PALAEOMAGNETIC STRATIGRAPHIC STUDIES OF THE JURASSIC AND LOWER CRETACEOUS ROCKS FROM THE QIANGTANG BASIN, NORTHERN TIBET

The Qiangtang Basin located in northern Tibet is a Jurassic foreland basin, whereas the sedimentation for the arc\|basin system during the Late Triassic. Paleomagnetic sampling sites and sections include the Lower Jurassic section in Juhuashan, Shuanhu district, the Middle and Upper Jurassic section in Nadigangri Mountain and the Lower Cretaceous section in Abushan, Shuanhu district. The Lower Jurassic Nadigangri Fm. is composed of tuffaceous volcanic rocks and turbidite (lower) and purple clastic rocks. The Middle Jurassic consists of Quemocuo Fm. purple clastics , Buqu Fm. carbonates and Xiali Fm. gypsum\|bearing varicolored clastics.The Upper Jurassic includes Suowa Fm. carbonates and Xueshan Fm. purple clastics. The Lower Cretaceous Abushan Fm. is lacustrine clastics.1723 oriented paleomagnetic samples of Jurassic and Cretaceous strata were collected in 1997.The sampling sections is located in Shuanhu district of northern Tibet. Although it is unlikely that the sections studied formed by constant and continuous deposition, field evidence indicates no major breaks in the Jurassic sedimentation, except early Bajocian stage. Based on sections of actual survey, all sampling was done using a portable gas\|powered core drill, and cores were oriented with magnetic compass and inclinometer. Samples were obtained at common stratigraphic spacing of 0 5～5m, partly 5cm at some important geological boundary\|surfaces and beds/members. 25mm diameter and 20～50mm length paleomagnetic core samples were drilled in cropping field. The measuring of most samples was completed at the China Academy of Geosciences Paleomagnetic Laboratory using a type DSM\|2 digital rotational magnetometer (its sensitivity of reaching 10 -5 A/m) made by SCHONSTEDT Company of U.S.A., and SCHONSTEDT TSD\|1 for thermal demagnetization. The apparatus used for AF demagnetization was a commercial (SCHONSTEDT GSD\|5)instrument, capable of reaching 100mT peak field. 10% of total measuring samples were completed at the Beijing Geological Institute Paleomagnetic Laboratory of China Academy of Sciences using a type 2G\|755R magnetometer made by Superconducting Technology for weak magnetized samples (sensitivity of reaching 10 -8 A/m). Most samples were stepwise thermally demagnetized, at 50℃ intervals from 100 to 700℃.