The Elatina glaciation, late Cryogenian (Marinoan Epoch), South Australia: Sedimentary facies and palaeoenvironments

doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2007.12.001

Precambrian Research

Volume 163, Issues 3–4, 10 June 2008, Pages 307-331

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precamres.2007.12.001 Get rights and content

Abstract

The late Cryogenian Elatina glaciation in South Australia, of Marinoan age, is named after the Elatina Formation of the glaciogenic Yerelina Subgroup, which covers ∼200,000 km² in the Adelaide Geosyncline and on the cratonic Stuart Shelf and is up to ∼1500 m thick. The Elatina glaciation is marked by numerous facies that are like those of Phanerozoic glaciations:

•
Basal diamictite displaying glacitectonites with penetrative deformation of preglacial beds, indicating grounded ice or scouring by icebergs.
•
Glaciomarine diamictites containing numerous faceted and striated clasts up to several metres across of intrabasinal and extrabasinal origin.
•
Laminated siltstone and mudstone containing scattered, ice-rafted dropstones in outer marine-shelf environments.
•
Sandstones deposited in fluvial, deltaic and inner marine-shelf settings.
•
Tidalites deposited in estuaries and on tidal deltas during interstadial rise of sea level, with cyclic tidal rhythmites recording the annual oscillation of sea level and displaying wave-generated ripple marks, which together indicate long-lived and extensive open seas.
•
Siltstone containing acicular crystal pseudomorphs implying the formation of evaporite minerals in littoral deposits.
•
Permafrost regolith of frost-shattered quartzite breccia ≤20 m deep, displaying large-scale periglacial structures including primary sand wedges 3 m deep that indicate a frigid, strongly seasonal climate near sea level.
•
Periglacial–aeolian sandstone covering 25,000 km² and containing primary sand wedges near its base.

These deposits record a spectrum of settings ranging from permafrost regolith and periglacial sand sheet on the Stuart Shelf in the west, through fluvial, deltaic and inner marine-shelf in the western and central parts of the Adelaide Geosyncline, to outer marine-shelf in the north and southeast. The widespread and persistent rainout of fine-grained sediment and ice-rafted debris indicates that the sea was not frozen over during the Elatina glaciation. No direct age determination is available for the Elatina glaciation, and only maximum and minimum age limits of ∼640 and ∼580 Ma, respectively, can at present be applied. High-quality palaeomagnetic data for red beds from the Elatina Formation, supported by positive fold tests on soft-sediment slump folds that demonstrate the early acquisition of magnetic remanence, indicate deposition within 10° of the palaeoequator. The Yerelina Subgroup in the Adelaide Geosyncline and on the Stuart Shelf is disconformably to unconformably overlain by the Nuccaleena Formation “cap carbonate” that marks the early Ediacaran post-glacial marine transgression.

The presence in near-equatorial palaeolatitudes of glaciomarine deposition, grounded ice and permafrost near sea level, a strongly seasonal periglacial climate, and widespread open seas implies a paradoxical palaeoclimate and palaeogeographic setting for the Elatina glaciation. The strong evidence for a non-actualistic late Cryogenian glacial climate in South Australia has been a stimulus to worldwide multidisciplinary research on Cryogenian glaciogenic successions.

Introduction

The term “Marinoan glaciation” has been widely used in recent years for the younger of the two Cryogenian glaciations that left their mark in the Neoproterozoic record of most continents. Various lithostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic arguments have been employed to correlate these late Cryogenian glaciations with the glacial episode of the Marinoan Epoch in South Australia (Coats and Preiss, 1987, Preiss, 2000), although the correlations have not been tested by direct dating. Regrettably, no presentation that discusses the current understanding of the stratigraphy, sedimentary facies and palaeoenvironments of the late Cryogenian glaciogenic succession in its de facto “type region” of the Adelaide Geosyncline is available. Descriptions and interpretations are given in volumes of the Geological Survey of South Australia and the Geological Society of Australia (e.g. Coats and Preiss, 1987, Lemon and Gostin, 1990, Preiss, 1993) that have limited distribution beyond Australia and which do not include the results of diverse stratigraphic and sedimentological studies and detailed palaeomagnetic analyses of this succession carried out during the past two decades. An up-to-date synthesis in the international literature is highly desirable.

