Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Paleontology Cambrian'

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 167 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-143).

Estromatólitos foram estudados em nove localidades ao sul de Itapeva (SP), principalmente em metacalcários dolomíticos cinza-claro e, secundariamente, em metacalcários calcíticos cinza-escuro, do Grupo Itaiacoca, uma unidade vulcanossedimentar mesoproterozóica da Faixa Ribeira. Foram diferenciados em cinco formas colunares, a mais comum consistindo de colunas coniformes, não ramificadas, de diâmetros e alturas centimétricas a decimétricas, atribuídas a Conophyton. As outras quatro formas, com laminação convexa mas não coniforme, diferem em tamanho, silhueta e estilo/freqüência de ramificação. As diferenças na preservação dos estromatólitos são relacionadas ao comportamentos tectônicos distintos entre o metacalcário dolomítico (mais puro), com comportamento competente, e o calcítico (mais argiloso) que atuou de forma mais plástica. Nas melhores exposições desta área os estromatólitos estão agrupados em bioermas de Conophyton, sem indícios de exposição ou retrabalhamento sub-aéreo ou por ondas, evidenciando um ambiente calmo e relativamente profundo, provavelmente abaixo do nível de base de ondas, de talvez até algumas dezenas de metros de profundidade. Conophyton de Itapeva é semelhante a estromatólitos coniformes próximo a Abapã (PR), também no Grupo Itaiacoca, a cerca de 100 km de Itapeva, mas difere de outras formas, incluindo Conophyton cylindricum e C. metulum, de unidades proterozóicas associadas a margem oeste do Cráton do São Francisco. O Conophyton do Grupo Itaiacoca é semelhante a formas na ex-União Soviética que são geralmente encontrados no Mesoproterozóico ou Neoproterozóico inferior, que é consistente com as datações radiométricas disponíveis que colocam esta unidade próximo ao final do Mesoproterozóico.
Stromatolites were studied at nine localities south of Itapeva, São Paulo, Brazil, generally in light-gray metadolostones and secondarily in dark-gray metalimestones of the Itaiacoca Group, a Mesoproterozoic volcanosedimentary unit of the Ribeira Belt. Five columnar forms were distinguished, the most common consisting of unbranched, coniform columns, with centimetric to decimetric diameters and heights, attributed to Conophyton. The other four forms exhibit convex, but not coniform lamination and differ in size, silhouette and style/frequency of branching. Differences in stromatolite preservation are related to the differing tectonic behavious of the purer and more competent metadolostones and the more argillaceous metalimestones which behaved more plastically. In the best exposures in this area the stromatolites are grouped into Conophyton bioherms, without any evidence of subaerial exposure or reworking by waves, which suggests that they formed in a calm and relatively deep setting (perhaps up to several tens of meters in depth), probably below the base of fairweather water. Conophyton from Itapeva is similar to other coniform stromatolites in the Itaiacoca Group near Abapã (Paraná), about 100 km SW of Itapeva, but differs from other forms, including Conophyton cylindricum and C. metulum, from Proterozoic successions associated with the western margin of the São Francisco Craton. The Conophyton from the Itaiacoca Group is most similar to forms in the ex-Sovietic Union that are usually found in the Mesoproterozoic or lowest Neoproterozoic, which is consistent with available radiometric age dates that place this unit near the end of the Mesoproterozoic.

