Magneto-biostratigraphy of the Upper Triassic bedded chert succession from the Mino Belt, Inuyama area, central Japan: correlation to Tethyan sections

Abstract:

Late Triassic magnetostratigraphy and biostratigraphy has recently been investigated in both continental and Tethyan marine sequences (Hounslow and Muttoni, 2010). However, there is no agreed on geomagnetic polarity timescale (GPTS) for the Late Triassic, because of poor age control of many Late Triassic magnetostratigraphic sections, missing or duplicated intervals, and within- section changes in sedimentation rates (Lucas, 2013).

Here we present lower Carnian to upper Norian magnetostratigraphy and biostratigraphy (conodont and radiolaria) of the Upper Triassic bedded chert successions from the Mino belt, Inuyama area, central Japan. The bedded chert was deposited in a mid-oceanic basin of the Panthalassa Ocean. Chert samples were collected at two sections (Sakahogi and Momotaro sections) where Sugiyama (1997) investigated the radiolarian biostratigraphy. Based on detailed study of the conodont biostratigraphy from the study sections, five conodont zones are recognized in ascending order as follows: lower Carnian lower Quadralella polygnathiformis zone, upper Carnian upper Quadralella polygnathiformis zone, lower Norian Epigondolella quadrata zone, middle Norian Epigondolella postera zone, and late Norian Epigondolella bidentata zone. Thermal demagnetization showed four distinct remanent magnetization components from the cherts. The highest blocking temperature component shows positive reversal test and is regarded as the primary remanent magnetization, which produced a magnetostratigraphy of the lower Carnian to upper Norian. The magnetostratigraphy consists of 15 substantive normal- reverse polarity chrons, defined by sampling at 256 stratigraphic levels. Paleomagnetic polarity reversals observed at the vicinity of Carnian/Norian boundary and middle Norian/upper Norian boundary are correlated with those of Tethyan marine sections (Pizzo Mondello and Silickà Brezovà). Assuming that the rocks in the two Tethyan marine sections were deposited in the Northern Hemisphere, the magnetostratigraphic correlation indicates that the bedded chert of Inuyama area was deposited in the Northern Hemisphere. The mean inclination of the last demagnetized component suggests the bedded chert originated in an equatorial area.