The structural and tectonic evolution of a Rodinian continental fragment in the Mawson Escarpment, Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica

Part of East Antarctica's shield collided with Greater India during assembly of the Rodinia supercontinent. The pre-Rodinia continental margin of the Antarctic landmass is represented by Palaeoproterozoic basement rocks of the Lambert Complex, which are best exposed in the North Mawson Escarpment area of Antarctica's Prince Charles Mountains. Having investigated the structure of this escarpment, we conclude that rocks of the Lambert Complex were stacked by oblique northward overthrusting motions while deforming pervasively in the infrastructure zone of a convergent orogen, i.e. when this continental fragment of pre-Rodinia Antarctica collided with India around 960–905 m.y. ago. This resulted in exhumation to shallower, but still deep, crustal levels, so that the deformation was accompanied by Barrovian-type metamorphism that evolved to high-temperature, low-pressure conditions. The metamorphism outlasted most of the ductile deformation with temperatures reaching 750 °C, though potentially greater, under pressure conditions of about 5 kbar. In this paper we outline the structures and, from a plate tectonics viewpoint, consider their likely association with Rodinian and Gondwanan orogens in East Antarctica, i.e. the Rayner and Prydz Belts.