The present paper aims to meet this need by bringing together the findings of pioneering stratigraphic studies by numerous South Australian workers and recent research to demonstrate the wide range of glacial facies and palaeoenvironments associated with late Cryogenian glaciation in the Adelaide Geosyncline region. It is timely because of the current wide interest in Neoproterozoic glacial environments and the newly defined Ediacaran System and Period with its Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) placed purportedly at the base of the Nuccaleena Formation “cap carbonate” overlying late Cryogenian glacial deposits in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia (Knoll et al., 2004, Knoll et al., 2006, Preiss, 2005). The appropriate terminology for the late Cryogenian glaciogenic succession in South Australia, and its palaeomagnetism and limited geochronology, also are discussed. The sedimentological and palaeomagnetic data illuminate the glacial palaeoclimate and palaeogeography of the region, with important implications for the late Cryogenian global climate.

Section snippets

Geological setting and stratigraphy

The late Cryogenian glaciogenic succession discussed in this paper accumulated mostly in the sedimentary basin of Neoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic age now marked by folded strata of the Flinders Ranges and Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia (Fig. 1). Several terms, including “Adelaide Geosyncline”, “Adelaide Rift”, and “Adelaide Rift Complex” have been applied by different authors to this basin. Preiss and Forbes (1987) discussed the Adelaide Geosyncline concept, stating (p. 15) that

Terminology

Although the term “Marinoan glaciation” has proved useful in South Australia, recent stratigraphic and geochronological data from elsewhere in Australia and other continents have shown that its wider application is now inappropriate. In the original publication (Mawson and Sprigg, 1950), the Marinoan Series was defined chronostratigraphically for strata between the top of the Brighton Limestone (∼650 Ma) and the base of the Cambrian. The corresponding time term, the Marinoan Epoch (Preiss, 1987b

Age of glaciation

The Elatina glaciation has not been accurately dated, compounding the difficulties of correlation. Suggested ages of glaciation of 635 ± 1.2 Ma (Hoffmann et al., 2004) and 575 ± 3 Ma (Calver et al., 2004) are based on U–Pb zircon dating of igneous rocks associated with diamictites in Namibia (Ghaub Formation) and on King Island, Tasmania (Cottons Breccia), respectively, that were presumed to be correlative with the Elatina glaciogenic succession. However, Cottons Breccia is of uncertain genesis and

Glaciogenic deposits

The Yerelina Subgroup in the Adelaide Geosyncline shows great lateral variation (Fig. 3). In the western and central areas the Elatina Formation is 30–130 m thick, but the subgroup is thickest and more complete in the North Flinders Zone (>1500 m) and the Nackara Arc (>1000 m). Lithological descriptions and measured sections showing suggested facies relationships and correlations are given by Coats and Preiss (1987), Lemon and Gostin (1990), Preiss (1993) and Preiss et al. (1998). Although no

Evidence of tidal activity

Tidalites are common in the Elatina Formation, notably in a ∼10-m-thick rhythmite unit at Pichi Richi Pass, representing ∼70 years of deposition, and in the Reynella Siltstone Member at Marino Rocks (Williams, 1989, Williams, 1991, Williams, 1998a, Williams, 2000). The following features indicate tidal deposition:

(1)
Herringbone cross-bedding in sandstone of the Reynella Siltstone Member (Fig. 7a).
(2)
Flaser bedding in the Reynella Siltstone Member (Fig. 7b), consisting of trough cross-laminated,

Permafrost regolith

During the Neoproterozoic, the flat-lying, arenaceous Pandurra Formation of Mesoproterozoic age (1424 ± 51 Ma; Fanning et al., 1983) formed a broad structural high, termed the Pernatty Upwarp, in the central part of the Stuart Shelf (Fig. 11). The Cattle Grid Breccia developed on an irregular surface of silicified Pandurra Formation (quartzite) and locally on the Cryogenian Tapley Hill Formation (Williams and Tonkin, 1985, Williams, 1986, Coats and Preiss, 1987). Silicification of the Pandurra

Periglacial aeolianite

The flat-lying, 165-m-thick Whyalla Sandstone (Coats and Preiss, 1987, Preiss, 1993, Williams, 1998b) covers 25,000 km² in outcrop and subcrop on the Stuart Shelf (Fig. 11). The formation consists mostly of moderately well sorted, bimodal, medium- to very coarse-grained quartzose sandstone with well rounded, frosted quartz grains 1–2 mm across and subrounded to subangular, fine (50–200 μm) grains of quartz, feldspar and lithic fragments. Bands of rounded granules and small pebbles of quartz and

Contact with Yerelina Subgroup

The Nuccaleena Formation, and particularly its dolostone member, is a persistent marker unit throughout the Adelaide Geosyncline region (Forbes and Preiss, 1987) that represents the cap carbonate on the Yerelina Subgroup. The contact between the Yerelina Subgroup and the Nuccaleena Formation is interpreted as a sequence boundary marked by a disconformity to very low angle unconformity (Preiss, 2000). Throughout the Central Flinders Zone, the Elatina–Nuccaleena contact varies from generally

