Enigmatic Orogeny during the dispersal of Rodinia: Deciphering the Record of Tectonic Reworking in the Vestfold Hills

Project Investigators

Catherine Loye (Hons. 2007)

Doctor Alan Collins

Associate Professor Martin Hand

Project Collaborators

Professor Harley - (University of Edinburgh - UK)

Doctor Chetty - (National Geophysical Research Institute - India)

Doctor Christopher Clark (Curtin University)

Project Details

Project Aims

The aims of this project are to:

• Investigate the record of mid Neoproterozoic compressional tectonics in the Vestfold Hills within a global palaeographic framework.
• Examine the interplay between thermal and mechanical processes and the role of fluids in the reworking of continental crust.

The Neoproterozoic was a time of extreme climate change, extra-terrestrial bombardment, furious biotic evolution and continent re-organisation. It is not fully understood what linked these events and processes and, surprisingly, the geography of the planet during this time is largely unknown. In a small way, this project will address this gap by looking at the first evidence of plate convergence between India and Australia/Antarctica (combined at the time)—this is the conception of the supercontinent Gondwana. The aim is to fix this conception date by studying rocks that were deformed at this time in Antarctica and eastern India.

Data Collection and Analysis

Structural data and rock samples will be collected over two field seasons (2006/07 and 2007/08) in the Vestfold Hills. A parallel field program will be conducted in the northern Ghats (2007).

P-T conditions will be determined through the application of electron microprobe analysis of metamorphic assemblages. Accessory phases will be analysed using EMPA, SIMS and LA-ICPMS at the Universities of Adelaide and Edinburgh to determine event timing.