Review of global 2.1-1.8 Ga orogens: Implications for a pre-Rodinia supercontinent

Available lithostratigraphic, tectonothermal, geochronological and paleomagnetic data from 2.1-1.8 Ga collisional orogens and related cratonic blocks around the world have established connections between South America and West Africa; Western Australia and South Africa; Laurentia and Baltica; Siberi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Earth-Science Reviews
Main Authors: Wilde, SA, Sun, M, Cawood, PA, Zhao, G
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier BV. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/earscirev 2002
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-8252(02)00073-9
http://hdl.handle.net/10722/151088
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Summary:Available lithostratigraphic, tectonothermal, geochronological and paleomagnetic data from 2.1-1.8 Ga collisional orogens and related cratonic blocks around the world have established connections between South America and West Africa; Western Australia and South Africa; Laurentia and Baltica; Siberia and Laurentia; Laurentia and Central Australia; East Antarctica and Laurentia, and North China and India. These links are interpreted to indicate the presence of a supercontinent existing before Rodinia, referred to herein as Columbia, a name recently proposed by Rogers and Santosh [Gondwana Res. 5 (2002) 5] for a Paleo-Mesoproterozoic supercontinent. In this supercontinent, the Archean to Paleoproterozoic cratonic blocks were welded by the global 2.1-1.8 Ga collisional belts. The cratonic blocks in South America and West Africa were welded by the 2.1-2.0 Ga Transamazonian and Eburnean Orogens; the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe Cratons in southern Africa were collided along the ∼ 2.0 Ga Limpopo Belt; the cratonic blocks of Laurentia were sutured along the 1.9-1.8 Ga Trans-Hudson, Penokean, Taltson-Thelon, Wopmay, Ungava, Torngat and Nagssugtoqidian Orogens; the Kola, Karelia, Volgo-Uralia and Sarmatia (Ukrainian) Cratons in Baltica (Eastern Europe) were joined by the 1.9-1.8 Ga Kola-Karelia, Svecofennian, Volhyn-Central Russian and Pachelma Orogens; the Anabar and Aldan Cratons in Siberia were connected by the 1.9-1.8 Ga Akitkan and Central Aldan Orogens; the East Antarctica and an unknown continental block were joined by the Transantarctic Mountains Orogen; the South and North Indian Blocks were amalgamated along the Central Indian Tectonic Zone; and the Eastern and Western Blocks of the North China Craton were welded together by the ∼ 1.85 Ga Trans-North China Orogen. The existence of Columbia is consistent with late Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic sedimentary and magmatic records. The ∼ 2.0 Ga fluvio-deltaic deposits have been found in all cratonic blocks in South America and West Africa, and they are interpreted to ...