O estudo dos icnofósseis (icnologia) é uma importante ferramenta paleontológica, tanto para a compreensão das importantes inovações do Proterozóico terminal (Vendiano) e da expansão dos animais megascópicos do início do Cambriano, quanto para a identificação e correlação do limite Pré-Cambriano/Cambriano. A sua grande limitação é a dificuldade em se distinguir entre fósseis verdadeiros (como icnofósseis e moldes de metazoários do tipo fauna de Ediacara) e estruturas sedimentares abiogênicas dentre os abundantes objetos desta idade suspeitos de serem biogênicos. Os critérios para fazer esta distinção foram inicialmente testados em objetos simples e cilíndricos da Formação Cariri (Bacia do Araripe, NE), de idade controversa mas seguramente Fanerozóica, e então aplicados em um diversificado conjunto de objetos previamente descritos como icnofósseis e dubiofósseis da Formação Raizama (Vendiano ou Cambriano) do Grupo Alto Paraguai (Faixa Paraguai, Mato Grosso). Estas análises estabeleceram a biogenicidade dos objetos da Formação Cariri, tornando-os os três primeiros icnofósseis de invertebrados descritos nesta unidade, mas levantaram dúvidas quanto a biogenicidade do material da Formação Raizama, classificando entre eles cinco pseudofósseis, um provável pseudofóssil, três possíveis pseudofósseis e um dubiofóssil. Esta conclusão implica em situações (ambientais e/ou cronológicas) não favoráveis ao desenvolvimento de vida. Mas, não pudemos descartar totalmente a presença de objetos de origem biológica. Esta condição deve ser investigada com a pesquisa sistemática e exaustiva desta unidade em busca de indícios que confirmem (ou não) a presença de vestígios de vida nesta unidade. Desta forma, a Formação Raizama pode ser considerada, no máximo, como dubiamente fossilífera.
The study of trace-fossils (ichnology) is a major paleontological tool both for understanding important innovations in the latest Proterozoic (Vendian) and earliest Cambrian expansion of megascopic animals and for identifying and correlating the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary. Its greatest limitation is the difficulty in distinguishing between true fossils (such as ichnofossils and Ediacara-like metazoan molds) and abiogenic sedimentary structures among the abundant simple objects of this age suspected of being biogenic. Criteria for making this distinction were initially tested on simple tubular and cylindrical objects in the Cariri Formation (Araripe Basin, NE Brazil), of disputed, but assuredly Phanerozoic age, and then applied to a diverse set of objects previously described as ichnofossils and dubiofossils from the Vendian or Cambrian Raizama Formation (Alto Paraguai Group) (Paraguai Belt, Mato Grosso, Brazil). These analyses established the biogenicity of the objects in the Cariri Formation, making them the first three ichnofossils of invertebrate origin described from this unit, but cast doubt on the biogenicity of the Raizama material, showing it to consist practically entirely of abiogenic objects with five pseudofossils, one probable pseudofossil, three possible pseudofossils, and a single dubiofossil. This conclusion requires either that reasons for this formation\'s inhospitality to life be sought through reinterpretation of its age or paleoenvironment or, as is more likely, that this condition be disproved (or confirmed) by exhaustive, systematic search for fossils in this unit. For the time being, however, the Raizama Formation must be considered no more than only doubtfully fossiliferous.

Arthropods have a rich fossil record spanning the Phanerozoic. Biomineralized forms such as the extinct trilobites are particularly common and are proven index fossils for biostratigraphy. Forms with an unmineralized cuticle are more rare, preserved only in so called konservat lagerstätten. Cambrian strata of Greenland have yielded rich trilobite faunas with potential for intercontinental correlation of Cambrian strata, but also an exceptionally preserved fauna, the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte. The first part of this thesis is concerned with trilobite biotratigraphy of the provisional Cambrian Series 2 in Greenland. The second part is concerned with exceptionally preserved arthropods from the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, but also from 'Orsten' deposits from the Cambrian of Sweden.

Perissopyge phenax occurs in the Henson Gletscher and Paralleldal formations spanning the Series 2 and 3 boundary interval in North Greenland. It also occurs in the Sekwi Formation of Yukon Territory, demonstrating that the species may hold potential for correlation within Laurentia. An indeterminate species of Perissopyge is shown to occur in the Ella Island Formation of North-East Greenland together with Olenellus cf. hanseni, which is similar to Olenellus cf. truemani described from the Henson Gletscher Formation. If this correlation is further corroborated it would offer a first tie-point for the An t'Sron Formation of North-West Scotland which yields Fritzolenellus lapworthi, herein reported for the first time from the Bastion Formation which underlies the Ella Island Formation.

