Palaeomagnetism of the Southern Zone of the Lewisian (Precambrian) Foreland, NW Scotland

Summary. Palaeomagnetic results are reported from 111 localities in meta- morphic rocks from the Southern Zone of the Lewisian Complex and 12 sites from similar terrain on the island of Lewis and Harris. These rocks were magnetized during slow uplift following the ca. 1800 Ma Laxfordian tectonic/ magmatic episode. The Southern Zone experienced diachronous uplift and there is a transition from predominantly positive NW remanence directions in the north to shallow negative NW directions in the south. More prolonged metamorphism in the south correlates with a transition from magnetite/ sulphide to magnetite/hematite assemblages. The relict Ruadh Mheallan zone relatively unaffected by Laxfordian tectonism preserves a (A1) remanence D = 82°, I = 65° which is sporadically recovered as high blocking temperature component in areas bordering this zone. Elsewhere, the migration of field directions is summarized as mean directions (A3) D = 323°, I = 44°, (A4) D = 314°, I = 14° and (A5) D = 313°, I = - 11° which appear to follow on sequentially from the predominant A2 direction ( D = 286°, I = 55°) observed in the Central Zone of the Lewisian Complex. The remanence directions are linked to a first approximation to the K-Ar hornblende ages and imply a migration of the ambient field direction through ca. 110° during an interval between 1 × 10⁷ and 2 × 10⁸× yr at about 1600Ma; the weight of the evidence suggests that the interval represented is between 0.5 and 1 × 10⁸× yr.
The Lewisian A2—A5 directions yield palaeopoles which follow on from 1800–1700 Ma magnetizations from the Hudsonian terrains of Greenland and North America and overlap with the youngest record from these regions on the pre-drift reconstruction; collectively the data define part of a large apw loop.     

Measurements of the Natural Remanent Magnetism and Anisotropy of Susceptibility of some Swedish Glacial Silts

Summary. This paper describes the results of measurements of the magnetic remanence and anisotropy of susceptibility of some Swedish varved silts. An attempt has been made to observe in nature the effects, which have been demonstrated in the laboratory, of water currents on these properties and to obtain new data on the effects of slopes on the direction of remanence.
It was not possible to obtain quantitative confirmation of the effects of water currents though it is shown that the field results fit qualitatively with those from the laboratory and that the effects of currents may in favourable circumstances be neglected or corrected for. By combining the new data on the effects of slopes with those previously published it has been found possible to demonstrate the importance of grain size in determining the magnitude of the bedding error correction and an expression has been found which gives this correction to an accuracy comparable with the error of measurement of remanence direction.
It is concluded that, since all known systematic deviations of the remanence direction may now be corrected for, it should be possible, in suitable circumstances, to obtain reliable estimates of field directions over the last 10,000 years from measurements on the Swedish varves.     

Current-scattered (?) detrital remanence directions in the Zn-rich Pennsylvanian Stark black shale, USA

Palaeomagnetic results are reported from the metalliferous Stark black shale in the Upper Pennsylvanian (Missourian/Kasimovian) Kansas City Group. Palaeomagnetic analysis of 400 specimens from 28 sites gives a characteristic remanent magnetization in 17 sites of the shale that yields a Late Mississippian to Middle Pennsylvanian palaeopole at 32.2°N 128.5°E (dp = 4.7° and dm = 8.8°). The observed palaeomagnetic age is slightly older than the host rock, indicating that the mineralization of the Stark Shale has, excluding recent alteration, a primary sedimentary or syngenetic origin. The reason for the slightly older age is likely due to trace modern hematite that slightly steepens the remanence inclination. The large oval of 95 per cent confidence is interpreted to be caused by clay–magnetite aggregates that formed during sediment transport and the biasing effect of the gentle palaeocurrent at each site acting on the large aggregates. Therefore, the scattered distribution of the site mean remanence declinations found for the Stark Shale is evidence of a detrital remanent magnetization that is formed by primary sedimentary processes with an enriched metallic content and not remagnetization with mineralization by secondary hydrothermal processes.     

The palaeomagnetism and magnetic fabric of sediments from Peak Cavern, Derbyshire

Summary. This paper describes the magnetic remanence and susceptibility anisotropy of 42 samples of laminated clay from Peak Cavern. The sediments are shown to have acquired a stable remanent magnetization due to the depositional alignment of magnetite grains. The magnetic fabric data confirm the existence of alteration within a reddened surface layer. A record of geomagnetic secular variation in the underlying clay is compared to a dated lake sediment magnetostratigraphy to suggest that deposition occurred around 7000 yr bp . A method for estimating water current directions based on the remanence and magnetic fabric data is critically assessed before deducing the sense of palaeoflow in the cave.     

