Paleomagnetic results from Late Carboniferous to Early Permian rocks in the northern Qiangtang terrane, Tibet, China, and their tectonic implications

Paleomagnetic Study on the Permian Rocks of the Indochina Block and Its Implications for Paleogeographic Configuration and Northward Drifting of Cathaysialand in the Paleo‐Tethys

“…The recognition of ophiolite, high-pressure metamorphic rocks (eclogite and blueschist) from central Qiangtang (Kapp et al, 2000(Kapp et al, , 2003Zhai et al, 2007Zhai et al, , 2009Zhai et al, , 2011Zhang et al, 2006) suggests the Longmucuo-Shuanghu Suture between the North Qiangtang and South Qiangtang blocks may be the westward extension of the Changning-Menglian Suture and represents the main suture zone of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean (Metcalfe, 2013;Zhai et al, 2011). Paleomagnetic data isolated from Late Carboniferous to Early Permian sedimentary rocks (Yang et al, 2017) and Early Permian (296.9 ± 1.9 Ma) volcanic rocks (Song et al, 2017) indicated similar paleolatitudinal position (30-34°S; Figure 7 and Table S2) for the North Qiangtang Block, which is in good agreement with the paleo-position of the South China Block as synthesized by Cocks and Torsvik (2013). Note that the synthesized apparent polar wander paths of the South China Block in Cocks and Torsvik (2013) should be used cautiously because inclination correction with a factor of 0.6 to all clastic sedimentary rocks and may lead to an unnecessary 10.1029/2018JB015511…”

Paleomagnetic Constraints on the Origin and Drift History of the North Qiangtang Terrane in the Late Paleozoic

“…Few paleomagnetic results from the Permian and Triassic rocks from the Qiangtang terrane have been reported, mainly due to a lack of proper sections for paleomagnetic sampling (Cheng et al, 2012(Cheng et al, , 2013Lin & Watts, 1988;Song et al, 2012;Yang et al, 2017;Ye & Li, 1987). We have summarized available data in Table S4 in supporting information (Figure 1b).…”

Paleomagnetic Constraint on the Carboniferous Paleoposition of Indochina and Its Implications for the Evolution of Eastern Paleo‐Tethys Ocean

“…As demonstrated by recent paleomagnetic studies (Cheng et al, 2013; Ma et al, 2019; Song et al, 2017; Yan et al, 2018, 2019; Yang et al, 2016), the quick movement of North Qiangtang from the intermediate latitudes of Southern Hemisphere to the equatorial area happened since the earliest Permian, and the rapid drift of Indochina occurred since the early‐middle Permian, while the South China Block held its position in the equatorial area till the middle Triassic (Figure 7). The sequential start of rapid drifting of the blocks might imply that the driven force was possibly sourced from a strike‐slip process.…”

“…In this study, the paleomagnetic data (Table 1 and Figure 5) provide two plausible positions at a latitude of ~18.4° in the Northern or Southern Hemispheres for the Indochina in the middle Carboniferous (~315 Ma) because of the symmetry of geomagnetic dipole field. We prefer that the Indochina Bock was located at 18.4 ± 4.0°S because of two reasons: first, its paleobiogeographic (Audley‐Charles, 1983) and lithofacies paleogeographic (Helmcke, 1985) relationships with North Qiangtang has long been documented (Li, 1987; Li et al, 1995; Metcalfe, 1996, 2013), and the Late Carboniferous‐Permian northward transition of North Qiangtang from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere has been reconstructed paleomagnetically (Cheng et al, 2013; Ma et al, 2019; Song et al, 2017; Yang et al, 2016). Therefore, it is reasonable to consider that Late Carboniferous Indochina was located at the Southern Hemisphere; second, the breakup of the South China Block from Gondwana during the Middle‐Late Devonian was proved by paleomagnetic studies (Xian et al, 2019; Yang et al, 2004), which is consistent with the initial occurrence of pelagic radiolarian cherts and ophiolites in the Paleo‐Tethys suture zone (Li et al, 1995, 2016; Metcalfe, 2013; Zhong, 1998).…”

“…Paleolatitude variation of Indochina, North Qiangtang, South China (Huang et al, 2018; Wu et al, 1998), and that of Eurasia and India of Gondwana (Torsvik et al, 2012). References of data: Indochina (Achache & Courtillot, 1985; Chi et al, 2016; Yan et al, 2017, 2018; Yang & Besse, 2001) and North Qiangtang (Cheng et al, 2012, 2013; Huang et al, 1992; Song et al, 2012, 2015, 2017; Yang et al, 2016). …”