| Summary: | The Neoproterozoic (1000–538 Ma) was a period of some of the most significant changes to Earth’s systems throughout its c. 4.5-billion-year history. The tectonic system drove the final amalgamation of Rodinia, subsequent breakup coinciding with the emplacement of numerous large igneous provinces, and the initial stages of Gondwana amalgamation during the late Ediacaran. Current evidence suggests two long lived global glacial events occurred, the Sturtian and Marinoan glaciations, with both thought to be Snowball Earth events. These significant changes driven by Earth’s systems appear to have culminated in a nutrient rich ocean, a progressive rise in atmospheric oxygen concentration, the proliferation of eukaryotic and metazoan life, and the evolution of the earliest confirmed animalia, the Ediacaran fauna. The Neoproterozoic–Cambrian rocks of the redefined Adelaide Superbasin (formerly Adelaide Geosyncline) hold one of the most complete records of this pivotal time in Earth’s history. These records include key sequences of the Cryogenian global glaciations, the Ediacaran Acraman bolide ejecta layer, the eponymous Ediacaran fauna, and the global boundary stratotype section and point (GSSP) for the base of the Ediacaran. Despite the important record the Adelaide Superbasin holds, our knowledge of the chronology and tectonic evolution of it is still a hindrance to the calibration of other investigative techniques like chemostratigraphy, and for the development of global correlation frameworks for these Earth system events and stratigraphic sequences. While a significant corpus of research has been done to address these same issues around the globe, particularly in Canada, China, Ethiopia, Namibia, Scotland, and Svalbard, geochronology of Neoproterozoic sequences remains a significant challenge due to the fragmented, eroded, and commonly deformed stratigraphic record of the Neoproterozoic. The primary purpose of this research is to address the knowledge gap in the detrital zircon record of the Adelaide Superbasin to ...
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