Palaeomagnetic evidence for unification of the North and West Australian cratons by ca.1.7 Ga: new results from the Kimberley Basin of northwestern Australia

A palaeomagnetic study of the Elgee Formation red siltstones and shales in the Palaeoproterozoic Kimberley Basin of northwestern Australia has been carried out. All seven sampling sites revealed an extremely stable magnetic remanence carried by haematite. The age of the formation is confined by precise SHRIMP U–Pb ages of early diagenetic xenotime from rocks both above and below it to be 1704 + 7/−14 Ma, but this may represent a minimum age. The youngest detrital zircon grains in the underlying formation provide a maximum age of 1786 ± 14 Ma for the formation. The extreme stability of the remanence, the dissimilarity of the remanent direction from expected younger palaeomagnetic directions, and the lack of regional overprint in the 1790 ± 4 Ma Hart Dolerite just north of the study region support a primary origin for the remanence. A marginally positive fold test also supports a primary origin. The mean direction of D = 92.2°, I = 14.9°, α ₉₅ = 6.4° gives a palaeopole at 4.4°S, 210.0°E with dp = 3.3°, dm = 6.5°. This pole, a previously reported palaeopole from the Hart Dolerite and ca. 1700 Ma overprint poles from the Pilbara Craton all agree with palaeopoles of similar ages from the McArthur Basin of northern Australia. Palaeomagnetic results thus suggest that the North and West Australian cratons were possibly joined together by approximately 1.7 Ga.     

Spectral analysis of Quaternary palaeomagnetic data from British Columbia and its bearing on geomagnetic secular variation

Palaeomagnetic results obtained from a 7-m sedimentary sequence in southern British Columbia spanning approximately 9000 yr (˜ 22 000 to ˜31 000 yr BP based on radiocarbon dates) are reported and analysed. Remanence directions from 37 horizons spread throughout the section have been determined, and no evidence of the geomagnetic excursion observed at Lake Mungo, Australia (˜ 31 000–28 000 yr BP), or that observed at Mono Lake, California (25 000–24 000 yr BP) is present. However, regular oscillations in the remanence vectors are observed, and maximum entropy spectral analysis, after mapping the remanence directions on to the complex plane, reveals peaks at periods of approximately 2000 and 5000 yr. The 2000-yr peak is associated with clockwise looping of the geomagnetic vector, and therefore most likely represents the time associated with one full cycle of the westward drift of the non-dipole field. The 5000-yr peak is associated with elliptical counterclockwise looping of the local geomagnetic vector and may be indicative of counterclockwise motion of the geomagnetic dipole axis.     

The palaeomagnetism and magnetic fabric of cave sediments from Grønligrotta and Jordbrugrotta, Norway

Summary. Twenty-four oriented specimens of laminated clay were obtained from vertical sections in two caves in northern Norway. Studies of the magnetic remanence and susceptibility anisotropy show that the magnetization is depositional in origin and due to magnetite. The palaeomagnetic record in one section is correlated with results from a Swiss lake sediment core to suggest an age of 9600–6800 yr bp for the cave clay. It is shown that the susceptibility lineation produced on gently sloping surfaces was predominantly controlled by gravity and cannot therefore be used directly to estimate the palaeoflow or palaeofield directions.     

Palaeomagnetic constraints on the age of deformation of the Sierras Australes thrust and fold belt, Argentina

A palaeomagnetic study has been carried out on late Palaeozoic rocks exposed in the Sierras Australes thrust and fold belt of Buenos Aires province (Argentina), in the early Permian red sandstones and clay siltstones of the Tunas Formation. The sections sampled are exposed in the eastern parts of the belt, in Sierra de las Tunas (north) and Sierra de Pillahuincó (south). More than 300 specimens were collected from 25 sites, in three localities with different structural attitudes. Demagnetization at high temperatures isolated a characteristic remanence at 20 sites. All the localities have a reverse characteristic remanence, suggesting that the magnetization was acquired during the Kiaman interval. Stepwise tectonic tilt correction suggests that the Tunas Formation in these localities acquired its magnetization during folding in early Permian times. Palaeomagnetic poles were computed for each locality based on partial tilt-corrected remanence directions. Taking into account the fact that these localities are close to one another and that the rocks are all of reverse polarity, a group syntectonic palaeomagnetic pole called Tunas was calculated: longitude: 13.9°E, latitude: 63.0°S; A ₉₅ = 5.4°, K = 39.7, N = 19. This pole is consistent with previously calculated poles from South America assigned to the early Permian. In age it corresponds to the early Permian San Rafaelic tectonic phase of the Sierras Australes. Independent geological evidence indicates that the Tunas Formation underwent syndepositional deformation. We conclude that the Tunas Formation was deposited, deformed and remagnetized, all during the early Permian.     

