Post-1570 Ma intracratonic reworking of the North Australian Craton

David Maidment
Geoscience Australia

• Introduction
• Download the complete presentation
• Related links

Introduction

Widespread tectonism in the North Australian Craton (NAC) between ~1800 Ma and ~1570 Ma was followed by an extended period of tectonic quiescence, punctuated at ~1135 Ma when relatively limited felsic magmatism took place along the southern margin of the craton. This event, known as the Teapot Event in the Arunta Province, appears to be related to voluminous felsic magmatism of similar age in the Musgrave Inlier, though the drivers for this tectonism remain unclear.

The central Australian region was the focus of prolonged intracratonic tectonism over a period of 250 Myr. between the latest Neoproterozoic and the Carboniferous. This period encompasses the Petermann and King Leopold orogenies (~560 Ma – 530 Ma) to the south and west of the NAC respectively, the Stanovos and Larapinta events in the southeastern Arunta Region (~520 Ma and 480-460 Ma), and the Alice Springs Orogeny (~450 Ma – 300 Ma), which affected a large part of the southeastern and southern Arunta Region. The extent and intensity of this reworking of the NAC has only become apparent in recent years and has forced a re-evaluation of the early Palaeozoic tectonics of the region.

[back to top]

Download the complete presentation

Download the complete presentation (PDF, 2.9MB).

[back to top]

Related links

Evolution and metallogenesis of the North Australian Craton Conference Abstracts