A regional paleomagnetic study of Archean rocks from the Superior Geotraverse area, northwestern Ontario

1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1906-1919 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Dunlop
Keyword(s):  
Reliable Determination ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Paleomagnetic Study ◽  
Igneous Activity ◽  
Greenstone Belts ◽  
Mafic Intrusives ◽  
Iron Formations ◽  
East West

Preliminary paleomagnetic data are reported for Archean metavolcanics, felsic and mafic intrusives, gneisses, and iron formations from the Quetico, Shebandowan, and Wabigoon belts in the western Superior Structural Province. Eleven of the 23 formations sampled have been studied in detail using stepwise alternating-field demagnetization and, in some cases, thermal demagnetization. Two characteristic components of magnetization are revealed. One is widespread in occurrence and reasonably well grouped (D = 4.5°, I = + 55.7°, k = 17.9, α95 = 5.4°, N = 40 samples for the Shelley Lake granite for example). It is a regional magnetic overprint due to the Kenoran orogeny, acquired, according to the position of its paleopole (71.7°E, 77.3°N, δp = 5.5°, δm = 8 °for the Shelley Lake granite) on the Laurentian apparent polar wander path and to independent radiometric evidence, about −2600 Ma. The second magnetic component is spotty in occurrence, more prevalent in the Wabigoon belt than elsewhere, and everywhere rather scattered. The only fully reliable determination is D = 66.0°, I = −5.1 °(k = 10.2, α95 = 15°, N = 11 samples) for the Wabigoon gabbro. The corresponding paleopole is either 17.8°E, 13.1°N (δp = 7.5°, δm = 15°) falling at about −2800 Ma on the apparent polar wander path or the antipole of this direction, dating between −1350 and −1250 Ma. The younger date, implying a late ProterQzoic metamorphic event in the region, is more likely than the older age, which would require that the magnetization be primary or a pre-Kenoran overprint. The metamorphism seems to have occurred too early to have been caused by igneous activity ca. 1100 Ma in the nearby Keweenawan basin. About −2600 Ma, the region was in its present orientation, but at a latitude of 20 to 35°N and probably drifting northward. About −1250 Ma, the region was equatorial but rotated 90°, so that presently east–west trending greenstone belts were north–south. It is possible, but un-proven, that a paleoocean existed between the Wabigoon subprovince and the other belts about −1250 Ma, the Wabigoon region having since moved > 500 km westward (present-day direction) to its present location.

Paleomagnetism of the Lawrenceton Formation volcanic rocks, Silurian Botwood Group, Change Islands, Newfoundland

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie E. Gales ◽  
Ben A. van der Pluijm ◽  
Rob Van der Voo
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Mobile Belt ◽  
Structural Mapping ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
The North ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Paleomagnetic Study ◽  
North American Craton

Paleomagnetic sampling of the Lawrenceton Formation of the Silurian Botwood Group in northeastern Newfoundland was combined with detailed structural mapping of the area in order to determine the deformation history and make adequate structural corrections to the paleomagnetic data.Structural analysis indicates that the Lawrenceton Formation experienced at least two folding events: (i) a regional northeast–southwest-trending, Siluro-Devonian folding episode that produced a well-developed axial-plane cleavage; and (ii) an episode of local north-trending folding. Bedding – regional cleavage relationships indicate that the latter event is older than the regional folding.Thermal demagnetization of the Lawrenceton Formation yielded univectorial southerly and shallow directions (in situ). A fold test on an early mesoscale fold indicates that the magnetization of the Botwood postdates this folding event. However, our results, combined with an earlier paleomagnetic study of nearby Lawrenceton Formation rocks, demonstrate that the magnetization predates the regional folding. Therefore, we conclude that the magnetization occurred subsequent to the local folding but prior to the period of regional folding.While a tectonic origin for local folding cannot be entirely excluded, the subaerial nature of these volcanics, the isolated occurrence of these folds, and the absence of similar north-trending folds in other areas of eastern Notre Dame Bay suggest a syndepositional origin. Consequently, the magnetization may be nearly primary. Our study yields a characteristic direction of D = 175°, I = +43°, with a paleopole (16°N, 131 °E) that plots near the mid-Silurian track of the North American apparent polar wander path. This result is consistent with an early origin for the magnetization and supports the notion that the Central Mobile Belt of Newfoundland was adjacent to the North American craton, in its present-day position, since the Silurian.

A paleomagnetic study of the lava flows within the Copper Harbor Conglomerate, Michigan: new results and implications

1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Diehl ◽  
T. D. Haig
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Entire Range ◽  
Lava Flows ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Lake Shore ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Paleomagnetic Pole ◽  
Complete Section ◽  
Paleomagnetic Study ◽  
Petrographic Analyses

New paleomagnetic data have been obtained from the interbedded lava flows within the Copper Harbor Conglomerate on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. Previous paleomagnetic studies of these lava flows, known collectively as the Lake Shore Traps, have produced contradictory results. To investigate the cause of these conflicting results, 30 sites encompassing the most complete section of lava flows possible were collected and analyzed.Well-defined characteristic directions of magnetization were isolated using either alternating-field or thermal demagnetization or a combination of both. These directions of magnetization are interpreted as primary magnetizations acquired during the original cooling of the lavas. Hysteresis, thermomagnetic, and petrographic analyses suggest the carrier of magnetization is a pseudo-single-domain, titanium-poor magnetite that has undergone some high-temperature oxidation.Site means determined from the 30 lava flows define three distinct directional clusters. Each cluster of directions corresponds to a different stratigraphic package of lava flows with the Copper Harbor Conglomerate. Between-site dispersion for each stratigraphic package or unit is much less than the expected value for Keweenawan-age rocks. Therefore, we suggest that most of the lava flows in each unit were extruded rapidly and that within an individual stratigraphic unit, paleosecular variation has not been adequately sampled. This explains why previous studies on the Lake Shore Traps have produced such different results; each study did not sample the entire range of directions possible in these lava flows.The paleomagnetic pole calculated from the 30 site-mean virtual geomagnetic poles is located at 22.2°N, 180.8°E (k = 35.0; A95 = 6.5°). The new Copper Harbor pole is now located in the appropriate chronological position with respect to the underlying Portage Lake Volcanics and the overlying Nonesuch Shale on the Keweenawan apparent polar wander path. The similarity of our Copper Harbor pole to that of the Portage Lake Volcanics reinforces the idea that the Copper Harbor Conglomerate is more closely related in time to the Portage Lake Volcanics than to the Nonesuch Shale.

Paleomagntism of Archean rocks from northwestern Ontario: II. Shelley Lake granite, Quetico Subprovince

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 869-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Dunlop
Keyword(s):  
Dipole Field ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Orthogonal Vector ◽  
Site Type ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Heating Event ◽  
The Mean

The 2580 ± 20 Ma Shelley Lake granite of the Quetico gneiss belt in northwestern Ontario preserves two distinct natural remanent magnetizations (NRM's) of different ages. Type 1 NRM of either normal (1N) or reverse (1R) polarity was isolated in 43 samples, using three methods: stable end-point directions, orthogonal vector plots, and converging remagnetization circles. The mean direction based on both 1N and 1R results is D = 5.9 °I = +56.4 °(k = 95.4, α95 = 4.4°, N = 12 sites), which is significantly different from both the present Earth's field (PEF) and axial dipole field directions at the site. Type 2 NRM, either normal (2N) or reverse (2R), was successfully separated from 1N/1R in 13 samples. Its mean direction, combining both polarities, is D = 70.3 °I = −27.8 °(k = 20.1, α95 = 9.4°, N = 13 samples).The paleopole SL1 corresponding to 1N/1R falls at 65.8°E, 77.6°N, near track 6 of the Laurentian apparent polar wander path (APWP) around 2600 Ma. This remanence is carried principally by primary multidomain magnetite with blocking temperatures up to 580 °C. If it is a primary thermoremanence, as is argued here, SL1 provides a well dated tie point for the APWP at 2580 ± 20 Ma.Paleopole SL2 corresponding to 2N/2R falls at 157.1°W, 1.3°S, around 1250 Ma on the APWP. The remanence is probably a chemical or thermochemical overprint acquired during a mild heating event (T < 300 °C, t > 1100 Ma) that reset 40Ar/39Ar feldspar ages. An earlier tentative assignment of SL2 to track 6 around 2800 Ma is incorrect.

Paleomagnetism of Archean granites and Matachewan dikes in the Wawa Subprovince, Ontario: reevaluation of the Archean apparent polar wander path

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1031-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Vandall ◽  
D. T. A. Symons
Keyword(s):  
Single Component ◽  
Superior Province ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Dike Swarm ◽  
The North ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Quartz Monzonite ◽  
Greenstone Belts ◽  
Tectonic Rotation

