Denudation history of the Snowy Mountains: Constraints from apatite fission track thermochronology

Abstract

Apatite fission track thermochronology from Early Palaeozoic granitoids centred around the Kosciuszko massif of the Snowy Mountains, records a denudation history that was episodic and highly variable. The form of the apatite fission track age profile assembled from vertical sections and hydroelectric tunnels traversing the mountains, together with numerical forward modelling, provide strong evidence for two episodes of accelerated denudation, commencing in Late Permian - Early Triassic (ca 270-250 Ma) and mid-Cretaceous (ca 110-100 Ma) times, and a possible third episode in the Cenozoic. Denudation commencing in the Late Permian - Early Triassic was widespread in the eastern and central Snow..