Synfolding magnetization: detection, testing and geological applications

A correct method for determining the direction of a synfolding remanence is described, and a new test, which in a number of cases can discriminate between a true synfolding remanence and a remanence that is the sum of pre- and post-folding components, is suggested. It is shown that it is possible to reveal the folding evolution of a local object under an assumption that the acquisition of the synfolding remanence was synchronous over this object.     

Origin of the Magnetization of the Wichita Mountains Granites, Oklahoma

Summary. The magnetization of the Cambrian Wichita Mountains basement complex consists of several components, two of which are shown to be significant. The residual primary remanence is associated with the original titanomagnetite and the dominant secondary component is carried by minerals of the ilmenite-haematite series. The latter has been acquired at temperatures up to 300°C as a result of the regional hydrothermal alteration during late Palaeozoic. The secondary remanence is of thermochemical origin and carries a memory of a variable ambient field direction which may be modelled as a resultant of the geomagnetic field direction contemporaneous with the hydrothermal process and of the direction of the magneto-static field of the primary titanomagnetite. Although the destruction of the original presumably Cambrian remanence has been extreme, in a few cases its direction appears to have been recovered. The results are complicated by the possibility of a self-reversal of secondary remanence as well as geomagnetic field reversal. An issue unresolved by the investigation relates to the possibility of generation of magnetite by heat treatment of rock material in the laboratory. It is generally concluded that it is difficult to recover the original cooling thermoremanence direction in an igneous intrusion which has been subjected later in its life to extreme conditions of hydrothermal alteration.     

Changes in direction of the remanence of rocks produced by stationary alternating field demagnetization

Summary. A theoretical investigation of the way in which an isotropic rock containing single-domain particles acquires both IRM and ARM (or TRM) has indicated that stationary single-axis alternating field (af) demagnetization with the af axis at an angle to the remanence vector should produce progressive angular changes in a single-component remanence as demagnetization proceeds. Just before the remanence is completely removed it should lie at 90° to the af axis irrespective of the original orientation of the remanence (apart from 0°). Experimental observations on a rock sample support these deductions.
This analysis has been extended to investigate the way in which ARM (or TRM) and IRM are demagnetized by static three-axis demagnetization methods which are used by some workers in palaeomagnetism. Theory, in conjunction with the use of a numerical model, predicts that an ARM or TRM should not undergo significant direction changes when these methods are applied but an IRM should undergo progressive direction changes as demagnetization proceeds, usually moving until it makes an angle of cos⁻¹ (1/3) with each of the three af axes just before it is removed. Confirmation that such changes do occur have been obtained by experiments on a rock sample. The relative merits of static and tumbling af demagnetization methods are also discussed.     

A catalogue of Spanish archaeomagnetic data

A total of 58 new archaeomagnetic directions has been determined from archaeological structures in Spain. Together with five previous results they allow the compilation of the first archaeomagnetic catalogue for Spain, which includes 63 directions with ages ranging between the 2nd century BC and the 20th century AD. Characteristic remanence directions have been obtained from stepwise thermal and alternating field demagnetization. The hierarchical structure has been respected in the calculation of the mean site directions. Rock magnetic experiments reveal that the main magnetic carrier is magnetite or titanomagnetite with different titanium contents. The age estimate of the studied structures is generally well justified by archaeological constraints. For six structures the proposed date is also supported by physical methods. The data are in close agreement with the French secular variation (SV) curve. This catalogue represents the first step in the construction of a SV curve for the Iberian Peninsula, which will be of much use in archaeomagnetic dating and in modelling of the Earth's magnetic field in Western Europe.     

A paleomagnetic study of the Mull lava succession

Summary. A paleomagnetic study has been made of a succession of 139 non-overlapping basaltic lavas, representing 91 per cent of the longest remaining succession of flows associated with the Paleogene Mull volcano. All the lavas have experienced considerable hydrothermal alteration, probably at up to several million years after initial magnetization and frequently with alteration to the opaque minerals and the production of new potentially magnetic phases. The question of whether directional remagnetization has taken place while preserving within-unit directional consistency and discreteness of unit mean direction is discussed. Extensive directional remagnetization is excluded as an explanation for the data. If stable directions obtained by alternating field remanence cleaning coincide with original TRM directions then a mean pole position for all temporally independent lava directions from the British Tertiary igneous province is at 71.9° N, 167.2° E, with k:22 and α₉₅:3.0°. This pole is significantly different from the geographic pole. If the difference in palaeomagnetic and geographic poles is interpreted in terms of absolute plate motion, then 2010 km of northwards motion of the western part of the Eurasian Plate, at 3.7 cm/yr, has taken place over the last 55 Myr. This motion has implications for the geological history of the Arctic and for the complexity of mantle motions.     

