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A Statistical Approach to Defining Proterozoic Crustal Provinces and Testing Continental Reconstructions of Australia and Laurentia - SWEAT or AUSWUS?

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-16, 13:41 authored by Burrett, CF, Ronald BerryRonald Berry
A new statistical method is proposed to compare crustal terranes and to cluster terranes into crustal provinces, regions and realms. Geochronological data on mafic igneous rocks, felsic igneous rocks, deformation history and Nd model age were collected from the recent literature for over 100 terranes. The 54 selected Laurentian terranes cluster into 9 provinces including a previously well recognized very distinctive SW USA province, region and realm. The 38 selected Australian terranes cluster into six provinces including a distinctive Gawler Province. A combined dendrogram of the 100 terranes from Laurentia, Australia and Antarctica results in 8 superprovinces and 11 provinces. Five of the superprovinces contain both Laurentian and Australian terranes. The inclusion of the Nevada-Californian Mojave and the San Gabriel terranes in an otherwise Australian superprovince that includes Broken Hill and Mt Isa terranes, strongly supports the AUSWUS Laurentia-Australia reconstruction rather than the SWEAT reconstruction. Low statistical similarities between western Laurentia and eastern Antarctica fail to support the SWEAT hypothesis whilst high similarities between Canadian and north Australian terranes provides weak support for AUSWUS.

History

Publication title

Gondwana Research

Volume

5

Pagination

109-122

ISSN

1342-937X

Department/School

School of Natural Sciences

Publisher

International Association for Godwana Research

Place of publication

Kochi, Japan

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences

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