Absolute velocity of North America during the Mesozoic from paleomagnetic data

We use paleomagnetic data to map Mesozoic absolute motion of North America, using paleomagnetic Euler poles (PEP). First, we address two important questions: (1) How much clockwise rotation has been experienced by crustal blocks within and adjacent to the Colorado Plateau? (2) Why is there disagreement between the apparent polar wander (APW) path constructed using poles from southwestern North America and the alternative path based on poles from eastern North America? Regarding (1), a 10.5° clockwise rotation of the Colorado Plateau about a pole located near 35°N, 102°W seems to fit the evidence best. Regarding (2), it appears that some rock units from the Appalachian region retain a hard overprint acquired during the mid-Cretaceous, when the geomagnetic field had constant normal polarity and APW was negligible.We found three well-defined small-circle APW tracks: 245–200 Ma (PEP at 39.2°N, 245.2°E, R=81.1°, root mean square error (RMS)=1.82°), 200–160 Ma (38.5°N, 270.1°E, R=80.4°, RMS=1.06°), 160 to 125 Ma (45.1°N, 48.5°E, R=60.7°, RMS=1.84°). Intersections of these tracks (the “cusps” of Gordon et al. [Tectonics 3 (1984) 499]) are located at 59.6°N, 69.5°E (the 200 Ma or “J1” cusp) and 48.9°N, 144.0°E (the 160 Ma or “J2” cusp). At these times, the absolute velocity of North America appears to have changed abruptly.North America absolute motion also changed abruptly at the beginning and end of the Cretaceous APW stillstand, currently dated at about 125 and 88 Ma (J. Geophys. Res. 97 (1992b) 19651). During this interval, the APW path degenerates into a single point, implying rotation about an Euler pole coincident with the spin axis.Using our PEP and cusp locations, we calculate the absolute motion of seven points on the North American continent. Our intention is to provide a chronological framework for the analysis of Mesozoic tectonics. Clearly, if APW is caused by plate motion, abrupt changes in absolute motion should correlate with major tectonic events. This follows because large accelerations reflect important changes in the balance of forces acting on the plate, the most important of which are edge effects (subduction, terrane accretion, etc.). Some tectonic interpretations: (1) The J1 cusp may be associated with the inception of rifting of North America away from land masses to the east; the J2 cusp seems to mark the beginning of rapid spreading in the North Atlantic. (2) The J2 cusp signals the beginning of a period of rapid northwestward absolute motion of western North America; motion of tectonostratigraphic terranes in the westernmost Cordillera seems likely to have been directed toward the south during this interval. (3) The interval 88 to 80 Ma saw a rapid decrease in the paleolatitude of North America; unless this represents a period of true polar wander, terrane motion during this time should have been relatively northward.     

波罗的与西伯利亚板块古生代运动学特征对比新认识

       古地磁学是进行古板块运动演化过程和古地理重建研究最有效的定量方法之一。在统计全球古地磁数据库（GPMDB） 和前人发表数据的基础上,根据国际上通用的古地磁数据可靠性判别标准--Van der Voo （1990）判据,本文对波罗的板 块（Baltica）和西伯利亚板块（Siberia）古生代古地磁数据进行了重新分析和筛选,利用GMAP 软件重建了两个板块古生代 视极移曲线和古地理方位,对它们的构造演化和运动学特征进行对比分析,获得了几点新认识,即两板块在古生代期间发 生的三次汇聚（晚奥陶世、早石炭世和晚二叠世）过程符合牛顿运动学原则（板块之下是具有很大粘度的地幔软流圈,非 理想条件下不可能完全遵守牛顿运动学原则）,且具有三种不同类型的运动学现象：晚奥陶世（~450 Ma）,波罗的和西伯利 亚板块同向北漂移并汇聚,纬向速度较快的板块波罗的将动能传给了纬向速度较慢的西伯利亚板块;早石炭世（~360 Ma）, 波罗的和西伯利亚板块相向漂移并汇聚,西伯利亚板块向南的板块纬向速度转为向北,波罗的板块向北的纬向速度逐渐减 小并转为向南;晚二叠世（~255 Ma）,波罗的和西伯利亚板块再次相向漂移并汇聚,动能抵消,纬向漂移速率都变为零。     

