Paleosecular variation and absolute geomagnetic paleointensity records retrieved from the Early Cretaceous Posadas Formation (Misiones,Argentina)

The Early Cretaceous may be considered a key period for understanding the evolution of the Earth’s magnetic field. Some still unsolved problems are related to the mode of paleosecular variation (PSV) of the Earth’s magnetic field before and during the Cretaceous Normal Superchron. We report here a detailed rock-magnetic, paleomagnetic and paleointensity investigation from 28 lava flows (331 standard paleomagnetic cores) collected in the Argentinean part of the Parana Flood Basalts (Formation Posadas) in order to contribute to the study of PSV during the early Cretaceous and to obtain precise Cretaceous paleomagnetic pole positions for stable South America. The average paleofield direction is precisely determined from 26 sites, which show small within-site dispersion and high directional stability. Five sites show evidences for the self-reversal of thermoremanent magnetization. 23 sites yielded normal polarity magnetization and only 3 are reversely magnetized. Moving windows averages were used to analyze the sequential variation of virtual geomagnetic pole’s (VGP) axial positions. Interestingly, the axial average VGP path traces an almost complete cycle around the geographical pole and passes near the location of all previously published Paraná Magmatic Province poles. Both paleomagnetic poles and average VGP paths are significantly different from the pole position suggested by fixed hotspot reconstructions, which may be due to true polar wander or the hotspot motion itself. Only 15 samples from 5 individual basaltic lava flows, yielded acceptable paleointensity estimates. The site mean paleointensities range from 25.2 ± 2.2 to 44.0 ± 2.2 μT. The virtual dipole moments (VDMs) range from 4.8 to 9.9 × 10²² Am². This correspond to a mean value of 7.7 ± 2.1 × 10²² Am² which is 96% of the present day geomagnetic field strength. These intensities agree with the relatively high values already reported for Early Cretaceous, which are consistent with some inferences from computer simulations previously published.     

Rock-magnetic and paleomagnetic survey on dated lava flows erupted during the Bruhnes and Matuyama chrons: the Mascota Volcanic Field revisited (Western Mexico)

A rock magnetic and paleomagnetic investigation was performed on some selected, radiometrically dated lava flows from the Mascota Volcanic Field (MVF), western Trans- Mexican Volcanic Belt. A set of rock-magnetic experiments and standard paleomagnetic analysis were carried out on 19 sites spanning the time interval from 2268 to 72 kyr. The paleomagnetic directions are anchored to absolute radiometric ages while no such information was available in previous studies. This makes possible to correctly evaluate the fluctuation of Earth’s magnetic field from Pliocene to Pleistocene and reveal the firm evidence of possible Levantine excursion. Both Ti-poor and Ti-rich titanomagnetites seem to carry the remanent magnetization with Curie temperatures ranging from 350°C to 537°C. Thirteen flows correspond to the Brunhes chron, one of them exhibits transitional directions, while the remaining six sites belong to the Matuyama chron. New and existing dataset for MVF were used to estimate the paleosecular variation parameters. The selected data include 35 Plio-Quaternary lava flows. After excluding the poor quality data, as well as the transitional directions, the mean paleodeclination is 356.1° and oaleoinclination 39.9°, which agree well with the geocentric axial dipole (GAD) and the expected paleodirections for the Plio-Pleistocene, as derived from the reference poles for the stable North America. The corresponding mean paleomagnetic poles are paleolongitude 226.7° and paleolatitude 86.0°. The virtual geomagnetic pole scatter for the MVF is 15.2°, which is consistent with the value expected from model G at latitude of 20° (this model provides an interpretation of the paleosecular variation at different latitudes for the time of interest). The combined paleomagnetic data, supported by positive reversal test, indicate no paleomagnetically detectable vertical-axis rotations in the study area. The evidence of one transitional directions was detected, which may correspond to the Levantine excursion (360-370 kyr) or unnamed event between 400-420 kyr.     

