Paleomagnetism of the Cretaceous Morelos and Mezcala Formations, southern Mexico

A paleomagnetic study of platform-facies carbonate rocks of the mid-Cretaceous Morelos Formation and deep-water carbonate rocks of the overlying Upper Cretaceous Mezcala Formation, sampled at Zopilote canyon, in Guerrero State, southern Mexico, indicates that their characteristic magnetization was acquired contemporaneously with folding of these rocks during the Late Cretaceous Laramide orogeny. The remanence carrier is interpreted to be magnetite, although other mineral phases of high coercivity carry recent secondary overprints. The overall mean is of Dec=323.1° and Inc=36.5° (k=162.7; α₉₅=2.7°; N=18 sites; 64% unfolding). Comparison with the North America reference direction indicates that this area has experienced a small, yet statistically significant, counterclockwise direction of 19.2±4.0°. Similar rotations are documented in other localities from southern Mexico; rotations are linked to mid-Tertiary deformation associated with the left-lateral strike-slip fault system that accommodated motion of the Chortis and Xolapa blocks.     

Middle Paleozoic paleomagnetism of east Kazakhstan: post-Middle Devonian rotations in a large-scale orocline in the central Ural–Mongol belt

In order to test different hypotheses concerning the Paleozoic evolution of the Ural–Mongol belt (UMB) and the amalgamation of Eurasia, we studied Middle Devonian basalts from two localities (11 sites) and Lower Silurian volcanics, redbeds, and intra-formational conglomerates from three localities (20 sites) in the Chingiz Range of East Kazakhstan. The Devonian rocks prove to be heavily overprinted in the late Paleozoic, and a high-temperature, presumably primary, southerly, and down component is isolated at only four sites from a homoclinal section. Most Silurian redbeds are found to be remagnetized in the late Paleozoic; in contrast, a bipolar near-horizontal remanence, isolated from Silurian volcanics, is most probably primary as indicated by positive tilt and conglomerate tests. Analysis of paleomagnetic data from the Chingiz Range shows that southward-pointing directions in Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian rocks are of normal polarity and hence indicate large-scale rotations after the Middle Devonian. The Chingiz paleomagnetic directions can be compared with Paleozoic data from the North Tien Shan and with the horseshoe-shaped distribution of subduction-related volcanic complexes in Kazakhstan. Both paleomagnetic and geological data support the idea that today's strongly curved volcanic belts of Kazakhstan are an orocline, deformed mostly before mid-Permian time. Despite the determination of nearly a dozen new Paleozoic paleopoles in this study and other recent publications by our team, significant temporal and spatial gaps remain in our knowledge of the paleomagnetic directions during the middle and late Paleozoic. However, the paleomagnetic results from the Chingiz Range and the North Tien Shan indicate that these areas show generally coherent motions with Siberia and Baltica, respectively.     

A methane fuse for the Cambrian explosion: carbon cycles and true polar wander

The dramatic diversification of animal groups known as the Cambrian Explosion (evolution's ‘Big Bang’) remains an unsolved puzzle in Earth Science. The Vendian–Cambrian interval is characterized by anomalously high rates of apparent plate motion, interpreted as True Polar Wander (TPW), and by more than a dozen large, high-frequency perturbations in carbon isotopes that dwarf all others observed through the past 65 million years. We suggest that these biological, tectonic, and geochemical events are intimately related in the following fashion. First, tropical continental margins and shelf-slopes which formed during fragmentation of the supercontinent Rodinia accumulated massive quantities of isotopically-light organic carbon during Late Neoproterozoic time, as indicated by strikingly heavy isotope ratios in inorganic carbon during interglacial intervals. Second, an initial phase of Vendian TPW moved these organic-rich deposits to high latitude, where conditions favored trapping biogenic methane in layers of gas hydrate and perhaps permafrost. Continued sedimentation during Late Vendian time added additional hydrate/gas storage volume and stabilized underlying units until the geothermal gradient moved them out of the clathrate stability field, building up deep reservoirs of highly pressurized methane. Finally, a burst of TPW brought these deposits back to the Tropics, where they gradually warmed and were subjected to regional-scale thermohaline eddy variation and related sedimentation regime changes. Responding to the stochastic character of such changes, each reservoir reached a critical failure point independently at times throughout the Cambrian. By analogy with the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum event, these methane deposits yield transient, greenhouse-induced pulses of global warming when they erupt. Temperature correlates powerfully with biodiversity; the biochemical kinetics of metabolism at higher temperature decrease generation time and maintain relatively rich and dense invertebrate populations. Repeated thermal pulses along with progressive disruption and alteration of global ocean circulation patterns by TPW could cause the increase in diversity that accompanied the radiation of metazoans. We suggest that a methane ‘fuse’ ignited the Cambrian Evolutionary Explosion.     