Ediacaran–Early Ordovician paleomagnetism of Baltica: A review

The Ediacaran–Early Ordovician interval is of great interest to paleogeographer's due to the vast evolutionary changes that occurred during this interval as well as other global changes in the marine, atmospheric and terrestrial systems. It is; however, precisely this time period where there are often wildly contradictory paleomagnetic results from similar-age rocks. These contradictions are often explained with a variety of innovative (and non-uniformitarian) scenarios such as intertial interchange true polar wander, true polar wander and/or non-dipolar magnetic fields. While these novel explanations may be the cause of the seemingly contradictory data, it is important to examine the paleomagnetic database for other potential issues.This review takes a careful and critical look at the paleomagnetic database from Baltica. Based on some new data and a re-evaluation of older data, the relationships between Baltica and Laurentia are examined for ~ 600–500 Ma interval. The new data from the Hedmark Group (Norway) confirms suspicions about possible remagnetization of the Fen Complex pole. For other Baltica results, data from sedimentary units were evaluated for the effects of inclination shallowing. In this review, a small correction was applied to sedimentary paleomagnetic data from Baltica. The filtered dataset does not demand extreme rates of latitudinal drift or apparent polar wander, but it does require complex gyrations of Baltica over the pole. In particular, average rates of APW range from 1.5° to 2.0°/Myr. This range of APW rates is consistent with ‘normal’ plate motion although the total path length (and its oscillatory nature) may indicate a component of true polar wander. In the TPW scenario, the motion of Baltica results in a back and forth path over the south pole between 600 and 550 Ma and again between 550 and 500 Ma. The rapid motion of Baltica over the pole is consistent with the extant database, but other explanations are possible given the relative paucity of high-quality paleomagnetic data during the Ediacaran–Cambrian interval from Baltica and other continental blocks.A sequence of three paleogeographic maps for Laurentia and Baltica is presented. Given the caveats involved in these reconstructions (polarity ambiguity, longitudinal uncertainty and errors), the data are consistent with geological models that posit the opening of the Iapetus Ocean around 600 Ma and subsequent evolution of the Baltica–Laurentia margin in the Late Ediacaran to Early Ordovician, but the complexity of the motion implied by the APWP remains enigmatic.     

Tectonics of the Akamas and Mamonia ophiolites, Western Cyprus: magnetic petrofabrics and paleomagnetism

The Akamas ophiolite is shown to be a distal, off-axis extension of the main outcrop of Cretaceous ophiolite in the Troodos complex of Cyprus. Mantle-sequence harzburgites of both ophiolites share similarly oriented mantle-flow fabrics and the same Tertiary magnetizations acquired during exhumation. However, compared with the Troodos mantle sequence rocks, the Akamas ferromagnetic mineralogy is more oxidized and remanences with lower blocking temperatures were acquired chemically. Paleopoles calculated from published vectors and our own new data define an apparent polar wander path (APWP) for the Troodos microplate. The APWP shows that between 88 and 50 Ma the Troodos microplate was equatorial and the vertical axis for its 60° anticlockwise rotation was located within the microplate. Subsequently, the microplate drifted northward to 34°N with minor anticlockwise rotation at a reduced rate. That requires microplate-rotation about a vertical axis located to the west of Cyprus in the last 50 Ma. The allochthonous Triassic Mamonia terrane docked with the Cretaceous Troodos terrane in SW Cyprus. Within it, disrupted tectonized ophiolite has been regarded as part of a Triassic ocean floor or as sheared fragments of Cretaceous Troodos ophiolite, incorporated into the Mamonia terrane when it docked with the Troodos terrane. Whatever their provenance, their paleomagnetic signals postdate their penetrative deformation and metamorphism and their paleopoles may still be used to track their post-strain motion. Our calculations of paleopoles from published vectors for the Mamonia terrane smear along an extension of the APWP for the Troodos microplate that is, moreover, concentric with the Troodos microplate. This suggests that the paleopole dispersion of the Triassic Mamonia rocks and their post-magnetization disruption occurred during their accretion onto the anticlockwise-spinning Troodos microplate.     

