A new PAAN researchers’ publication by has been released titled ‘Neoarchean magmatism in the southern Scott and Raggatt Mountains, Napier Complex, East Antarctica’ in Precambrian Research.

Authors: Piotr Król, Monika A. Kusiak, Daniel J. Dunkley, together with Simon A. Wilde (Curtin University); Keewook Yi; Shinae Lee (both Korea Basic Science Institute); Martin J. Whitehouse (Swedish Museum of Natural History); Simon L. (University of Edinburgh)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/

This study examines orthogneisses from the southern Scott Mountains and Raggatt Mountains in eastern Antarctica. The study aims to reconstruct the geological history of the area. Based on U-Pb zircon geochronology, it was constrained that magmatism occurred 2.7 billion years ago. Based on whole-rock chemical analysis, it was determined that magmatic precursors formed by melting at high pressures (>1.5 GPa). The area then underwent high-temperature metamorphism at 2585-2420 Ma, during which syn-metamorphic magmatism occurred at ca. 2530 Ma. The geological history of this area differs from the regions to the north and north-east, which may suggest that the Napier Complex is composed of independent crustal fragments that were joined together about 2.5 billion years ago during widespread high-temperature metamorphism.