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[Display omitted] • The Taga area of the Tethyan Himalaya was located at 54.7° ± 12.0°S at ca. 147–140 Ma. • The eruption periods of the Comei igneous rocks are similar to the Bunbury basalt. • The paleolatitudes of the Comei-Bunbury LIP are similar to the Kerguelen mantle plume. • The Comei-Bunbury LIP originated from the Kerguelen mantle plume. The causal link between the Comei-Bunbury large igneous province (CBLIP) and the Kerguelen mantle plume (KMP) remains a topic of debate. Here, a new paleomagnetic study was conducted on the Zhela Formation basalts and sandstones (ca. 147–140 Ma) in the Taga area of the eastern Tethyan Himalaya (TH). The sandstone specimens had erratic demagnetization patterns, and reliable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) directions could not be isolated. Positive fold and reversal tests indicate that the ChRM directions of the Zhela Formation basalts should be the primary magnetization. The tilt-corrected site-mean direction from 18 sites is D/I = 87.8°/70.0° (α 95 = 6.8°), yielded a paleopole of 21.6°N/130.2°E (A 95 = 12.0°) and a paleolatitude of 54.7° ± 12.0°S for the study area (28.4°N, 91.8°E). Comparison with robust latest Jurassic and Early Cretaceous paleomagnetic, geochemical, and geochronological data from the eastern TH, northeastern Indian craton, and southwestern Australia reveal that (1) the eruption periods of the Comei igneous rocks are similar to the Bunbury basalt (and the Naturaliste Plateau volcanic rocks); (2) the original erupted positions of the Comei-Bunbury (CB) igneous rocks were in agreement with the reconstructed KMP; and (3) the CBLIP originated from the KMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of the Grenvillian‐age ophiolite suites in the Yangtze block in recent years suggested that the northern Yangtze subblock (NYB) and the southern Yangtze subblock (SYB) were once separated by an ocean in late Mesoproterozoic. Although some paleogeographic models advocated the Pre‐Grenvillian connections between the south China blocks and Laurentia, none of them has been paleomagnetically tested. Here we report the new paleomagnetic results obtained from the ∼1,270 Ma purplish‐red muddy dolomite beds of the Luanshigou Formation, Shennongjia Group, NYB, providing new constraints for reconstructing the paleogeographic positions of the south China blocks in late Mesoproterozoic. A total of 447 samples underwent stepwise thermal demagnetization. Two components were identified. The low‐temperature component is interpreted as the recent viscous remnant magnetization. The high‐temperature component was obtained from 64 samples below 580°C and from 177 samples below 690°C, directed northeast‐up or southwest‐down, antipodally, positioning the paleomagnetic pole at 18.5°S, 74.4°E (dm/dp = 2.5/1.6°). Rock magnetic results demonstrate that the magnetic carriers in purplish‐red dolomite and pale‐pink dolomite are predominated by hematite and magnetite, respectively. The data quality is supported by an inverse baked contact test, a B‐class reversal test, and the paleomagnetic pole is distinct from any younger poles of the region. Based on the paleomagnetic results, aided by geological evidence, we propose a reconstruction in which the NYB was juxtaposed to southwestern Laurentia in the late Mesoproterozoic and suggest that the late Mesoproterozoic Miaowan‐Shimian ophiolite zone in the Yangtze block was likely an extension of the Grenville belt of Laurentia. Plain Language Summary: The south China block was traditionally subdivided into the Yangtze block to the northwest and the Cathaysia block to the southeast, which were separated by an early Neoproterozoic ocean. Recently published geological data further suggest that the Yangtze block contains two subblocks, the NYB and the SYB, which were separated by a late Mesoproterozoic ocean. Several paleogeographic models proposed the Mesoproterozoic relationships between the south China blocks and Laurentia, but none has been paleomagnetically tested. Here we report a new paleomagnetic pole obtained from the ∼1,270 Ma purplish‐red dolomite beds of the Luanshigou Formation, Shennongjia Group in the NYB. The data quality is assured by the positive paleomagnetic field tests. Our results combing with the geological evidence suggest that the NYB was located in a low‐latitudinal position and connected to southwestern Laurentia in the late Mesoproterozoic. The late Mesoproterozoic ophiolite zone in the southern margin of the NYB was likely an extension of the Grenville belt. Key Points: A new paleomagnetic pole (18.5°S, 74.4°E, dm/dp = 2.5/1.6°) was obtained from the late Mesoproterozoic Luanshigou Formation of the Shennongjia Group in south ChinaThe northern Yangtze subblock (NYB) was connected to southwestern Laurentia at the late MesoproterozoicThe late Mesoproterozoic Miaowan‐Shimian suture zone in the southern margin of the NYB was likely an extension of the Grenvillian orogenic belt [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of formation of the Hegenshan suture is crucial to understanding the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Here we present a well‐dated paleomagnetic pole (103 samples from 15 sites, 36.7°N/29.2°E, A95 = 3.3°) that passed a positive fold test, a reversal test, and a conglomerate test from the ∼250 Ma upper Gunbayn Formation andesites in the southeastern Mongolia Block (MOB). The high‐quality paleomagnetic database may demonstrate that the MOB drifted rapidly southward and collided with the Xilinhot–Songliao Block between 256 and 250 Ma, resulting in the closure of the Hegenshan Ocean at ∼250 Ma. The Hegenshan suture and the Solonker suture were formed almost simultaneously and marked the final closure of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean. Plain Language Summary: The Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is the largest accretionary orogenic belt on earth since begin of the Phanerozoic. Since the Late Paleozoic, two prominent sutures, namely the Hegenshan and Solonker sutures, have played crucial roles in the tectonic evolution of the eastern CAOB, as they were associated with the closure of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean (PAO). The timing of the formation of the Hegenshan suture, however, remains ambiguous due to the lack of reliable paleomagnetic data. In this study, we present accurately dated paleomagnetic constraints on the paleogeographic position of the Mongolia Block (MOB), located on the northern side of the Hegenshan suture, at ∼250 Ma. By combining high‐quality Late Permian–Early Triassic paleomagnetic data with geological evidence, we propose a new reconstruction that suggests the near‐simultaneous closure of both the Hegenshan and Solonker oceans around 250 Ma. This significant event marks the final disappearance of the PAO and represents a fundamental stage in the establishment of the tectonic framework of the eastern CAOB at that time. Key Points: We report a well‐dated ∼250 Ma paleomagnetic pole from the Mongolia BlockThe closure of both the Hegenshan and Solonker oceans at ∼250 Ma marked the final disappearance of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paleogeography of the Tethyan Himalaya (TH) during the Mesozoic is vital to constrain the evolutionary history of the Neo‐Tethys Ocean, but reliable paleomagnetic data from Jurassic rocks in this area are scarce. Here, we report the first high‐quality paleomagnetic results from the Middle Jurassic (∼175–173 Ma) Lanongla Formation limestones in the Nyalam area of the TH. For most specimens, stepwise thermal or hybrid demagnetization reveals two well‐defined magnetization components. A low‐temperature component, which is isolated between natural remanent magnetization and 200–300°C, is consistent with the present geomagnetic field direction. A high‐temperature component, which is isolated between 300–350°C/10–25 mT and 500–580°C/60–120 mT, passes fold tests at the 95% and 99% confidence level, indicating a prefolding primary magnetization. The tilt‐corrected site‐mean direction for 28 paleomagnetic sites is Ds = 331.0° and Is = −49.9° with α95 = 2.7°, which provides a Fisherian site‐mean paleopole at 23.7°N, 292.9°E with A95 = 2.8° and a paleolatitude of 31.7 ± 2.8°S for the Nyalam study area (28.6°N, 86.1°E). A comparison between the reliable Middle Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous poles obtained from the TH and those observed from the Lhasa terrane reveals that the Neo‐Tethys Ocean for the reference point (29.1°N, 86.1°E) had a latitudinal width of 3,500 ± 1,000 km at ∼174 Ma, reached its greatest width of 7,000 ± 1,000 km at ∼137 Ma, and had an average latitudinal spreading rate of ∼10.4 cm/year during ∼174–137 Ma. Plain Language Summary: The Neo‐Tethys Ocean here refers to the prehistoric ocean that existed between the Lhasa terrane to the north and the Indian plate to the south during the much of the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic. Knowledge of the development of the Neo‐Tethys Ocean is crucial to understanding the evolution of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. However, the