Palaeogeography

The Adelaide Geosyncline region records a wide range of depositional environments together covering ∼200,000 km² (Fig. 3) that mark late Cryogenian glaciation immediately preceding the Ediacaran:

•
In the west, a permafrost regolith blanketed by a periglacial–aeolian sand sheet formed on the Stuart Shelf at the eastern margin of the Gawler Craton. This cratonic region underwent little or no glaciation, perhaps because of its aridity and low relief, and wide areas remained ice-free. A frigid,

Discussion and conclusions

The late Cryogenian Elatina glaciation in the Adelaide Geosyncline–Stuart Shelf region of South Australia occurred at an undetermined time between about 640 and 580 Ma. The Yerelina Subgroup displays a wide range of facies: permafrost regolith with numerous large-scale cryogenic structures; periglacial aeolianite; littoral and neritic deposits including tidalites and evaporites; basal diamictite; fluvial, deltaic and inner marine-shelf sandstones; glaciomarine diamictites; and outer marine-shelf

Acknowledgments

We thank Nick Lemon (Santos Ltd., Adelaide) for helpful discussions. Phil Schmidt (CSIRO Exploration and Mining, Sydney) provided unpublished palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic data on the Elatina Formation and the map of Elatina palaeolatitudes used in Fig. 11. Pat Eriksson (University of Pretoria) and an anonymous reviewer provided constructive comments. Williams, Gostin and McKirdy acknowledge respective Visiting Research Fellowships in the University of Adelaide, and Preiss publishes with the

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ReviewThe Elatina glaciation, late Cryogenian (Marinoan Epoch), South Australia: Sedimentary facies and palaeoenvironments

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Geological setting and stratigraphy

Terminology

Age of glaciation

Glaciogenic deposits

Evidence of tidal activity

Permafrost regolith

Periglacial aeolianite

Contact with Yerelina Subgroup

Palaeogeography

Discussion and conclusions

Acknowledgments

Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol.

Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

Earth-Sci. Rev.

Sediment. Geol.

Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

Earth-Sci. Rev.

Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

Precam. Res.

Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci.

Precam. Res.

Precam. Res.

Mar. Geol.

Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

Nature, origin and classification of peritidal tepee structures and related breccias

Sedimentology

Growth of ice-wedge polygons in permafrost near Barrow, Alaska

Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.

Growth of patterned ground in Victoria Land, Antarctica

Patterned-ground studies in Victoria Land

Antarct. J. U.S.

Tidal inlets and tidal deltas

U–Pb zircon age constraints on late Neoproterozoic glaciation in Tasmania

Geology

Late Proterozoic (Adelaidean) tillites of the Adelaide Geosyncline

Zircon age evidence for the Late Precambrian Acraman ejecta blanket

Aust. J. Earth Sci.

U–Pb ages from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation, China

Science

Glacial incursion on a Neoproterozoic carbonate platform in the Kimberley region, Australia

Geol. Soc. Am. Bull.

Cyclic sedimentation produced by fluctuations in meltwater discharge, tides and marine productivity in an Alaskan fjord

Sedimentology

Glacials of the Marinoan Series, central Flinders Ranges

Geol. Surv. S. Aust. Quart. Geol. Notes

The diurnal inequality of the tide as a parameter for recognizing tidal influences

J. Sediment. Petrol.

Stratigraphic nomenclature and sequence stratigraphy of the lower Wilpena Group, Adelaide Geosyncline: the Sandison Subgroup

Geol. Surv. S. Aust. Quart. Geol. Notes

Periglacial Geomorphology

Stratigraphic, geochronological, and paleomagnetic constraints upon the Neoproterozoic climatic paradox

Am. J. Sci.

Neoproterozoic glaciation in the Earth System

J. Geol. Soc. Lond.

Constraints on the timing of the Sturtian glaciation from southern Australia; i.e. for the true Sturtian

Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Programs

Geochronology of the Pandurra Formation

Geol. Surv. S. Aust. Quart. Geol. Notes

Response characteristics of an ebb-dominated tidal inlet channel

J. Sediment. Petrol.

The timing and duration of the Delamerian Orogeny: correlation with the Ross Orogen and implications for Gondwana assembly

J. Geol.

The Marinoan glaciation (Neoproterozoic) in northeast Svalbard

Basin Res.

The snowball Earth hypothesis: testing the limits of global change

Terra Nova

Review
The Elatina glaciation, late Cryogenian (Marinoan Epoch), South Australia: Sedimentary facies and palaeoenvironments