Style of uplift of Paleozoic terranes in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica: evidence from K-Ar age patterns

K-Ar ages of 82 slate and schist (white-mica-rich whole-rock) samples are reported for Late Precambrian-Early Ordovician metamorphic rocks of the Wilson, Bowers and Robertson Bay terranes of northern Victoria Land. These are amalgamated in two vertical sections along composite NE-SW horizontal profiles across (1) Oates Coast in the north, and (2) Terra Nova Bay area in the south. The ages are in the range 328517 Ma. Both profiles show some age variation with altitude, but more importantly, they define an inverted wedge shaped pattern, reflecting a pop-up structure. This is oriented NW-SE at the eastern margin of the Wilson terrane, and the edges coincide with the Exiles and Wilson Thrusts which cross the region. Ages inside the pop-up structure are younger, ca. 460480 Ma, than those along its eastern and western flanks, ca. 490520 Ma. The K-Ar age patterns thus demonstrate a late Ross Orogenic age (ca. 460 Ma) for this structure, which may be associated with assembly of the Wilson and Bowers terranes