Paleomagnetism of traps of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago

The paper presents results of paleomagnetic studies of traps of the Franz Josef Land (FJL) Archipelago. This area is considered to be part of the Barents Sea Large Igneous Province (LIP) and is usually associated with the Early Cretaceous stage of plume activity, by analogy with other manifestations of late Mesozoic trap magmatism in the High Arctic. Recent isotope-geochemical studies, however, suggest a much longer history of basaltoid magmatism in the FJL area, from Early Jurassic through Early Cretaceous, with three pulses at 190, 155, and ≈ 125 Ma. Given a significant difference in age, paleomagnetic directions and corresponding virtual geomagnetic poles are supposed to form discrete groups near the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous paleomagnetic poles of Eastern Europe. However, the calculated virtual geomagnetic poles, on the contrary, show a single “cloud” distribution, with its center being shifted to the Early Cretaceous paleomagnetic poles of Siberia. The performed analysis demonstrates that the significant variance is caused mostly by the high-latitude position of the FJL and secular variations of the geomagnetic field during the formation of the traps. Products of the Early Cretaceous magmatism evidently prevail in the data sample. The coincidence of the average paleomagnetic pole of the FJL traps with the Early Cretaceous (145-125 Ma) interval of the apparent polar wander path of Siberia rather than Eastern Europe confirms the hypothesis of the Mesozoic strike-slip activity within the Eurasian continent. This activity might be a natural result of the evolution of the Arctic Ocean.     

Magnetic field hyperactivity during the early Neoproterozoic: A paleomagnetic and cyclostratigraphic study of the Katav Formation,southern Urals,Russia

We present a detailed magnetostratigraphic and cyclostratigraphic profile through the Riphean (Tonian) Katav Formation in the southern Urals. The study confirms the primary nature of the magnetization in these rocks. The cyclostratigraphic study identified several orbital periods including the 405 ka long eccentricity. This allows us to quantify the reversal frequency in the Katav and our estimates range of 7–12 reversals per million years. Based on our study, we identify an interval of magnetic field reversal hyperactivity in the Neoproterozoic interval. Age estimates for the Katav are contentious and range somewhere between 800 Ma and 900 Ma based on carbonate Pb-Pb ages and stable isotope correlations. The paleomagnetic poles obtained in this study of the Katav (and overlying Inzer) Formation do not fit anywhere on the Baltica apparent polar wander path between 1100 Ma and 900 Ma. Furthermore, they lie 90° away from the 900 Ma segment of the path. We tentatively estimate their age to be closer to 800 Ma and perhaps confirm a previously hypothesized pulse of rapid true polar wander between 825 Ma and 790 Ma.     

Paleomagnetic modeling of seamounts near the Hawaiian–Emperor bend

The Hawaiian–Emperor Seamount chain records the motion of the Pacific Plate relative to the Hawaiian mantle hotspot for 80 m.y. A notable feature of the chain is the pronounced bend at its middle. This bend had been widely credited to a change in plate motion, but recent research suggests a change in hotspot motion as an alternative. Existing paleomagnetic data from the Emperor Chain suggest that the hotspot moved south during the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary, but reached its current latitude by the age of the bend. Thus, data from area of the bend are important for understanding changes in plume latitude. In this study, we analyze the magnetic anomalies of five seamounts (Annei, Daikakuji-W, Daikakuji- E, Abbott, and Colahan) in the region of the bend. These particular seamounts were chosen because they have been recently surveyed to collect multibeam bathymetry and magnetic data positioned with GPS navigation. Inversions of the magnetic and bathymetric data were performed to determine the mean magnetization of each seamount and from these results, paleomagnetic poles and paleolatitudes were calculated. Three of the five seamounts have reversed magnetic polarities (two are normal) and four contain a small volume of magnetic polarity opposite to the main body, consistent with formation during the Early Cenozoic, a time of geomagnetic field reversals. Although magnetization inhomogene ties can degrade the accuracy of paleomagnetic poles calculated from such models, the seamounts give results consistent with one another and with other Pacific paleomagnetic data of approximately the same age. Seamount paleolatitudes range from 13.7 to 23.7, with an average of 19.4 ± 7.4 (2σ). These values are indistinguishable from the present-day paleolatitude of the Hawaiian hotspot. Together with other paleomagnetic and geologic evidence, these data imply that the Hawaiian hotspot has moved little in latitude during the past 45 m.y.     

