A first palaeomagnetic study of Jurassic formations from the Qaidam basin, Northeastern Tibet, China-tectonic implications

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

2

Convergence, Eurasia, India Collision, Jurassic, Mongol-Okhotsk, Qaidam

Scientific paper

We present a new palaeomagnetic study on Upper Jurassic red beds collected at nine sites near Huatugou (38.46°N, 90.75°E) in the Qaidam basin. Thermal demagnetization up to 690°C shows both low- and high-temperature components (LTC and HTC, respectively). LTC seems to be a recent overprint, HTC, carried principally by haematite and presenting a sole reverse polarity, passes the fold test at the 95 per cent confidence level. The palaeomagnetic pole calculated from the tilt-corrected overall mean direction (Ds= 220.4°, Is=-34.8°, α95= 7.5°) is situated at 50.1°N, 198.0°E (dp/dm= 5.0/8.6). The comparison of this result with coeval palaeomagnetic poles from Tarim, the North China Block (NCB) and the apparent polar wander path of Eurasia reveals a large-scale tectonic evolution of the Asian continent since the late Jurassic. This study suggests that the northward convergence of the Qaidam block is statistically negligible with respect to Tarim (4.5°+/- 8.2°) since Late Jurassic times. However, a significant relative clockwise rotation of the studied area with respect to Tarim seems to have occurred (16.2°+/- 11.2°). Whether this rotation is representative of the whole Qaidam basin or is of a local character is yet to be confirmed. The important feature of this study resides in the difference of northward displacement of the Qaidam block with respect to Eurasia on one hand and with respect to the NCB on the other hand. The overall NS convergence absorbed between Qaidam and Eurasia is 19.3°+/- 9.2°, whereas that absorbed between the Qaidam and the NCB is 8.0°+/- 6.2°. We suggest that the latter value is the result of the India-Asia collision, while its difference with respect to the former would be absorbed during the Mongol-Okhotsk ocean closure at the end of the Jurassic or at the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary at the latest.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

A first palaeomagnetic study of Jurassic formations from the Qaidam basin, Northeastern Tibet, China-tectonic implications does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A first palaeomagnetic study of Jurassic formations from the Qaidam basin, Northeastern Tibet, China-tectonic implications, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A first palaeomagnetic study of Jurassic formations from the Qaidam basin, Northeastern Tibet, China-tectonic implications will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-847126

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.