A Positive Test of East Antarctica–Laurentia Juxtaposition Within the Rodinia Supercontinent
Abstract
The positions of Laurentia and other landmasses in the Precambrian supercontinent of Rodinia are controversial. Although geological and isotopic data support an East Antarctic fit with western Laurentia, alternative reconstructions favor the juxtaposition of Australia, Siberia, or South China. New geologic, age, and isotopic data provide a positive test of the juxtaposition with East Antarctica: Neodymium isotopes of Neoproterozoic rift-margin strata are similar; hafnium isotopes of ∼1.4-billion-year-old Antarctic-margin detrital zircons match those in Laurentian granites of similar age; and a glacial clast of A-type granite has a uraniun-lead zircon age of ∼1440 million years, an epsilon-hafnium initial value of +7, and an epsilon-neodymium initial value of +4. These tracers indicate the presence of granites in East Antarctica having the same age, geochemical properties, and isotopic signatures as the distinctive granites in Laurentia.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Already a Subscriber?Sign In
Supplementary Material
File (goodge.som.pdf)
References and Notes
1
I. W. D. Dalziel, Geology19, 598 (1991).
2
P. F. Hoffman, Science252, 1409 (1991).
3
E. M. Moores, Geology19, 425 (1991).
4
Z. X. Liet al., Precambrian Res.160, 179 (2007).
5
T. H. Torsvik, Science300, 1379 (2003).
6
I. W. D. Dalziel, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.109, 16 (1997).
7
M. Idnurm, J. W. Giddings, Geology23, 149 (1995).
8
C. M. Powell, Z. X. Li, M. W. McElhinny, J. G. Meert, J. K. Park, Geology21, 889 (1993).
9
A. B. Weil, R. Van der Voo, C. Mac Niocaill, J. G. Meert, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.154, 13 (1998).
10
M. T. D. Wingate, S. A. Pisarevsky, D. A. D. Evans, Terra Nova14, 121 (2002).
11
S. G. Borg, D. J. DePaolo, Geology22, 307 (1994).
12
J. W. Goodge, I. S. Williams, P. Myrow, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.116, 1253 (2004).
13
J. L. Anderson, J. Morrison, Lithos80, 45 (2005).
14
J. W. Goodge, J. D. Vervoort, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.243, 711 (2006).
15
P. M. Myrow, M. C. Pope, J. W. Goodge, W. Fischer, A. R. Palmer, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.114, 1070 (2002).
16
G. L. Farmer, T. T. Ball, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.109, 1193 (1997).
17
J. B. Whalen, K. L. Currie, B. W. Chappell, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol.95, 407 (1987).
18
J. L. Anderson, R. L. Cullers, Rocky Mt. Geol.34, 149 (1999).
19
K. M. Barovich, P. J. Patchett, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol.109, 386 (1992).
20
V. C. Bennett, D. J. DePaolo, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.99, 674 (1987).
21
J. D. Gleason, C. F. Miller, V. C. Bennett, Contrib. Mineral. Petrol.118, 182 (1994).
22
B. K. Nelson, D. J. DePaolo, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.96, 746 (1985).
23
S. G. Borg, D. J. DePaolo, B. M. Smith, J. Geophys. Res.95, 6647 (1990).
24
J. L. Wooden, D. M. Miller, J. Geophys. Res.95, 20133 (1990).
25
J. W. Goodge, C. M. Fanning, Geology27, 1007 (1999).
26
J. W. Goodge, C. M. Fanning, V. C. Bennett, Precambrian Res.112, 261 (2001).
27
P. F. Hoffman, in The Geology of North America—An Overview, A. W. Bally, A. R. Palmer, Eds. (Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 1989), vol. A, pp. 447–512.
28
J. J. Peucat, R. P. Ménot, O. Monnier, C. M. Fanning, Precambrian Res.94, 205 (1999).
29
S. J. Daly, C. M. Fanning, M. C. Fairclough, AGSO J. Aust. Geol. Geophys.17, 145 (1998).
30
W. R. Van Schmuset al., in Precambrian; Conterminous U.S., J. C. Reed Jr. et al., Eds. (Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 1993), pp. 171–334.
31
J. W. Goodge, P. Myrow, I. S. Williams, S. Bowring, J. Geol.110, 393 (2002).
32
G. Bond, Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Progr.29 A280, (1997).
33
C. M. Fanning, P. K. Link, Geology32, 881 (2004).
34
K. Lund, J. M. Aleinikoff, K. V. Evans, C. M. Fanning, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.115, 349 (2003).
35
B. Kendall, R. A. Creaser, D. Selby, Geology34, 729 (2006).
36
W. V. Preiss, Precambrian Res.100, 21 (2000).
37
C. D. Frost, D. Winston, J. Geol.95, 309 (1987).
38
G. M. Ross, R. R. Parrish, D. Winston, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.113, 57 (1992).
39
C. M. Fanning, P. K. Link, Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Progr.35, 465 (2003).
40
J. G. Meert, Tectonophysics362, 1 (2003).
41
A. S. Collins, S. A. Pisarevsky, Earth Sci. Rev.71, 229 (2005).
42
This work was supported by NSF (grants 9725426, 9912081, and 0440160 to J.W.G.). We thank collaborators K. Licht, E. Palmer, A. Barth, and P. Braddock for a successful joint field program in 2005–2006; V. Hansen for review of the manuscript; and I. Dalziel and two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Science
Volume 321 | Issue 5886
11 July 2008
11 July 2008
Copyright
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Received: 16 April 2008
Accepted: 10 June 2008
Published in print: 11 July 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Article Usage
Altmetrics
Citations
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citation of this publication.
View Options
Get Access
Log in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS Members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
- Become a AAAS Member
- Activate your AAAS ID
- Purchase Access to Other Journals in the Science Family
- Account Help
Log in via OpenAthens.
Log in via Shibboleth.
More options
Purchase digital access to this article
Download and print this article for your personal scholarly, research, and educational use.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
View options
PDF format
Download this article as a PDF file
Download PDF