opening of the Neo‐Tethys Ocean remains controversial. In this work, we report what we consider is the first high‐quality Middle Jurassic age paleopole from the Tethyan Himalaya, which shows that the Nyalam area was located at 31.7 ± 2.8°S at ∼174 Ma and that the Neo‐Tethys Ocean was at least ∼3,500 km wide in a N–S direction at that time. Key Points: The Nyalam area of the Tethyan Himalaya (TH) was located at 31.7 ± 2.8°S at ∼174 MaThe Neo‐Tethys Ocean opened a latitudinal width of ∼3,500 km at ∼174 Ma and reached its greatest width of ∼7,000 km at ∼137 MaThe Neo‐Tethys Ocean had an average latitudinal spreading rate of ∼10.4 cm/year during ∼174–137 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies highlight the debates about the role of the northwestern China blocks, for example, north Tarim block, south Tarim block (STB), Altyn Tagh block (ATB) and Qaidam‐Qilian block (QQB) during the assembly of Rodinia. We herein present a combined paleomagnetic, geochronological, and geochemical study on 16 mafic dikes in the northern ATB. After removing a recent viscous remanent magnetization, three characteristic remanent magnetization components (CHs) were isolated. CH1 was identified in eight NW‐trending diabase dikes, one of which was newly dated at 895.3 ± 7.7 Ma through use of SHRIMP baddeleyite U‐Pb methodology. It yields a mean direction (D/I) of 123.3°/−42.2° (α95 = 12.1°). The paleopole (40.9°S/184.6°E, A95 = 11.7°) was calculated by averaging eight virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) from each dike. A partial baked‐contact test supports the primary origin of CH1. CH2 was isolated from three E‐W trending diabase dikes, pointing northwest with considerably shallower downward inclinations. CH3 was obtained from five lamprophyre dikes, directing southeast with moderate to shallow upward inclinations. However, the VGPs of either CH2 or CH3 are insufficient to average a precise mean pole. Geochemical analyses also reveal petrogenetic discrepancy among the dikes with distinct CHs. Combining the new ∼895 Ma pole of CH1 with the global paleomagnetic database and being aided by geological evidence, we propose that the STB‐ATB‐QQB and the north China craton were located along the northwestern side of Laurentia in Rodinia at ∼895 Ma, and suggest the connection might have been intact until ∼780 Ma. Plain Language Summary: The paleogeographic positions of the northwestern China blocks, including the north Tarim block, the south Tarim block, the Altyn Tagh block (ATB) and the Qaidam‐Qilian block in the Rodinia supercontinent, remain enigmatic and highly controversial. Here we present new paleomagnetic geochronological and geochemical data from three groups of the mafic dikes in the northern ATB. Our new results, in combination with other coeval paleomagnetic poles and geological evidence, support a specific proximity among the south Tarim, Altyn Tagh, Qaidam‐Qilian blocks and the north China craton along the northwestern side of Laurentia between ∼895 and ∼780 Ma. Key Points: A new paleomagnetic pole was obtained from eight early Neoproterozoic mafic dikes in the northern Altyn Tagh blockThe pole was dated at 895.3 ± 7.7 Ma using baddeleyite U‐Pb SHRIMP methodologyThe adjacent south Tarim‐Altyn Tagh‐Qaidam‐Qilian block and north China craton were located at NW side of Laurentia on the periphery of Rodinia [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paleogeographic position of the Xilinhot–Songliao Block (XSB) is crucial to understand the spatiotemporal relationship between the Paleo‐Asian Ocean (PAO) and East Paleo‐Tethys Ocean (EPTO) tectonic domains. However, the lack of robust early Permian paleomagnetic data in the XSB has led to uncertainty in its paleogeographic position. Here, we report a well‐dated (286.1–281.25 Ma) paleomagnetic pole (38.4°N/17.6°E, A95 = 4.0°) from andesites of the Dashizhai Formation in the XSB. We combined our paleomagnetic data with available geological and paleontological data to reconstruct the paleogeographic relationship between the PAO and EPTO. The XSB was located on the northern margin of the EPTO at ∼285 Ma, suggesting that the northern boundary of the EPTO tectonic domain extended to the southern margin of the XSB, the Hegenshan Ocean (between the XSB and the Mongolia Block) corresponds to the eastern PAO, and the XSB separated the eastern PAO and EPTO at ∼285 Ma. Plain Language Summary: The evolution of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean (PAO) and the East Paleo‐Tethys Ocean (EPTO) tectonic domains constructed the late Paleozoic paleogeographic pattern of Central and East Asia. Due to contradictions between the tectonic paleogeography and paleobiogeography of the Xilinhot–Songliao Block (XSB) during the early Permian, the spatiotemporal relationship between the two tectonic domains has been unclear. In this study, we present well‐dated paleomagnetic constraints on the paleogeographic position of the XSB at ca. 285 Ma. We provide a new reconstruction for the Northeast Asian block, which suggests that the XSB was located between the eastern PAO and the EPTO during that time and was the intermediate unit that separated the two tectonic domains. Key Points: The Xilinhot–Songliao Block (XSB) was located at ∼19.3°N on the northern margin of the East Paleo‐Tethys Ocean (EPTO) at 285 MaThe northern boundary of the EPTO tectonic domain extended to the southern margin of the XSBThe Hegenshan Ocean between the XSB and Mongolia Block was the main ocean basin of the eastern Paleo‐Asian Ocean at 285 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paleogeographic affinity of the south China craton (SCC) with India in the Neoproterozoic has long been advocated based on lines of geological evidence. However, the lack of coeval paleomagnetic data renders the putative connection ambiguous. Here we report new paleomagnetic results obtained from seven ca. 770 Ma mafic sills in SCC that provide new critical constraints on the issue. The data quality is assured by a positive regional tilt test, a reversal test, and by adequately averaging‐out paleosecular variation. Our data, together with coeval poles from the global paleomagnetic database, support a reconstruction in which the SCC was connected with India at ca. 770 Ma via linkages with smaller continental blocks. The SCC‐India landmass was located at high‐to‐mid latitudes and far from Laurentia and Australia, which were located at low latitudes at ca. 770 Ma. Plain Language Summary: Multiple lines of geological evidence may suggest a close paleogeographic relationship between the south China craton (SCC) and India. Their specific connection, including the alignment of tectonic features, if had ever existed in any way, can be tested and determined through the use of coeval high‐quality paleomagnetic data from the two cratons. In this paper, we report a new paleomagnetic pole obtained from seven ca. 770 Ma mafic sills in the SCC, which is coeval to the pole obtained from the Malani igneous suite in India. The data quality of both poles is assured by robust paleomagnetic field tests. Our reconstruction based on the updated paleomagnetic database and geological data demonstrates that the SCC was connected with India at ca. 770 Ma via linkages with other smaller Asian blocks. Furthermore, the SCC‐India landmass was located at high‐to‐mid latitudes and far from the core of Rodinia, for example, Laurentia and Australia, which were located at low latitudes at ca. 770 Ma. Key Points: A new paleomagnetic pole (25.6°N, 116.8°E, A95 = 9.9°) was obtained from ca. 770 Ma mafic sills in South ChinaSouth China was connected to India via Indochina and small Asian blocks at ca. 770 MaThe South China‐India landmass was located at high‐to‐mid latitudes and far away from the core of Rodinia at ca. 770 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing and location India–Asia collision is crucial to understanding the evolution of the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen and global climate change; however, estimates of the timing of the India–Asia collision and the size of Greater India remain highly controversial. We report here the first reliable early Eocene paleomagnetic results from the Zhepure Formation limestone in the Tethyan Himalaya (TH). Both positive fold and reversal tests indicate a primary origin. The tilt‐corrected site‐mean direction is Ds = 332.6°, Is = 20.1°, ks = 90.9, α95 = 2.8° (N = 30). The site‐mean inclination increased from 20.1° to 27.5° after inclination shallowing correction, yielding a paleopole at 61.2°N, 337.3°E, A95 = 2.6° and a corresponding paleolatitude of 15.2° ± 2.6°N for the reference point (29.5°N, 91.0°E). Our new paleomagnetic results, together with the reliable Cretaceous to Paleogene paleomagnetic results from the TH, Lhasa terrane and Indian craton, suggest that there was ∼900–1,140 km north‐south crustal shortening occurred between the TH and the Indian craton, and that India collided with Asia at no later than ∼51–49.5 Ma. Plain Language Summary: The India–Asia collision is among the most intriguing topics in earth sciences because of its influence on global climate and Cenozoic topography. However, several questions still