Paleomagnetism of late Cretaceous dykes in the Gangdese belt: New constraints on the position and structure of the southern margin of Asia prior to the India-Asia collision

This paper report paleomagnetic data from late Cretaceous diorite dykes that sub-vertically intrude granodiorites in the eastern Gangdese belt near the city of Lhasa.Our research goals are to provide further constraints on pre-collisional structure of the southern margin of Asia and the onset of the India-Asia collision.Magnetite is identified as the main magnetic carrier in our study.The magnetite shows no evidence of metamorphism or alteration as determined from optical and scanning electron microscope observations.A strong mineral orientation is revealed by anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility analysis both for the intruded dykes and the country rocks.The authors interpret this AMS fabric to have formed during intrusion rather than deformation.Fifteen of 23 sites yield acceptable site mean characteristic remanences with dual polarities.A scatter analysis of the virtual geomagnetic poles suggests that the mean result adequately averaged paleosecular variation.The paleomagnetic pole from the Gangdese dykes yields a paleolatitude of 14.3°N±5.8°N for the southern margin of Asia near Lhasa.The paleolatitude corresponds to an in-between position of the Lhasa terrane during about 130‒60 Ma.Furthermore,the mean declination of the characteristic remanent magnetization reveals a significant counterclockwise rotation of 18°±9°for the sampling location since about 83 Ma.In the light of tectonic setting of the dykes,the strike of the southern margin of Asia near Lhasa is restored to trend approximately about 310°,which is compatible with the hypothesis that the southern margin of Eurasia had a quasi-linear structure prior to its collision with India.

Paleomagnetism and paleoclimate change in the South China Sea since the late Pleistocene

Signal processing techniques of cross-correlation, power spectral analysis and cross-power spectral analysis are used to determine the relationships between paleomagnetic properties and the oxygen isotope record of the South China Sea during the late Pleistocene. On the basis of correlation tests between the δ18O time series of cores V3 and A15 with the paleomagnetic properties of core SCS01, five events of susceptibility and intensity of natural remanent magnetization are identified as glacial events corresponding to δ18O positive events. The magnetic properties of the sediments which are independent of the geomagnetic field are sensitive climatic indicators which have frequencies corresponding to the Milankovitch orbital parameters.

Paleomagnetism of Cretaceous Red beds from Eastern Part of South China Block

We performed on paleomagnetic investigation of the Upper Cretaceous red sandstones collected from Fujiau and Guangdong provinces. Significant characteristic directions were isolated by principal comPonent analysis from 22 of 25 and 9 of 14 sampling sites iu Fujian and Guangdong,respectively. Maximum concentration of global mean directions every province is achieved at 70 %and complete (100 % ) untilting for Fujian and Guangdong, respectively. We regarded these mean directions as the Late Cretaceous paleomagnetic directions and calculated virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs); Fujian, Lat. /Lon. = 79. 4°N/210. 3°E (α95= 5. 1°) and Guangdong, Lat. /Lon. = 80. 1°N/193. 4°E (α95=8. 0°). These two VGPs are nearly equal to each other and to a mean VGP from Sichuan Province reported previously. This observation suggests no relative movement among three regions, Fujian, Guangdong and Sichuan, since the Late Cretaceous. Two VGPs from this study are significantly different from previously reported VGPs from the same regions. Further systematic paleomagnetic works are needed to clarify this difference of VGP Positions.

Avalonia,get bent!–Paleomagnetism from SW Iberia confirms the Greater Cantabrian Orocline

