Australian Continental-Scale Lineaments: Evidence of Reactivation of Deep-Seated Structures and Economic Implications

• Published in: Proceedings of the 30th International Geological Congress Beijing, China, 4–14 August 1996 Vol. 4; pp. 161 - 170
• Main Authors: Elliott, Catherine I., Campbell, Ingrid, Joyce, E.B., Wilson, C.J.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: CRC Press 1997
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: Argyle Diamonds; Lineaments; Australian Continent; Northwestern Australia; NS1; Kimberley; Canning Basin; Lineament Tectonics; NNE Trend; Hydrocarbon Occurrences; Reactivation History; Spatial Association; Australian Lineament Framework; Large Scale Lineaments; Earliest Proterozoic; Concentrated Zones; Reactivation; Skua; CJ; Central Eastern Australia; Australian Framework; Basement Tectonics; Irian Jaya; Regional Tectonic; Lateral Equivalent; Tectonic Elements; Continental Lineaments; Australia; Mobile Zone
• ISBN: 9067642614; 0367448106; 9789067642613; 9780367448103
• DOI: 10.1201/9781003079545-16

The Australian continent is transected by a network of continental-scale lineaments that can be correlated with aligned geological, geophysical and geomorphological lithospheric expression. The continental-scale corridors are concentrated zones of aligned lineament distribution which manifest as corridors at a continental scale but can be broken down into individual, linear segments. This process of segmentation can be seen progressively, from the continental-scale down to the field scale. The G3 and GS gravity corridors in northwestern Australia are examples of ancient lineaments that have undergone a coupled reactivation history from the earliest Proterozoic through to the Holocene. The GS coincides with the Proterozoic Halls Creek Mobile Zone and its lateral equivalent, the Fitzmaurice Mobile Zone. The GS corridor can be traced offshore into the Arafura Basin where it has influenced the tectono-depositionary history of this sedimentary sequence. The G3 correlates with the Proterozoic King Leopold Mobile Zone in northwestern Australia and can be traced for a distance exceeding 3000km to the east coast of Australia. Major Australian mineral and hydrocarbon occurrences are preferentially located at the intersections of continental-scale lineaments. Lineaments reflect basement architecture and form fluid-flow pathways within the lithosphere. Lineament intersections are zones of enhanced favourability in terms of geological structuring and, under suitable geochemical conditions, focus the transport, precipitation and entrapment of hydrocarbons and mineralized fluids. The Australian continent is transected by a network of continental-scale lineaments that can be correlated with aligned geological, geophysical and geomorphological lithospheric expression. The continental-scale corridors are concentrated zones of aligned lineament distribution which manifest as corridors at a continental scale but can be broken down into individual, linear segments. This chapter outlines some of the results of the PhD investigation into the lineament tectonics of northwestern Australia studied in the broader context of the Australian framework. The identification of large-scale lineaments and their relationship to the regional structuring of the Australian continent was first undertaken by pioneering geologist Edwin Sherbon Hills. Hills recognized that the Australian basement architecture was intimately associated with a systematic network of continental-scale morphotectonic lineaments. The Australian continent is transected by a network of systematic continental-scale lineaments that have undergone a series of reactivation events that date back to the earliest Proterozoic.