Paleomagnetism of a paleocene pluton on jamaica

A Paleocene granodiorite pluton on Jamaica has been subject to extensive weathering caused by the tropical marine environment of the island. The natural remanence of 29 samples obtained from relatively fresh rock in two localities was found to consist of two components with overlapping coercivity ranges. Alternating field treatment proved ineffective for removing the secondary component without destroying the primary one. Thermal demagnetization of samples from the two localities was more effective and yielded paleomagnetic poles at 14.7°N, 11.6°W and 58.9°N, 15.9°E respectively. These pole positions are different from those available from contemporaneous North American rocks and from poles derived from Jamaican Cretaceous and Upper Miocene rocks. Mineralogical studies showed that the granodiorite has undergone an extensive maghemitization superposed on earlier class 2 deuteric oxidation and related to the weathering process. Some of the titanomaghemite has, however, been converted to titanohematite. Hence although the secondary remanence carried by the former was removable by thermal treatment at 500°C, its part carried by the latter could not be removed without simultaneously destroying the primary remanence carried by the residual titanomagnetite. The observed paleopole positions do not, therefore, represent the true Paleocene geomagnetic field, but suggest that the direction of magnetization of the pluton has been approximately equatorial and was probably acquired in a reversed geomagnetic field. This could be interpreted as having been caused by the behavior of the geomagnetic field during a polarity transition, but a more favorable interpretation appears to be a large anticlockwise tectonic rotation of the islands since the Paleocene.     

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.     

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.     

Paleomagnetism of mid-Cretaceous red beds in west-central Kyushu Island, southwest Japan: paleoposition of Cretaceous sedimentary basins along the eastern margin of Asia

A paleomagnetic study was carried out on the mid-Cretaceous sedimentary strata in west-central Kyushu Island, southwest Japan, to elucidate the origin of sedimentary basins along the Asian continental margin in the Cretaceous. We collected paleomagnetic samples from a total of 34 sites of the mid-Cretaceous Goshonoura Group, shallow-marine clastic deposits in west-central Kyushu, and characteristic remanent magnetizations were recognized from 18 horizons of red beds. Thermal demagnetization has revealed that the red beds contain three magnetization components, with low (<240°C), intermediate (240-480°C), and high (480-680°C) unblocking temperatures. The low unblocking temperature component is present-field viscous magnetization, and the intermediate one is interpreted as chemical remanent magnetization carried by maghemite that was presumably formed by post-folding, partial oxidation of detrital magnetite. Rock magnetic and petrographic studies suggest that the high unblocking temperature component resides largely in hematite (martite and pigmentary hematite) and partly in maghemite. Because of the positive fold test, this high temperature component can be regarded as primary, detrital remanent magnetization. The tilt-corrected mean direction of the high temperature component is Dec=65°, Inc=63° with α₉₅=5°, which yields a paleomagnetic pole at 39°N, 186°E and A₉₅=8°. A combination of this pole with those of the Late Cretaceous rocks in southwest Japan defines an apparent polar wander path (APWP), which is featured by a cusp between the Late Cretaceous and the Paleogene. A comparison of this APWP with the coeval paleomagnetic pole from northeast Asia suggests an approximately 50° post-Cretaceous clockwise rotation and 18±8° southward drift with respect to northeast Asia. The southward transport of the Cretaceous basin suggests that the proto-Japanese arc originated north of its present position. We propose that the coast-parallel translation of this landmass was caused by dextral motion of strike-slip faults, which previous geodynamic models interpreted to be sinistral through the Mesozoic. The change in strike-slip motion may have resulted from Mesozoic collision and penetration of exotic terranes, such as the Okhotsk microcontinent, with the northeastern part of Asia.     

