Stratigraphic continuity and early deformation of the central part of the Coppin Gap Greenstone Belt, Pilbara, Western Australia

Surficial (i.e. uppermost crustal) gravitational collapse during or shortly after deposition may have caused the apparent contradictory co-existence of deformation zones and stratigraphic continuity. Although the deformation has not caused major disruptions of the stratigraphic succession, the precision of the U-Pb SHRIMP ages is insufficient to rule out excisions or duplications of stratigraphy on the order of a few million years.