remain unanswered, such as: how big was Greater India? When, where, and how did the India collide with Asia? We report the first reliable early Eocene paleopole from the TH and assess the timing of the India–Asia collision and the size of Greater India. Our results suggest a relatively small Greater India, and that India collided with Asia at no later than ∼51–49.5 Ma. The constraints on the India–Asia collision indicated by our data provide new boundary conditions for the history of the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen and global climate change. Key Points: The Tethyan Himalaya (TH) was located at 15.2° ± 2.6°N at ∼51–49.5 MaThere was ∼900–1,140 km north‐south crustal shortening occurred between the TH and the Indian cratonIndia collided with Asia at no later than ∼51–49.5 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precollisional locations and geometries of the Lhasa terrane (LT) are critical to constrain the India‐Asia collision. However, the inclinations of the Cretaceous paleomagnetic data obtained from the northern limb of folds are obviously lower than those obtained from the southern limb, which cause large discrepant paleolatitudes of the LT prior to India‐Asia collision. Here, we carried out a new paleomagnetic investigation on the Late Cretaceous Jingzhushan Formation red beds in the far western LT. The tilt‐corrected site mean direction yielded a palaeopole at 74.4°N, 226.0°E with A95 = 3.8° (N = 54). This paleomagnetic data set passes fold tests and indicates that the studied area was located at 19.6° ± 3.8°N during the Late Cretaceous. However, the mean inclination calculated from the northern limb of folds (Is = 19.0°) is significantly lower than that of the southern limb of folds (Is = 51.8°). This inclination discrepancy of the Jingzhushan Formation red beds may be attributed to the syntectonic sedimentation. Nevertheless, the site mean direction obtained from both limbs of folds is generally consistent with the site mean direction after syntectonic‐sedimentation correction. Our new paleomagnetic results, combined with the reliable Cretaceous paleomagnetic results from the LT showed that the southern margin of Asia had a present‐day relatively east‐west alignment prior to India‐Asia collision. Key Points: A new paleopole (74.4°N, 226.0°E with A95 = 3.8°) was obtained from the Jingzhushan Formation red beds in the far western Lhasa terraneInclination discrepancy of the Jingzhushan Formation red beds may be attributed to the syntectonic sedimentationThe southern margin of Asia had a present‐day relatively east‐west alignment prior to India‐Asia collision [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combined paleomagnetic and geochronological study was conducted on the red beds of the Zhesi Formation (ZSF) in the Xilinhot–Songliao Block (XSB) and the andesites and sandstones of the Qingfengshan Formation (QFF) in the North China Block (NCB). The ZSF tuffs and the QFF andesites were dated to 265.3 ± 1.8 Ma and 254.8–257.1 Ma, respectively, using the zircon U–Pb laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) method. A total of 246 paleomagnetic samples were subjected to stepwise thermal demagnetization. After removal of the low‐temperature viscous components acquired in the recent geomagnetic field, stable high‐temperature components (HTCs) were isolated from most samples. The HTC of the ZSF passed a fold test, and the HTC of the QFF passed both fold and reversal tests, indicating their primary origins. The corresponding paleomagnetic poles are 57.4°N/342.0°E (A95 = 4.3°) for the XSB at ~265 Ma and 54.3°N/20.2°E (A95 = 3.3°) for the NCB at ~255 Ma. Comparison of high‐quality Permian paleomagnetic poles of the XSB and NCB reveals a latitudinal convergence and relative rotation between them that led to a scissors‐like closure of the Solonker Ocean from west to east between ~265 and ~246 Ma, which controlled the mixing of the Cathaysian and Angara floras in space and time. The XSB and NCB moved rapidly northward between ~265 and ~255 Ma, which probably accelerated the end‐Guadalupian mass extinction in East Asia. Key Points: New Middle–Late Permian paleomagnetic data were obtained from Inner Mongolia on both sides of the Solonker Suture (SLS)The SLS is formed in a scissors‐like collision from west to east during 265–246 Ma, controlling the mixing of the Cathaysian and Angara florasThe East Asian blocks drifted rapidly northward during 265–255 Ma and probably accelerated the end‐Guadalupian mass extinction in East Asia [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precollisional paleolatitude of the Tethyan Himalaya is essential to constrain the India‐Asia collision, the size of Greater India, and the Neotethyan paleogeography. However, reliable Late Cretaceous‐Paleocene paleomagnetic datasets are still scarce because of serious remagnetization. Here we report the first redbed‐based paleomagnetic results from the Paleocene (60‐58 Ma) redbeds in the Saga area of the northern Tethyan Himalaya. The tilt‐corrected site‐mean direction obtained from 36 paleomagnetic sites is D=178.7°, I=9.5° with ɑ95=5.4°, corresponding to a paleopole at 55.9°N, 267.6°E with dp/dm=2.8°/5.5° and a paleolatitude of 4.8°±2.8°S for the study area (29.3°N, 85.3°E). The site‐mean inclination increased from 9.5 to 14.9° after the anisotropy‐based inclination shallowing correction, leading to corresponding paleolatitudes increasing from 4.8 to 7.6°S. This reliable paleomagnetic dataset passes positive fold tests and supports that the northern Tethyan Himalaya was located at 6.3±4.3°S during 60‐58 Ma. Comparison with the coeval paleolatitudes expected from the Indian craton indicates that a north‐south crustal shortening of 3.1±5.5° (340±610 km) occurred between the Indian craton and the northern Tethyan Himalaya after 59 Ma, and no wide ocean extended between them after the Latest Jurassic. Our new Paleocene results together with reliable Cretaceous paleomagnetic results from the Lhasa terrane show that the India‐Asia collision occurred at 47.1±4.5 Ma. Key Points: The Saga area of the northern Tethyan Himalaya at ~59 Ma lay at 6.3°±4.3°SNeither wide Ocean extension nor >1,000 km crustal shortening occurred between Indian craton and Tethyan Himalaya after the latest JurassicThe India‐Asia collision occurred at 47.1±4.5 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paleogeographic relationship between South China and Gondwana is critical for understanding the dispersion of Gondwana, accretion of Asia, and evolution of the Paleo‐Tethys. However, the lack of robust Devonian paleomagnetic data prevents a confirmative reconstruction of South China's connection to Gondwana and its subsequent separation during the Paleozoic. Here we report a new paleopole (33.6°N, 236.4°E; A95 = 3°) from the Givetian red beds (~385 Ma) in central South China. Fitting apparent polar wander paths between South China and Gondwana suggests that South China was connected to East Gondwana from the earliest Cambrian to Early Devonian, with its position closed to NW Australia. Thereafter, South China separated from Gondwana during ~400–385 Ma, as evidenced by their decoupled apparent polar wander paths. The paleomagnetic data suggest that the Paleo‐Tethys Ocean between South China and East Gondwana had been up to ~1,600 km latitudinally wide by ~360 Ma. Plain Language Summary: South China is thought to have drifted away from the north Gondwana margin during the Paleozoic. Two critical questions remain unanswered: (1) How did South China connect to Gondwana? (2) When and how did South China break up from Gondwana? Here we present new paleomagnetic evidence for the connection and separation between South China and Gondwana. Our results, in combination with existing data, suggest that South China was connected to East Gondwana from ~540 to ~400 Ma, with its position closed to northwest Australia. South China broke up from Gondwana during ~400–385 Ma, accompanied with the opening of the Paleo‐Tethys Ocean. By ~360 Ma, South China was separated from East Gondwana by the ocean with a N–S width of ~1,600 km. Key Points: A new paleopole (33.6°N, 236.4°E; A95 = 3°) was obtained from the Givetian red beds (~385 Ma) in South ChinaSouth China was connected to East Gondwana during ~540–400 Ma, with its position closed to northwest AustraliaSouth China broke up from East Gondwana during ~400–385 Ma and they were separated by an ocean with a N–S width of ~1,600 km by ~360 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the impact of the growing radiation and climate changes during the Ordovician magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy period.

