How Did the North China Craton Move from Nuna to Rodinia

Abstract:

Several models that include the paleogeographic positions of the North China Craton (NCC) in Precambrian supercontinents Nuna and Rodinia were tested in this study using Proterozoic global paleomagnetic database. During ca. 1.8 – 1.4 Ga, the NCC can be placed far from Laurentia and Baltica. In Nuna, the present southern margin of the NCC faced an open ocean, whilst its present northern margin was likely connected to Indian and Australian cratons. In Rodinia, however, during ca. 1.1 – 0.85 Ga, the paleomagnetic data indicate a proximate connection between the NCC and the arctic side of Laurentia. These two models, if both are right, suggest that the NCC may have moved a long distance since the departure from Nuna to the joining of Rodinia. Moreover, paleomagnetic data and our reconstructions require many cratons to drift away from their connections in Nuna after ca. 1.35 Ga. These reconstructions strongly challenges the currently influential speculation of limited breakup of Nuna, which is mainly based on the observation of low abundance of passive margins that were formed during the boring billion years (ca. 1.75 – 0.75 Ga).