Paleomagnetic measurements have been completed on 400 specimens from dated Archean granites and Matachewan dikes in the Michipicoten and Gamitagama greenstone belts in the western Wawa Subprovince of the Superior Province, Ontario. Detailed alternating-field and thermal step demagnetization analyses were used to isolate stable remanence directions. A single-component remanence was isolated within three adjacent dated granitic plutons on the eastern margin of the Michipicoten belt, including the Hawk Lake trondhjemite, the Southern external granite, and the Eastern external granite (HSE). The maximum possible age for this remanence is constrained by the intrusion of the last pluton at 2694 Ma. The corresponding HSE paleopole is located at 10°W, 41°S (dp = 8°, dm = 13°). A second paleopole, NB, is derived from the Northern external granite and the Baldhead River quartz monzonite, which give U–Pb zircon ages of 2662 and 2668 Ma, respectively. Their single-component remanence defines a paleopole on the Archean apparent polar wander path (APWP) at 15°E, 27°S (dp = 8°, dm = 13°), with a maximum possible age of 2.66 Ga. A third paleopole, GD, is derived from the north-northwest-trending Gamitagama diabase dikes and yields a position of 57°E, 41°N (dp = 7°, dm = 14°), which agrees with poles determined by other workers from the 2454 Ma Matachewan dike swarm. The GD pole, along with previously determined Matachewan dike poles, demonstrates that a tectonically stable craton has existed since intrusion of this extensive dike swarm, and it improves the precision of the 2454 Ma Matachewan pole on the APWP. These poles, when compared with coeval poles from the eastern side of the Kapuskasing Structural Zone in the Superior Province, imply no tectonic rotation or translation between the Wawa and Abitibi subprovinces along this Early Proterozoic structure.

Paleomagnetism of Archean rocks from northwestern Ontario: Wabigoon gabbro, Wabigoon Subprovince

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1805-1817 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Dunlop
Keyword(s):  
Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Natural Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
Virtual Geomagnetic Pole ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Paleomagnetic Pole ◽  
Geomagnetic Pole ◽  
Chemical Remanent Magnetization

The Wabigoon gabbro of the Archean Wabigoon greenstone belt in northwestern Ontario preserves a univectorial natural remanent magnetization (NRM) with D = 246°, I = 12° (k = 19.5, α95 = 10.5°, N = 11 sites). The precision is reduced if sample means are averaged, however (k = 9.3, α95 = 9.2°, N = 29 samples). The paleomagnetic pole falls either at 160°W, 11°S (δp = 5.3°, δm = 10.6°), corresponding to an age of ~1300 Ma on the Laurentian apparent polar wander path, or the reverse of this, 20°E, 11° N, corresponding to a late Archean age (~2800 Ma). No ~1300 Ma igneous or metamorphic event is known in the area; a major west-northwest-trending dike about 9 km south of the gabbro yields a virtual geomagnetic pole at 122°W, 45°N and seems to be of Abitibi age (~2150 Ma) rather than Mackenzie age (~1250 Ma). A few gabbro samples and some greenstones from the intrusive baked zone have hybrid remanences in which a higher blocking temperature Kenoran-age (~2600 Ma) NRM is superimposed on the gabbro characteristic NRM. However, the Kenoran component may be a younger chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) residing in hematite. The hypothesis that the gabbro characteristic remanence is itself a hybrid of Kenoran and Keweenawan (~1100 Ma) NRM's, which would explain both the high between-sample scatter and the lack of a ~1300 Ma remagnetizing event, is considered but rejected because fewer than 10% of the gabbro samples exhibit multivectorial swings during alternating field or thermal cleaning. Two geomagnetic field reversals are recorded at interior sites, but only one or none is recorded near the margin of the intrusion. The different cooling histories of margin and interior, as well as the bulk of the other evidence, favour magnetization during initial cooling in late Archean time.

Paleomagnetism of the Wintering Lake pluton and the Early Proterozoic tectonic motion of the Superior Boundary Zone, Manitoba

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 1071-1083
Author(s):  
M J Harris ◽  
D TA Symons ◽  
W H Blackburn ◽  
A Turek ◽  
D C Peck
Keyword(s):  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Boundary Zone ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Paleomagnetic Study ◽  
Paleomagnetic Result ◽  
Tectonic Motion ◽  
Host Rocks ◽  
Superior Craton

This Lithoprobe-funded paleomagnetic study of the Early Proterozoic Wintering Lake granitoid body supports tectonic models that suggest continental accretion of the Trans-Hudson Orogen with the Superior Craton occurred at ~1822 Ma. Thermal demagnetization data for the granitoid specimens suggest that the magnetic remanence carriers are coarse-grained magnetite or titanomagnetite, and saturation isothermal remanence tests suggest that the magnetite is mostly multidomain. Six of seven paleomagnetic contact tests were negative, indicating that the host rocks have been remagnetized and that the granitoid body may have been partially remagnetized near its margins. Acceptable site mean remanence directions for 20 of 21 granitic sites yield a paleopole at 46.8°N, 102.2°W (with semi-axes of the 95% ellipse of confidence about the paleopole of dp = 11° and dm = 11°). The paleopole fits on the extrapolated apparent polar wander path (APWP) for the Superior craton at ~1822 Ma, which is the interpreted emplacement age of the pluton close to the peak of the Trans-Hudson orogeny. This is the first well-constrained paleomagnetic result from the Superior Province that provides direct evidence from concordant paleopoles for the Early Proterozoic accretion of the orogen to the craton. Further, the paleomagnetic results from the pluton's host rocks, along with other recent results from the Superior Boundary Zone, fill in a gap in the APWP for the craton between ~1780 and ~1720 Ma. The Superior path is now shown to form a hairpin as the craton moves from mid to polar paleolatitudes from ~1880 to ~1830 Ma, suffers a stillstand from ~1830 to ~1770 Ma during the peak of the Trans-Hudson orogeny, returns to mid-paleolatitudes from ~1770 to ~1740 Ma, and then moves on to subequatorial paleolatitudes by ~1720 Ma.