To better constrain the origin and drift history of the North Qiangtang terrane (NQT), we report a well‐dated paleomagnetic pole from the Late Permian volcanics of the NQT that appears to average out secular variation. Our new results yield a paleolatitude of −7.6 ± 5.6°N at ~259 Ma for our sampling area, which confirms the NQT drifted northward during the Permian and Triassic periods. The equatorial paleolatitude of the NQT is similar to that of the coeval South China block, demonstrating that they were in close proximity. Combined with palaeontological and magmatic evidence, paleomagnetic constraints on the drift of the NQT in the Permian indicate that the NQT moved northward together with the South China block at this time. The paleolatitude evolution of the NQT implies that the NQT rifted from the northern margin of the Gondwana in the Devonian, which is earlier than the departure time of the South Qiangtang terrane. Plain Language Summary: The Tibetan Plateau is composed of several different blocks that accreted to the southern margin of Asia. There are still several unanswered questions, such as the following: Where did these blocks originate? How did these blocks accrete to Asia? How did the oceanic basin evolve? In this work, we provide robust evidence to show that the Northern Qiangtang was located at equatorial latitude (−7.6 ± 5.6°N) during the Late Permian (~259 Ma). The northward drift history together with features of the Northern Qiangtang and South China block indicates that they moved northward together during the Permian and that the Northern Qiangtang rifted from the northern margin of the Greater India margin of Gondwana during the Devonian. Key Points: The North Qiangtang terrane (NQT) was located at equatorial paleolatitude (−7.6 ± 5.6°N) during the Late Permian (~259 Ma)The NQT drifted northward together with the South China block (SCB) during the PermianThe NQT rifted from the northern margin of Gondwana during the Devonian [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The breakup of eastern Gondwana is among the hottest topics in the Earth sciences because of its effect on global climate during the Jurassic‐Cretaceous, its influence on the evolution of life, and its importance to paleogeographic reconstruction. To better constrain the Jurassic and Cretaceous paleogeographic position of the Tethyan Himalaya and the breakup of eastern Gondwana, a combined paleomagnetic and geochronological study was performed on the Zhela and Weimei Formations lava flows, dated at ~138–135 Ma, in the Luozha area of the eastern Tethyan Himalaya. Both positive fold and reversal tests together with a maximum grouping at 100% unfolding indicate that the characteristic remanent magnetization directions are primary magnetizations acquired before folding. The tilt‐corrected directions yielded a paleopole at 0.9°N, 293.4°E with A95 = 7.0° and a corresponding paleolatitude of 53.5°S ± 7.0°S for the Luozha sampling area (28.9°N, 91.3°E), validating that the original erupted position of the Zhela and Weimei Formations lava flows was located in the center of the Kerguelen mantle plume. Our new results, together with the published paleomagnetic, geochronological, and geochemical results, demonstrate that the Comei‐Bunbury large igneous province originated from the Kerguelen mantle plume. The temporal and spatial relationships between the Comei‐Bunbury large igneous province and the Kerguelen mantle plume indicate that eastern Gondwana initially rifted at ~147 Ma and that the Indian Plate fully separated from the Australian‐Antarctic Plate before ~124 Ma. Key Points: The Luozha sampling area was located at ~53.5 degrees south plus‐minus 7.0 degrees south at ~138‐135 MaThe Comei‐Bunbury large igneous province (LIP) originated from the Kerguelen mantle plumeEastern Gondwana initially rifted at ~147 Ma, and the Indian Plate fully separated from the Australian‐Antarctic Plate before ~124 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of the north‐south collision between two terranes can be determined by the overlap of their paleolatitudes or the change of their convergence rate. For example, the overlapping paleolatitudes of the Lhasa terrane and Tethyan Himalaya and the dramatic decrease in the velocity of the Indian plate are usually ascribed to the India‐Asia collision at ~55 Ma. However, little is known about the paleolatitudinal evolution and velocity change of the Lhasa terrane resulting from the Lhasa‐Qiangtang collision during the Jurassic‐Cretaceous period. To better constrain the velocity change of the Lhasa terrane during this period, to constrain when and where the Lhasa‐Qiangtang collision occurred, and to assess the distribution of land and sea in the Tethyan realm, we provide a high‐quality Cretaceous paleomagnetic pole obtained from the limestone from the western part of the Lhasa terrane, which yields a paleolatitude of ~16.8° ± 1.9°N for the sampling area (32.2°N, 80.8°E) during the time interval of ~113–72 Ma. We compile existing paleomagnetic results from the Lhasa terrane, Qiangtang terrane, Tethyan Himalaya, and India and reveal that the Lhasa‐Qiangtang collision most likely occurred at or near the J/K boundary at ~19°N for the reference point at (32°N, 88°E) and that the Neo‐Tethys reached its maximum width (≥~7450 km) during this period. Key Points: The Shiquanhe sampling area was located at ~16.8° ± 1.9°N at ~113‐72 MaThe Lhasa‐Qiangtang collision most likely occurred at ~19°N at or near the J/K boundaryThe Neo‐Tethys reached its maximum width (≥~7450 km) during this period [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean Drilling Program Site 1143 of Leg 184 in the southern South China Sea (SCS) recovered a continuous sedimentary sequence since the Late Miocene (~ 10 Ma), which provides a unique record for better understanding the tectonic, environmental, and climatic evolution in the southern part of the SCS. In this study, we conducted a detailed rock magnetism and paleomagnetism study on 637 discrete samples taken from 512.1 m cores of Hole 1143C. Rock magnetic measurements indicate that the main magnetic mineral is single domain magnetite for samples from the upper 200 mcd (meter composite depth). All samples were subjected to stepwise alternating field demagnetization. The demagnetization behaviors of the samples below 200 mcd were erratic and unstable, owing to very weak remanent magnetization. A total of 15 reliable magnetic reversal events were identified in the upper 190 mcd cores of Hole 1143C based on the declination variations of the characteristic remanent magnetization, which can be correlated very well with the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale 2012 in combination with biostratigraphic data and astronomical time scales. Our new magnetostratigraphic results provide a more confident age framework for the southern SCS since the Early Pliocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To position the Asian southern margin before the India-Asia collision, paleomagnetic and geochronologic studies were performed on the Dianzhong Formation lava flows from the Shiquanhe area of the westernmost Lhasa terrane (LT). Zircon U-Pb analyses dated the lava flows to ~69.5 ± 2.5 Ma. The characteristic remanent magnetization directions contain antipodal polarities and pass fold tests, implying that they are primary magnetizations; this interpretation is supported by rock-magnetic analyses and petrographic observations. Forty-four site-mean directions were divided into 17 statistically independent direction groups. The group-mean direction after tilt correction is Ds = 43.3°, Is = 30.3°, k = 28.0, α95 = 6.9°. The corresponding paleopole at 47.8°N, 181.4°E ( A95 = 6.4°) yields a paleolatitude of 16.6° ± 6.4°N for the Shiquanhe area of westernmost Tibet (32.34°N, 80.12°E). Consistent paleolatitudes for the southern margin of the LT calculated from the western and central part of the LT indicate that the leading edge of the LT was aligned relatively W-E. When compared with the reference pole at 70 Ma for Eurasia, this new paleopole suggests that crustal shortening between the Shiquanhe area and stable Asia was 1,500 ± 800 km. This is supported by the crustal shortening (600-1,000 km) absorbed by Cenozoic thrust and fold belts within this area, indicating that the magnitude of crustal shortening within Asia north of the India-Asia suture zone was similar in the central and western part of the plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A combined paleomagnetic and geochronological investigation has been performed on Cretaceous rocks in southern Qiangtang terrane (32.5°N, 84.3°E), near Gerze, central Tibetan Plateau. A total of 14 sites of volcanic rocks and 22 sites of red beds have been sampled. Our new U–Pb geochronologic study of zircons dates the volcanic rocks at 103.8 ± 0.46 Ma (Early Cretaceous) while the red beds belong to the Late Cretaceous. Rock magnetic experiments suggest that magnetite and hematite are the main magnetic carriers. After removing a low temperature component of viscous magnetic remanence, stable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) was isolated successfully from all the sites by stepwise thermal demagnetization. The tilt-corrected mean direction from the 14 lava sites is D = 348.0°, I = 47.3°, k = 51.0, α 95 = 5.6°, corresponding to a paleopole at 79.3°N, 339.8°E, A 95 = 5.7° and yielding a paleolatitude of 29.3° ± 5.7°N for the study area. The ChRM directions isolated from the volcanic rocks pass a fold test at 95% confidence, suggesting a primary origin. The volcanic data appear to have effectively averaged out secular variation as indicated by both geological evidence and results from analyzing the virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) scatter. The mean inclination from the Late Cretaceous red beds, however, is 13.1° shallower than that of the ~ 100 Ma volcanic rocks. After performing an elongation/inclination analysis on 174 samples of the red beds, a mean inclination of 47.9° with 95% confidence limits between 41.9° and 54.3° is obtained, which is consistent with the mean inclination of the volcanic rocks. The site-mean direction of the Late Cretaceous red beds after tilt-correction and inclination shallowing correction is D = 312.6°, I = 47.7°, k = 109.7, α 95 = 3.0°, N = 22 sites, corresponding to a paleopole at 49.2°N, 1.9°E, A 95 = 3.2° (yielding a paleolatitude of 28.7° ± 3.2°N for the study area). The ChRM of the red beds also passes a fold test at 99% confidence, indicating a primary origin. Comparing the paleolatitude of the Qiangtang terrane with the stable Asia, there is no significant difference between our sampling location in the southern Qiangtang terrane and the stable Asia during ~ 100 Ma and Late Cretaceous. Our results together with the high quality data previously published suggest that an ~ 550 km N–S convergence between the Qiangtang and Lhasa terranes happened after ~ 100 Ma. Comparison of the mean directions with expected directions from the stable Asia indicates that the Gerze area had experienced a significant counterclockwise rotation after ~ 100 Ma, which is most likely caused by the India–Asia collision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new paleomagnetic study on well-dated (~ 155 Ma) volcanic rocks of the Tiaojishan Formation (Fm) in the northern margin of the North China Block (NCB) has been carried out. A total of 194 samples were collected from 26 sites in the Yanshan Belt areas of Luanping, Beipiao, and Shouwangfen. All samples were subjected to stepwise thermal demagnetization. After removal of a recent geomagnetic field viscous component, a stable high temperature component (HTC) was isolated. The inclinations of our new data are significantly steeper than those previously published from the Tiaojishan Fm in the Chengde area ( Pei et al., 2011 , Tectonophysics, 510, 370–380). Our analyses demonstrate that the paleomagnetic directions obtained from each sampled area were strongly biased by paleosecular variation (PSV), but the PSV can be averaged out by combining all the virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) from the Tiaojishan Fm in the region. The mean pole at 69.6°N/203.0°E (A 95 = 5.6°) passes a reversal test and regional tilting test at 95% confidence and is thus considered as a primary paleomagnetic record. This newly determined pole of the Tiaojishan Fm is consistent with available Late Jurassic poles from red-beds in the southern part of the NCB, but they are incompatible with coeval poles of Siberia and the reference pole of Eurasia, indicating that convergence between Siberia and the NCB had not yet ended by ~ 155 Ma. Our calculation shows a ~ 1600-km latitudinal plate movement and crustal shortening between the Siberia and NCB after ~ 155 Ma. In addition, no significant vertical axis rotation was found either between our sampled areas or between the Yanshan Belt and the major part of the NCB after ~ 155 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To further constrain the India–Asia collisional process, a combined paleomagnetic and geochronologic study has been carried out on the Upper Cretaceous Jingzhushan Formation redbeds and the Lower Cretaceous Dianzhong Formation volcanic rocks dated at ~ 121–117 Ma from the Cuoqin area in the central Lhasa terrane. Stepwise thermal demagnetization successfully isolated reliable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) directions that include dual polarity and pass positive fold tests at 95% and 99% confidence levels, indicating prefolding primary magnetizations. The tilt-corrected site-mean direction for 33 redbed sites is D = 316.8°, I = 30.2° with α 95 = 5.4°, corresponding to a paleopole at 49.0°N, 344.3°E with A 95 = 5.3°, and the other for 12 volcanic sites is D = 350.5°, I = 25.5° with α 95 = 7.7°, corresponding to a paleopole at 70.5°N, 292.9°E with A 95 = 7.4°. Our new paleomagnetic results, together with reliable Cretaceous paleomagnetic data obtained from the Lhasa terrane, demonstrate that the southern margin of Asia was located at ~ 15.1°N during the Cretaceous. Comparison with the apparent polar wander paths (APWP) of India and the Cretaceous–Paleocene paleopoles of the Himalayan terrane suggests that the India–Asia collision was likely a complex process, which consists of the collision of the Lhasa and Himalayan terranes at 54.0 ± 2.1 Ma, the longtime subduction of an intra-oceanic basin between the Himalayan terrane and the Indian craton from ~ 54.0 to ~ 40.4 Ma, and the collision of the Himalayan terrane and the Indian craton at 40.4 ± 4.1 Ma. Comparing with the Late Cretaceous average pole of the East Asia APWP reveals that a latitudinal convergence of 780 ± 240 km has taken place between the Lhasa terrane and East Asia (the Hexi corridor) since the India–Asia collision; the amount of latitudinal shortening deduced from paleomagnetic data is very consistent with the 600–1000 km accommodated by the Cenozoic fold and thrust belts between the Lhasa terrane and Hexi corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 184 recovered a continuous sedimentary sequence since Miocene at Site 1148 in the northern South China Sea (SCS), which provided a unique record for better understanding the tectonic, environmental and climatic evolution of the SCS. In this study, we report a detailed paleomagnetic study on 881 discrete samples from the upper 460 m cores of Hole 1148A through stepwise alternating field demagnetization (AF) or thermal demagnetization (TD). Rock magnetic results from isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition, temperature dependence magnetic susceptibility (κ-T) and hysteresis loop parameters of representative samples indicate that the main magnetic mineral is low coercivity pseudo-single domain magnetite. The characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) with moderate downward or upward inclinations was identified after removing a low-stability drilling-induced remanence with steep downward inclinations. A new 23 Myr magnetostratigraphic time framework was established by correlating the magnetic polarity sequence to the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale 2012 (GPTS 2012; Ogg, 2012 ) in combination with biostratigraphic data. The mean sediment accumulation rates for lithostratigraphic Units V and IV, Unit III and lower Unit II, upper Unit II, Unit IB and Unit IA are calculated as ∼20.8 m/Myr, ∼15–17 m/Myr, 24.18 m/Myr, 17.07 m/Myr and 49.01 m/Myr, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A paleomagnetic study has been carried out on the Early Cretaceous Zenong Group volcanic rocks (ca. 110–130Ma) near Cuoqin town in the central Lhasa terrane. Stepwise thermal demagnetization up to 680°C isolated a stable high-temperature component (HTC) including antipodal dual polarities. The HTC directions passed both a fold test at 99% confidence and a reversal test at 95% confidence, suggesting a primary origin. The tilt-corrected average direction for 18 sites is D=327.0°, I=35.7°, κ=59.3°, α95 =4.5°, which corresponds to a paleopole at 58.2° N, 341.9° E (A95 =4.6°), yielding a paleolatitude of 19.8°±4.6° N for the study area. Our results, combined with previous paleomagnetic data, suggest that southern Tibet was at a mean paleolatitude of 20° N during the Cretaceous and Paleogene. When compared with the apparent polar wander paths of Asia, the difference suggests that only ca. 870km north–south crustal shortening has accumulated between the Lhasa terrane and stable Asia since ca. 110Ma. When comparing the paleolatitudes of the Lhasa terrane and India, the results indicate that the width of the Neotethys was 6720±690km during the Early Cretaceous. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A high-precision time framework is critical for improving our understanding of three major events: the Late Ordovician mass extinction, the Hirnantian glaciation, and the Hirnantian isotopic carbon excursion (HICE). In the present study, we conducted detailed cyclostratigraphic analysis of a high-resolution (1–2-cm intervals) anhysteretic remanent magnetization series obtained from the Wanhe section in South China, covering the lower Katian through Hirnantian. Power spectra and derived average spectral misfit results show that the section records the ensemble of Milankovitch cycles with 405-kyr (long-eccentricity), 93–125-kyr (short-eccentricity), 33.8-kyr (main obliquity), and 17–22-kyr (precession) periods. The obliquity period of 33.8 ± 0.46 kyr indicates a precession constant k of 57.19 ± 0.53 arcsec/yr, a length of day of 22.37 ± 0.12 h, and an Earth–Moon distance of 375,330 ± 722 km (vs. 384,000 km today) during the Late Ordovician (445 Ma). The ratios of obliquity band power to total power reveal periodicities of 1.32 Myr for the s 4 – s 3 term and 173.4 kyr for the s 3 – s 6 term. Aided by the highly fluctuating magnetic susceptibility (MS), we recognized a series of 1.32-Myr obliquity-forced glacio-eustatic cycles with three intervals of sea-level rise and climate warming trend characterized by high MS values and two episodes of sea-level fall and climate cooling trend before the Hirnantian. The 405-kyr and subsequent 33.8-kyr calibrations produce an ~7.36-Myr floating astronomical time scale (FATS) for the studied succession, indicating that the estimated durations for the Hirnantian Stage, the worldwide Hirnantian glaciation, and the first and second phases of the Late Ordovician mass extinction were ~1225 kyr, ~830 kyr, ~440 kyr, and ~540 kyr, respectively. This work provides a reliable high-resolution time framework for further investigation of the major geological events occurred in the Late Ordovician, and improves our knowledge of Solar System behaviour and Earth–Moon history during that period. • An ~7.36 Myr ATS was constructed for the early Katian through Hirnantian. • The durations of Hirnantian Stage, glaciation and mass extinction were estimated. • Earth–Moon evolution was constrained for the Late Ordovician. • Obliquity forcing controlled the Late Ordovician glacio-eustasy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better constrain the evolution of the Mongol‐Okhotsk suture, we carried out new paleomagnetic studies on Sharilyn Formation (~155 Ma) and Tsagantsav Formation (~130 Ma) in southern Mongolia, Amuria Block (AMU), and Tuchengzi Formation (~140 Ma) and Dadianzi/Yixian Formation (~130 Ma) in the Yanshan belt, North China Block (NCB). A total of 719 collected samples (from 100 sites) were subjected to stepwise thermal demagnetization. After a low‐temperature component of viscous magnetic remanence acquired in the recent field was removed, the stable high‐temperature components were isolated from most samples. The high‐temperature components from each rock unit passed a fold test and a reversal test, indicating their primary origins. The corresponding paleomagnetic poles were thus calculated. For AMU, the ~155 Ma pole is at 74.7°N/232.5°E (A95 = 3.7°), the ~130 Ma pole at 74.6°N/194.7°E (A95 = 2.9°); for the NCB, the ~140 Ma pole is at 82.7°N/208.6°E (A95 = 4.3°), the ~130 Ma pole at 80.5°N/197.4°E (A95 = 2.3°). By combining our new results with the published data, we refined the 155–100 Ma segment of the apparent polar wander paths for AMU and NCB, which can demonstrate that these two blocks have been tectonically coherent (AMU‐NCB) during 155–100 Ma. Comparison of the apparent polar wander paths, however, revealed a latitudinal plate convergence of 14.3° ± 6.9° and ~19.0° relative rotation between Siberia and the AMU‐NCB after ~155 Ma. Large‐scale latitudinal convergence likely ceased by ~130 Ma, although some relative rotation between them continued along the Mongol‐Okhotsk suture until ~100 Ma. Key Points: New paleomagnetic data from the Amuria Block (AMU) provide the straightforward constraints on the evolution of Mongol‐Okhotsk suture (MOS)New data demonstrate that AMU and North China Block remained the tectonically coherence during Late Jurassic‐Early CretaceousWe provide a reconstruction of Siberia, AMU, and NCB and propose a new subduction‐collision tectonic model of the MOS at some key times [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We report new palaeomagnetic results from a ca. 1300 to 800Ma continental shelf succession on the southern margin of the North China Block. A total of 386 oriented core samples were subjected to stepwise demagnetisation. Two overprint components (‘A’ and ‘B’) were identified, with ‘A’ being a Recent geomagnetic field component and ‘B’ a likely Mesozoic remagnetisation related to collision of the North and South China Blocks. An interpreted primary remanence was isolated from six rock units. The most reliable results are as follow, in the order of stratigraphic ascendance. (1) Purple mudstone, muddy sandstone and andesite of the lower Yunmenshan Formation (Rb–Sr age ca. 1270Ma) yields a high-temperature component that passes both reversal and fold tests and gives a palaeopole at (60.6°S, 87.0°E, A 95 =3.7°). (2) Mudstone in the overlying Baicaoping Formation yields a high-temperature component with a palaeopole at (43.0°S, 143.8°E, A 95 =11.1°). (3) Purple sandstone of the earliest Neoproterozoic Cuizhuang and Sanjiaotang Formations exhibits a high-temperature component that provides a palaeopole at (41.0°S, 44.8°E, A 95 =11.3°). Based on both our new results and a critical selection of available palaeomagnetic data, we construct a preliminary apparent polar wander path (APWP) for the North China Block between 1300 and 510Ma. Regardless of alternative polarity options applicable to these poles, North China was located within equatorial latitudes for much of this interval. Comparing the North China poles with coeval poles from Laurentia suggests that the two continents were situated on the same plate between 1200 and 700Ma. North China was thus likely part of the supercontinent Rodinia. Separation of North China and Laurentia occurred between 650 and 615Ma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract The Lopingian is the uppermost series of the Paleozoic and it is bracketed by two major biological events, including the pre-Lopingian crisis and the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME). A high resolution temporal framework is essential to understand the patterns and causes of the extinction. Lopingian strata of South China have been intensively studied because three GSSPs have been defined in the region. Based on the review and updates to data from the Shangsi section as well as correlation with the Meishan section, the time framework for the Lopingian is revised, including biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, cyclostratigraphy and geochronology. The temporal framework is constrained by both precise geochronologic data and a high resolution conodont succession, and provides the possibility that the current high resolution marine international standard can also be applied to nonmarine strata by means of geochronology, magnetostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy. The entire Lopingian high resolution conodont succession is for the first time, since the Lopingian Series was adopted as the international standard, recognized at a single section in South China and the succession correlates very well with the Lopingian GSSP sections at Penglaitan and Meishan. The Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) of the Shangsi section is constrained to the basal 6 cm interval of Bed 28b in view of ammonoids, bivalves, conodonts, U-Pb ages and the EPME. The mass extinction interval is between Bed 27 and lower Bed 28a according to the EPME pattern at the Shangsi section, and the alternative interval between extinct Permian species and new Triassic species is from upper Bed 28a to lower Bed 28b. Unitary Association (UA) analysis of Lopingian conodonts reveals 15 unitary association zones (UAZs) based on seven important Lopingian sections of South China. Most of the UAZs correlate well with the standard biozonation, except for UAZ 3 to UAZ 5 and UAZ 12. The correspondence between UAZs and standard conodont biozones at the Shangsi section provides a practical example to understand controls on conodont UAZ determination. The Lopingian conodont succession is temporally calibrated by geochronologic ages, identified 405-kyr eccentricity cycles, and a Monte Carlo analysis at the Shangsi and Meishan sections. Updated ages for the base of the Lopingian and base of the Changhsingian are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean had a profound effect on global climate change and the evolution of life. To better constrain the Cretaceous paleogeographic position of the Tethyan Himalaya and evolution of the Neo-Tethys Ocean, combined paleomagnetic and detrital zircon U Pb geochronological research was performed on samples from the Gyabula Formation, constrained at ca. 117.7–94.4 Ma, in the Zhongba area of the northern Tethyan Himalaya. Both positive fold and reversal tests combined with a maximum grouping at 106% unfolding indicate that the high-temperature component directions were acquired before folding and were most likely of primary origin. The tilt-corrected directions yielded a paleopole at 29.2°N, 280.5°E with A 95 = 5.1° and a corresponding paleolatitude of −29.0° ± 5.1°N for the sampled area (29.7°N, 84.0°E). No significant inclination shallowing was identified from the sampled cherts. Comparison of the observed paleolatitude with those expected from the Indian craton indicated that an 840 ± 670 km north-south distance existed between the northern Tethyan Himalaya and the Indian craton for the reference point (29.7°N, 84.0°E). Because of the anticlockwise rotation of the Indian craton, this amounts to a crustal extent of 1130 ± 900 km at ca. 106 Ma, which represents the amount of north-south crustal shortening. Our new results, together with reliable Cretaceous paleomagnetic data obtained from the Tethyan Himalaya, indicate that no wide oceanic basin extended between the Tethyan Himalaya and Indian craton at ca. 106–75 Ma and that there was still a contiguous Indian