The amalgamation of Pangea formed the contorted Variscan-Alleghanian orogen,suturing Gondwana and Laurussia during the Carboniferous.From all swirls of this orogen,a double curve in Iberia stands out,the coupled Cantabrian Orocline and Central Iberian curve.The Cantabrian Orocline formed at ca.315–290 Ma subsequent to the Variscan orogeny.The formation mechanism of the Cantabrian Orocline is disputed,the most commonly proposed mechanisms include either(1)that south-westernmost Iberia would be an Avalonian(Laurussian)indenter or(2)that the stress field changed,buckling the orogen.In contrast,the geometry and kinematics of the Central Iberian curve are largely unknown.Whereas some authors defend both curvatures are genetically linked,others support they are distinct and formed at different times.Such uncertainty adds an extra layer of complexity to our understanding of the final stages of Pangea’s amalgamation.To solve these issues,we study the late Carboniferous–early Permian vertical-axis rotations of SW Iberia with paleomagnetism.Our results show up to 70counterclockwise vertical-axis rotations during late Carboniferous times,concurring with the anticipated kinematics if SW Iberia was part of the southern limb of the Cantabrian Orocline.Our results do not allow the necessary penecontemporaneous clockwise rotations in Central Iberia to support a concomitant formation of both Cantabrian and Central Iberian curvature.The coherent rotation of both Gondwanan and Avalonian pieces of SW Iberia discards the Laurussian indenter hypothesis as a formation mechanism of the Cantabrian Orocline and confirms the Greater Cantabrian Orocline hypothesis.The Greater Cantabrian Orocline likely formed as a consequence of a change in the stress field during the late Carboniferous and extended beyond the Rheic Ocean suture affecting the margins of both Laurussia and Gondwana.

A Preliminary Study on Paleomagnetism and Rock Magnetism of Eclogite from the Maobei Area

A preliminary study of paleomagnetism and rock magnetism has been done on 55 eclogite samples collected from the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling （CCSD） site at the Maobei （毛北） area, Donghai （东海） County, Jiangsu （江苏） Province. Also the isothermal remanence, hysteresis loop, magnetic fabric, thermal susceptibility were measured, and analyses were made by electron-probe and scanning electric microscope on some samples synchronously. The result indicates that there are two groups of stable remanence, the normal and reversed magnetization. The remanence orientations are： D=94.3°, I=-29.1° and D=273.7°, I=15.4°, respectively. The magnetization intensity and the density of the samples which carry the normal magnetization are very different from those bearing reversed magnetization. The magnetic anisotropy is weak, and the minimum axis is hardly determined. The isothermal remanence and the hysteresis loop show that the magnetic carriers of the eclogite are likely SD （single domain） and PSD （pseudo.single domain） magnetite. According to the magnetic property, the cause of formation of magnetic carriers, the mechanism of the remanence, and the significance for the tectonics are discussed.

Minto Large Igneous Province: A 2.00 Ga Mafic Magmatic Event in the Eastern Superior Craton Based on U-Pb Baddeleyite Geochronology and Paleomagnetism

A precise U-Pb baddeleyite age of 1999±2 Ma has been obtained for the NNW trending Lac Shpogan dyke swarm of the James Bay area of the eastern Superior craton.Previously the age of the swarm was only

Paleomagnetism of Metamorphosed Sudbury Dykes, Canada: Relevance to a Theory of Crustal Shortening across the Grenville Collisional Orogen

The 1.235 Ga ESE-trending Sudbury dyke swarm cuts Paleoproterozoic to Archean rocks,but at its SE end becomes deformed and metamorphosed by the;Ga Grenville orogen,a result of collision between Laurentia

Magnetic Fabrics and Paleomagnetism on Mesozoic Dike Swarms from Sao Sebastiao and Ubatuba Regions,NE Sao Paulo State,SE Brazil

The Mesozoic magmatism in Southern Brazil is represented mainly by the basaltic flows of the Serra Geral Formation,the tholeiitic dikes swarms from the Ponta Grossa Arch,Florianópolis,and along the coast between

Paleomagnetism of Early Tertiary volcanics in the South Shetland Islands and its tectonic implications

A total of 334 oriented volcanic samples of Early Tertiary were collected for a paleomagnetic study from 43 sampling sites in the South Shetland Islands,Antarctica.Paleomagnetic study indicates that the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula were situated in or close to their present position in Early Tertiary. Furthermore, it is also suggested that a counterclockwise rotation about 15 degrees related to the relative movement between South America and Antarctica took place in north of Antarctic Peninsula since Paleocene.

