Palaeogeographic Maps of Northern Australian Plate Margins with Updated Tectonic Models

Updated reconstructions for the northern margins of the Australian plate from the Carboniferous to the Holocene. The dataset presents alternative plate tectonic models and maps the tectonostratigraphic evolution, including phases like the Westralian Superbasin rifting and the Meso-Tethys breakup. The data is provided by Geoscience Australia and was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling plate tectonic evolution based on described alternative reconstructions for the Greater Birds Head microplate.
• Analyzing sedimentation patterns during described phases like Carboniferous glacial sedimentation or Cretaceous passive margin sedimentation.
• Studying the tectonic history of collision zones based on the described late Oligocene to Holocene incorporation into the SE Asian arc system.

Strengths

• Presents multiple alternative tectonic reconstructions for scientific comparison.
• Covers a long temporal range from the Carboniferous to the Holocene.
• Includes detailed descriptions of tectonostratigraphic phases like the Sakmarian Meso-Tethys breakup.

Limitations

• The report states many tectonic models are difficult to substantiate with current data, indicating uncertainty.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Likely contains synthesized geological and geophysical research to produce palaeogeographic maps.

Time Range

Carboniferous to Holocene

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 14:52:54.495081; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northern margins of the Australian plate, from Timor to the Kai Islands, and the proto-Banda Sea region.