Late Neoproterozoic 40° intraplate rotation within Australia allows for a tighter-fi tting and longer-lasting Rodinia

• Published in: Geology
• Main Authors: Li, Zheng-Xiang, Evans, D.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Geological Society of America Inc 2011
• Subjects: Paterson and Petermann orogens; breakup of Rodinia; cross-continental megashear zone; Antarctic; Paterson; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/15519; https://doi.org/10.1130/G31461.1

Previous paleomagnetic work has appeared to demand the breakup of southwest United States−East Antarctic (SWEAT) type Rodinia reconstructions before ca. 750 Ma, significantly earlier than the stratigraphic record of rift-drift transition between 715 Ma and 650 Ma. Here we reanalyze Australian paleomagnetic and regional tectonic data to produce a model in which the Precambrian Australian continent had a slightly different configuration before the breakup of Rodinia. A cross-continental megashear zone developed along the Paterson and Petermann orogens at ca. 650–550 Ma, during or after the breakup of Rodinia, manifested as an ∼40° clockwise rotation of the South and West Australian cratons relative to the North Australian craton around a vertical axis in Central Australia. This model reconciles major paleomagnetic discrepancies within Australia, and allows for a longer lifespan of SWEAT-like reconstructions of Rodinia that are consistent with the Neoproterozoic stratigraphic records of Australia and Laurentia.