扬子地块奥陶系碳酸盐岩重磁化机制探讨

碳酸盐岩是记录古地磁场信息的重要载体,然而,广泛存在的重磁化现象制约了碳酸盐岩在古地磁研究中的应用,其重磁化机制亟待解决.本文对采自贵州羊蹬地区的319块奥陶系碳酸盐岩定向样品作了详细的古地磁学和岩石磁学研究,其结果表明,94%样品(A类)记录了单一剩磁分量A,其解阻温度低于450℃;在地理坐标系下的平均方向为Dg/Ig=3.1°/48.1°(α₉₅=2.9°),对应的古地磁极(87.0°N,2.8°E,A₉₅=3.0°)与扬子地块古近纪-第四纪的古地磁极重合.6%样品(B类)记录了两个磁化分量,其高温分量(450℃~585℃)与A分量显著不同,但明显远离扬子块体早古生代古地磁极;低温分量(< 450℃)与A分量类似.说明羊蹬剖面奥陶系碳酸盐岩记录了两期重磁化.A分量和B低温分量的主要载磁矿物为磁黄铁矿(胶黄铁矿),B高温分量的主要载磁矿物为磁铁矿.这些磁性矿物都是成岩后的次生矿物.其中,解阻温度高于450℃的磁铁矿可能受晚燕山期造山运动影响生成;磁黄铁矿(胶黄铁矿)等矿物可能与印度板块与欧亚大陆碰撞引起的喜马拉雅造山运动所产生的流体作用有关,以后一期重磁化为主.新生代早期青藏高原隆升产生的流体在流经东南缘的碳酸盐岩等沉积岩层时,与原岩发生相互作用,使磁黄铁矿、胶黄铁矿、磁铁矿等磁性矿物生长并获得化学剩磁,造成了广泛重磁化.     

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.     

塔里木地块侏罗、白垩纪的古地磁

本文对塔里木地块西北缘库车、拜城一带中新生代剖面进行了古地磁研究。库车与拜城两剖面具有不同方向产状,经产状校正之后,均为同一方向,表明磁性是在第三系褶皱之前获得的。热退磁结果表明500℃之前为现代地磁场方向,解阻温度为675℃,说明磁性载体为赤铁矿。 古地磁结果表明,塔里木地块在晚侏罗—晚白垩世之间没有经历大规模的构造运动。有可能自晚白垩世之后相对西伯利亚地块向北东方向移动过     

Paleomagnetic data from tertiary igneous rocks,northeast Jalisco,Mexico

New paleomagnetic measurements have been made on Tertiary volcanic rocks from northeast Jalisco, Mexico (20.7°N, 102.3°W). The pole position obtained from this study (68°N, 181°E) is consistent with two other Oligocene poles from Mexico. Mexican poles form a coherent group which differs from poles of similar ages from North America. This suggests a possible tectonic rotation of the sampling sites of Mexico with respect to “stable” North America.     

Paleomagnetism of tertiary and recent lavas of Israel

Magnetizations in 24 flows of Tertiary age in Israel indicate two stable directions, each of which has both normal and reversed polarities. AF demagnetization decreases the scatter of the NRM results. Typical Tertiary poles are near 70°N 110°W and another set of anomalous poles are near 34°N 50°W. These are similar to other reported Tertiary and Cretaceous poles.     

Paleomagnetism of early cretaceous arapey formation (Northern Uruguay)

We report detailed rock-magnetic and paleomagnetic directional data from 35 lava flows (302 standard paleomagnetic cores) sampled in the Central-Northern region of Uruguay in order to contribute to the study of the paleosecular variation of the Earth’s magnetic field during early Cretaceous and to obtain precise Cretaceous paleomagnetic pole positions for stable South America. The average unit direction is rather precisely determined from 29 out of 35 sites. All A₉₅ confidence angles are less than 8°, which points to small within-site dispersion and high directional stability. Normal polarity magnetizations are revealed for 19 sites and 10 are reversely magnetized. Two other sites yield well defined intermediate polarities. The mean direction, supported by a positive reversal test is in reasonably good agreement with the expected paleodirection for Early Cretaceous stable South America and in disagreement with a 10° clockwise rotation found in the previous studies. On the other hand, paleomagnetic poles are significantly different from the pole position suggested by hotspot reconstructions, which may be due to true polar wander or the hotspot motion. Our data suggest a different style of secular variation during (and just before) the Cretaceous Normal Superchron and the last 5 Ma, supporting a link between paleosecular variation and reversal frequency.     

