Paleomagnetism, geochronology, and magnetic mineralogy of Devonian dikes from the Kola alkaline province (NE Fennoscandian Shield)

The new paleomagnetic data on forty dikes and two intrusive plutons of Devonian age located in different parts of the Kola Peninsula, which have not been previously covered by systematic paleomagnetic studies, are reported. We describe the results of the rock magnetic, petrographic, and microprobe investigations of the Devonian dikes and present their isotopic ages (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar, stepwise heating). Within the studied area, almost all the Devonian dikes, metamorphic Archaean-Proterozoic complexes of the Fennoscandian Shield, and Proterozoic dikes have undergone low-temperature hydrothermal-metasomatic alteration, which resulted in the formation of new magnetic minerals with a secondary (chemical) component of magnetization. The comparison of the paleomagnetic poles indicates the Early Jurassic age of the secondary component. We suggest that regional remagnetization event was caused by endogenic activity genetically related to the formation of the Barents Sea trap province 200–170 Ma ago. On the basis of the obtained data, the preliminary Devonian paleomagnetic pole of the East European Platform is determined.