subcontinent. • The Zhongba area of the northern Tethyan Himalaya (TH) was located at 29.0° ± 5.1°S at ca. 117.7–94.4 Ma • 1130 ± 900 km of north-south shortening occurred between the northern Tethyan Himalaya and the Indian craton • No wide oceanic basin extended between the TH and the Indian craton at ca. 106–75 Ma [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new paleomagnetic pole is obtained from the Jiayuan Formation in the North China craton. • The North China craton was located close to the equator around 1.0 Ga. • The North China craton and Laurentia together underwent a large latitudinal shift between 1.1 and 1.0 Ga. The Rodinia supercontinent formed in the transition between Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic. The high-quality paleomagnetic poles around 1000 Ma, however, are rather scarce in the global paleomagnetic database, hindering a well-calibrated paleogeographic reconstruction for when and how Rodinia assembled. The late Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic Huaibei Group strata (ca. 1120–890 Ma) exposed at the southeastern margin of the North China craton (NCC) provide great promise for paleomagnetism. In this study, we mainly report a new paleopole (54.2 °S, 111.4 °E, A 95 = 5.1°) obtained from the upper Jiayuan Formation in the middle Huaibei Group by incorporating our new data with the previously published virtual geomagnetic poles. That average pole passed a positive fold test and a positive reversal test, along with the pole's distinctiveness from younger poles of the NCC, support the interpretation that the remanence is primary. New detrital zircon U–Pb age analyses of a sandstone sample of the Jiayuan Formation and the mafic sills intruding the overlying strata dated previously together constrain the depositional age of the Jiayuan Formation to be between ca. 1089 and ca. 945 Ma. Our new data, incorporated with other poles previously reported from the Huaibei Group and the mafic sills intruding the strata, reveal that the NCC underwent large-scale paleolatitudinal shifts from the polar region to low latitudes across the transition between Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic. Matching the apparent polar wander paths of the NCC and Laurentia suggests that they together drifted from the polar region in the northern hemisphere at ca. 1110 Ma to moderate latitudes in the southern hemisphere around 1000 Ma during the assembly of Rodinia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better constrain the Early Cretaceous paleogeographic position of the Tethyan Himalaya and the India–Asia collision process, a paleomagnetic study was performed on the Lakang Formation lava flows in the Cuona area in the southeastern Tethyan Himalaya. Stepwise thermal and alternating field demagnetizations successfully isolated reliable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) directions that include antipodal dual polarities and pass positive fold tests at the 99% confidence level and reversal tests at 95% confidence level, indicating prefolding primary magnetizations. The distribution patterns of ChRM directions from the Lakang Formation lava flows are consistent with young lava flows at similar latitudes, suggesting that secular variation has likely been averaged out. The tilt-corrected site-mean direction for 31 sites is D = 261.6 ° , I = − 68.5 ° with α 95 = 3.6 ° , which provides a paleopole at 26.8°S, 315.2°E ( A 95 = 5.7 ° ), corresponding to a paleolatitude of 52.2 ° ± 5.7 ° S for the study area. Comparison of the paleolatitude observed from the Lakang Formation lava flows with that expected from the apparent polar wander paths of India at 130 Ma show a paleolatitude difference of ∼2.1° (∼230 km), indicating that neither a great north-south continental crustal shortening occurred between the Indian craton and the Tethyan Himalaya after 130 Ma, nor that a wide ocean separated them at that time. Comparison with reliable Cretaceous–Paleocene paleomagnetic results observed from the Tethyan Himalaya and the Lhasa terrane indicates that the latitudinal width of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean could have been up to ∼7000 km at 134–130 Ma and an extension should have existed between the Indian craton and the Tethyan Himalaya during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene. Furthermore, reliable paleomagnetic results suggest that the India–Asia collision was a dual-collision process, consisting of a first collision of the Tethyan Himalaya with the Lhasa terrane (Asia) at 54.9 ± 2.3 Ma and a final continent–continent collision of the Indian craton with the Tethyan Himalaya at 40.0 ± 3.3 Ma . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New paleomagnetic pole positions are obtained from the Neoproterozoic sills and carbonate rocks of the Huaibei Group in the northern Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces (Xuhuai region), North China. A total of 240 samples are used in statistics after stepwise thermal demagnetization and principal component analysis, including 85 samples from three ∼890 Ma mafic sills, 27 samples from the ∼890-Ma-sill-baked rocks of the Wangshan Formation (Fm), 50 samples from unbaked rocks of the Wangshan Fm, 60 samples from unbaked rocks of the Jiayuan Fm and 18 samples from a ∼925 Ma mafic sill. For most of these samples, after removing a low unblocking temperature component (LTC) of viscous magnetic remanence acquired in recent geomagnetic field, high unblocking temperature components (HTCs), likely carried by magnetite for the sill and unbaked carbonate samples and by partly oxidized magnetite for baked carbonate samples, were isolated. The HTCs of the ∼890 Ma sills passed a reversal test, a fold test, and a baked contact test. It is interpreted as a primary remanence, defining a key pole ( Q = 7) at 52.6°N, 330.0°E ( A 95 = 5.3°) for the North China Craton (NCC). The HTCs of the unbaked carbonate rocks of the Wangshan Fm passed a fold test, the corresponding pole being at 26.1°N, 320.3°E ( A 95 = 5.2°). The sample-level mean direction of the ∼925 Ma sill provides a virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) position of 30.9°S, 136.2°E, dm/dp = 4.0°/2.4°, being antipodal to the pole of the Wangshan Fm. We interpreted that the two rock units have the same age and their mean pole likely represents the primary remanences. A paleomagnetic pole position of 54.0°S, 107.3°E ( A 95 = 4.0°) is obtained from the Jiayuan Fm, by averaging the site-level VGPs. This pole is of dual polarity and consistent with those published poles from this formation and other three carbonate formations in the middle part of Huaibei Group, but differs from any younger poles obtained in the region. We also interpreted it as of a primary remanence. Our new data, together with the published poles, depicted a loop-like segment of apparent polar wander path of the NCC, with an apex at ∼925 Ma. It is termed as the “Huaibei loop” herein. The comparison between the “Huaibei loop” and the “Sveconorweigian loop”, aided by the “right-way up” model of Laurentia–Baltica connection, indicates the paleogeographic proximities of the NCC to Laurentia, and probably to Siberia as well, in the supercontinent Rodinia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paleomagnetic study on the red beds of the Oligocene Kangtuo Formation (Fm) was carried out in the Gerze Basin of the Lhasa terrane. A total of 700 samples were collected from 37 sites. Stepwise thermal demagnetization revealed that the main magnetic carrier is hematite. The natural remnant magnetization (NRM) consists of two components. A low-temperature component (LTC) is identified below 300 °C and is interpreted to be a recent viscous overprint, whereas a high temperature component (HTC) unblocks at ∼665–690 °C and is interpreted to be the primary magnetization. The HTC distributions show a clear east–west elongated distribution, which is considered as reflecting inclination flattening of deposited magnetic remanence carriers. After inclination calibration using the E/I method, the HTC could pass both a reversal test and a fold test at 95% confidence level, showing the mean direction at D s = 340.3°, I s = 44.2°, with k = 63.0, and α 95 = 3.1°, corresponding to a paleopole at 71.7°N, 339.3°E ( A 95 = 3.1°), and the paleolatitude of the sampling site at 25.9 ± 3.1°N. The paleolatitude is consistent with that expected from the coeval pole of the Qiangtang terrane obtained from volcanic rocks, suggesting that there has been no paleomagnetically-discernable latitudinal motion between the Qiantang and Lhasa terranes since ∼30 Ma. Comparing our new data with the apparent polar wander paths (APWPs) of East Asian blocks ( Cogné et al., 2013 ), Europe, and India ( Besse and Courtillot, 2002 ), we have reached the following conclusions. (1) There is no significant paleolatitudinal difference observed between the Lhasa terrane and other central and northern Asian terranes at ∼30 Ma. (2) The observed paleolatitude of the Kangtuo Fm is 8.0 ± 4.9° lower than the expected paleolatitude deduced from the data of stable Europe, highlighting the ‘Asian inclination anomaly’ phenomenon, but is 4.6 ± 5.1° higher