Paleomagnetism of Late Cretaceous Poços de Caldas alkaline complex,Southern Brazil

The paleomagnetism of the Late Cretaceous Poços de Caldas alkaline complex (46.6°W, 21.9°S) was investigated through 42 oriented cores from seven sites. Six sites, reversed relative to the present magnetic field of the Earth, yield a pole at 127°W, 82°S (dp = 8°,dm = 13°). This pole is located close to other Late Cretaceous poles for South America obtained by Creer [1] from untreated paleomagnetic samples. The results are significantly different from those for the nearby Early Cretaceous Serra Geral basalt but close to the Triassic pole for South America. The polar wandering path for South America for the Mesozoic seems to be more complicated than anticipated. The available paleomagnetic information may not yet be precise enough to determine the time of opening of the Atlantic.     

New Early Cretaceous paleomagnetic results from Qilian orogenic belt and its tectonic implications

Lower Cretaceous red sedimentary rocks from the depositional basin of East Qilian fold belt have been collected for a paleomagnetic study. Stepwise thermal demagnetization reveals two or three components of magnetization from dark red sandstones. Low-temperature magnetic component is consistent with the present Earth Field direction in geographic coordinates. High-temperature magnetic components are mainly carried by hematite. The mean pole of 19 sites for high-temperature magnetic components after tilt-correction is λ=62.2°N, φ=193.4°E, A95=3.2°, and it passes fold tests at 99% confidence level and reversal tests at 95% confidence level. The paleopole is insignificantly different from that of Halim et al. (1998) from the same sampling area at the 95% confidence level. Compared with paleomagnetic results for North China, South China, and Eurasia, our results suggest that no significant relative latitudinal displacement has taken place between Lanzhou region and these blocks since Cretaceous time. Remarkably, the pole of Lanzhou shows a 20° clockwise rotation with respect to those of North China, South China, and Eurasia. Geological information indicates that the crustal shortening in the western part of Qilian is greater than that in eastern part. In this case, the clockwise rotation of sampling area was related to India/Eurasia collision, and this collision resulted in a left-lateral strike-slip motion of the Altun fault in north Tibetan Plateau after the Cretaceous.     

Paleomagnetism of red beds of Early Devonian age from Central Iran

Paleomagnetic results are reported from 13 sites of red beds of Early Devonian age from Central Iran. Detailed paleomagnetic analyses were carried out. Two types of partial progressive demagnetization were applied, one using alternating magnetic fields, the other heating. These procedures resulted in the detection of the characteristic remanences with a mean direction with D = 24.2°, I = 1.3° (α₉₅ = 10.1°). The paleomagnetic pole is located at 51.3°N, 163.7°W. If one shifts the Iranian landmass to its most likely position in the Gondwana configuration, then the position of the paleomagnetic pole coincides with the alternative polar wander path [14,15] which crossed South America in early Middle Paleozoic times.     

The Early Carboniferous paleomagnetic field of North America and its bearing on tectonics of the Northern Appalachians

We have obtained additional evidence for the Early Carboniferous paleomagnetic field for cratonic North America from study of the Barnett Formation of central Texas. A characteristic magnetization of this unit was isolated after thermal demagnetization at four sites (36 samples) out of eight sites (65 samples) collected. The mean direction of declination = 156.3°, inclination = 5.8° (N = 4 ,k = 905 , α₉₅ = 3.0°), corresponds to a paleomagnetic pole position at lat. = 49.1°N,long. = 119.3°E (dp = 1.5° , dm = 3.0°). Field evidence suggests that characteristic magnetization was acquired very early in the history of the rock unit whereas the rejected sites are comprised of weakly magnetized limestones dominated by secondary components near the present-day field direction. Comparison of the Barnett pole with other Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) paleopoles from North America shows that it lies close to the apparent polar wander path for stable North America and that the divergence of paleopoles from the Northern Appalachians noted previously for the Devonian persisted into the Early Carboniferous. We interpret this difference in paleopoles as further evidence for the Northern Appalachian displaced terrain which we refer to here as Acadia, and the apparent coherence of Late Carboniferous paleopoles as indicating a large (～1500 km) motion of Acadia with respect to stable North America over a rather short time interval in the Carboniferous.     

