Paleomagnetic paleolatitude of Early Cretaceous Ontong Java Plateau basalts: implications for Pacific apparent and true polar wander

Details Paleomagnetic paleolatitude of Early Cretaceous Ontong Java Plateau basalts: implications for Pacific apparent and true polar wander Paleomagnetic paleolatitude of Early Cretaceous Ontong Java Plateau basalts: implications for Pacific apparent and true polar wander

Mar 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003e%26psl.208..235r&link_type=abstract

Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Volume 208, Issue 3-4, p. 235-252.

Other

10

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 192, Ontong Java Plateau, Paleomagnetic Paleolatitude, Hotspots, Pacific Apparent Polar Wander Path, True Polar Wander

Scientific paper

We present paleomagnetic data from basaltic pillow and lava flows drilled at four Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 192 sites through the Early Cretaceous (~120 Ma) Ontong Java Plateau (OJP). Altogether 270 samples (out of 331) yielded well-defined characteristic remanent magnetization components all of which have negative inclinations, i.e. normal polarity. Dividing data into inclination groups we obtain 5, 7, 14 and 15 independent inclination estimates for the four sites. Statistical analysis suggests that paleosecular variation has been sufficiently sampled and site-mean inclinations therefore represent time-averaged fields. Of particular importance is the finding that all four site-mean inclinations are statistically indistinguishable, strongly supporting indirect seismic observation from the flat-lying sediments blanketing the OJP that the studied basalts have suffered little or no tectonic disturbance since their emplacement. Moreover, the corresponding paleomagnetic paleolatitudes agree excellently with paleomagnetic data from a previous ODP site (Site 807) drilled into the northern portion of the OJP. Two important conclusions can be drawn based on the presented dataset: (i) the Leg 192 combined mean inclination (Inc.=-41.4°, N=41, k=66.0, α95=2.6°) is inconsistent with the Early Cretaceous part of the Pacific apparent polar wander path, indicating that previous paleomagnetic poles derived mainly from seamount magnetic anomaly modeling must be used with care; (ii) the Leg 192 paleomagnetic paleolatitude for the central OJP is ~20° north of the paleogeographic location calculated from Pacific hotspot tracks assuming the hotspots have remained fixed. The difference between paleomagnetic and hotspot calculated paleolatitudes cannot be explained by true polar wander estimates derived from other lithospheric plates and our results are therefore consistent with and extend recent paleomagnetic studies of younger hotspot features in the northern Pacific Ocean that suggest Late Cretaceous to Eocene motion of Pacific hotspots.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Paleomagnetic paleolatitude of Early Cretaceous Ontong Java Plateau basalts: implications for Pacific apparent and true polar wander 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 Paleomagnetic paleolatitude of Early Cretaceous Ontong Java Plateau basalts: implications for Pacific apparent and true polar wander, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Paleomagnetic paleolatitude of Early Cretaceous Ontong Java Plateau basalts: implications for Pacific apparent and true polar wander will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-996836