Sedimentary rocks along the southern margin of Australia host an important record of the 18 break-up history of east Gondwana, as well as fragments of a deeper geological history, which collectively help inform the geological evolution of a vast and largely underexplored 20 region. New drilling through Cenozoic cover has allowed examination of the Cretaceous riftrelated Madura Shelf sequence (Bight Basin), and identification of two new stratigraphic units beneath the shelf; the possibly Proterozoic Shanes Dam Conglomerate and the 1 interpreted Palaeozoic southern Officer Basin unit, the Decoration Sandstone. Recognition of these new units indicates an earlier basinal history than previously known. Lithostratigraphy of the new drillcore has been integrated with that published from onshore and offshore cores to present isopach maps of sedimentary cover on the Madura Shelf. New palynological data demonstrate progression from more localized freshwater-brackish fluviolacustrine clastics in the early Cretaceous (Foraminisporis wonthaggiensis-Valanginian to Barremian) to widespread topography-blanketing, fully marine, glauconitic mudrocks in the mid Cretaceous (Endoceratium ludbrookiae-Albian). Geochronology and Hf-isotope geochemistry show detrital zircon populations from the Madura Shelf are comparable to those from the southern Officer Basin, as well as Cenozoic shoreline and palaeovalley sediments in the region. The detrital zircon population from the Shanes Dam Conglomerate is defined by a unimodal ~1400 Ma peak, which correlates with directly underlying crystalline basement of the Madura Province. Peak ages of ~1150 Ma and ~1650 Ma dominate the age spectra of all other samples, indicating a stable sediment reservoir through much of the Phanerozoic, with sediments largely sourced from the Albany-Fraser and Musgrave Orogens (directly and via multiple recycling events). The Madura Shelf data differ from published data for the Upper Cretaceous Ceduna Delta to the east, indicating significant differences in sediment provenance and routing between the Ceduna Sub-basin and central Bight Basin.

Europe, this may be as a result of collection failure. The base of the Serpukhovian based on the FAD of Lochriea ziegleri will be in the middle of the Brigantian regional Sub-stage, a horizon substantially older than the base of the Namurian Regional Stage.

Laterally continuous terraces along the western flank of Cape Range, Western Australia, record both past sea-level highstands and postdepositional vertical displacement. Four distinct fossil coral reef terraces extend nearly the entire length of the slowly uplifting anticlinal structure (∼100 km), enabling documentation of the timing and degree of deformation-induced elevation contamination of past sea-level estimates from fossil shorelines. Here, we present detailed elevations of the four terraces using differential global positioning system (DGPS) and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data sets, along with new ages for the three upper terraces. Geochemical dating using strontium isotope stratigraphy techniques revealed, from highest to lowest elevation: a late Miocene reef terrace, a late Pliocene shoreline, and a prominent mid-Pleistocene reef terrace (probably associated with the marine oxygen isotope stage 33−31 interglacial), along with a broad last interglacial (Eemian) reef terrace and lagoon, which terminate at the modern shoreline. Laterally variable elevation data integrated with newly defined ages for the terraces demonstrate a gradual and continuous relative deformation in the region that spans at least the last 6.5 m.y. and constrains the emergence of the Cape Range to sometime prior to the late Miocene. This data set also shows that the most recent interglacial shoreline has undergone <1.3 m of vertical warping, suggesting minimal deformation since deposition. By tracing relative uplift rates over multiple terraces for ∼100 km of coastline, we placed constraints on maximum relative sea level (RSL) for the older terraces. Most notably, we were able to place strict maximum RSL elevations of <+34 m on the Pliocene terrace and <+16.5 m on the mid-Pleistocene terrace, with probable RSL being somewhat lower.