A New Late Middle Cambrian Paleomagnetic Pole for the Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica

A paleomagnetic study of the late Middle to possibly early Late Cambrian Liberty Hills Formation in the Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica, reveals a stable magnetization with positive fold and reversal tests. The paleopole is based on 16 sites from volcanic and sedimentary rocks and lies at lat 7.3 degrees N and long 326.3 degrees E (A95=6.0&j0;). The new paleomagnetic data support the view that the Ellsworth Mountains are part of a microplate-the Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountains crustal block-that rotated independently of the main Gondwana continental blocks during breakup. The Liberty Hills pole differs from both previous poles recovered from Cambrian rocks in the Ellsworth Mountains and from the available Gondwana reference pole data. Our pole indicates a more northerly prebreakup position for the Ellsworth Mountains than previously suggested, contradicting the overwhelming geologic evidence for a prebreakup position close to southern Africa. The reasons for this are uncertain, but we suggest that problems with the Gondwana apparent polar wander path may be important. More well constrained, early Paleozoic paleomagnetic data are required from the Ellsworth Mountains and the Gondwana continents if the data are to constrain further the Middle-Late Cambrian location of the Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountains block.     

Paleomagnetism of the triassic chugwater redbeds revisited (Wyoming, U.S.A.)

Paleomagnetic results from 107 samples of the Chugwater Group near Lander, Wyoming, show a regular progression in pole positions from bottom to top of the sequence. This pole position trend of about 25° matches very well the North American apparent polar wander path between Early Permian and Early Triassic. It could be argued that this “agreement” results in a conflict between the apparent magnetic age (Permian) and the Early to Late Triassic age generally assigned to the Chugwater Group. However, similar progressions of paleomagnetic pole positions have been reported for the Early Triassic Moenkopi Formation in Colorado; thus it appears that long-term variations and swings characterized the geomagnetic field at that time. With detailed paleomagnetic sampling, these features can be utilized for stratigraphic correlation in addition to magnetic-reversal stratigraphy. This will eliminate, to some degree, part of the non-uniqueness inherently present in correlations based on reversal stratigraphy only.     

True polar wander

A re-evaluation of the existence of true polar wander (TPW) since the Late Cretaceous and a comparison among the various approaches are made using updated paleomagnetic, hotspot and relative motion datasets. Previous attempts to determine the existence of TPW had resulted in different conclusions: comparison of hotspot locations and paleomagnetic poles required significant pole motion, although lithospheric plate displacement analysis yielded insignificant motion. However, these earlier determinations cannot be directly compared to find the reason for the discrepancies, because each used different datasets. For this study the different approaches are applied to a single updated model with three alternative relative motions of East and West Antarctica. Although the results are model-dependent, in general there was not significant motion of the pole relative to the lithosphere (1–5°) since the early Tertiary, but a large motion (10–12°) relative to the hotspot framework. It is unlikely that errors in the determinations could account for this disagreement: the A₉₅ of the plate reconstruction is about 3°, the uncertainty in Antarctica motion is estimated to no larger than 3°, and cumulative errors in the relative plate motions may also amount to 3°. Only if all these errors are present in the maximum estimated amount, and in the same direction, could they account for the 10–12° gap between the two approaches. This conclusion of pole motion relative to the hotspots, but not the lithosphere, may indicate an independent shift of the mesosphere relative to the lithosphere (or “mantle roll” of Hargraves and Duncan).     