Oelandocaris oelandica from ‘Orsten’ deposits in the Cambrian series 3 and 4 boundary interval in Sweden is an early representative of the Crustacean stem lineage. Kiisortoqia avannaarsuensis is a new arthropod from the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte with robust antennulae strikingly similar to the 'raptorial' limb of the problematic anomalocaridids. The ventral morphology of the 'bivalved' Isoxys volucris is described for the first time and compared with other species assigned to Isoxys from Cambrian lagerstätten around the world. Finally, Siriocaris trolla, is a new arthropod that similarities with trilobites and certain ‘trilobitomorphs’ but seems to lack important synapomorphies of these taxa, though this may be due to preservational limitations in the material at hand.

Tiñuformationen i Oaxaca, Mexiko är den enda fossilförande enheten från undre paleozoikum mellan den Laurentiska plattformen i nordvästra Mexiko och de Gondwanska lagerföljderna i Sydamerika. Det har nyligen visats att Tiñusektionen är en koncentrerad passiv kantlagerföljd med Gondwanakaraktär. Formationen delas upp i två delar; Yudachica från översta kambrium, som vilar okonformt på mellanproterozoisk grund, och Río Salinas från undre ordovicium (tremadoc). Formationen har tidigare studerats med avseende på dess avsättningsmiljöer och det fossila innehållet av trilobiter och konodonter vilka båda ger utmärkt biostratigrafisk kontroll över formationen. Ungefär 1000 exemplar av Linguliforma brachiopoder från tolv kalkstenslager från Tiñuformationen har studerats. Detaljerade undersökningar om taxonomi och stratigrafisk distribution av taxa har utförts. Faunan omfattar nio acrotretida taxa och en ny siphonotretid art och ett fåtal lingulida fragment. De acrotretida och det siphonotretida taxa har beskrivits grundligt och klassificerats till släkte.
The Tiñu Formation of Oaxaca State (Mexico) is the only fossiliferous lower Palaeozoic unit between the Laurentian platform in northwest Mexico and the Gondwanan successions in Andean South America. It has recently been shown that the Tiñu section is a condensed passive margin succession with Gondwanan character. The formation is divided into two members, namely, the uppermost Cambrian Yudachica Member, which rests nonconformably on a middle Proterozoic basement, and the Lower Ordovician (Tremadoc) Río Salinas Member. The formation has been studied with respect to its depositional environments and its fossil content of trilobites and conodonts, both providing excellent biostratigraphical control for the formation. About 1000 specimens of Linguliform brachiopods of twelve limestone horizons of the Tiñu Formation have been studied. Detailed investigations on taxonomy and stratigraphic distribution of the taxa have been made. The fauna comprises nine acrotretid taxa, a new siphonotretid species and a few linguloid fragments. The acrotretid and siphonotretid taxa have been thoroughly describes and classified to genus.

Approximately 600 to 500 million years ago, a major evolutionary radiation called the “Cambrian Explosion” gave rise to nearly all of the major animal phyla known today. This radiation is recorded by various fossil lagerstätten, such as the Burgess Shale in Canada, where soft-bodied animals are preserved in exquisite detail. Many Cambrian fossils are enigmatic forms that are morphologically dissimilar to their modern descendants, but which still provide valuable information when interpreted as stem-group taxa because they record the actual progression of evolution and give insight into the order of character acquisitions and homologies between living taxa. One such group of fossils is the anomalocaridids, large presumed predators that have had a complicated history of description. Their body has a trunk with a series of lateral lobes and associated gills, and a cephalic region with a pair of large frontal appendages, a circular mouth apparatus, stalked eyes and a cephalic carapace. Originally, two taxa were described from the Burgess Shale, Anomalocaris and Laggania, however data presented herein suggests that the diversity of the anomalocaridids was much higher. Newly collected fossil material revealed that a third Burgess Shale anomalocaridid, Hurdia, is known from whole-body specimens and study of its morphology has helped to clarify the morphology and systematics of the whole group. Hurdia is distinguished by having mouthparts with extra rows of teeth, a unique frontal appendage, and a large frontal carapace. Two species, Hurdia victoria and Hurdia triangulata were distinguished based on morphometric shape analysis of the frontal carapace. A phylogenetic analysis placed the anomalocaridids in the stem lineage to the euarthropods, and examination of Hurdia’s well-preserved gills confirm the homology of this structure with the outer branches of limbs in upper stem-group arthropods. This homology supports the theory that the Cambrian biramous limb formed by the fusion of a uniramous walking limb with a lateral lobe structure bearing gill blades. In this context, new evidence is present on the closely allied taxon Opabinia, suggesting that it had lobopod walking limbs and a lateral lobe structure with attached Hurdia-like gills. The diversity of the anomalocaridids at the Burgess Shale is further increased by two additional taxa known from isolated frontal appendages. Amplectobelua stephenensis is the first occurrence of this genus outside of the Chengjiang fauna in China, but Caryosyntrips serratus is an appendage unique to the Burgess Shale. To gain a better understanding of global distribution, a possible anomalocaridid is also described from the Sirius Passet biota in North Greenland. Tamisiocaris borealis is known from a single appendage, which is similar to Anomalocaris but unsegmented, suggesting this taxon belongs to the arthropod stem-lineage, perhaps in the anomalocaridid clade. Thus, the anomalocaridids are a widely distributed and highly diverse group of large Cambrian presumed predators, which provide important information relevant to the evolution of the arthropods.

This thesis investigates the molecular remains of microorganisms from Late Precambrian and Early Cambrian hypersaline settings. In particular, it assesses the composition and antiquity of halophilic microbial communities, which survive and flourish under highly saline conditions. While numerous studies have examined modern hypersaline ecosystems, their biological composition in the geologic past, particularly in the Precambrian, is poorly understood. All deposits in this study consisted of evaporites from the Gillen Member of the ~800 Ma Neoproterozoic Bitter Springs Formation and the Early Cambrian Chandler Formation. These evaporites originated from the Amadeus Basin in central Australia and were deposited in inland seas at those times. Due to the shallow nature of these seas and tenuous connections with the contemporaneous oceans, the waters were characterized by elevated salinity levels that resulted in the deposition of dolomite, gypsum and halite. The biological composition of these ancient hypersaline settings have been assessed by analysing the hydrocarbon remains of lipids, which act as molecular fossils, or biomarkers. However, since all evaporites were collected from a drill core (Mt Charlotte 1) that was contaminated during drilling and storage (e.g. through sampling bags), the syngeneity of the molecules needed to be tested. Such tests were conducted by removing the outer surfaces of the evaporites and quantifying and comparing the amount of hydrocarbons in both the exterior and interior rock portions. This work allowed for the detection of various contaminants, which masked or overprinted indigenous biological signals. While no indigenous hydrocarbons were detected in the Early Cambrian evaporites, those from the Neoproterozoic yielded a diverse range of syngenetic biomarkers. A detailed analysis of the biomarkers and the enclosing sedimentary textures yielded the oldest current evidence of microorganisms from hypersaline conditions. In particular, the saturate fractions of these samples revealed high ratios of mono- and dimethylalkanes relative to n-alkanes. Such a pattern is typical of Precambrian and Cambrian samples and observed in a number of facies settings. An outstanding characteristic of these evaporites are the presence of several pseudohomologous series of both regular (to C₂₅) and irregular (to C₄₀) acyclic isoprenoids. The relative concentrations of these molecules vary and depend on the mineralogy and textural characteristics of the sedimentary host rock. These isoprenoids are interpreted as the oldest evidence of haloarchaea in the geological record. Apart from haloarchaea, evidence for cyanobacterial mats was also observed. Molecular evidence for cyanobacteria included elevated concentrations of n-heptadecane (n-C₁₇), and mono- and dimethylalkanes. Such biomarkers were present in anhydrite (altered from gypsum) as well as in layers of dolomite. The carbonate layers can be interpreted as fossil microbial mats based on: 1) evidence for cohesive dolomitized layers that resemble modern mat structures; 2) characteristics of low-temperature dolomite precipitation; 3) concentric framboidal pyrite inside the dolomite; 4) shape, distribution and association of clay laminae with dolomite crystals and 5) inorganic carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) stable isotope values. These results also indicate that the dolomite was most likely formed through microbial activity, making this the oldest evidence for biologically-induced dolomite precipitation. Such dolomite-precipitating mats would have also harbored a community of other microorganisms including sulfide-reducers (as evidenced by framboidal pyrite precipitation) and methanogens, possibly methylotrophic, through the detection of 2,6,11,15-tetramethylhexadecane (crocetane) and 2,6,10,15,19-pentamethylicosane (PMI). The detection of these two compounds in the Neoproterozoic makes this their oldest occurrence to date and yields insights into the antiquity of methanogens in hypersaline settings. Through comparisons with published data from modern hypersaline settings, it can be concluded that similar microbial communities as that of today were present on Earth by at least ~800 Ma. Therefore, such results provide new insights into ancient halophilic ecosystems.

Three new types of arthropod from Cambrian intertidal lithofacies of the Elk Mound Group and Lodi Member of Wisconsin, and the Potsdam Group of Quebec are described. These arthropods are preserved ventrally in three dimensions – allowing detailed characterization of morphology. Arenocaris inflata, from the Furongian Elk Mound Group and St. Lawrence Formation, is the earliest occurrence of a phyllocarid. Mosineia macnaughtoni, a large (>10 cm long) euthycarcinoid arthropod, also occurs in Elk Mound strata. Mictomerus melochevillensis represents a new family of early euthycarcinoids, and is a large (8–10+ cm long) arthropod with eleven pairs of homopodous, uniramous limbs. Phylogenetic analyses and reviews of Paleozoic phyllocarid systematics are presented, using morphology-based characters from Cambrian to Recent taxa. Resulting cladograms place Arenocaris inflata into a systematic context, and reveal that the families Ceratiocarididae and Caryocarididae, as traditionally defined, are paraphyletic. Caryocarididae is elevated to subordinal rank (Caryocaridina n. suborder), resulting in two monophyletic suborders. Emended diagnoses are integrated into this analysis, and result in synonymy of 30 Cambrian – Silurian caryocaridids and ceratiocaridids into 11 pre-existing species. The phyllocarid Arenocaris inflata from the Elk Mound Group of Wisconsin and the large enigmatic arthropod Mictomerus melochevillensis from The Potsdam Group of Quebec are both directly associated with trace fossils. Direct association between these arthropods and their traces allows functional morphological details of the animal to be assessed, provides a framework for understanding how arthropods can be sand-cast in three-dimensions, and helps provide insight about subaerially-produced traces from the Potsdam Group.

Bulk samples collected from the Upper Cambrian (Sunwaptan) Hellnmaria Member of the Notch Peak Formation in Utah and the Upper Cambrian--Ordovician (Sunwaptan--Skullrockian) Wilberns and Tanyard Formations in Texas have yielded faunas of linguliform brachiopods that include many new taxa. Two new genera and eight new species are described. A new genus is proposed for species originally assigned to Angulotreta Palmer, 1954. In Utah, the stratigraphic ranges of several previously described species are extended. The two collections allow biostratigraphic correlation within Laurentia as well as globally. New zonation based on linguliform brachiopods is proposed for the Sunwaptan and lower Skullrockian stages of North America The Hellnmaria Member was deposited in a deep subtidal environment with possible access to the open ocean. The Utah fauna has affinities to coeval faunas in Kazakhstan and includes Zhanatella rotunda Koneva, 1986. This species was described previously from Kazakhstan as well as the Montagne Noire region of France and has potential for global biostratigraphy In Texas, collections from the Taenicephalus and lower Idahoia trilobite zones yielded a fauna with little affinity to brachiopods at a similar stratigraphic position in Utah but with strong affinity to a fauna from the same interval in Wyoming. Upper Sunwaptan and lowest Skullrockian strata yielded a fauna with close affinities to the Utah fauna. There is complete turnover of linguliform fauna in coincidence with two trilobite extinction events A lingulate specimen from the Hellnmaria Member exhibits a repair scar on its larval shell. Because lingulate brachiopod larvae are planktotrophic, the individual is interpreted to have been part of the pelagic realm at injury. The injury consists of a visible break and several areas of damage to the exterior of the shell, all consistent with damage done deliberately by a predator. This implies that durophagous predation was a part of the planktic realm during the Cambrian, and that the planktic realm was more modern in its structure than previously realized. This suggests that brachiopods may have been under predation pressure as larvae as well as adults, and this pressure may have played a role in their evolution and extinction
acase@tulane.edu

The importance of the Musgrave Province in continental reconstructions of Proterozoic Australia is only beginning to be appreciated. The Mesoproterozoic Musgrave Province sits in a geographically central location within Australia and is bounded by older and more isotopically evolved regions including the Gawler Craton of South Australia and Arunta Region of the Northern Territory. Understanding the crustal growth and deformation mechanisms involved in the formation of the Musgrave Province, and also the nature of the basement that separates these tectonic elements, allows for greater insight into defining the timing and processes responsible for the amalgamation of Proterozoic Australia. The ca. 1.60-1.54 Ga Musgravian Gneiss preserves geochemical and isotopic signatures related to ongoing arc-magmatism in an active margin between the North Australian and South Australian Cratons (NAC and SAC). Characteristic geochemical patterns of the Musgravian Gneiss include negative anomalies in Nb, Ti, and Y, and are accompanied by steep LREE patterns. Also characteristic of the Musgravian Gneiss is its juvenile Nd isotopic composition (ɛNd1.55 values from -1.2 to +0.9). The juvenile isotopic signature of the Musgravian Gneiss separates it from the bounding comparitively isotopically evolved terranes of the Arunta Region and Gawler Craton. The geochemical and isotopic signatures of these early Mesoproterozoic felsic rocks have similarities with island arc systems involving residual Ti-bearing minerals and garnet. Circa 1.40 Ga metasedimentary rocks of the eastern Musgrave Province also record vital evidence for determining Australia.s location and fit within a global plate reconstruction context during the late Mesoproterozoic. U-Pb detrital zircon and Sm-Nd isotopic data from these metasedimentary rocks suggests a component of derivation from sources outside of the presently exposed Australian crust. Best fit matches come from rocks originating from eastern Laurentia. Detrital zircon ages range from Palaeoproterozoic to late Mesoproterozoic, constraining the maximum depositional age of the metasediments to approximately 1.40 Ga, similar to that of the Belt Supergroup in western Laurentia. The 1.49-1.36 Ga detrital zircons in the Musgrave metasediments are interpreted to have been derived from the voluminous A-type suites of Laurentia, as this time period represents a “magmatic gap” in Australia, with an extreme paucity of sources this age recognized. The metasedimentary rocks exhibit a range of Nd isotopic signatures, with ɛNd(1.4 Ga) values ranging from -5.1 to 0.9, inconsistent with complete derivation from Australian sources, which are more isotopically evolved. The isotopically juvenile ca. 1.60-1.54 Ga Musgravian Gneiss is also an excellent candidate for the source of the abundant ca. 1.6-1.54 Ga detrital zircons within the lower sequences of the Belt Supergroup. If these interpretations are correct, they support a palaeogeographic reconstruction involving proximity of Australia and Laurentia during the pre-Rodinia Mesoproterozoic. This also increases the prospectivity of the eastern Musgrave Province to host a metamorphised equivalent of the massive Pb-Zn-Ag Sullivan deposit. The geochemical and isotopic signatures recorded in mafic-ultramafic rocks can divulge important information regarding the state of the sub continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). The voluminous cumulate mafic-ultramafic rocks of the ca. 1.08 Ga Giles Complex record geochemical and Nd-Sr isotopic compositions consistent with an enriched parental magma. Traverses across three layered intrusions, the Kalka, Ewarara, and Gosse Pile were geochemically and isotopically analysed. Whole rock samples display variably depleted to enriched LREE patterns when normalised to chondrite ((La/Sm)N = 0.43-4.72). Clinopyroxene separates display similar depleted to enriched LREE patterns ((La/Sm)N = 0.37-7.33) relative to a chondritic source. The cumulate rocks display isotopically evolved signatures (ɛNd ~-1.0 to .5.0 and ɛSr ~19.0 to 85.0). Using simple bulk mixing and AFC equations, the Nd-Sr data of the more radiogenic samples can be modelled by addition of ~10% average Musgrave crust to a primitive picritic source, without need for an enriched mantle signature. Shallow decompressional melting of an asthenospheric plume source beneath thinned Musgravian lithosphere is envisaged as a source for the parental picritic magma. A model involving early crustal contamination within feeder zones is favoured, and consequently explorers looking for Ni-Cu-Co sulphides should concentrate on locating these feeder zones. Few absolute age constraints exist for the timing of the intracratonic Petermann Orogeny of the Musgrave Province. The Petermann Orogeny is responsible for much of the lithospheric architecture we see today within the Musgrave Province, uplifting and exhuming large parts along crustal scale E-W trending fault/shear systems. Isotopic and geochemical analysis of a suite of stratigraphic units within the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Officer Basin to the immediate south indicate the development of a foreland architecture at ca. 600 Ma. An excursion in ɛNd values towards increasingly less negative values at this time is interpreted as representing a large influx of Musgrave derived sediments. Understanding the nature of the basement separating the SAC from the NAC and WAC is vital in constructing models of the amalgamation of Proterozoic Australia. This region is poorly understood as it is overlain by the thick sedimentary cover of the Officer Basin. However, the Coompana Block is one place where basement is shallow enough to be intersected in drillcore. The previously geochronologically, geochemically, and isotopically uncharacterised granitic gneiss of the Coompana Block represents an important period of within-plate magmatism during a time of relative magmatic quiescence in the Australian Proterozoic. U-Pb LA-ICPMS dating of magmatic zircons provides an age of ca. 1.50 Ga, interpreted as the crystallisation age of the granite protolith. The samples have distinctive A-type chemistry characterised by high contents of Zr, Nb, Y, Ga, LREE with low Mg#, Sr, CaO and HREE. ɛNd values are high with respect to surrounding exposed crust of the Musgrave Province and Gawler Craton, and range from +1.2 to +3.3 at 1.5 Ga. The tectonic environment into which the granite was emplaced is also unclear, however one possibility is emplacement within an extensional environment represented by interlayered basalts and arenaceous sediments of the Coompana Block. Regardless, the granitic gneiss intersected in Mallabie 1 represents magmatic activity during the “Australian magmatic gap” of ca. 1.52-1.35 Ga, and is a possible source for detrital ca. 1.50 zircons found within sedimentary rocks of Tasmania and Antarctica, and metasedimentary rocks of the eastern Musgrave Province.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2006

The importance of the Musgrave Province in continental reconstructions of Proterozoic Australia is only beginning to be appreciated. The Mesoproterozoic Musgrave Province sits in a geographically central location within Australia and is bounded by older and more isotopically evolved regions including the Gawler Craton of South Australia and Arunta Region of the Northern Territory. Understanding the crustal growth and deformation mechanisms involved in the formation of the Musgrave Province, and also the nature of the basement that separates these tectonic elements, allows for greater insight into defining the timing and processes responsible for the amalgamation of Proterozoic Australia. The ca. 1.60-1.54 Ga Musgravian Gneiss preserves geochemical and isotopic signatures related to ongoing arc-magmatism in an active margin between the North Australian and South Australian Cratons (NAC and SAC). Characteristic geochemical patterns of the Musgravian Gneiss include negative anomalies in Nb, Ti, and Y, and are accompanied by steep LREE patterns. Also characteristic of the Musgravian Gneiss is its juvenile Nd isotopic composition (ɛNd1.55 values from -1.2 to +0.9). The juvenile isotopic signature of the Musgravian Gneiss separates it from the bounding comparitively isotopically evolved terranes of the Arunta Region and Gawler Craton. The geochemical and isotopic signatures of these early Mesoproterozoic felsic rocks have similarities with island arc systems involving residual Ti-bearing minerals and garnet. Circa 1.40 Ga metasedimentary rocks of the eastern Musgrave Province also record vital evidence for determining Australia.s location and fit within a global plate reconstruction context during the late Mesoproterozoic. U-Pb detrital zircon and Sm-Nd isotopic data from these metasedimentary rocks suggests a component of derivation from sources outside of the presently exposed Australian crust. Best fit matches come from rocks originating from eastern Laurentia. Detrital zircon ages range from Palaeoproterozoic to late Mesoproterozoic, constraining the maximum depositional age of the metasediments to approximately 1.40 Ga, similar to that of the Belt Supergroup in western Laurentia. The 1.49-1.36 Ga detrital zircons in the Musgrave metasediments are interpreted to have been derived from the voluminous A-type suites of Laurentia, as this time period represents a “magmatic gap” in Australia, with an extreme paucity of sources this age recognized. The metasedimentary rocks exhibit a range of Nd isotopic signatures, with ɛNd(1.4 Ga) values ranging from -5.1 to 0.9, inconsistent with complete derivation from Australian sources, which are more isotopically evolved. The isotopically juvenile ca. 1.60-1.54 Ga Musgravian Gneiss is also an excellent candidate for the source of the abundant ca. 1.6-1.54 Ga detrital zircons within the lower sequences of the Belt Supergroup. If these interpretations are correct, they support a palaeogeographic reconstruction involving proximity of Australia and Laurentia during the pre-Rodinia Mesoproterozoic. This also increases the prospectivity of the eastern Musgrave Province to host a metamorphised equivalent of the massive Pb-Zn-Ag Sullivan deposit. The geochemical and isotopic signatures recorded in mafic-ultramafic rocks can divulge important information regarding the state of the sub continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM). The voluminous cumulate mafic-ultramafic rocks of the ca. 1.08 Ga Giles Complex record geochemical and Nd-Sr isotopic compositions consistent with an enriched parental magma. Traverses across three layered intrusions, the Kalka, Ewarara, and Gosse Pile were geochemically and isotopically analysed. Whole rock samples display variably depleted to enriched LREE patterns when normalised to chondrite ((La/Sm)N = 0.43-4.72). Clinopyroxene separates display similar depleted to enriched LREE patterns ((La/Sm)N = 0.37-7.33) relative to a chondritic source. The cumulate rocks display isotopically evolved signatures (ɛNd ~-1.0 to .5.0 and ɛSr ~19.0 to 85.0). Using simple bulk mixing and AFC equations, the Nd-Sr data of the more radiogenic samples can be modelled by addition of ~10% average Musgrave crust to a primitive picritic source, without need for an enriched mantle signature. Shallow decompressional melting of an asthenospheric plume source beneath thinned Musgravian lithosphere is envisaged as a source for the parental picritic magma. A model involving early crustal contamination within feeder zones is favoured, and consequently explorers looking for Ni-Cu-Co sulphides should concentrate on locating these feeder zones. Few absolute age constraints exist for the timing of the intracratonic Petermann Orogeny of the Musgrave Province. The Petermann Orogeny is responsible for much of the lithospheric architecture we see today within the Musgrave Province, uplifting and exhuming large parts along crustal scale E-W trending fault/shear systems. Isotopic and geochemical analysis of a suite of stratigraphic units within the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Officer Basin to the immediate south indicate the development of a foreland architecture at ca. 600 Ma. An excursion in ɛNd values towards increasingly less negative values at this time is interpreted as representing a large influx of Musgrave derived sediments. Understanding the nature of the basement separating the SAC from the NAC and WAC is vital in constructing models of the amalgamation of Proterozoic Australia. This region is poorly understood as it is overlain by the thick sedimentary cover of the Officer Basin. However, the Coompana Block is one place where basement is shallow enough to be intersected in drillcore. The previously geochronologically, geochemically, and isotopically uncharacterised granitic gneiss of the Coompana Block represents an important period of within-plate magmatism during a time of relative magmatic quiescence in the Australian Proterozoic. U-Pb LA-ICPMS dating of magmatic zircons provides an age of ca. 1.50 Ga, interpreted as the crystallisation age of the granite protolith. The samples have distinctive A-type chemistry characterised by high contents of Zr, Nb, Y, Ga, LREE with low Mg#, Sr, CaO and HREE. ɛNd values are high with respect to surrounding exposed crust of the Musgrave Province and Gawler Craton, and range from +1.2 to +3.3 at 1.5 Ga. The tectonic environment into which the granite was emplaced is also unclear, however one possibility is emplacement within an extensional environment represented by interlayered basalts and arenaceous sediments of the Coompana Block. Regardless, the granitic gneiss intersected in Mallabie 1 represents magmatic activity during the “Australian magmatic gap” of ca. 1.52-1.35 Ga, and is a possible source for detrital ca. 1.50 zircons found within sedimentary rocks of Tasmania and Antarctica, and metasedimentary rocks of the eastern Musgrave Province.
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Thesis(PhD)-- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2006