Journal article
An Upper Cretaceous paleo-aquifer system in the Eromanga Basin of the central Gawler Craton, South Australia: evidence from apatite fission track thermochronology
SC Boone, C Seiler, AJ Reid, B Kohn, A Gleadow
Australian Journal of Earth Sciences | TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD | Published : 2016
Abstract
An apatite fission track (AFT) study of crystalline basement in the central Gawler Craton reveals apparent ages in the range of ca 430–58 Ma. The majority of samples underwent protracted monotonic cooling related to regional Paleozoic exhumation, consistent with long-term crustal stability as expected for cratonic interiors. However, multiple samples show evidence of Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene reheating, indicating a more dynamic low-temperature history. Inverse time–temperature modelling of AFT data indicates varying degrees of thermal overprinting between ∼60 and 110°C, with substantially overprinted and negligibly overprinted samples in close proximity (<1 km). Time–temperature histo..
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Funding Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Graham Hutchinson at the University of Melbourne with electron microprobe analyses and Steve Hore in the field during sample collection. SCB was financially supported by the 2012 CM Tattam Award, and International Postgraduate Course-work Award from the University of Melbourne and the 2013 Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship from the American Australian Association. AR publishes with permission of the Director, Geological Survey of South Australia. The University of Melbourne thermochronology laboratory receives support under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy AuScope program and the Education Investment Fund AGOS program.