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Evidence of micro-continent entrainment during crustal accretion

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posted on 2023-05-18, 07:03 authored by Pilia, S, Rawlinson, N, Cayley, RA, Bodin, T, Musgrave, R, Anya ReadingAnya Reading, Nicholas DireenNicholas Direen, Young, MK
Simple models involving the gradual outboard accretion of material along curvilinear subduction zones are often inconsistent with field-based evidence. A recent study using 3-D geodynamic modelling has shown that the entrainment of an exotic continental fragment within a simple subduction system can result in a complex phase of growth. Although kinematic models based on structural mapping and high-resolution gravity and magnetic maps indicate that the pre-Carboniferous Tasmanides in southeastern Australia may have been subjected to this process, to date there has been little corroboration from crustal scale geophysical imaging. Here, we apply Bayesian transdimensional tomography to ambient noise data recorded by the WOMBAT transportable seismic array to constrain a detailed (20 km resolution in some areas) 3-D shear velocity model of the crust beneath southeast Australia. We find that many of the velocity variations that emerge from our inversion support the recently developed geodynamic and kinematic models. In particular, the full thickness of the exotic continental block, responsible for orocline formation and the tectonic escape of the back arc region, is imaged here for the first time. Our seismic results provide the first direct evidence that exotic continental fragments may profoundly affect the development of an accretionary orogen.

Funding

Australian Research Council

Frog Tech Pty Ltd

GeoScience Victoria

Mineral Resources Tasmania

History

Publication title

Scientific Reports

Volume

5

Article number

8218

Number

8218

Pagination

1-6

ISSN

2045-2322

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Rights statement

Copyright 2015 The Authors Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences

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