The rock magnetism of the Mississippian Madison Limestone north-central Wyoming

Summary. A history of remanence acquisition in the Madison Limestone in north-central Wyoming suggests that many processes affected the primary magnetization, including (1) dolomitization, (2) solution of evaporites during uplift in the Late Mississippian and (3) partial remagnetization in the Late Cretaceous or Cenozoic. The stability and intensity of the magnetization was greatest in the dolomitic limestones, while the dolomites and the less intense fossiliferous limestones contained magnetization of intermediate directional stability. The coarse- and fine-grained limestones gave erratic directions. The preservation of the Mississippian magnetization in the dolomitic limestone from the lower portion of the Madison testifies to the delicate mechanism of the dolomitization process, and suggests that the dolomitization may even have aided in the preservation of the magnetization. The presence of solution features corresponds closely to the presence of unstable directional behaviour. It appears that the formation of these features by solution of the evaporite beds led to the destruction of the primary remanence in the upper portion of the Madison.
Thermomagnetic curves indicate the presence in the lower portion of the Madison of almost pure magnetite. Although thermomagnetic curves from the upper portion are irreversible, alternating field and thermal demagnetization experiments show intensity changes similar to those from the lower portion, suggesting a similar magnetic mineral. Isothermal remanent magnetization acquisition curves also suggest the presence of a large amount of hematite or goethite in over half the samples which apparently did not contribute significantly to the natural remanent magnetization.     

Are hydrodynamic shape effects important when modelling the formation of depositional remanent magnetization?

Recent conceptual models have attributed the weak depositional remanent magnetizations observed in natural sediments to flocculation processes in the water column. Magnetic particles included into flocs have not only to rotate themselves into alignment with the geomagnetic field but also the larger particles to which they are attached, making remanence acquisition an inefficient process. Alignment is hindered further when the magnetization vectors of the particles in any given floc partially cancel, reducing the overall magnetic torque. Existing numerical simulations of flocculation effects on depositional remanence formation have been limited to spherical bodies with translational and rotational motion acting independently of each other. In the case of non-spherical flocs, the translational and rotational motion are coupled and such bodies will describe a complex trajectory through the water column. Calculations will be presented that show the torque exerted on a non-spherical floc by the surrounding water can be orders of magnitude greater than the magnetic torque. Non-spherical flocs will, therefore, align less efficiently with the geomagnetic field and hydrodynamic effects may play an important role in controlling the magnitude of sedimentary remanence.     

Remanent magnetization of Precambrian and Cretaceous kimberlites in South Africa

Summary. Middle Precambrian and Cretaceous kimberlites were collected from three sites (Premier, Montrose and National) and two sites (Wesselton and Koffyfontein) in South Africa respectively. The natural remanent magnetization of these rocks remains stable to both alternating field and thermal demagnetization. The virtual geomagnetic pole-positions derived from the directions of stable remanence of the Precambrian rocks can be correlated with palaeomagnetic poles obtained from other Middle-Late Precambrian rocks in Africa. The Cretaceous poles for the Wesselton and the Koffyfontein rocks coincide with other Cretaceous poles.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the Shungura and Usno Formations, southwestern Ethiopia: new data and comprehensive reanalysis

Summary. Six hundred new samples are added to those we previously reported from the Shungura and Usno Formations of southwestern Ethiopia, and the entire data set is reviewed. Limited mineralogical study of sands indicates maghemite and hematite as carriers of remanence. After AF cleaning the remanent directions are well polarized into normal and reversed groups, with greater scatter in reversed directions. The time-averaged magnetization axis corresponds to a 'far-sided right-hand' virtual pole, a pattern previously found by Wilson. Intrasite dispersion is commonly large but better for the new samples, which we attribute to field technique. Polarity zonation is accomplished by statistical smoothing on stratigraphic plots of angle from dipole axis. Magnetozones are correlated with the standard polarity-chronologic intervals using K-A dates at nine stratigraphic levels. The main change from our previous interpretation is that the reversed zone in the Basal Member of the Shungura Formation is correlated with the top of the Gilbert Epoch rather than with the Mammoth event of the Gauss Epoch. Thus the Basal Member and Member A are somewhat older than we previously believed, but age assignments for major fossil localities are unaffected. The inferred age ranges for the Shungura and Usno Formations are 3.5 to 0.8 Myr and 3.7 to 2.8 Myr respectively. The present analysis yields five zones of normal polarity in the lower Matuyama Reversed Epoch, that is, between the Matuyama/Gauss transition and the base of the Olduvai. All were found both in the previous data and in the new samples taken at different locations. For three of the five zones an unbroken series of normal samples extends over several lithologies, so a geomagnetic event is indicated.     

