Abstract
The Yilgarn Block is an ancient crustal block which extends over ∼650,000km2 in the south-west of Western Australia and consists of high-grade gneiss and granite–greenstone terrains1. Being one of the largest segments of Archaean crust in the world, it is important to studies of early crustal evolution. We report here a geochronological study of banded gneisses near Mount Narryer, in the north-west of the Yilgarn Block, which has given a Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron age of 3,348±43 Myr with an initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7037±0.0005. The data indicate that the rocks had a prior crustal residence time of ∼200 Myr. The validity of this early Archaean age is supported by model Sm–Nd ages of 3,510 Myr and 3,630 Myr for two of the samples. Taken together, these ages represent the oldest evolutionary sequence so far identified in the Yilgarn Block, and are comparable with old ages from other Archaean cratons elsewhere in the world.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gee, R. D., Baxter, J. L., Wilde, S. A. & Williams, I. R. Geol. Soc. Australia Spec. Publ. No. 7 (in the press).
Glikson, A. Y. & Lambert, I. B. Tectonophysics 30, 55–89 (1976).
Archibald, N. J., Bettenay, L. F., Binns, R. A., Groves, D. I. & Gunthorpe, R. J. Precambr. Res. 6, 103–131 (1978).
Gee, R. D. Tectonophysics 58, 327–369 (1979).
Glikson, A. Y. Earth Sci. Rev. 15, 1–73 (1979).
De Laeter, J. R., Libby, W. G. & Trendall, A. F. Geol. Soc. Australia Spec. Publ. No. 7 (in the press).
Arriens, P. A. Geol. Soc. Australia Spec. Publ. No. 3, 1–23 (1971).
Nieuwland, D. A. & Compston, W. Geol. Soc. Australia Spec. Publ. No. 7 (in the press).
Mclntyre, G. A., Brooks, C., Compston, W. & Turek, A. J. geophys. Res. 71, 5459–5468 (1966).
Faure, G. & Powell, J. L. Strontium Isotope Geology (Springer, Berlin, 1972).
Beckinsale, R. D., Drury, S. A. & Holt, R. W. Nature 283, 469–470 (1980).
Lugmair, G. W., Scheinin, N. B. & Marti, K. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 27, 79–84 (1975).
Jacobsen, S. B. & Wasserburg, G. J. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 50, 139–155 (1980).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
De Laeter, J., Fletcher, I., Rosman, K. et al. Early Archaean gneisses from the Yilgarn Block, Western Australia. Nature 292, 322–324 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/292322a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/292322a0
This article is cited by
-
Monazite geochronology and geochemistry of meta-sediments in the Narryer Gneiss Complex, Western Australia: constraints on the tectonothermal history and provenance
Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (2010)
-
Determination of the age of the Australian continent by single-grain zircon analysis of Mt Narryer metaquartzite
Nature (1985)
-
Nd—Sr isotopic composition of granulites and constraints on the evolution of the lower continental crust
Nature (1984)
-
Revised Sm–Nd systematics of Kambalda greenstones, Western Australia
Nature (1984)
-
Ion microprobe identification of 4,100–4,200 Myr-old terrestrial zircons
Nature (1983)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.