Paleomagnetism of the Djebel Reouina Namurian Formation (Tindouf Basin,Algeria)

The paleomagnetic study of the Namurian of Reouina (28.9°N, 08.0°W) revealed the existence of two magnetization components, either juxtaposed or superimposed, besides a viscous component. The high blocking temperature component, carried by hematite, has a mean direction defined by D = 126.9° and I = 10.8°. It provides a Namurian paleomagnetic pole located at 28.4°S and 56.9°E (K = 642, A ₉₅=1.7°). The second component is carried at least in part, by grains with blocking temperatures lower than 550°C. Though well defined, it consists of two superimposed components, the high unblocking temperature component with a likely Permian overprint.     

Paleomagnetism of the Lower Ordovician and Cambrian sedimentary rocks in the section of the Narva River right bank: For the construction of the Baltic Kinematic model in the Early Paleozoic

The paleomagnetic study of the Lower Ordovician and Cambrian sedimentary rocks exposed on the Narva River’s right bank revealed a multicomponent composition of natural remanent magnetization. Among four distinguished medium- and high-temperature magnetization components, the bipolar component, which carries the reversal test, is probably the primary component and reflects the geomagnetic field direction and variations during the Late Cambrian and Early Ordovician. The pole positions corresponding to this component have coordinates 22°N, 87°E (dp/dm = 5°/6°) for the Late Cambrian, and 18°N, 55°E (dp/dm = 5°/7°) for the Early Ordovician (Tremadocian and Arenigian). Together with the recently published paleomagnetic poles for the sections of the Early Ordovician in the Leningrad Region and the series of poles obtained when the Ordovician limestones were studied in Sweden, these poles form new key frameworks for the Upper Cambrian-Middle Ordovician segment of the apparent polar-wander path (APWP) for the Baltica. Based on these data, we propose a renewed version of the APWP segment: the model of the Baltica motion as its clockwise turn by 68° around the remote Euler pole. This motion around the great circle describes (with an error of A₉₅ = 10°) both variations in the Baltic position from 500 to 456 Ma ago in paleolatitude and its turn relative to paleomeridians. According to the monopolar components of natural remanent magnetization detected in the Narva rocks, the South Pole positions are 2°S, 351°E (dp/dm = 5°/9°), 39°S, 327°E, (dp/dm = 4°/7°), and 42°S and 311°E (dp/dm = 9°/13°). It is assumed that these components reflect regional remagnetization events in the Silurian, Late Permian, and Triassic.     

New paleomagnetic constraints on the late Cretaceous and early Cenozoic tectonic history of the Eastern Pontides

The Pontides are characterized by a series of Mesozoic-Cenozoic fold belts comprising a N-vergent foreland fold and thrust belt in the Western Pontides and a concave, upward-shaped fold belt in the Eastern Pontides. The curvature of the fold belt follows the Caucasus which may imply a phase of oroclinal bending. In order to test whether the fold curvature represents a phase of oroclinal bending, a paleomagnetic study has been carried out in the Eastern Pontides on late Cretaceous and middle Eocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks from 29 sites. Rock magnetic studies reveal medium-temperature components with an unblocking temperature of 400–580 °C, indicating pseudo-single domain titanomagnetite as the most abundant carrier of magnetic remanence in the middle Eocene rocks studied here. In the upper Cretaceous rocks, a high-temperature component with an unblocking range of 580–650 °C was isolated. Stepwise thermal and alternating field demagnetization isolated two components of remanent magnetization in middle Eocene rocks comprising a low unblocking temperature/coercivity component near the present field direction and a characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) component of D_s = 332.3°, I_s = 49.9° (k = 33.3, α₉₅ = 9.2°, N = 15 sites). A positive fold test at a 95% confidence level and a reversal test indicate a primary magnetization. Component analysis of the upper Cretaceous rocks identifies a stable ChRM D_s = 160.3°, I_s = −45.0°, (k =  85.6, α₉₅ = 6.0°, N =  8 sites) following removal of secondary remanence. Their ChRM direction passes fold and reversal tests at a 95% confidence level. Both the upper Cretaceous and middle Eocene paleomagnetic data from the Eastern Pontides and the Lesser Caucasus clearly demonstrate evidence of oroclinal bending that occurred contemporaneouslywith the convergence between Arabia and Eurasia in the Paleocene.     