True polar wander in mantle convection models with multiple, mobile continents

The geologic record supports numerous instances during which continents apparently moved at speeds significantly faster than any of today's tectonic plates. While the time dependence of convective driving forces likely explains some such observations, rapid motions of large continents in particular are often attributed to true polar wander (TPW). In order to gauge the potential for connections between continents, mantle temperature anomalies, and polar motion, we present the first calculations of TPW derived from models that couple mantle convection with multiple, mobile continents. We find that the aggregation and dispersal of supercontinents can lead to two types of TPW, driven either by a well developed hot upwelling axis that creates a stable maximum moment of inertia, or by the homogenization of mantle thermal structure following continent dispersal that leads to destabilization of the principal axis and possible large magnitude polar wander. These supercontinent-modulated thermal heterogeneities drive model TPW events as large as 90° at rates of up to 2.5° Ma^− 1. Such magnitudes and speeds are greater than those attained in similar models lacking continents, but comparable to those for episodes inferred from paleomagnetic data for some large continents in the past.     

Paleomagnetism of the Society Cliffs dolostone and the age of the Nanisivik zinc deposits, Baffin Island, Canada

Dolostones of the ∼1200 Ma Society Cliffs Formation within the hydrothermal zone surrounding the Nanisivik zinc deposits retain a stable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) on alternating field and thermal step demagnetization. Based on the thermal data and saturation isothermal remanence analyses, the ChRM resides in pseudosingle domain magnetite and hematite. A paleomagnetic fold test favours a post-folding ChRM, and a paleomagnetic contact test, using a Franklin gabbro dike, indicates that the ChRM predates ∼720 Ma. The pole position calculated from the ChRM direction is at 168.2°E, 42.8°N (δ_p=4.9°, δ_m=6.8°), giving an age of 1095 ± 10 Ma on the well-defined “Logan Loop” portion of the North American apparent polar wander path. This age is considered to date recrystallization of the dolostone host rocks in the halo around the hydrothermal sulfide deposits. No evidence is found for a postulated Cretaceous remagnetization event in the region. Received: 9 January 1999 / Accepted: 3 March 2000     

Paleomagnetism of Middle Proterozoic mafic intrusions and Upper Proterozoic (Nankoweap) red beds from the Lower Grand Canyon Supergroup, Arizona

Paleomagnetic data from lavas and dikes of the Unkar igneous suite (16 sites) and sedimentary rocks of the Nankoweap Formation (7 sites), Grand Canyon Supergroup (GCSG), Arizona, provide two primary paleomagnetic poles for Laurentia for the latest Middle Proterozoic (ca. 1090 Ma) at 32°N, 185°E (dp=6.8°, DM=9.3°) and early Late Proterozoic (ca. 850–900 Ma) at 10°S, 163°E (dp=3.5°, DM=7.0°). A new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determination from an Unkar dike gives an interpreted intrusion age of about 1090 Ma, similar to previously reported geochronologic data for the Cardenas Basalts and associated intrusions. The paleomagnetic data show no evidence of any younger, middle Late Proterozoic tectonothermal event such as has been revealed in previous geochronologic studies of the Unkar igneous suite. The pole position for the Unkar Group Cardenas Basalts and related intrusions is in good agreement with other ca. 1100 Ma paleomagnetic poles from the Keweenawan midcontinent rift deposits and other SW Laurentia diabase intrusions. The close agreement in age and position of the Unkar intrusion (UI) pole with poles derived from rift related rocks from elsewhere in Laurentia indicates that mafic magmatism was essentially synchronous and widespread throughout Laurentia at ca. 1100 Ma, suggesting a large-scale continental magmatic event. The pole position for the Nankoweap Formation, which plots south of the Unkar mafic rocks, is consistent with a younger age of deposition, at about 900 to 850 Ma, than had previously been proposed. Consequently, the inferred 200 Ma difference in age between the Cardenas Basalts and overlying Nankoweap Formation provides evidence for a third major unconformity within the Grand Canyon sequence.     