Paleomagnetism of Archean rocks from northwestern Ontario: IV. Burchell Lake granite, Wawa–Shebandowan Subprovince

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 1098-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Dunlop
Keyword(s):  
Natural Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Reverse Polarity ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Normal Polarity ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Low K

The late Archean Burchell Lake granite of the Shebandowan greenstone belt in northwestern Ontario has a characteristic natural remanent magnetization (NRM) resembling the type 1 NRM of the nearby Shelley Lake granite of the Quetico gneiss belt. Of 36 stably magnetized samples, 21 had predominantly normal polarity (1N) NRM and 15 had reverse polarity (1R). The mean direction based on stable end-point and vector subtracted directions is D = 2.3 °I = 48.9 °(k = 23.9, α95 = 10.0°, N = 10 sites). Intersecting remagnetization circles gave a similar direction. The corresponding paleopole BL1 lies at 83.2°E, 71.1°N, near track 6 of the Laurentian apparent polar wander path around 2600 Ma. Although the Burchell Lake pluton is not dated radiometrically, neighbouring granites give K/Ar biotite ages of 2550–2600 Ma, and it is reasonable to suppose that the NRM dates from the time of intrusion or shortly thereafter. A type 2 NRM like that of the Shelley Lake granite was isolated in 12 samples. Its mean direction is D = 80.9 °I = −11.1°, but the precision is unacceptably low (k = 7.7).

Preliminary Proterozoic apparent polar wander paths for the South China Block and their tectonic implications

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huimin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
North China ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
North China Block ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Late Proterozoic ◽  
The North ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Paleomagnetic Study ◽  
Middle Proterozoic

Results of a regional paleomagnetic study of Precambrian rocks in central-east China are summarized and interpreted. The study is a partial outcome of a geoscience transect incorporating three terranes, namely the Yangzi, Jiangnan, and Huaxia blocks. Paleomagnetic poles derived from a range of metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks define a northeast to southwest swath crossing the present Pacific Ocean and interpreted to embrace Early to Late Proterozoic times. All three terranes define segments of the same swath and correlate with a similar apparent polar wander path previously defined from the North China Block. The results imply that the constituent blocks of eastern China formed a united block during Early to Middle Proterozoic times. Later relatively large fragmentation is confirmed by Late Proterozoic apparent polar wander path records of the North China and South China Blocks.

scholarly journals Rotation of the Philippine Sea plate inferred from paleomagnetism of oriented cores taken with an ROV-based coring apparatus

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshitsugu Yamazaki ◽  
Shun Chiyonobu ◽  
Osamu Ishizuka ◽  
Fumisato Tajima ◽  
Naoki Uto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plate Motion ◽  
Philippine Sea Plate ◽  
Late Oligocene ◽  
Clockwise Rotation ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Philippine Sea ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Paleomagnetic Study ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mean

AbstractReconstructing the history of Philippine Sea (PHS) plate motion is important for better understanding of the tectonics of the surrounding plates. It is generally considered that the PHS plate migrated northward since Eocene, but its rotation has not been constrained well; some reconstructions incorporated a large clockwise rotation but others did not. This is mainly because the difficulty of collecting oriented rocks from the mostly submerged PHS plate hindered establishing an apparent polar wander path. In this study, we conducted a paleomagnetic study of oriented cores taken using an ROV-based coring apparatus from the Hyuga Seamount on the northern part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, a remnant arc in the stable interior of the PHS plate. Stepwise thermal and alternating-field demagnetizations were applied to specimens taken successively from two ~ 30 cm long limestone cores of middle to late Oligocene age, and characteristic remanent magnetization directions could be isolated. Declination and inclination of D = 51.5° and I = 39.8°, respectively, were obtained as the mean of the two cores. The easterly-deflected declination means ~ 50° clockwise rotation of the PHS plate since middle to late Oligocene. In addition, ~ 5° latitudinal change of the site is estimated from the mean inclination. The result implies that the Kyushu-Palau Ridge was located to the southwest of the present position in middle to late Oligocene, and that PHS plate rotation as well as the Shikoku and Parece Vela Basin spreading contributed to the eastward migration of the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) Arc to the current position.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document