Abstract The record of two Neoproterozoic glaciations in South Australia has been known for about a century. The earlier glaciation, of Sturtian age, is represented by the Yudnamutana Subgroup and is characterized by widespread diamictites with both intrabasinal and extrabasinal clasts, some locally faceted and striated. Associated facies include shallow-water sandstone, bedded and laminated siltstone with lonestones and dropstones, and sedimentary ironstones (mainly ferruginous siltstone and diamictite). Proximal settings adjacent to the Curnamona Province display massive basement-derived conglomerate and gigantic basement megaclasts (up to hundreds of metres across). Sturtian glaciogenic sediments of the Yudnamutana Subgroup unconformably overlie a variety of older rock units, including crystalline basement near basin margins and uppermost Burra Group sediments in the depocentre, and were deposited both in shallow marine shelf environments and in tectonically active rift basins encircling the Curnamona Province, with corresponding increases in total thickness from 100–300 m to more than 5 km. Recent U–Pb zircon SHRIMP dating of a thin volcaniclastic layer indicates that the waning stages of the Sturtian glaciation occurred at c. 660 Ma. Unlike the deposits of the younger Elatina glaciation, the Yudnamutana Subgroup has so far not yielded reliable palaeomagnetic data.

Abstract The IUGS- and UNESCO-funded International Geoscience Programme Project #512 (Neoproterozoic Ice Ages) was conceived to contribute towards a global synthesis of current geological data on the number, duration, extent, causes and consequences of glacial episodes during the Neoproterozoic Era. IGCP 512 attracted more than 200 scientists from over 30 countries, many of whom provided their regional and specialist expertise on Neoproterozoic successions around the world to the realization of this volume. IGCP 512 focused on integrating various aspects of Neoproterozoic geology: geochronology, geochemistry, sedimentary geology, biostratigraphy, palaeomagnetism and economic geology. At its inaugural meeting on 27 August 2005 during the International Association of Sedimentology conference on glacial processes and products in Aberystwyth, Wales, IGCP 512 members decided to produce a volume that summarized existing data sets in a form similar to Earth's Pre-Pleistocene Glacial Record by Hambrey & Harland (1981) . An enormous amount of work has been carried out in the 12 years since the publication of Hoffman et al. 's (1998) paper on the Snowball Earth hypothesis for Neoproterozoic glaciation ( Fairchild & Kennedy 2007 ). The Snowball Earth hypothesis and, more generally, Neoproterozoic climate, have been the topic of numerous special volumes, special sessions, a dedicated conference in Ascona (Switzerland) in 2006 ( Shields 2006 ), and numerous documentaries. Motivated by this intense worldwide interest in the Neoproterozoic glaciations and an exploding body of research into the topic, this volume synthesizes the state-of-the-art in this now highly multidisciplinary research field. It is intended to facilitate

Abstract Cryogenian correlation in Australia is based on an extensive data set from the Centralian Superbasin and Adelaide Rift Complex and integrates biostratigraphy and isotope chemostratigraphy to provide a three-dimensional interpretation based on outcrop and drill holes. Studies are ongoing, but newer data are consistent with the distributions discussed here. From the chemostratigraphic and biostratigraphic viewpoint, the first appearance of the acritarch Cerebrosphaera buickii , coupled with a large negative isotope excursion at c. 800 Ma, supported by the first appearance of the stromatolite Baicalia burra , seems to have potential for boundary placement. It is widely recognized across Australia and seems to have potential globally.