Journal article
Distribution of Palaeozoic reworking in the Western Arunta Region and northwestern Amadeus Basin from 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology: implications for the evolution of intracratonic basins
Sandra McLaren, Mike Sandiford, W James Dunlap, Ian Scrimgeour, Dorothy Close, Christine Edgoose
BASIN RESEARCH | WILEY | Published : 2009
Abstract
The Centralian Superbasin in central Australia is one of the most extensive intracratonic basins known from a stable continental setting, but the factors controlling its formation and subsequent structural dismemberment continue to be debated. Argon thermochronology of K-feldspar, sensitive to a broad range of temperatures (∼150 to 350°C), provides evidence for the former extent and thickness of the superbasin and points toward thickening of the superbasin succession over the now exhumed Arunta Region basement. These data suggest that before Palaeozoic tectonism, there was around 5-6km of sediment present over what is now the northern margin of the Amadeus Basin, and, if the Centralian super..
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Awarded by ARC
Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the people of the Papunya, Haasts Bluff and Mount Liebig communities and to the Central Land Council for access to the Mount Liebig area. We thank John Mya, Shane Paxton, Robyn Maier and Xiaodong Zhang for technical assistance. Irradiations were undertaken by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, through the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering. We thank Russell Korsch, Peter van der Beek and two anonymous reviewers for their detailed reviews of the manuscript. SM acknowledges ARC Discovery Grant DP0208837 for support during analysis and a University of Melbourne Centenary Research Fellowship for support during publication.