中国古地磁学研究现状与展望

简述了中国古地磁学研究的若干进展，展望未来，应该全方位地发展中国的古地磁学．     

The Blake Event recorded near the Eemian type locality – A diachronic onset of the Eemian in Europe

Multidisciplinary analysis including paleomagnetic, sedimentologic, sea-level change, luminescence dating and palynologic research was performed on a 25 m long orientated core taken at Rutten, close to Eemian key localities in the Netherlands. The main goal of our research was to test a possible delayed onset of temperate conditions in this region compared to Southern Europe, occurring within the Last Interglacial. The sediments revealed the presence of the paleomagnetic Blake Event in ca. 10 m of lower-deltaic floodbasin sediments that contain a pollen record covering the Eemian. The position of the Blake Event in relation to the pollen stratigraphy concurs with the earlier studied Neumark Nord 2 site. Paleomagnetic correlation to core MD95-2042 off SW Iberia indicates ca. 5 kyr diachroneity between the pollen-based onset of temperate interglacial conditions between northern and southern Europe. The onset of the Eemian in north-western and central Europe (ca. 121.0 ka) post-dates the Marine Isotope Stage 6/5e transition by ca. 10 kyr. In addition, the Rutten data provide evidence for a relatively long duration of the Blake Event of at least 8 kyr. The late onset of the temperate conditions that define the base of the Eemian, imply that NW Europe with the Eemian type area is not the most suited region to define the beginning of the Last Interglacial and Late Pleistocene for global chronostratigraphic use.     

Tectonostratigraphic history of the Neogene Maimará basin,Northwest Argentina

This paper presents the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Maimará Basin and explores the relationship between the clastic sediments and pyroclastic deposits in the basin and the evolution of the adjacent orogeny and magmatic arc. The sedimentary facies in this part of the basin include, in ascending order, an ephemeral fluvial system, a deep braided fluvial system and a medial to distal ephemeral fluvial system. We interpret that Maimará Formation accumulated in a basin that has developed two stages of accumulation. Stage 1 extended from 7 to 6.4 Ma and included accelerated tectonic uplift in the source areas, and it corresponds to the ephemeral fluvial system deposits. Stage 2, which extended from 6.4 to 4.8 Ma, corresponds to a tectonically quiescent period and included the development of the deep braided fluvial system deposits. The contact between the Maimará and Tilcara formations is always characterized by a regional unconformity and, in the study area, also shows pronounced erosion.Rare earth element and other chemical characteristics of the tuff intervals in the Maimará Formation fall into two distinct groups suggesting the tuffs were erupted from two distinct late Miocene source regions. The first and most abundant group has characteristics that best match tuffs erupted from the Guacha, Pacana and Pastos Grandes calderas, which are located 200 and 230 km west of the study area at 22º-23º30′S latitude. The members the second group are chemically most similar to the Merihuaca Ignimbrite from the Cerro Galán caldera 290 km south-southwest of the studied section. The distinctive geochemical characteristics are excellent tools to reconstruct the stratigraphic evolution of the Neogene Maimará basin from 6.4 to 4.8 Ma.     

地球非偶极磁场对虚地磁极计算的影响

古地磁学使用的虚地磁极（VGP）是在地心偶极磁场假设下计算的,由于地球非偶极磁场的存在,VGP一般不同于真地磁极（RGP）.为了定量检验非偶极磁场对VGP的影响,本文利用国际参考地磁场模型IGRF 1900～2000,在全球5°×5°的“虚拟测点”网格上计算了VGP和RGP的位置,并求出两种磁极的经纬度偏差和二者的角距离.结果表明,南极地区VGP与GP的角距离最大,可达26°,南大西洋和欧亚大陆北部最大达到24°和18°,其余地区一般小于15°.VGP对RGP的偏差与地磁场分布有关：在非偶极磁场较弱的地区（如太平洋半球）,纬度偏差一般不大（≤10°）,但是在主要地磁异常区（如南大西洋和南极地区）,VGP对RGP的纬度偏差可达25°.VGP对RGP的经度偏差要比纬度偏差大得多,例如在欧亚大陆北部地区,经度偏差分布在-180°到180°的大范围内.     

新生代阿尔金断层中、东段右行走滑特征

从柴达木、准噶尔、塔里木3个地块近4个古地磁样品中得出的古纬度数据表明,新生代阿尔金断层中、东段的右行走滑特征明显。白垩纪以来,新疆板块相对柴达木地块向北移动了0.6°-5.4°。据此将断裂两侧各地块复原到白垩纪末的位置,天山-北山地体与祁连山地体相联,柴达木地体成为塔里木地体的东延部分。     

新疆古地磁研究及几个地质构造问题探讨

通过对塔里木、准噶尔、伊犁、昆仑山等地区古地磁研究获得了大量数据,结合磁性地层、古生物、沉积相等综合分析,对塔里木地块构造演化、新疆晚古生代构造分区划分、伊犁地块、天山板块等几个地质构造问题进行了探讨.     

显生宙中国大地构造演化的古地磁研究

根据古地磁数据可靠性的试用判据，对华北、杨子、塔里木中国三大稳定地块显生宙的构造古地磁数据做了初步检验，考虑古极点的密集区，选用２２９个古极点以“世”或“纪”为单位进行统计，获得三大稳定地块显生宙综合古地磁视极移曲线。以此为基本依据，结合地质构造、古生物和全球古地理重建图的综合分析，初步探讨了三大稳定地块运动演化的大致轮廓，华北、杨子、塔里木地块碰撞、拼接时限和方式以及华北地块与西伯利亚板块运动演化的关系