Paleomagnetism and rock magnetism of the Neoproterozoic Itajaí Basin of the Rio de la Plata craton (Brazil): Cambrian to Cretaceous widespread remagnetizations of South America

A detailed rock magnetic and paleomagnetic study was performed on samples from the Neoproterozoic Itajaí Basin in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, in order to better constrain the paleogeographic evolution of the Rio de la Plata craton between 600 and 550 Ma. However, rock magnetic properties typical of remagnetized rocks and negative response in the fold test indicated that these rocks carried a secondary chemical remanent magnetization. After detailed AF and thermal cleaning, almost all samples showed a normal polarity characteristic remanent magnetization component close to the present geomagnetic field. The main magnetic carriers are magnetite and hematite, probably of authigenic origin. The mean paleomagnetic pole of the Itajaí Basin is located at Plat = − 84°, Plong = 97.5° (A95 = 2°) and overlaps the lower Cretaceous segment of the apparent polar wander path of South America, suggesting a cause and effect with the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. A compilation of remagnetized paleomagnetic poles from South America is presented that highlights the superposition of several large-scale remagnetization events between the Cambrian and the Cretaceous. It is suggested that some paleomagnetic poles used to calibrate the APWP of Gondwana at Precambrian times need to be revised; the indication of remagnetized areas in southern South America may offer some help in the selection of sites for future paleomagnetic investigations in Precambrian rocks.     

Tectonic rotations in the Deseado Massif, southern Patagonia, during the breakup of Western Gondwana

Paleomagnetic investigation in the Deseado Massif, southern Patagonia, suggests that Triassic sedimentary rocks carry a latest Triassic to Jurassic remagnetization and that earliest Jurassic plutonic complexes carry a reversed polarity magnetization of thermoremanent origin. Despite uncertainties in the timing of the observed remanence in the Triassic rocks and the lack of paleohorizontal control on the plutonic complexes, comparison of the derived pole positions with the most reliable Late Triassic–Jurassic apparent polar wander paths indicates that the study areas underwent significant clockwise vertical-axis rotation. In contrast, paleomagnetic results from mid-Cretaceous rocks in the region indicate no rotation. The observed crustal rotations in the Deseado Massif are thus bracketed to have occurred between Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times, documenting southern Patagonian deformation during the breakup of Western Gondwana and then enlarging the regional record of clockwise rotations associated with this event. These results suggest a more complex than previously supposed tectonic evolution of this part of South America.     

Towards a high resolution Late Palaeoproterozoic ‐ earliest Mesoproterozoic apparent polar wander path for northern Australia

Seven new primary poles upgrade the apparent polar wander path for northern Australia for the period 1730–1590 Ma. This brings the total number of primary poles to sixteen, of which nine have well‐defined SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages. The upgraded path provides a tool for dating and correlation of tectonic events as well as fluid migration episodes for one of the most important periods of base‐metal mineralisation in Australia. Other new primary and overprint poles allow the path to be extended tentatively forward in time to ca 1500 Ma and back to ca 1770 Ma. The 1730–1590 Ma path comprises five quasilinear segments or tracks, each terminated by a sharp bend. The bends can be related to major (supersequence) boundaries in the northern Australian superbasins and to the initiation of sub‐basins that host the base‐metal deposits. Most bends are also associated with magnetic overprints related to episodes of fluid circulation, and three appear to be associated with the expulsion of metal‐rich brines that formed the world‐class Broken Hill, Mt Isa and HYC Pb–Zn deposits. According to the pole path, the movement of the region in the period 1730–1590 Ma can be described as series of clockwise‐counterclockwise rotations about mostly similar Euler poles located southwest of Australia, suggesting that the lithosphere may have been coupled alternately to oppositely convecting cells in the mantle. This mode of movement was terminated at the onset of the Isan Orogeny. The oldest track spans a period of igneous activity from 1740 Ma to 1710 Ma that left a 1000 km‐long trail of volcanics with a decreasing age trend to the northwest. Palaeomagnetic data are consistent with the interpretation that this trail was caused by the movement of the plate over a thermal anomaly in the upper mantle.     

