Pre-Quaternary landscape inheritance in Australia

Abstract

Palaeogeographic reconstructions indicate that parts of the Australian continent have been subaerially exposed for hundreds of millions of years. Some landforms and regolith are demonstrated to be at least 300 million years old, but their persistence at or near the surface is inconsistent with long-term denudation rate estimates based on cosmogenic nuclides and apatite fission track thermochronology. Burial and exhumation are suggested as significant preservation factors, in conjunction with prolonged tectonic stability and a shift to more arid climatic regimes in the Cenozoic. Show more