Palaeomagnetism of the ca. 440 Ma Cape St Mary's sills of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland: implications for Iapetus Ocean closure

We report on the palaeomagnetism of the gabbroic Cape St Mary's sills of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, which have previously yielded a 441±2  Ma U–Pb baddeleyite age (latest Ordovician or earliest Silurian). At 12 of 19 sites, stepwise alternating-field or thermal demagnetization isolated a stable characteristic remanence carried by magnetite. This remanence is shown to pre-date Early Devonian folding of the sills. Although a baked-contact test was inconclusive, the positive fold test and the low grade of metamorphism of the sills (prehnite–pumpellyite facies) make it likely that the characteristic remanence is primary. The tilt-corrected site-mean characteristic remanence has a declination of 343° and an inclination of −51° ( k =25, α ₉₅=9°), yielding a ∼440  Ma palaeopole at 10°N, 140°E ( dm =12°, dp =8°) for West (North American) Avalonia. The corresponding ∼440  Ma palaeolatitude for the Avalon Peninsula is 32°S±8°. The only other West Avalonian palaeolatitude determination from rocks that could be of similar age is from the Dunn Point volcanics of Nova Scotia; their more southerly palaeolatitude of 41°S±5° suggests that they are significantly older than 440  Ma, a possibility that we recommend testing with U–Pb dating. Although no ∼440  Ma palaeolatitude determinations are available for East Avalonia (parts of southern Britain and Ireland), interpolating between mid-Ordovician and mid-Silurian determinations gives an estimate of ∼25°S. This is consistent with our Cape St Mary's result and, if the Iapetus Ocean closed orthogonally, with a narrow (∼1000  km) Iapetus Ocean of approximately east–west orientation between Avalonia and Laurentia by 440  Ma.     

Fidelity and time resolution of the magnetostratigraphic record in Siwalik sediments: high-resolution study of a complete polarity transition and evidence for cryptochrons in a Miocene fluviatile section

The Surai Khola section in southwest Nepal, a 5000 m continuously exposed record of fluvial sedimentation since Middle Miocene, was revisited for high-resolution magnetostratigraphy in sequences with expected cryptochrons and reversals of the geomagnetic field. Polarity intervals with durations of a few tens of thousands of years are recorded as zones of stable palaeomagnetic directions. Polarity transitions are recorded as zones with complex demagnetization behaviour of specimens in the sedimentary column. Almost antiparallel palaeoremanence directions, residing in different haematite phases in the same specimens, could generally not be separated properly by thermal demagnetization. Differing demagnetization paths for neighbouring specimens during a reversal suggest that measured transitional directions are not true geomagnetic field directions, but rather are generated by the superposition of variable amounts of at least two almost antiparallel components of magnetization. Accompanying studies of recent river sand deposits demonstrate that these sediments acquire a true depositional remanent magnetization (DRM) with considerable inclination errors and scattered directions for individual specimens.     

Multivectorial magnetization in late Palaeozoic volcanics from North Sardinia; partial remagnetization and rotation

Summary . Detailed thermal demagnetization results combined with vector analysis and study of the convergence point of remagnetization circles reveal that the late Palaeozoic ignimbrites of North Sardinia possess a multi component remanence in addition to having experienced a tectonic rotation. The degree of palaeomagnetic complexity increases with increasing degree of oxidation of the magnetic mineralogy. It is concluded that the rocks were laid down in late Permian time just before the close of the reversed Kiaman geomagnetic epoch. Subsequent oxidation and partial remagnetization basically occurred in late Permian—Triassic time, during a period characterized by alternating field polarity. In the majority of the sites this remagnetization cycle brought about fairly erratic and relatively stable resultant magnetizations which are generally smeared out towards easterly directions. At a later date Sardinia was subject to an anticlockwise rotation of about 45 degrees, after which a minor chemical magnetization, aligned along the direction of the present axial dipole field, seems to have been acquired by some specimens.