Crustal Evolution and Tectonics of Australian Cratons

The Australian continent comprises several ancient cratonic blocks—the West, North and South Australian cratons—that record Earth’s earliest crustal growth and subsequent tectonic reworking. These cratons formed by Archean magmatism and differentiation, acquiring thick, buoyant lithospheric keels that confer long‐term stability. During the Proterozoic, they were linked by juvenile lithosphere and reworked terranes, as convergence, accretion and rifting phases reshaped their margins. Mantle‐derived mafic magmatism, crustal anatexis and fluid‐driven metasomatism at sutures drove episodic crustal thickening and mineralisation. Later intraplate reactivation and Phanerozoic sedimentation obscured much of the basement architecture, yet modern geophysical imaging, geochemical tracers and high‐precision geochronology have begun to unravel the deep structure of buried domains. Understanding the assembly and preservation of these cratons not only illuminates supercontinent cycles but also guides exploration for mineral and energy resources.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have employed mass‐independent sulphur isotopes to trace the role of atmospheric sulphur in Proterozoic granitoid magmatism adjacent to Archean cratons. Analyses reveal that slab‐derived sediments devolatilised at depth injected sulphur into a mantle source, sustaining over 300 million years of intermittent crustal melting along craton margins. This work highlights a previously underappreciated volatile reservoir pathway during supercontinent assembly. In parallel, integrated zircon U–Pb–Hf geochronology with aeromagnetic mapping of the Antarctic conjugate margin has identified two Mesoproterozoic basement provinces in Wilkes Land that correspond to the Coompana and Madura provinces of southern Australia. Detrital zircon and monazite isotopes further reveal Neoproterozoic sedimentary cover, refining correlations across the Australian‐Antarctic margin and strengthening reconstructions of ancient supercontinents.

Crustal Evolution and Tectonics of Australian Cratons publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in crustal evolution and tectonics of australian cratons across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Craton: A large, stable block of ancient continental crust and its underlying lithospheric keel.

Metasomatism: The chemical alteration of crust or mantle rocks by fluid or melt percolation.

Anatexis: Partial melting of crustal rocks under high temperature and pressure.

Terrane: A crustal fragment with a distinct geological history that has been accreted to a larger continental block.

U–Pb geochronology: A radiometric dating method using the decay of uranium isotopes to lead in zircon and other minerals.

Moho: The boundary between Earth’s crust and the underlying mantle, marked by a contrast in seismic velocity.

Detrital zircon: Zircon mineral grains eroded from source rocks and deposited in sedimentary basins, used to fingerprint provenance and age.

References

1. Atmospheric sulfur is recycled to the crystalline continental crust during supercontinent formation. Nature Communications (2018).
2. Fingerprinting Proterozoic Bedrock in Interior Wilkes Land, East Antarctica. Scientific Reports (2019).
3. Preserved intercratonic lithosphere reveals Proterozoic assembly of Australia. Geology (2022).
4. Seismically constrained gravity inversions reveal magmatic and metamorphic processes at a major lithospheric boundary in northwestern Australia. Tectonophysics (2023).
5. Detrital zircon and apatite reveal Paleoproterozoic rifting along the eastern margin of the Yilgarn Craton. Precambrian Research (2024).