Investigating far-field tectonic events as drivers of provenance change in sedimentary basins

This thesis greatly enhanced our understanding of the continental-scale links between sedimentary basins and far-field tectonic processes. A novel, multi-method approach was used to reveal a previously unknown, major mountain building event in southwest Queensland that fundamentally altered the history of the Drummond Basin in central Queensland. An unusually large river system was identified, which transported the gravel and sand across the basin from a distant source region. This thesis has provided new insights into the mid-Paleozoic geological history of the Australian continent, established new approaches to tracing the origin of sediment and resolving the complex histories of sedimentary basins