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.     

New paleomagnetic result from the Ethiopian flood basalts in the Abbay (Blue Nile) and Kessem gorges

New paleomagnetic investigations on the Ethiopian trap series have been undertaken at the Abbay and Kessem gorges in an attempt to better constrain the 30 Ma paleomagnetic pole of Africa. We sampled six thick massive basaltic lava flows, totaling 230 m, from Abbay Gorge and 10 lava flows, 180 m in thickness, from Kessem Gorge. Detailed paleomagnetic analyses disclosed that the carriers of the characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) are different in different lava flows. These are mostly titanomagnetites, titanomaghemites, and magnetite minerals with a broad range of coercive force and blocking temperatures. The heating and cooling susceptibility vs. temperature curves, many of which are irreversible, may indicate chemical remagnetization, notably low temperature maghemitization. Only one flow (KS04) with a clear 580°C Curie temperature was apparently unaffected by chemical remagnetization. The ChRM direction of this flow is identical to that in other flows, which suggests that if and when remagnetization occurred, this was shortly after emplacement of the lava flows. All of the flows sampled have normal polarity. However, a reversed component of low to medium coercive force and low to medium unblocking temperature occurs in flow KS01 at Kessem Gorge. The ChRM directions for the 16 sites are D=3.1°, I=5.8° (α₉₅=12.7°). The paleomagnetic pole obtained from these is at λ=83.0°N, φ=193.3°E (A₉₅=9.0°). Comparison with three previous studies of the traps shows remarkable consistency and a number of means are derived and discussed. Two final preferred poles for the traps are at λ=79.0°N, φ=196.9°E (A₉₅=2.8°) when all 112 published flows are used, and λ=78.7°N, φ=209.4°E (A₉₅=3.4°) when only the 76 flows from the four more recently analyzed sections are included. Both are compatible with the recent reference synthetic pole for Africa of Courtillot and Besse [J. Geophys. Res. (2002) in press]. In that sense, the Ethiopian trap pole is not anomalous and does not require more of a non-dipolar contribution than indicated by analyses of the global paleomagnetic data base covering the last few million years.     

A paleomagnetic study of certain Mesozoic formations in northern Mexico

Rocks of Late Cretaceous, Early Jurassic and Late Triassic age, collected in northern Mexico yield the following pole positions: 169.3°E57.9°N (Cretaceous), 70.7°E76.0°N (?Jurassic) and 119.2°E76.4°N (?Late Triassic). The Triassic and Cretaceous poles are not significantly different from those class-A poles (Hicken et al., 1972) of the North American craton. It is therefore suggested that the North American craton may be traced south as far as 23°N and inferentially a further four degrees (to the Mexican volcanic belt).The results from the La Boca Formation are interpreted as indicating a much greater age (Late Precambrian-Early (Paleozoic) than is currently assigned to that formation.     

鄂尔多斯地块构造演化的古地磁学研究

鄂尔多斯地块与中朝地台其它地区相同时代地层的古地磁结果基本一致表明:晚二叠世以来,中朝地台经历了从低纬度(19°左右)向中纬度的北移过程,并伴有50°左右的逆时针旋转;晚二叠世—中三叠世地台北移10°(1000km)左右,而方位基本未变;中三叠世—中侏罗世主要发生50°左右的逆时针旋转,而北向位移不明显,这一旋转可能与杨子地台和中朝地台碰撞拼合有关,或者说是印支运动在该地区的反应,中侏罗世—早白垩世地块已基本和现代位置一致     

Paleomagnetic evidence for the clockwise rotation of Southwest Japan

Over 500 oriented samples of felsic rocks of Cretaceous to Middle Miocene age were collected along the Go¯River in the central part of Southwest Japan, in an attempt to detect the process of tectonic rotation of Southwest Japan from the paleomagnetic view point. Thermal demagnetization was successful in isolating characteristic directions from the remanent magnetization of samples. Reliability of the paleomagnetic direction is ascertained through the agreement of directions from different kinds of rocks as well as the presence of both normal and reversed polarities. The paleomagnetic results establish that Southwest Japan began to rotate clockwise through58 ± 14° later than 28 Ma and ceased its motion by about 12 Ma. Southwest Japan has undergone no detectable north-south translation since 28 Ma. These results imply that southwest Japan was rotated about the pivot around 34°N, 129°E between 28 Ma and 12 Ma in association with the opening of the Japan Sea.     

