New Paleomagnetic Results from the Upper Belt – Purcell Supergroup of Alberta

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Stable remanent directions have been obtained from fifteen sites located in the Purcell, Shepard and Kintla Formations of the upper Belt – Purcell Supergroup. The geomagnetic polarity sequence revealed by these and other studies suggests that the frequency of reversals was probably an order of magnitude lower than that observed over the last few million years. The polarity transitions have considerable potential as regional, and possibly, global, time lines for geological correlation.The paleomagnetic pole obtained (142 °W, 17 °S, dp = 4°, dm = 7°) agrees well with other results from the Belt Supergroup. It falls in a cluster of poles derived from various geological provinces of the Canadian Shield, which may imply that the shield was an integral unit as early as 1400 m.y. ago. However, the constancy of the pole position obtained from Belt rocks thought by some workers to be as young as 1100 m.y. conflicts with the large northward polar excursion (the Logan Loop) derived from other provinces. Possible explanations of this apparent conflict are discussed.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: