Linking crustal reworking to terrane accretion

Abstract

The Strangways Metamorphic Complex in central Australia is a key terrane in models for the evolution of the Australian continent. The Arunta Complex preserves a long-lived (c. 1700–320 Ma) record of crustal reworking, the drivers of which are the subject of considerable debate. Pressure–temperature data and in situ monazite geochronology constrain the reworking to be coincident with the c.1645 Ma Liebig Orogeny. This suggests that reworking in the Strangways Metamorphic Complex is related to terrane accretion rather than other factors such as anomalous enrichment in high-heat-producing elements or within-plate processes.