Phanerozoic Paleomagnetism Characteristics of the Qomolangma Area in Tibet

This paper conducts systematic test research on the 2920 paleomagnetic directional samples taken from Ordovician-Paleogene sedimentary formation in the north slope of Qomolangma in south of Tibet and obtains the primary remanent magnetization component and counts the new data of paleomagnetism the times. Based on the characteristic remanent magnetization component, it calculates the geomagnetic pole position and latitude value of Himalaya block in Ordovician- Paleogene. According to the new data of paleomagnetism, it draws the palaeomagnetic polar wander curve and palaeolatitude change curve of the north slope of Qomolangma in Ordovician-Paleogene. It also makes a preliminary discussion to the structure evolution history and relative movement of Himalaya bloc. The research results show that many clockwise rotation movements had occurred to the Himalaya block in northern slope of Qomolangmain the process of northward drifting in the phanerozoic eon. In Ordovician-late Cretaceous, there the movement of about 20.0~ clockwise rotation occurred in the process of northward drifting. However, 0.4° counterclockwise rotation occurred from the end of late Devonian epoch to the beginning of early carboniferous epoch; 6.0° and 8.0° counterclockwise rotation occurred in carboniferous period and early Triassic epoch respectively, which might be related with the tension crack of continental rift valley from late Devonian period to the beginning of early carboniferous epoch, carboniferous period and early Triassic epoch. From the Eocene epoch to Pliocene epoch, the Himalaya block generated about 28.0° clockwise while drifting northward with a relatively rapid speed. This was the result that since the Eocene epoch, due to the continuous expansion of mid-ocean ridge of the India Ocean, the neo-Tethys with the Yarlung Zangbo River as the main ocean basin closed to form orogenic movement and the strong continent-continent collision orogenic movement of the east and west Himalayas generated clockwise movement in the mid- Himalaya area. According to the calculation of palaeolatitude data, the Himalaya continent- continent collusion orogenic movement since the Eocene epoch caused the crustal structure in Indian Plate- Himalaya folded structural belt- Lhasa block to shorten by at least 1000 km. The systematic research on the paleomagnetism of Qomolangma area in the phanerozoic eon provides a scientific basis to further research the evolution of Gondwanaland, formation and extinction history of paleo- Tethys Ocean and uplift mechanism of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

PALEOMAGNETISM OF THE LATE CRETACEOUS AND EARLY TERTIARY ROCKS FROM FILDES PENINSULA,WEST ANTARCTICA, AND ITS GEOTECTONIC SIGNIFICANCE

The paleomagnetis m of 109 oriented samples collected from drill cores through 5 rock units of Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary on Fildes Peninsula were systematically studied-According to the study, the paleomagnetic pole position of this area is different from the position of Australia during the 55-45 Ma period. This means that when the break - up of the Gondwanaland at 55 - 45 Ma ago, Australia was separated from the Gondwanaland, drifting southward 20°-30°Lat. and rotating 70°-80°westward and then gradually arriving at recent position . The paleolatitudinal data indicate that it is not impossible that the area studied was covered with land glacier at that time. The apparent polar wander path of Antarctica through the geological time are also roughly worked out.

Paleomagnetism of early Paleozoic volcanic rocks from the Beishan area,Gansu of northwest China:Preliminary insight into early Paleozoic kinemics of the Beishan terrane

We report rock magnetic and paleomagnetic results for Middle Silurian Gongpoquan and Middle Ordo-vician Huaniushan volcanic samples collected from the Ma-zongshan and Hongliuyuan areas of Gansu Province, northwest China. The results indicate that the main magnetic mineral of the Gongpoquan and Huaniushan volcanic rock is magnetite, and it may remain characteristic remanent magnetization acquired at the time of formation of the rocks. However, with the exception of samples from site go20, most of Middle Ordovician Huaniushan volcanic samples have a very weak nature remanent magnetization, and generally show an erratic demagnetization behavior, which does not allow isolation of characteristic remanent magnetizations from these samples. Comparison of paleomagnetic results obtained from the Beishan area of Gansu with Paleozoic apparent polar wander paths for Tarim and Siberia suggests that the Beishan tarrane, the southern part of the Beishan area of Gansu beyond the Mingshui-Shipanjin-Xiaohuang-shan zone,

