Paleomagnetism of the Fond du Lac Formation and the Eileen and Middle River sections with implications for Keweenawan tectonics and the Grenville problem

1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 829-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doyle R. Watts
Keyword(s):  
Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Natural Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
River Section ◽  
Orthogonal Projections ◽  
Chemical Leaching ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
The Times

Overlying the Keweenawan lavas of northern Wisconsin and Michigan is a thick sequence of terrestrial sandstone, shale, and siltstone that has undergone some tectonic deformation associated with movement along thrust faults and the development of the Lake Superior syncline. Thermal and alternating field demagnetization, chemical leaching, and multivector analysis using orthogonal projections reveal a trivector structure of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of the Fond du Lac Formation and Middle River section (Amnicon and Orienta Formations), and a bivector structure of the NRM of the Eileen section (Eileen Formation). The components may be classified by their physical properties as revealed by demagnetization. A population of high blocking temperature components, K1, is found in all three sections and gives poles as follows: Fond du Lac, 16°N, 160°E; Middle River, 25°N, 148°E; Eileen, 20°N, 156°E after structural correction is applied. A population of intermediate blocking temperature components, K2, is post-tectonic and found only in the Fond du Lac Formation and Middle River section. Poles calculated from K2 fall among the Grenville type poles (Fond du Lac, 9°S, 145°E; Middle River, 24°S, 162°E). A third population of components, K3, has low blocking temperature and coercivity and is isolated only by chemical leaching. K3 has steep positive inclination, northern declination, and is post-tectonic. It is interpreted as a recent magnetization.Any interpretation of the path of apparent polar wander for North America must accommodate the sequence of magnetization K1 to K2. The timing of tectonism in the Keweenawan basin is bracketed by the times of acquisition of K1 and K2. These results reconfirm some recent interpretations that include Grenville poles on the polar wander track of interior Laurentia.

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.

Age of the Firesand River carbonatite complex from paleomagnetism

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 2401-2405 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. A. Symons
Keyword(s):  
Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Pole Position ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
Isothermal Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Carbonatite Complex ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Partial Contact ◽  
Apparent Polar Wander Path ◽  
Temperature Spectra ◽  
Middle Proterozoic

The 2.3 km diameter Firesand River complex intrudes Archean volcanics and granites of the Wawa Subprovince in the Superior Province about 8 km east of Wawa, Ontario. It has given differing Middle Proterozoic K–Ar biotite ages of 1018 ± 50 and 1097 Ma. Alternating-field and thermal step demagnetization of specimens from three calcific carbonatite sites, five ferruginous dolomitic carbonatite sites, and one lamprophyre dike site isolated a stable mean direction of 290°, 33 °(α95 = 12°). Isothermal remanent magnetization tests indicate the remanence is held by single-to pseudosingle-domain magnetite and hematite in the carbonatite. The dike remanence is Keweenawan in age, thereby confirming its genetic relationship to the complex, and it gives a positive partial contact test with its host rock, indicating no postintrusive remagnetization. The blocking-temperature spectra indicate that postintrusive uplift has not exceeded about 4 km. The pole position for the complex is 183°E, 27°N (dp = 8°, dm = 13°). This pole lies directly on the well-dated Keweenawan apparent polar wander path, giving an age of 1090 ± 10 Ma, in agreement with the older K–Ar age. It also confirms geologic and aeromagnetic evidence that the complex has not been tectonically tilted since emplacement.

Archeomagnetism of a 19th century pottery kiln near Jordan, Ontario

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 1275-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Dunlop ◽  
Murray B. Zinn
Keyword(s):  
External Field ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Internal Field ◽  
Natural Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Shape Anisotropy ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
Fabric Anisotropy ◽  
Pottery Kiln ◽  
Drilling Project