拉萨地块中部晚白垩世火山岩Ar-Ar年代学和古地磁研究结果及其构造意义

为进一步确定拉萨地块白垩纪-古近纪的古地理位置,我们对青藏高原拉萨地块措勤地区林子宗火山岩18个采点进行了古地磁研究.结果表明高温(高场)特征剩磁分量主要为亚铁磁性的磁铁矿所携带,特征剩磁分量在95%置信水平下通过了褶皱检验. 倾斜校正后采点平均的特征剩磁方向为D/I=16.2°/17.7°, α₉₅=5.6°,对应古地磁极位置为63.1°N,224.6°E,A₉₅=5.1°. 另一方面,Ar-Ar年代学结果表明采样剖面的林子宗火山岩形成年龄为~99-93 Ma, 与拉萨地块林周盆地的林子宗群火山岩的形成年龄存在较大差异.由此我们得到晚白垩世拉萨地块中部措勤地区的古纬度为8.5°±6.9°N,与林周盆地古近纪林子宗群典中组和年波组所揭示出的古纬度相当,进一步表明亚洲大陆最南缘的拉萨地块在晚白垩世-古近世期间位于北半球~10°N的低纬度地区.结合最新的特提斯海相地层古地磁结果,晚白垩世-古近世拉萨地块的古地理位置限定了印度与欧亚大陆的初始碰撞时间不晚于60.5 Ma;~93 Ma以来,拉萨地块和单一刚性欧亚大陆之间存在~1900 km的构造缩短.     

Large N-S convergence at the northern edge of the Tibetan plateau? New Early Cretaceous paleomagnetic data from Hexi Corridor, NW China

Nine Early Cretaceous paleomagnetic sites have been collected in the Yumen area of the Hexi Corridor (NW China). Magnetic directions isolated at lower temperatures fail the fold test, and lie close to the geocentric axial dipole field direction before tilt correction. High temperature components are carried by magnetite and/or hematite, all with normal polarity, and pass the fold test. The average paleomagnetic pole from the nine sites is at λ=75.5°N, φ=169.9°E (A₉₅=7.7°). These results are consistent with those from other areas of the North China block (NCB), but significantly different from those from the Qaidam Basin on the southern side of the Qilian Mountains. They suggest that: (1) the Yumen region behaved as a rigid part of the NCB since at least the Early Cretaceous; (2) 740±500 km of north-south directed convergence has taken place between the NCB and Qaidam, within the Qilian Mountains and (3) extrusion of Qaidam was accompanied by a 23±5° relative rotation with respect to North China. This is larger than implied by the maximum left lateral slip on the Altyn Tagh fault system. The same data imply some 1000±800 km of Cenozoic motion between the Tarim and NCB blocks, which were so far believed to have formed a rigid entity since at least the Jurassic. One interpretation could be that all Tarim and Qaidam Cretaceous paleomagnetic samples from red beds, but not those from Yumen and the NCB, suffered significant inclination shallowing, as observed in Cenozoic red beds from Central Asia. So far, we do not find support for this possibility. Possible tectonic interpretations include: (1) the existence of a large, as yet uncharted, tectonic discontinuity between Tarim and the NCB in the vicinity of the desert corridor near 95-100°E longitude; (2) the occurrence of significant deformation within southwestern Tarim, to the north of Yingjisha where paleomagnetic sites were obtained, or (3) persistent clockwise rotation of Tarim with respect to the NCB, for at least 20 Ma, at the rate found for current block kinematics.