The paleomagnetism and geological significance of Meso-proterozoic dyke swarms in the central North China Craton

The Mesoproterozoic mafic dyke swarms are extensively distributedin the central North China Craton(NCC) including North Shanxi, Wutai and Lüliang areas, which are not deformed and metamorphic but high magnetic, so the dyke swarms become the mark to compare the high meta-morphic rock areas in magnetism. Based on the analysis of paleomagnetism of mafic dyke swarms in North Shanxi, Wutai and Lüliang areas, NCC inclined southward about 18° so that North Shanxi lifted up and rotated 10° left to Wutai area. The dyke swarms in Lüliang developed later than in North Shanxi and Wutai area. The NNW-trending and WNW-trending dyke swarms developed in Lüliang while the North China Plate moved northward consistently so that the paleomagnetism of dyke swarms in Lüliang is greatly different from North Shanxi and Wutai area.

Chemico-viscous remanent magnetization in the oxidation of siderite and its implications in paleomagnetism

Studies have been done of the secondary chemico-viscous remanent magnetization (CVRM) produced in the oxidization and decomposition of high-purity crystal siderite specimens collected from Dalizi Deposit, Jilin Province, The CVRM intensity increases to a peak value at an annealing temperature of 490*^0 . The direction of CVRM is always parallel to the applied field , and no self- reversal behavior has been observed in the transformation of maghemite to hematite . It is suggested that the phase transition of magnetic minerals can make great contribution to secondary magnetization. Results of successive heating at low temperature indicate that the crystal mineral siderite is basically stable. Finally , the paleomagnetic significance of CVRM is discussed.

Magnetite of Early Ordovician limestone in Tarim and implications for paleomagnetism

THE Early Ordovician Baiyungang Formation limestone in Tarim is characterized by multiplemagnetic components including primary remanent magnetism (PRM) and late remagnetiza-tion. Considerable attention should be paid to its petromagnetic significance. Investigatingthe relationship between these components and the magnetic carriers is important to distin-

Paleomagnetism of early Triassic Daye Formation and its tectonic implications

The new paleomagnetic data of the early Triassic Daye Formation from Hubei Province are reported. The ChRM passes consistency test and reversal test. Two magnetic components were isolated with principal component analysis （PCA）. Component B is a ChRM and component A was acquired by remagnetization during lndosinian cycle. Rock magnetic study shows that the carrier is dominantly detrital magnetite. According to the data, in conjunction with recently published Triassic paleornagnetic results, mean paleopole of the Triassic Yangtze Block is calculated as 30.3°N, 198.4°E, α95 = 9.2°.Distribution of all Triassic declinations indicates obviously local rotation in the mid-Yangtze areas,which results in consistence of the declinations with fold axes. By comparison with Triassic paleomagnetic data in the South China Block and some of geological evidence, it is inferred that the timing of the suture between the Yangtze Block and the South China Block is earlier in western part than in eastern part in the

PALEOMAGNETISM OF THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC SECTION AT SHANGSI OF GUANGYUAN COUNTY, SICHUAN PROVINCE

Ⅰ. INTRODUCTIONThe Permian-Triassic section in Guangyuan County of Sichuan Province was chosen for a magnetostratigraphic study. Previously, the section has been studied in detail palaeontologically and an iridium anomaly has been detected at the Permian-Triassic boundary. Field work and paleomagnetic sampling were carried out in October 1984. All measurements and experiments were done in the paleomagnetic laboratory of the Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zürich in 1985.

Paleomagnetism of the Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks of the Shimaoshan Group in Yongtai County, Fujian Province

It has been debated whether there was southward movement of the South China Block （SCB） during the Cretaceous. In this study, a paleomagnetic investigation was carried out on the Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks （-88 Ma） of the Shimaoshan Group in Yongtai County, Fujian Province. Rock magnetic experiments showed that magnetite in pseudo-single-domain and multi-domain grain and hematite were predominant magnetic phases. Stepwise thermal demagnetization successfully isolated characteristic directional components at high-temperature interval （〉 500℃） from 383 specimens in 19 sites, which yielded a paleomagnetic pole for the studied section at 83.1°N, 152.6°E （N = 19, A95 = 3.9°）, and the scatter SB = 9.0. The Fisher distri- bution of virtual geomagnetic poles （VGPs） and the consistence of S8 with the expected value at the 95% confidence level in- dicate that the yielded paleomagnetic pole is free of paleomagnetic secular variation influence. The new pole, which is well consistent with that from the Eurasian apparent polar wander path （APWP） curve, suggests no obvious southward movement of the sampling site during the Cretaceous.

Chinese Continental Blocks in Global Paleocontinental Reconstruction during Paleozoic and Mesozoic

The Cambrian to Cretaceous paleomagnetic data from Chinese continental and adjacent blocks were collected using principles to obtain reliable and high-precision paleomagnetic data and to pay attention to the similarity of paleobiogeography and the coordination of tectonic evolution.The Chinese continental blocks were laid up on the reconstruction of proposed global paleocontinents with almost the same scale.Thus,it can be clearly recognized that the global continents,including Chinese continental blocks,range along latitudes on the southern side of the equator during the Early Paleozoic. In the Paleozoic,Chinese continental blocks were still located among the Laurentia,Siberia and Gondwana plates,following the fast moving of the Siberia Plate northwards,the amalgamation in a north-south direction at the western parts of the Laurentia and Gondwana plates,and the Iapetus and Rheic Oceans were subducted,eventually to form a uniform Pangea in the Late Paleozoic.The Australian and Indian plates of Eastern Gondwana moved and dispersed gradually southwards, continued to extend the Paleo-Tethys Ocean.The Chinese continental and adjacent blocks were still located in the Paleo-Tethys Ocean,preserved the status of dispersion,gradually moving northwards, showing characteristics of ranging along a north-south orientation until the Permian.In addition,a series of local collisions happened during the Triassic,and consequently most of the Chinese continental blocks were amalgamated into the Pangea,except for the Gangdise and Himalayan blocks. There was a counter-clockwise rotation of the Eastern Asian continent in the Jurassic and northwards migration of the Chinese continent in varying degrees during the Cretaceous,but the Himalayan and Indian plates did not collide into the Chinese continent during this period.

Timing,Displacement and Growth Pattern of the Altyn Tagh Fault:A Review

The Altyn Tagh Fault（ATF） is the longest, lithospheric scale and strike-slip fault in East Asia. In the last three decades, multidisciplinary studies focusing on the timing, displacement of strikeslip and growth mechanics of the ATF have made great progresses. Most studies revealed that the ATF is a sinistral strike-slip and thrust fault, which underwent multiple episodes of activation. The fault is oriented NEE with a length of 1600 km, but the direction, timing of activity and magnitude of its extension eastward are still unclear. The AFT was predominately active during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, in relation to the Mesozoic collision of the Cimmerian continent（Qiangtang and Lhasa block） and Cenozoic collision of India with Asia. The AFT strike-slipped with a left-lateral displacement of ca. 400 km during the Cenozoic and the displacement were bigger in the western segment and stronger in the early stage of fault activation. The slip-rates in the Quaternary were bigger in the middle segment than in the western and eastern segment. We roughly estimated the Mesozoic displacement as ca. 150-300 km. The latest paleomagnetic data showed that the clockwise vertical-axis rotation did not take place in the huge basins（the Tarim and Qaidam） at both side of ATF during the Cenozoic, but the rotation happened in the small basins along the ATF. This rotation may play an important role on accommodating the tectonic deformation and displacement of the ATF. Even if we have achieved consensus for many issues related to the ATF, some issues still need to be study deeply; such as：（a） the temporal and spatial coupling relationship between the collision of Cimmerian continent with Asia and the history of AFT in the Mesozoic and（b） the tectonic deformation history which records by the sediments of the basins within and at both side of AFT and was constrained by a high-resolution and accurate chronology such as magnetostratigraphy and paleomagnetic data.