Geodynamic evolution of early Mesozoic sedimentary basins in eastern Australia

Abstract:

Eastern Australia is covered by a series of continental sedimentary basins deposited during the Triassic and Jurassic, but the geodynamic context of these basins is not fully understood. Using gridded aeromagnetic data, seismic reflection data, geological maps, digital elevation models, and field observations, we conducted a structural synthesis aimed at characterizing major structures and deformation style in the Triassic-Jurassic sedimentary basins of eastern Australia. Our results show evidence for four alternating episodes of rifting and contractional events during the Triassic. Two major episodes of rifting, characterized by syn-sedimentary steep normal faults and bimodal volcanism, resulted in the development of the Early-Middle Triassic Esk-Nymboida Rift System and the early Late Triassic Ipswich Basin. Faults in the Esk-Nymboida Rift System have been controlled by a pre-existing oroclinal structure. Each phase of rifting was followed by a contractional event, which produced folds, reverse faults and unconformities in the basins. Since the latest Late Triassic, thermal subsidence led to the deposition of continental sediments in the Clarence-Moreton Basin, which continued until the Early Cretaceous. We suggest that the geodynamic control on the alternating episodes of rifting and contraction during the Triassic in eastern Australia was ultimately related to plate boundary migration and switches between trench retreat and advance.