T86 Pulse of the Earth: Geochronology and Paleomagnetism of Large Igneous Provinces, the Key to Reconstructing Precambrian Supercontinents (Posters)
LONG-LIVED RODINIA, RADICALLY REVISED
Paper number: T86-6
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Authors
Abstract
If Rodinia was instead long-lived and internally stable, then a unique reconstruction of its constituent cratons can be determined by erecting a master paleomagnetic apparent polar wander path for the entire supercontinental interval. I have assembled such a path that only violates one set of paleomagnetic results from poorly dated dykes in Brazil, which are currently under U-Pb reinvestigation. My proposed Rodinia includes some traditional connections, including Greenland-Baltica and Australia-India-South China similar to those presented in the published literature. The radical Rodinia revisions include: western Laurentia connected to elements of "West" Gondwanaland such as West Africa, Plata, and Amazon; northern Laurentia connected to Congo-SF, Australia connected to Baltica but not directly with Laurentia, Kalahari next to Mawsonland, and Siberia on the outer edge of the supercontinent beyond India. There are many intriguing possible intercratonic correlations that can be drawn in the framework of an entirely different global context, and I hope that the revised Rodinia inspires more attention on previously neglected cratons such as West Africa and Plata.