Sedimentological record of the late Paleozoic glaciation in Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Research Article| February 01, 2004 Sedimentological record of the late Paleozoic glaciation in Queensland, Australia Andrew T. Jones; Andrew T. Jones 1Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Christopher R. Fielding Christopher R. Fielding 2Department of Geosciences, 214 Bessey Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0340, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2004) 32 (2): 153–156. https://doi.org/10.1130/G20112.1 Article history received: 14 Aug 2003 rev-recd: 26 Oct 2003 accepted: 27 Oct 2003 first online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Andrew T. Jones, Christopher R. Fielding; Sedimentological record of the late Paleozoic glaciation in Queensland, Australia. Geology 2004;; 32 (2): 153–156. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G20112.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Although much is known of the timing, geographical extent, and character of the late Paleozoic Gondwanan glaciation, its rec ord in eastern Australia is poorly resolved. Some previous investigations have asserted that large parts of Australia were covered by a cold-based continental ice sheet during the Pennsylvanian (late Carboniferous). New data from Queensland in northeast Australia reported herein, however, suggest that the glaciation there was restricted to discrete, short-lived periods, in the Namurian (315 Ma), Westphalian (311 Ma), and Sakmarian (289–293 Ma). Thick successions in three widely separated areas indicate that the glaciation was confined in each case to local (valley or mountain) glaciers and that the mainly proglacial sediments were enclosed in every case by substantial intervals of fluvial, lacustrine, and shallow-marine strata deposited under nonglacial conditions. Accordingly, we submit that the cessation of glacial sediment deposition elsewhere in Gondwana during the Pennsylvanian to earliest Permian was due to the decay of glaciers, rather than to a transition to a cold-based ice sheet or sheets, as has been previously suggested. The interpretations presented herein make a significant contribution toward constraining the size and extent of glaciation in Gondwana, which has major implications for late Paleozoic world climate and sea-level fluctuations. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.