Plio-pleistocene paleomagnetic record from the Michoacán-Guanajuato Monogenetic Volcanic Field (Western Mexico)

The paleosecular variation (PSV) and polarity transitions are two major features of the Earth’s magnetic field. Both PSV and reversal studies are limited when age of studied units is poorly constrained. This is a case of Central and western Mexico volcanics. Although many studies have been devoted to these crucial problems and more than 200 paleomagnetic directions are available for the last 5 Ma, only few sites were dated directly. This paper presents new paleomagnetic results from seventeen independent cooling units in the Michoacán-Guanajuato Volcanic Field (MGVF) in western Mexico. Twelve sites are directly dated by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar or K-Ar methods and span from 2.78 to 0.56 Ma. The characteristic paleodirections are successfully isolated for 15 lava flows. The mean paleodirection (inclination I and declination D) obtained in this study is I = 28.8°, D = 354.9°, and Fisherian statistical parameters are k = 28, α₉₅ = 7.3°, N=15, which corresponds to the mean paleomagnetic pole position P_lat = 83.9°, P_long = 321.6°, K = 34, A₉₅ = 6.6°. The paleodirections obtained in present study compiled with those, previously reported from the MGVF, are practically undistinguishable from the expected Plio-Quaternary paleodirections. The paleosecular variation is estimated through the study of the scatter of the virtual geomagnetic poles giving S_F = 15.9 with S_U =21.0 and S_L = 12.7 (upper and lower limits respectively). These values agree reasonably well with the recent statistical Models. The oldest sites analyzed (the Santa Teresa and Cerro Alto) yield normal polarity magnetizations as expected for the cooling units belonging to the Gauss geomagnetic Chron. The interesting feature of the record comes from lava flows dated at about 2.35 Ma with clearly defined normal directions. This may point out the possible existence of a normal polarity magnetization in the Matuyama reversed Chron older than the Reunion and may be correlated to Halawa event interpreted as the Cryptochron C2r.2r-1. Another important feature of the geomagnetic record obtained from the MGVF is the evidence of fully reversed geomagnetic field within Bruhnes Chron, at about 0.56 Ma corresponding to the relative paleointensity minimum of global extent found in marine sediments at about 590 ka.     

Palaeomagnetism of Upper Cretaceous volcanic rocks from Cabo de Sto. Agostinho,Brazil

One hundred samples from nine sites in Upper Cretaceous volcanics (K/Ar age 85–99 m.y.) of the magmatic province of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Pernambuco (8.4°S, 35.0°W) yield a mean direction of magnetizationD = 0.4°, I = ?20.6°withα₉₅ = 4.8°, k = 114 after AF cleaning. All sites have normal polarity with a mean pole, named SAK₁₀, at 87.6°N, 135°E withA₉₅ = 4.5° which is close to other Upper Cretaceous poles for South America. These poles are compared with Upper Cretaceous poles of Africa for various reconstructions of the two continents.     

Palaeomagnetism of Mesozoic igneous rocks from the Maranha˜o Basin,Brazil, and the time of opening of the South Atlantic

From Middle-Upper Jurassic volcanics at the western margin of the Maranha?o Basin (6.4°S, 47.4°W) 15 sites (121 samples) have a mean magnetization directionD = 3.9°,I = ?17.9° withα₉₅ = 9.3°,k = 17.9 after AF cleaning (all sites have normal polarity). This yields a pole (named SAJ₂) at 85.3°N, 82.5°E (A₉₅ = 6.9°) which is near to the other known Middle Jurassic South American pole. For 21 sites (190 samples) from Lower Cretaceous basalt intrusions from the eastern part of the Maranha?o Basin (6.5°S, 42°W) the mean direction isD = 174.7°,I = +6.0° withα₉₅ = 2.8°,k = 122 (all sites have reversed polarity) yielding a pole (SAK₉) at 83.6°N, 261°E (A₉₅ = 1.9°) in agreement with other Lower Cretaceous pole positions for South America. Comparing Mesozoic pole positions for South America and Africa in the pre-drift configuration after Bullard et al. [13] one finds a significant difference (with more than 95% probability) for the Lower Cretaceous and Middle Jurassic poles and also a probable difference for the mean Triassic poles indicating a small but probably stationary separation of the two continents from the predrift position in the Mesozoic until Lower Cretaceous time which may be due to an early rifting event.     