The paleomagnetism of eastern Nazca plate seamounts

Paleomagnetism of eastern Nazca plate seamounts defines Nazca and Farallon absolute plate motion during Cenozoic times. Magnetic and bathymetric surveys are presented for two eastern Nazca plate seamounts in the Chile Basin and they are used to calculate paleomagnetic poles with uniform and nonuniform magnetic modeling. The paleopole for Piquero-2 seamount is coincident with the earth's pole, suggesting a young seamount. The paleopole for Piquero-1 seamount indicates that the Nazca plate moved 23° northward during 0–50 ma. This is 13° more latitudinal motion than predicted by a Pacific hotspot reference frame and 20 ° more motion than predicted by DSDP sediment and basalt paleomagnetism.     

Eocene paleomagnetism of the Caucasus (southwest Georgia): oroclinal bending in the Arabian syntaxis

The Caucasus is very important for our understanding of tectonic evolution of the Alpine belt, but only a few reliable paleomagnetic results were reported from this region so far. We studied a collection of more than 300 samples of middle Eocene volcanics and volcano-sedimentary rocks from 10 localities in the Adjaro–Trialet tectonic zone (ATZ) in the western part of the Caucasus. Stepwise thermal demagnetization isolates a characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) in 19 sites out of 31 studied. ChRM reversed directions prevail, and a few vectors of normal polarity are antipodal to the reversed ones after tilt correction. The fold test is positive too, and we consider the ChRM primary. Analysis of Tertiary declinations and strikes of Alpine folds in the Adjaro–Trialet zone and the Pontides in Northern Turkey shows a large data scatter; Late Cretaceous data from the same region, however, reveal good correlation between paleomagnetic and structural data. Combining Late Cretaceous and Tertiary data indicates oroclinal bending of the Alpine structures which are locally complicated with different deformation. The overall mean Tertiary inclination is slightly shallower than the reference Eurasian inclination recalculated from one apparent polar wander path (APWP), but agrees with other. This finding is in accord with geological evidence on moderate post-Eocene shortening across the Caucasus. We did not find any indication of long-lived paleomagnetic anomalies, such as to Cenozoic anomalously shallow inclinations further to the east in Central Asia.     

The Cretaceous climax of compression in Eastern Asia: Age 87–89 Ma (late Turonian/Coniacian), Pacific cause,continental consequences

In Turonian/Coniacian time a major plate reorganization occurred in Pacific Ocean that resulted in synchronous climax of compression in Eastern Asia. At this time the spreading rate in the Farallon-Pacific-Izanagi center increased to its maximum, the Kula plate replaced the Izanagi plate, and the convergence angle between the Pacific and Eurasia plates experienced fast rotation. This geodynamic culmination was caused by the peak of overall extension of Pacific lithosphere which could be precisely fixed at ∼89–87 Ma, based on the age/spatial patterns of the Cretaceous seamounts. The maximum of Pacific stretching induced the coeval westward compression both along subduction boundaries and in intraplate environment of Eastern Asia. We summarize and reevaluate the reliable geochronological data of the main Late Cretaceous geological events in Eastern Asia caused by the peak of Pacific dynamics. Increasing westward subduction and compression produced: (a) maximum of high-pressure metamorphism in the Cretaceous accretion units of Taiwan, Japan and Sakhalin islands, (b) immense subduction related volcanic belts extending along the northeast Asian boundary, (c) vast volumes of granitoids which were emplaced during the 95–85 Ma interval everywhere from Chukotka to Sikhote-Alin in Russia, throughout Japan, Korea and SE China. Thermochronological data suggest that (d) the Pacific-induced compression triggered uplift, exhumation and cooling of East China granites with the peak age of orogeny in Great Xing'an Range at 89–87 Ma. Simultaneously, as thermal history results revealed, (e) subsidence and burial heating in Cretaceous sedimentary basins inverted to cooling. This compressional peak is also well documented by (f) the ∼88–86 Ma Qingshankou/Yaojia unconformity in the postrift successions of the lacustrine Songliao Basin. Seismostratigraphy study of the main (T11) unconformity shows huge, gentle folds whose apices were truncated by exposure and denudation caused by the westward compression. Thus the Pacific-induced deformation at ∼87–89 Ma encompassed the whole eastern Asia from subduction boundary into the hinterland.