The Jordan pottery kiln near St. Catharines, Ontario, was last fired about 1840–1841. Bricks from the kiln floor have intense NRM's (natural remanent magnetizations) in the range 0.2 × 10−2 to 3.7 × 10−2 emu cm−3 which are directionally stable against alternating field (AF) demagnetization to 1000 Oe (7.96 × 104 A/m). Of 31 specimens tested by the modified Thellier double-heating method, 27 yielded reliable paleofield intensities averaging 1.166 ± 0.092 times the present field intensity. Natural remanent magnetization directions are "streaked" in inclination and shallower than expected. Their average, D = 359.4°, I = 71.3 °(α95 = 2.2°, k = 310, N = 15 samples), differs significantly from both 1845 and 1979 fields in the area. Upon thermal demagnetization to 520 or 540 °C, streaking disappears and remanence vectors systematically steepen. The thermally cleaned mean direction, D = 357.8°, I = 73.7 °(α95 = 1.5°, k = 635, N = 15 samples), is indistinguishable at the 95% confidence level from the 1845 field, but differs significantly from the 1979 field.Part of the "inclination error" and streaking of NRM directions could result from fabric anisotropy or tilting of the bricks, but the greater part probably results from shape anisotropy of the strongly magnetic kiln floor, which deflects the internal field away from the external field and into the plane of the floor during cooling. The internal field is also weaker than the external field as a result of this self-demagnetization. The stronger the NRM, the greater the inclination error and the weaker the apparent paleofield intensity recorded. Thus, high-blocking-temperature fractions of NRM should record a less magnetically refracted (i.e., a steeper) paleofield, as observed. Also observed is approximate correlation between the spatial variation of NRM intensity in the kiln floor and variations in inclination and apparent paleointensity. The shape anisotropy of strongly magnetized horizontal sheets is a probable source of shallow inclinations, scattered directions, and weak apparent paleointensities in many submarine lavas sampled by the Deep Sea Drilling Project.

scholarly journals NEW TECHNIQUES FOR SAMPLING AND CONSOLIDATION OF SEDIMENTS: APPLICATION TO BURNT SOILS FROM AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN AUSTRIA

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 1129
Author(s):  
E. Aidona ◽  
R. Scholger ◽  
H. J. Mauritsch
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Natural Remanent Magnetization ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Stable Component ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Stability

An archaeomagnetic study requires samples to be oriented very precisely prior to the removal from the site and to be transported safely since most of the times the collected samples are very soft and fragile. In this study we present new techniques for sampling and consolidation of sediments and unconsolidated soils, which are useful tools for palaeomagnetic and archaeomagnetic investigations. An application of the above techniques has been performed in burnt soils (roastbeds) in an archaeological site near Eisenerz (Austria), which used to be a cooper-smelting place in Bronze Age (around 1450 b.c.) Several roast beds have been collected and consolidated in order to investigate the distribution and the stability of the magnetization of these materials. We obtained around 350 samples and the natural remanent magnetization and the magnetic susceptibility of all these samples have been measured with a 2G squid cryogenetic magnetometer and a GEOFYSIKA KLY-2 susceptibility meter, respectively. Plots of the natural remanent magnetization and magnetic susceptibility versus depth indicate different layers of heating and give some first evidences for the use of these soils during the smelting procedure. Higher values of the intensity of the magnetization as well as of the magnetic susceptibility represent the more intense heating layer. Magnetic cleaning (thermal and Af demagnetization) of pilot samples revealed the presence of a stable component of magnetization. It seems, therefore, that these types of materials are suitable for an archaeomagnetic investigation, since they are able to record and preserve all the necessary magnetic information and provide important knowledge concerning the recent history of the Earth's magnetic field.

Paleomagnetism of Late Archean metavolcanics and metasediments, Abitibi orogen, Canada: tholeiites of the Kinojevis Group

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Wm. Geissman ◽  
David W. Strangway ◽  
Ann M. Tasillo-Hirt ◽  
Larry S. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Regional Metamorphism ◽  
Natural Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
High Coercivity ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Magnetic Viscosity ◽  
Secular Variations ◽  
Temperature Time

Iron-rich and magnesium-rich basaltic tholeiites of the latest Archean Kinojevis Group, central Abitibi Belt, northeastern Ontario, contain a natural remanent magnetization that is generally multivectorial. The components in all units reside in essentially pure magnetite, not the original titanomagnetites (where x for Fe3−xTixO4 probably was 0.60–0.65). Any original TRM was lost by chemical reconstitution of the magnetic oxides in response to primary deuteric conditions, long-term burial, regional metamorphism to prehnite–pumpellyite facies, and possibly intrusion by Matachewan dikes. Data from contact tests with Matachewan dikes indicate that the units are indeed capable of retaining a very latest Archean – earliest Proterozoic field (e.g., D = 194.9°, I = −14.3°, k = 8.1, α95 = 7.9°; n = 45 vectors, 38 samples). High-coercivity, high-blocking-temperature directions from samples from other flows, corrected for nearly penecontemporaneous downwarping, are in only crude agreement with those of Matachewan dikes, possibly suggesting that these components reflect a general Late Archean – Early Proterozoic field for the Superior Province. The paleomagnetic data from Kinojevis tholeiites indicate the emplacement, burial, and tight downwarping of the 10 km or so of Kinojevis stratigraphy were nearly synchronous with Matachewan intrusion. The Kinojevis data by themselves cannot be taken as statistically reliable indicators of the pre- (or immediately post-) Matachewan geomagnetic field nor can temperature–time relations for magnetic viscosity be used to predict the preservation of a statistically reliable TRM in any of these units. Individual magnetization components were blocked over geologically short periods of time, whereas the ensemble of data from discrete flows must record secular variations, field excursions, and possibly long-term polar wander.

