Mathew Domeier

Support for an "A-type" Pangea reconstruction from high-fidelity Late Permian and Early to Middle Triassic paleomagnetic data from Argentina

[1]xa0A major disparity is observed between the late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic apparent polar wander paths (APWPs) of Laurussia and Gondwana when the landmasses are re-assembled in a conventional “A-type” Pangea. This discrepancy has endured from the earliest paleomagnetic reconstructions of the supercontinent, and has prompted discussions of non-dipole paleomagnetic fields and alternative paleogeographic models. Here we report on a joint paleomagnetic-geochronologic study of Late Permian and Early to Middle Triassic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks from Argentina, which demonstrates support for an A-type model, without requiring modification to the geocentric axial dipole hypothesis. New SHRIMP U-Pb and 40Ar-39Ar isotopic dating has reinforced the inferred age of the sequences, which we estimate at ∼264 Ma (Upper Choiyoi Group) and ∼245 Ma (Puesto Viejo Group). Field-stability tests demonstrate that the volcanic rocks are carrying early/primary magnetizations, which yield paleopoles: 73.7°S, 315.6°E, A95: 4.1°, N: 40 (Upper Choiyoi) and 76.7°S, 312.4°E, A95: 7.3°, N: 14 (Puesto Viejo). A comprehensive magnetic fabric analysis is used to evaluate structural restorations and to correct for magnetization anisotropy. The paleomagnetic results derived from volcaniclastic rocks are interpreted to be affected by inclination shallowing, and corrections are discussed. A comparison of these new results with the existing Permian-Triassic paleomagnetic data from Gondwana suggests the presence of widespread bias in the latter. We contend that such bias can explain the observed APWP disparity, at least for Late Permian-Middle Triassic time, and that alternative paleogeographic reconstructions or non-dipole paleomagnetic fields do not need to be invoked to resolve the discrepancy.

New Late Permian paleomagnetic data from Argentina: Refinement of the apparent polar wander path of Gondwana

The Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic apparent polar wander path of Gondwana is largely constructed from relatively old paleomagnetic results, many of which are considered unreliable by modern standards. Paleomagnetic results derived from sedimentary sequences, which are generally poorly dated and prone to inclination shallowing, are especially common. Here we report the results of a joint paleomagnetic-geochronologic study of a volcanic complex in central Argentina. U-Pb dating of zircons has yielded a robust age estimate of 263.0 +1.6/−2.0 Ma for the complex. Paleomagnetic analysis has revealed a pretilting (primary Permian) magnetization with dual polarities. Rock magnetic experiments have identified pseudo-single domain (titano)magnetite and hematite as the mineralogic carriers of the magnetization. Lightning-induced isothermal remagnetizations are widespread in the low-coercivity magnetic carriers. The resulting paleomagnetic pole is 80.1°S, 349.0°E, A95 = 3.3°, N = 35, and it improves a Late Permian mean pole calculated from a filtered South American paleomagnetic data set. More broadly, this new, high-quality, igneous-based paleomagnetic pole falls between the previously distinct Late Permian segments of the Laurussian and Gondwanan apparent polar wander paths, suggesting that the long-recognized disparity between these large paleomagnetic data sets may be primarily due to the inclusion of low-quality or systemically biased data.