Paleomagnetic Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic Rotational Assembly of the North Australian Craton in the Leadup to Supercontinent Formation

The kinematics of the Paleoproterozoic assembly of Earth's first supercontinent, Nuna, are still debated. We present new paleomagnetic results from two Paleoproterozoic rock formations in the North Australia Craton (NAC) that exemplify cratonic assembly processes in the leadup to Nuna formation...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kirscher, Uwe, Mitchell, R.N., Liu, Y., Pisarevsky, Sergei, Giddings, J., Li, Zheng-Xiang
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2022
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FL150100133
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90603
_version_ 1848765399847403520
author Kirscher, Uwe
Mitchell, R.N.
Liu, Y.
Pisarevsky, Sergei
Giddings, J.
Li, Zheng-Xiang
author_facet Kirscher, Uwe
Mitchell, R.N.
Liu, Y.
Pisarevsky, Sergei
Giddings, J.
Li, Zheng-Xiang
author_sort Kirscher, Uwe
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The kinematics of the Paleoproterozoic assembly of Earth's first supercontinent, Nuna, are still debated. We present new paleomagnetic results from two Paleoproterozoic rock formations in the North Australia Craton (NAC) that exemplify cratonic assembly processes in the leadup to Nuna formation. Our new paleomagnetic data for the 1,825 Ma Plum Tree Creek Volcanics of the proto-NAC and the layered mafic-ultramafic 1,855 Ma Toby intrusion of the Kimberley Craton suggest their amalgamation just prior to ca. 1.8 Ga through a scissor-like ocean closure to form the NAC, in accord with geological records. Comparing these new results with extant poles from Australia and other major cratons suggests similarly minor relative plate motions between ca. 1.9 and 1.65 Ga during craton and supercontinent formation. A global reconstruction suggests that these events could be related to a major slab-suction event leading to Nuna formation.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T11:34:38Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-90603
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:34:38Z
publishDate 2022
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-906032023-03-27T04:54:20Z Paleomagnetic Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic Rotational Assembly of the North Australian Craton in the Leadup to Supercontinent Formation Kirscher, Uwe Mitchell, R.N. Liu, Y. Pisarevsky, Sergei Giddings, J. Li, Zheng-Xiang The kinematics of the Paleoproterozoic assembly of Earth's first supercontinent, Nuna, are still debated. We present new paleomagnetic results from two Paleoproterozoic rock formations in the North Australia Craton (NAC) that exemplify cratonic assembly processes in the leadup to Nuna formation. Our new paleomagnetic data for the 1,825 Ma Plum Tree Creek Volcanics of the proto-NAC and the layered mafic-ultramafic 1,855 Ma Toby intrusion of the Kimberley Craton suggest their amalgamation just prior to ca. 1.8 Ga through a scissor-like ocean closure to form the NAC, in accord with geological records. Comparing these new results with extant poles from Australia and other major cratons suggests similarly minor relative plate motions between ca. 1.9 and 1.65 Ga during craton and supercontinent formation. A global reconstruction suggests that these events could be related to a major slab-suction event leading to Nuna formation. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90603 10.1029/2022GL099842 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FL150100133 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ fulltext
spellingShingle Kirscher, Uwe
Mitchell, R.N.
Liu, Y.
Pisarevsky, Sergei
Giddings, J.
Li, Zheng-Xiang
Paleomagnetic Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic Rotational Assembly of the North Australian Craton in the Leadup to Supercontinent Formation
title Paleomagnetic Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic Rotational Assembly of the North Australian Craton in the Leadup to Supercontinent Formation
title_full Paleomagnetic Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic Rotational Assembly of the North Australian Craton in the Leadup to Supercontinent Formation
title_fullStr Paleomagnetic Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic Rotational Assembly of the North Australian Craton in the Leadup to Supercontinent Formation
title_full_unstemmed Paleomagnetic Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic Rotational Assembly of the North Australian Craton in the Leadup to Supercontinent Formation
title_short Paleomagnetic Evidence for a Paleoproterozoic Rotational Assembly of the North Australian Craton in the Leadup to Supercontinent Formation
title_sort paleomagnetic evidence for a paleoproterozoic rotational assembly of the north australian craton in the leadup to supercontinent formation
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FL150100133
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90603