Viscosité magnétique potentielle, aimantation détritique et viscosité réelle d'un sédiment lacustre quaternaire

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 1903-1912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Biquand ◽  
François Sémah
Keyword(s):  
Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Rock Magnetism ◽  
Viscosity Index ◽  
Natural Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Blocking Temperature ◽  
Magnetic Viscosity ◽  
Paleomagnetic Study ◽  
Temperature Spectra

The magnetic viscosity of sediments, as indicated by thermal demagnetization of natural remanent magnetization (NRM), depends on two main parameters: (i) the specific magnetic viscosity of the material and (ii) the efficiency of the primary magnetization process. In an attempt to determine the relative importance of these two variables, we studied a Lower Pleistocene lacustrine sequence bearing a primary reversed detrital remanent magnetization (DRM).Using natural samples and small cores made of crushed sediment, our study is based on the thermodynamic theory of rock magnetism developed by L. Néel, who established an equivalence between time and temperature, that is, between viscous remanent (VRM) and thermoremanent (TRM) magnetization processes. The determination of the blocking temperature spectra from 20 to 152 °C allows us to calculate the maximum theoretical VRM acquired in situ at each horizon, while the detailed thermal study of the NRM permits an appraisal of the DRM quality. This leads us to define a geological viscosity index, which accounts, in a rather convincing manner, for the behaviour of the samples observed during the classical paleomagnetic study. For the section studied, it appears that the variations of this index are closely correlated with the efficiency of the DRM acquisition process.

Paleomagnetism of Archean rocks from northwestern Ontario: V. Poohbah Lake alkaline complex, Quetico Subprovince

1985 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Dunlop
Keyword(s):  
Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Natural Remanent Magnetization ◽  
Reverse Polarity ◽  
Alkaline Complex ◽  
Field Reversal ◽  
Polar Wander ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Normal Polarity

The Poohbah Lake alkaline complex is a late synkinematic Kenoran pluton in the Quetico gneiss belt of the western Superior Province. Three units of the complex, porphyritic syenite (PS), malignite (M: a nepheline–clinopyroxene–K-feldspar rock), and hornblende syenite (HS), as well as baked Archean schists near the intrusive contact, have a predominantly reverse-polarity R magnetization with mean direction D = 198° I = −22.5° (k = 62, α95 = 5°, N = 13 sites) and a paleopole at 60°E, 50.5°N. Pyrrhotite and coarse primary magnetite are carriers of the R remanence. PS, M, and biotite pyroxenite (BP) exhibit also a predominantly normal N magnetization carried by fine-grained, probably secondary magnetite. N is systematically steeper than R: its mean direction is D = 359.5° I = +55.5° (k = 28, α95 = 8°, N = 13 sites) with a paleopole at 90°E, 77.5°N. R and N do not record an asymmetric field reversal, since reverse-polarity N vectors and normal-polarity R vectors are occasionally found. R resembles in polarity and direction the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of the 2630 Ma Matachewan diabase. It is probably the primary NRM of the Poohbah Lake pluton, with an age of about 2650 Ma in approximate agreement with the K/Ar isochron age of 2700 ± 25 Ma. N resembles in polarity and direction NRM's from the 2580 Ma Shelley Lake granite and the late Archean Burchell Lake granite. It is probably a secondary NRM about 2550 Ma in age, as suggested by updated K/Ar mica ages. The characteristic NRM of HS samples and secondary magnetizations in other rock types have poles on the Grenville Track of the polar wander path but there is no evidence for Grenvillian-age events in the area.

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