The First Paleomagnetic data from the Cambrian basalts of Henrietta Island (De Long Archipelago, Arctic Ocean)

Abstract:

Henrietta Island in De Long archipelago (East-Siberian sea) still remains poorly studied geologically but last investigations show that its volcano-sedimentary sequences can help reconstruct tectonic evolution of East Russian Arctic in Early Paleozoic stage. The deposits lying on Precambrian basements are deformed to varying degrees and intruded by mafic dykes.The study was carried out on two basaltic lava flows whose ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age is 520.6±9.5 Ma. Previously the age of these basalts was assumed Cretaceous. According to available data the underlaying sediments contain zircons with Cambrian and Ordovician ages but all boundaries between these basalts and other strata are tectonic. So we suppose the age of basalts as Middle Cambrian but more precise geochronological data are required. All magnetic measurements were performed at the Laboratory of Geodynamics and Paleomagnetism of Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics (Novosibirsk). Basalt samples has relatively high magnetic susceptibility values varying from 5x10^-4 to 180x10^-4SI units. NRM values range is from 3 to 170 mA/m. Petromagnetic parameters including also coercive characteristics point at the good potentially preserving primary magnetization. Stepwise thermal demagnetization permits to isolate characteristic components of magnetization and calculate mean directions in two lava flows: 1. Ds=294.3°, Is=29.1°, K=81.1, α95=5.1; 2. Ds=301.0°, Is=28.3°, K=34.4, α95=7.9). The mean paleomagnetic pole has coordinates: Plat=20.9°, Plong = 42.6°, dp/dm=14.3/7.9. Paleolatitude was defined as 15.3° but the question of the hemisphere for De Long Islands is open yet. In case of south hemisphere in Middle Cambrian according to available paleomagnetic data De Long islands could be placed close to Taimyr margin of Siberia and in case of northern hemisphere they may be located near south (in present-day coordinates) margin of Siberia.

The work was supported by grant RFBR 14-05-31399 and Russian Research Fund 14-37-00030.