than that deduced from the data of the India Plate, likely presenting a ∼506 ± 561 km shortening between the India and Lhasa terrane since the Oligocene. It is inferred that this amount of shortening has been absorbed mainly by the Himalaya Orogenic Belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new paleomagnetic pole is obtained from the top of Member 3 of the Doushantuo Formation in the Jiulongwan section of the Yangtze Gorges area in South China. A total of 191 samples from 23 sites were collected and subjected to stepwise alternating field (AF) and thermal demagnetization. After the removal of a soft component (SC) of viscous magnetic remanence acquired in present geomagnetic field, a high temperature component (HC), likely carried by magnetite, was isolated. The HC includes vectors from 147 samples using principal component analysis and arc constraints from 44 samples using remagnetization great-circle analysis. Both the vectors only and the combined vectors and arc constraints of the HC passed a reversal test. This is the first Ediacaran paleomagnetic remanence from the South China Block (SCB) that passes a reversal test, and it is interpreted as a primary remanence. The HC vectors were thus used to calculate the paleomagnetic pole, and in combination with arc constraints, were used for polarity interpretation. The vectors give a mean direction of ( D = 75.2°, I = 41.0°, α 95 = 2.5°, N = 147) after bedding correction, and a corresponding paleomagnetic pole at 23.9° N, 187.0° E (dm/dp = 3.0/1.8). This pole differs significantly from previously published results of the Doushantuo Formation, which may have been subjected to Paleozoic remagnetization. Our results provide a 23.5 ± 1.8° N paleolatitude for the Yangtze Gorges area of the SCB and suggest several alternative paleogeographic options for the Ediacaran–Cambrian amalgamation of East Gondwana, depending on chronostratigraphic correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new paleomagnetic pole position is obtained from the well-dated (636.3±4.9Ma) Nantuo Formation in the Guzhang section, western Hunan Province, and the correlative Long’e section in eastern Guizhou Province, South China. Remagnetization of the recent geomagnetic field was identified and removed for both sections. The hard dual-polarity, interpreted as primary, component of the Nantuo Formation, directs east–westward with medium inclinations, yielding an average pole of 9.3°N, 165°E, A 95 =4.3° that, for the first time, passed a strata-bound reversals test. The new data are consistent with previously published paleomagnetic data of the Nantuo Formation from Malong county, central Yunnan Province, which passed a positive syn-sedimentary fold test. Together, these sites represent shallow- to deep-water sections across a shelf-to-basin transect centered at ∼33° paleolatitude. The sedimentary basin may have faced an expansive ocean toward the paleo-East. In the ∼750Ma and ∼635Ma global reconstructions, the South China Block (SCB) was best fitted in the northern hemisphere close to northwestern Australia. However, a direct SCB-northwestern Australia connection, inferred to have existed during the Early Cambrian–Early Devonian, had not formed by the time of ∼635Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The existence of a pre-Rodinia Precambrian supercontinent, variously called Nuna or Columbia, has been widely speculated in the past decade, but the precise timing of its existence and its configuration have been uncertain due to the lack of unequivocal paleomagnetic and geological constraints. Here we report high-quality paleomagnetic results from the well dated ∼1780Ma Xiong''er Group in southern North China Block (NCB). A total of 110 paleomagnetic samples from 14 sites were collected and subjected to stepwise thermal demagnetization. After removing a low temperature component (CL) of viscous magnetic remanence acquired in recent geomagnetic field, a high temperature component (CH), carried by hematite and magnetite in redbeds and volcanic samples, has been isolated. It gives a mean direction of (D=18.4°, I=−3.7°, α95=7.6°, N=14) after bedding correction, and a corresponding paleomagnetic pole at 50.2°N, 263.0°E (A 95=4.5°). The CH passed a reversal test and was interpreted as a primary remanence. This new pole plus three other high-quality poles from the NCB that have been more precisely dated at 1769±3Ma, 1560–1440Ma and 1437±21Ma define a 1780–1440Ma apparent polar wander path (APWP) for the NCB. This, together with an update of global high quality paleomagnetic dataset, allows us to demonstrate that the pre-Rodinia supercontinent Nuna likely existed at least between ∼1780Ma and ∼1400Ma. Our paleomagnetism-based global reconstruction, for the first time, quantitatively assembles all major cratons together; it encompasses previously proposed regional links including the SAMBA connection between Baltica, Amazonia and Western Africa (Johansson, 2009), connections between Laurentia, Baltica and Siberia at the core of Nuna (Evans and Mitchell, 2011), the proto-SWEAT connection between Laurentia, East Antarctica and Australian blocks (Payne et al., 2009), and the NCB–India connection (Zhao et al., 2011). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The Tuva–Mongol and Amuria blocks were at low latitudes during 330-315 Ma. • The Boreal Realm likely extended into equatorial regions at 330 Ma. • The Boreal Realm developed in a wide northern temperate zone during 330-315 Ma. Fossil organisms of the Boreal Realm in the Tuva–Mongol Block (TMB) and Amuria Block (AMB) are commonly thought to have lived at mid to high latitudes during the Carboniferous Period; however, reliable paleomagnetic constraints have not been available previously to test this hypothesis. Here we report newly obtained combined paleomagnetic and geochronological results from the Upper Mississippian Gunbayan Formation in the AMB and the Lower Pennsylvanian Altan-Ovoo Formation in the TMB. Zircon U–Pb dating of tuff beds from the Gunbayan and Altan-Ovoo formations yield ages of 331.0 ± 2.7 and 315.5 ± 2.4 Ma, respectively. A total of 263 paleomagnetic specimens underwent stepwise thermal demagnetization. After removing the viscous remanent magnetizations of the recent geomagnetic field, stable high-temperature components (HTCs), carried by magnetite, were successfully acquired from 240 specimens. The HTCs of the Gunbayan Formation passed a fold test and a reversal test, and those of the Altan-Ovoo Formation passed a fold test, suggesting that they represent primary remanence magnetizations. We used the elongation/inclination method to test and correct for all the HTC directions of the clastic rocks of the studied formations. Their corresponding paleomagnetic poles are 46.0°N/320.0°E (A = 95 2.0 °) at ca. 330 Ma for the AMB and 43.5°N/355.9°E (A = 95 2.9 °) at ca. 315 Ma for the TMB. The updated paleomagnetic database indicates with certainty that both the TMB and the AMB were located in northern hemisphere low-latitude regions and close to the equator at ca. 330 Ma, suggesting that the Boreal Realm might have extended into the equatorial region at the onset of the large ice age of the Carboniferous. The paleobiogeographic characteristics and distribution of climate-sensitive lithologies indicate that this realm occupied a wide northern temperate belt during 330–315 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New Jurassic paleomagnetic poles are obtained from the north China block. • North China block underwent no large paleolatitudinal change in late Jurassic. • A net convergence velocity at 0.50–0.75°/myr is estimated for Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean. • Mongol–Okhotsk oceanic slabs might contribute to the Jurassic true polar wander. Jurassic witnessed two synchronous events on the Earth, named true polar wander (TPW) and closure of the Mongol–Okhotsk ocean (MOO) between Siberia and eastern Asian blocks. The paleogeographic change of the north China block (NCB) should thus include both TPW and plate tectonic components in Jurassic. We performed a new combined paleomagnetic and U–Pb geochronological study for Middle and Late Jurassic volcanic rocks from the northern NCB and obtained three new well-dated paleopoles: 82.7°N, 282.6°E, A 95 = 3.2 ° (ca. 160 Ma); 84.1°N, 228.9°E, A 95 = 6.6 ° (ca. 165 Ma); and 89.3°N, 216.8°E, dp/dm = 5.4°/7.1° (ca. 170 Ma). A positive untilting test indicates a pre-folding origin interpretation for the ca. 160 Ma pole. Quality of these poles is enforced by three positive conglomerate tests, the presence of magnetic reversals and secular variation analyses. Comparison of the apparent polar wander paths of Eurasia and the NCB suggests that the NCB accreted to Eurasia around 140 Ma. The NCB and its then connected blocks did not undergo any significant southward paleogeographic shift during Jurassic. In context of TPW, we estimate a net northward plate moving velocity at 0.50–0.75°/myr for the NCB in Jurassic. The long-term accumulation of MOO subducted slabs at the high paleolatitudes may have critically contributed to, or perhaps led to, the Jurassic TPW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]