Holocene geomagnetic secular variation recorded by volcanic deposits at Mount St. Helens,Washington

A compilation of paleomagnetic data from volcanic deposits of Mount St. Helens is presented in this report. The database is used to determine signature paleomagnetic directions of products from its Holocene eruptive events, to assign sampled units to their proper eruptive period, and to begin the assembly of a much larger database of paleomagnetic directions from Holocene volcanic rocks in western North America. The paleomagnetic results from Mount St. Helens are mostly of high quality, and generally agree with the division of its volcanic deposits into eruptive episodes based on previous geologic mapping and radiocarbon dates. The Muddy River andesite's paleomagnetic direction, however, indicates that it is more likely part of the Pine Creek eruptive period rather than the Castle Creek period. In addition, the Two-Fingers andesite flow is more likely part of the Middle Kalama eruptive period and not part of the Goat Rocks period. The paleomagnetic data from Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood document variation in the geomagnetic field's pole position over the last ~2,500 years. A distinct feature of the new paleosecular variation (PSV) record, similar to the Fish Lake record (Oregon), indicates a sudden change from rapid clockwise movement of the pole about the Earth's spin axis to relatively slow counterclockwise movement at ~800 to 900 years B.P.     

Further paleomagnetic results for the San Juan volcanic field of southern Colorado

Combining paleomagnetic data for 17 new sites from the northwest portion of the (Oligocene) San Juan volcanic field of southern Colorado with data for 29 sites previously published yields a paleomagnetic pole at 85°N, 114°E (with a 95% confidence circle of 7.5° radius). A further combination of the San Juan data with the results of other studies on rocks of Oligocene age from tectonically stable parts of North America gives a mid-Tertiary reference pole located at 81°N, 132.5°E, with a confidence circle of approximately 4°. Mid-Tertiary paleomagnetic poles for the western edge of the continent diverge markedly from this reference pole.     

Paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic survey of eocene dike swarms from the Tecalitlan area (Western Mexico): Tectonic implications

For long time the western-central Mexico has been affected by oblique subduction caused by Farallon plate beneath North America. As result, smaller plates (e.g. Cocos Plate), several fault systems outlining crustal blocks (e.g. Michoacán block) and magmatic arcs (e.g. Paleocene-Early Oligocene magmatism and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt) were developed. Still, no paleomagnetic data are available for Oligocene and Miocene. The principal aim of this study is to evaluate whether the tectonic rotations and relative motions of these blocks occurred before the Miocene. Here, we report a detailed rock-magnetic and paleomagnetic results from Tecalitlan area, located in the Michoacán block. Sixteen sites (about 150 oriented samples) were collected including one radiometrically dated diabase dike (35.0 ± 1.8 Ma). Rock-magnetic experiments permitted identification of magnetic carriers and assessment of the paleomagnetic stability. Continuous susceptibility measurements vs temperature in most cases yield reasonably reversible curves with Curie points close to that of magnetite. Reliable paleomagnetic directions were obtained for 12 sites. Inclination I and declination D of the mean paleomagnetic direction obtained in this study are I = 33.1°, D = 345.0°, and Fisherian statistical parameters are k = 25, α₉₅ = 8.9°. The corresponding mean paleomagnetic pole position is P_lat = 75.7°, P_long = 166.6°, K = 31, A₉₅ = 8.0°. The mean inclination is in reasonably good agreement with the expected value, as derived from reference poles for the stable North America. Magnetic declination is not significantly different from that expected which is in disagreement with a counterclockwise tectonic rotation of about 20° previously reported for the studied area. Based on paleomagnetic results obtained in this study compiled with those currently available from the Michoacán Block, we propose a simple model suggesting that sometime in Eocene epoch the convergence vector of the Farallon plate relative to North America plate was normal to the trench before reaching an actual oblique convergence.     

Paleomagnetic study of a vertical sequence of traps from Mount Pavagarh,Gujrat, India

The paleomagnetism of 22 flows which range in composition from olivine basalts to rhyolite and in elevation from 450 ft. to 2680 ft., from Mount Pavagarh, situated in Gujrat, India, has been studied. The igneous activity represented by these flows belongs to the Deccan Trap Plateau Basalt Series. Sixteen flows ranging in elevation from 900 to 2680 ft. showed normal magnetization with upward inclination, consistent with the position of India in the southern hemisphere during the period of their eruption. Four flows from elevation 450 ft. to 730 ft. showed intermediate as well as discordant directions. The paleomagnetic results obtained from these flows have been correlated with those of Deccan traps from other areas. The amount of paleosecular variation represented by these flows has been estimated and compared with that from similar vertical sequences of traps studied from other areas. It has been found that the magnitude of paleosecular variation varied during the period of Deccan trap activity. An estimate of continental drift has been made from mean pole position of the several vertical sequences of traps. This indicates that a drift of the Indian landmass of the order of 24° took place during the entire period represented by the Deccan trap activity. The results of paleomagnetic studies of other sedimentary and igneous formations of Cretaceous age are reviewed in the light of recent results on Deccan traps.     

