East Gondwana breakup and microcontinent formation

• Main Authors: Whittaker, J, Williams, S, Halpin, J, Daczko, N
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: . 2017
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Geology; Marine Geoscience; Southern Ocean; Indian; South Tasman Rise; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://geodynamics.curtin.edu.au/rodinia-2017/; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/131204

The Eastern Indian and Australian Southern Ocean were formed through the breakup of EastGondwana Australia, India and Antarctica. Today these ocean basins contain numerous submergedfeatures with crustal thickness much greater than normal oceanic crust, including Large IgneousProvinces (LIPs), microcontinents and 'failed' microcontinents still attached to Australia's passivecontinental margins, e.g. the Naturaliste Plateau and the South Tasman Rise. The features point to awide range of interacting surface and mantle processes such as mantle plumes, plate tectonicreorganisations, varying seafloor spreading rates and directions, and downwelling slabs.