The amazing story of the Adelaide Superbasin

Thursday 2nd of June 2022 at 7.45pm 
Mawson Lecture Theatre

Department of Earth Sciences

University of Adelaide



Professor Alan Collins
Department of Earth Sciences
University of Adelaide

31st Brian Daily Memorial Lecture

     The Adelaide Superbasin is a newly defined term for the rock system which includes the Flinders and Mount Lofty Ranges, the basement rocks of Kangaroo Island and parts of the Olary and Barrier Ranges of NSW, as well as related bordering regions such as the Stuart Shelf. It is part of a vast system of similar-aged sedimentary basins that cover continental Australia and which formed between 1000 and 500 million years ago. In central Australia these are grouped into the Centralian Superbasin which consists of a number of smaller basins, for example the Amadeus and Officer Basins. Similarly in South Australia a number of related basins and their bordering regions have now been grouped into the Adelaide Superbasin.
     The Adelaide Superbasin is, scenically and geologically, a stunning rock system! In this presentation I will discuss its extent and the reasons for defining it, and how it relates to older and perhaps more familiar terms such as “Adelaide Geosyncline”, “Adelaide Fold Belt” and “Adelaide Rift Complex”. I will also talk about some of the stories of the planet’s evolution, the rise of algae, the formation of the Pacific Ocean and the destruction of a supercontinent. Evidence for all this is preserved in the rocks of the Adelaide Superbasin, and underpins the reason for its future world heritage status.
     Professor Alan Collins is a tectonic geologist who is interested in how the deep earth evolution of the planet has controlled and governed earth surface systems (atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere). He has a BSc (Hons.) degree from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, The University of London (1993), and PhD from The University of Edinburgh (1997). Alan has worked in many countries including Turkey, Madagascar, East Africa, India and East antarctica and of course Australia. His work in India and East Africa has helped unravel the story of how India collided with Africa around 600 million years ago. Alan has been at the University of Adelaide since 2005 and leads the Tectonics and Earth Systems Group where he is lucky enough to work with a great group of academics and students. Alan is also a researcher in the MinEx Cooperative Research Centre and leads a research consortium on understanding the greater McArthur Basin in northern Australia.

The lecture will be preceded by a presentation by the Brian Daily student prizewinner Nicholas Mathews and demonstrator Oliver Pring, on their experiences at the second-year Pichi Richi field mapping camp.

THE MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE MAWSON LECTURE THEATRE,  
MAWSON BUILDING, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, AT 7.45 PM. 

IF THE DOOR IS LOCKED, PLEASE RING THE FGC DOORBELL FOR ADMITTANCE. Please note however that the doorbell will be removed at 8.00 pm in order not to interrupt the lecture.

Please be warned that there is no wheelchair access to the lecture theatre.

 

Cynthia Pyle will run a workshop before the June meeting.
The topic for the June workshop will be “Distinctive Minerals”. 

Some minerals have one or more properties, such as being very light or very heavy, that enable them to be more easily identified. In this workshop we will look at several examples of such minerals.




What mineral properties are being tested in two different ways?

The workshop will start at 6.30 pm, but people are welcome to come in later, as everyone
works independently or with a friend.

The workshop will be held in the Sprigg Room. Go past the Tate Museum and take the next
staircase on the right. The Sprigg Room is right at the top of the stairs. Anyone who arrives after 6.30pm and can't get into the building can ring the FGC bell if it is in place.