Paleomagnetic result of the Lower-Cretaceous from Luanping basin,Hebei Province and its tectonic implications*

A paleomagnetic study of about 95 samples from 16 sites sampled in the Early Cretaceous in Luanping basin in Hebei Province was reported. Stepwise thermal demagnetization was used to isolate magnetic components. Most samples have a characteristic direction with a high temperature component above 500°C. The tectonic-corrected data areD = 347.8°,I = 50.4°, α₉₅ = 7.l°, and the corresponding pole position is at 76.1°N, 346.3°E,with dp =6.4°,dm = 3.8°, paleolatitude λ = 31.1°N. This result indicates a counterclockwise post-Cretaceous rotation of 30.7° ±9.8° with respect to the stable Ordos basin in the west of North China Block, and a non-significant northward motion. This rotation could be related to local fault action or structural detachment, or regional NNW-NWWward motion and collision of Kula-Pacific plate with eastern China since the Early Cretaceous.

     

Ar/Ar ages and paleomagnetism of São Miguel lavas, Azores

We present new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages and paleomagnetic data for São Miguel island, Azores. Paleomagnetic samples were obtained for 34 flows and one dike; successful mean paleomagnetic directions were obtained for 28 of these 35 sites. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations on 12 flows from the Nordeste complex were attempted successfully: ages obtained are between 0.78 Ma and 0.88 Ma, in contrast to published K–Ar ages of 1 Ma to 4 Ma. Our radiometric ages are consistent with the reverse polarity paleomagnetic field directions, and indicate that the entire exposed part of the Nordeste complex is of a late Matuyama age. The duration of volcanism across São Miguel is significantly less than previously believed, which has important implications for regional melt generation processes, and temporal sampling of the geomagnetic field. Observed stable isotope and trace element trends across the island can be explained, at least in part, by communication between different magma source regions at depth. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicate that our normal polarity paleomagnetic data sample at least 0.1 Myr (0–0.1 Ma) and up to 0.78 Myr (0–0.78 Ma) of paleosecular variation and our reverse polarity data sample approximately 0.1 Myr (0.78–0.88 Ma) of paleosecular variation. Our results demonstrate that precise radiometric dating of numerous flows sampled is essential to accurate inferences of long-term geomagnetic field behavior. Negative inclination anomalies are observed for both the normal and reverse polarity time-averaged field. Within the data uncertainties, normal and reverse polarity field directions are antipodal, but the reverse polarity field shows a significant deviation from a geocentric axial dipole direction.     

A Late Eocene paleomagnetic pole for the Pacific plate

Seamount magnetic anomaly inversions as well as DSDP paleomagnetic and equatorial sediment facies data constrain a paleomagnetic pole for the Pacific plate of Late Eocene age. The location of the pole at 77.5°N, 21.2°E implies 12.5 ± 1.6° of apparent polar wander for the Pacific plate during the last 41 ± 5 m.y. The Late Eocene pole is significantly different from the Pacific Maastrichtian pole at the 95% confidence level and indicates 7.2° of apparent polar motion of the Pacific between 69 and 41 m.y. B.P. The data source locations for the Late Eocene pole are scattered over a large area of the North Pacific and thus the consistency of the data supports the hypothesis that the north central Pacific plate has been rigid since the Eocene. The agreement of the Late Eocene pole with the motion predicted for the Pacific from hotspot models suggests that relative motion between the spin axis and hotspots has been small since that time. Additionally, this finding dictates that the significant amounts of hotspot versus spin axis motion inferred by other authors to have occurred since the Cretaceous must have instead occurred at a faster rate and concluded before the Eocene.     

