐parallel fast axes and is evident despite the complex recent tectonic history. We contend that across most of this rift, the unusually high rate and magnitude of extension has been sufficient to produce a regime change to a mid‐ocean‐ridge‐like mantle fabric. Stations in the south of our array show more complex splitting that might be related to melt or to complex inherited structure at the edge of the extended region.

Microstructures and quartz lattice‐preferred orientations in the eclogite‐bearing migmatitic gneisses of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, Papua New Guinea

Lattice preferred orientations (LPO) of quartz in gneiss domes of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, Woodlark Rift shed insight into exhumation of the world's youngest (~5–7 Ma) eclogite‐bearing terrane at cm/yr rates. We focus on deformation that affected the terrane as it transited between lower crustal depths and the surface, including: (1) grain‐scale deformation mechanisms; and (2) style of flow and mode of emplacement of the domes. Electron‐backscatter diffraction was used to analyze microstructure and LPOs of 37 quartzofeldspathic gneiss samples that enclose meter‐scale mafic blocks preserving original eclogite‐facies assemblages. During exhumation of the ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) terrane, gneisses were retrogressed in the amphibolite facies at lower crustal depths. The LPOs change from dome cores to carapaces, consistent with decreasing deformational temperatures. In the relatively chilled outer carapaces of the domes, the quartz LPOs consist of mostly crossed‐girdle [c]‐axis patterns, with some cleft‐girdle and small‐circle LPOs, and record dislocation creep accommodated by mixed‐ < a > slip. In the cores of the migmatitic domes, a chessboard pattern of subgrains is common, and quartz LPOs primarily record prism‐[c] slip, probably at >630 °C. Other microstructures indicate recovery by high‐temperature grain‐boundary migration. Grain‐boundary mobility was anisotropic, leading to strong grain‐shape fabrics oblique to foliation, but not obviously relatable to shear sense. Evidence for melt‐present deformation is abundant, and microstructures (including partially dissolved feldspar grains) indicate some deformation by fluid‐assisted grain‐boundary diffusion creep. LPOs in carapace rocks are symmetrical, recording flow that was dominantly coaxial. We interpret the gneiss domes to have been emplaced into the rift as partially molten diapirs.

The origin and geochemical evolution of the Woodlark Rift of Papua New Guinea

Geochemical, isotopic, and geochronologic data for exhumed rocks in the Woodlark Rift of Papua New Guinea (PNG) allow a tectonic link to be established with the Late Cretaceous Whitsunday Volcanic Province (WVP) of northeastern Australia. Most of the metamorphic rocks in the Woodlark Rift have Nd isotopic compositions (εNd=+1.7 to +6.2) similar to the Nd isotopic compositions of rocks in the WVP (εNd=+1.3 to +6.6; Ewart et al., 1992), and contain inherited zircons with 90 to 100Ma U–Pb ages that overlap the timing of magmatism in the WVP. None of the metamorphic rocks in the Woodlark Rift have the highly evolved Hf and Nd isotopic compositions expected of ancient continental crust. Magmas were erupted in the WVP during the middle Cretaceous as eastern Gondwana was rifted apart. The protoliths of felsic and intermediate metamorphic rocks in the Woodlark Rift are interpreted to be related to the magmatic products produced during this Cretaceous rifting event. Some mafic metamorphic rocks exposed in the western Woodlark Rift (eclogites and amphibolites) are not related to the WVP and instead could have originated as basaltic lavas crystallized from mantle melts at (U)HP depths in the Late Cenozoic, or as fragments of Mesozoic aged oceanic lithosphere.Isotopic and elemental comparisons between basement gneisses and Quaternary felsic volcanic rocks demonstrate that felsic lavas in the D'Entrecasteaux Islands did not form solely from partial melting of metamorphic rocks during exhumation. Instead, the isotopic compositions and geochemistry of Quaternary felsic volcanic rocks indicate a significant contribution from the partial melting of the mantle in this region. When combined with geophysical data for the western Woodlark Rift, this suggests that future seafloor spreading will commence south of Fergusson Island, and west of the present-day active seafloor spreading rift tip.

Transient fluvial incision and active surface uplift in the Woodlark Rift of eastern Papua New Guinea

The Woodlark Rift of southeastern Papua New Guinea is among the fastest evolving plate boundaries on Earth. Rapid extension led to formation of metamorphic core complexes ahead of the westward-propagating Woodlark basin spreading center, but it is unknown whether all core complexes are still active. We assess the spatial pattern and recent history of rock and surface uplift in the subaerial portion of the Woodlark Rift using stream profile analyses on the D9Entrecasteaux Islands and eastern Papuan Peninsula. Most stream profiles are characterized by prominent convexities, or knickpoints, many of which occur at the heads of inner gorges and likely formed from transient stream erosion in the Quaternary due to an increase in rock uplift rate. The amount of transient incision and rock uplift (∼200–800 m) correlates with channel slopes below knickpoints normalized for drainage area. Recent erosion lags behind rock uplift; hence, the region of study has undergone net surface uplift, elevating a relict landscape upstream of knickpoints by an average of 450 m, and increasing basin relief by an average of 60%. On a local scale, stream slopes, transient incision, and uplifted relict stream channels provide independent quantitative evidence for patterns of active uplift in the D9Entrecasteaux Islands and Papuan Peninsula consistent with available geologic and thermochronologic data. Surface uplift increases from east to west on a regional scale, in a region of active lithospheric extension. Rising topography in thinned crust occurs over low-density asthenosphere, indicating that mantle buoyancy and flow contribute to active surface uplift and landscape evolution in the Woodlark Rift.