Evolution and dynamics of the Australian plate / Эволюция и динамика Австралийской плиты

A session on ‘The Australian Plate’ was held at the 15th Australian Geological Convention in Sydney in July 2000. At that session it was clear that the 1990s had seen an explosion of new geophysical, geochemical and geological data for the Australian continent, and indeed for the wider plate. Further it was clear that the application of new interpretation techniques in the earth sciences, especially numerical modelling, to these improved datasets was yielding a vastly improved level of understanding of the evolution and dynamics of the Australian Plate. This volume stemmed from the realisation that combining these new data and interpretations into a single volume would provide both a much-needed description of the current ‘state-ofthe-science’ and also help reveal the new directions required to further illuminate the evolution and dynamics of the Australian Plate. 

We sought additional papers beyond those presented at the original conference session in order to widen the scope and maximise the impact of the volume. Of the 27 papers in the volume, 12 can be traced back to the Australian Geological Convention session and 15 additional papers have been contributed. The strength of the volume lies, of course, in the quality of the individual contributions and there are a number of reasons why so many high-quality contributions were received. Authors clearly recognised the significance of a multidisciplinary volume on the Australian Plate at this time. Furthermore, the sponsorship of Santos and Woodside enabled the volume to be fullcolour and hardbound, and also to be priced so as to be accessible not only to researchers, but also to senior undergraduate and postgraduate students. These were all important factors in ensuring the quality of contributions, as was the decision to make this volume the first joint publication of the Geological Society of Australia and the Geological Society of America, in the form of a special publication of the former and a special paper of the latter. Although all the papers in this volume deal with the Australian Plate, the processes controlling the evolution and dynamics of the Australian Plate are of global significance, as indeed are many of the problems specific to the Australian Plate.  <...>