Paleomagnetic result of the Lower-Cretaceous from Luanping basin,Hebei Province and its tectonic implications*

A paleomagnetic study of about 95 samples from 16 sites sampled in the Early Cretaceous in Luanping basin in Hebei Province was reported. Stepwise thermal demagnetization was used to isolate magnetic components. Most samples have a characteristic direction with a high temperature component above 500°C. The tectonic-corrected data areD = 347.8°,I = 50.4°, α₉₅ = 7.l°, and the corresponding pole position is at 76.1°N, 346.3°E,with dp =6.4°,dm = 3.8°, paleolatitude λ = 31.1°N. This result indicates a counterclockwise post-Cretaceous rotation of 30.7° ±9.8° with respect to the stable Ordos basin in the west of North China Block, and a non-significant northward motion. This rotation could be related to local fault action or structural detachment, or regional NNW-NWWward motion and collision of Kula-Pacific plate with eastern China since the Early Cretaceous.     

A detailed paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic investigation around Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary: the Autlan (Western Mexico) volcanic sequence revisited

We present a detailed rock-magnetic and paleomagnetic survey from Autlan volcanic succession in western Mexico. The principal aim of this study is to extend paleomagnetic data from Autlan lavas in order to confirm vertical-axis rotation observed in reconnaissance study and to evaluate long-term variation of the geomagnetic field strength based on existing and global data. The mean inclination (44.7°) is in agreement with the expected inclination for 60 and 70 Ma, as derived from available reference poles for the North American craton. The declination (333.6°), however, is significantly different from those expected, which suggests a statistically significant counterclockwise tectonic rotation ranging between 10° ± 6° and 14° ± 7°. As a measure of paleosecular variation (PSV), we obtained a geomagnetic field dispersion of 9.6° (upper and lower limits: 7.2°–11.9°) in perfect agreement with the previously published PSV compilation of selected Cretaceous data from lavas. The mean virtual dipole moments available for Autlan lavas are about 65% of the present geomagnetic axial dipole but are in reasonably good agreement with other comparable quality determinations between 5 and 90 Ma. This reinforces the hypothesis that low geomagnetic field strengths persisted for the entire Jurassic extending into the Upper Cretaceous.     

Paleomagnetic study of some Cretaceous and tertiary rocks on Hispaniola

Summary A reconnaissance paleomagnetic study of Hispaniola shows that three igneous units in the Dominican Republic possess meaningful directions of magnetism. A Late Cretaceous tonalite, an Eocene pyroxene diorite and a Miocene andesite porphyry have been investigated. The rock material studied is fresh, and has not been affected by secondary oxidation except in the case of the andesite which is occasionally weathered and reveals some hydrothermal alteration. Alternating field and thermal demagnetization result in removal of viscous remanence in some samples, while others reveal a good stability of NRM and little change in direction. The results disclose directions of magnetization substantially different from that of the present earth's field in Hispaniola and from those obtained from contemporaneous rocks of North America. They yield paleomagnetic poles at 23.1° N, 144.9° W for the Cretaceous tonalite and at 17.4° N, 138.0° W for the Eocene diorite, the positions of which are not significantly different from each other, suggesting no change of geomagnetic field direction during the two epochs. These poles have generally similar positions to those obtained from Late Cretaceous rocks on Jamaica and Puerto Rico. The Miocene data fall into two groups, one having a direction corresponding to a pole closely coinciding with the Miocene North American pole and the other giving a paleomagnetic pole at 68.3° N, 151.9° W coinciding with the Miocene pole for Jamaica. Paleotectonic interpretation of the results suggests that like other Greater Antilles, Hispaniola has been subject to large anticlockwise rotation since Late Cretaceous.     

Paleomagnetism and potassium-argon age of the Messejana dike (Portugal and Spain): angular limitation to the rotation of the Iberian Peninsula since the Middle Jurassic

A paleomagnetic and potassium-argon dating investigation has been carried out on a 530-km-long dike system which transects the western Iberian Peninsula in a northeasterly direction. The K-Ar age determinations were made on mineral separates exclusively. They range between 160 and 200 Ma and the authors suppose that this reflects the actual time interval of the intrusion, in accord with previous results. The paleomagnetic pole derived from 12 sites regularly distributed along the dike (71°N, 236°E) coincides well with other Mesozoic paleomagnetic poles from the western Africa. A contemporaneous pole from stable Europe is tentatively deduced from African and North American Late Triassic/Early Jurassic poles using different reconstruction models around the North Atlantic Ocean. The divergence between this pole and the Iberian pole corresponds to the result obtained for Permian poles.