Journal article
Denuding a Craton: Thermochronology Record of Phanerozoic Unroofing from the Pilbara Craton, Australia
Sara Morón, Barry P Kohn, Romain Beucher, Vhairi Mackintosh, Peter A Cawood, Louis Moresi, Stephen J Gallagher
Tectonics | American Geophysical Union (AGU) | Published : 2020
DOI: 10.1029/2019tc005988
Abstract
Cratons are ancient regions of relatively stable continental fragments considered to have attained long-term tectonic and geomorphic stability. Low-temperature thermochronology data, however, suggest that some cratons have experienced discrete Phanerozoic heating and cooling episodes. We report apatite fission track, and apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He low-temperature thermochronology data from the Archean Pilbara craton and adjacent Paleoproterozoic basement, NW Australia. Inverse thermal history simulations of this spatially extensive data set reveal that the region has experienced ~50–70°C cooling, which is interpreted as a response to the unroofing of erodible strata overlying basement. The..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
This research was supported by Australian Research Council's ITRH Project IH130200012. S. M. acknowledges support from The University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Grant Scheme. P. A. C. acknowledges support from Australian Research Council Grant FL160100168. The University of Melbourne thermochronology laboratory receives support under the AuScope program of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). Abaz Alimanovi provided technical assistance with (U-Th)/He analyses. We thank Martin Daniik, an anonymous reviewer and Associate Editor Eva Enkelmann for their constructive reviews.