Geochronological aspects of polar wandering derived from Czechoslovak hydrothermal deposits

Summary The present contribution contains a brief review of palaeomagnetic investigation carried out in Czechoslovak hydrothermal deposits. So far polar wandering has been considered on the basis of palaeomagnetism of lavas and red sediments; to first approximation it agrees with palaeoclimatic data. Since the products of hydrothermal mineralizations have displayed a high stability of the magnetic parameters used in palaeomagnetism, the treatment of a greater amount of statistical material yielded data for deriving the polar wandering path during geological history. By analyzing the curve obtained it is possible to derive some geochronological conclusions concerning the age of the ore-yielding processes in the principal Czechoslovak metallogenic areas. In this way a new dating technique for products of hydrothermal mineralizations is presented based on the study of palaeomagnetic properties. At the same time, these new results are consistent with the geophysical interpretation of the polar wandering curve for Europe.