Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Precambrian Research 236 (2013): 31–45, doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2013.07.006.
Description:
The reconstruction of the palaeogeography and supercontinent amalgamation processes in the Precambrian
is generally guided by the age of magmatic and metamorphic rocks in orogenic belts, which formed along
the sutures of colliding continents or smaller terranes (e.g., Wareham et al., 1998; Dalziel et al., 2000).
Yet, the investigation and interpretation of these belts becomes increasingly difficult with increasing age of
the orogenic cycles, due to metamorphic overprint, fragmentation by subsequent rifting processes, erosive
loss, and covering by younger deposits or by ice. An alternative and important recorder of geodynamic
processes are clastic sediments that are fed from the eroding orogenic belts and are deposited on stable
cratonic platforms, where they may escape erosion and high-grade metamorphism for billions of years.
These clastic sediment deposits generally contain abundant detrital zircon, which provides an age record
of the eroded orogenic belts, reflecting a large number of rock types. The age spectra of detrital zircon
recovered from sedimentary basins can be used to distinguish between different tectonic settings in which
the sediments were deposited, such as convergent margins, collisional orogens or extensional settings (von
Eynatten & Dunkl, 2012; Cawood et al., 2012).
The supercontinent Rodinia formed by convergence and collision of all the major landmasses between
1200 and 950Ma, i.e. in the late Mesoproterozoic (Hoffman, 1991; Li et al., 2008). Key evidence for the
collisions is found in the late Mesoproterozoic orogenic belts, which span thousands of kilometres through
North and South America, southern Africa, Australia, Asia and East Antarctica. Yet, the paleogeographic
reconstruction of Rodinia is still uncertain, and at least three different configurations have been discussed
(Li et al., 2008). Issues arise in part from the uncertainties in terrane boundaries within East Antarctica
and possible connections to the African Kalahari Craton. At least one major late Mesoproterozoic (Stenian)
suture must be located in Dronning Maud Land (DML; East Antarctica), but its location and the extent of
possible crustal blocks are still enigmatic (Jacobs et al., 2008a).
Description:
This study was financially supported by the NERC
Antarctic Funding Initiative (grant NE/D008689/1 to CJH), a NERC analytical grant (grant IMF364/1008 to
CJH/HRM) and the NSF polar program (AES grant 1142156 to HRM).
Keywords:
Detrital zircon
;
Geochronology
;
Dronning Maud Land
;
Rodinia
;
Mesoproterozoic
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Preprint
Format:
application/pdf
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