Advances in Earth Science

   

Progress in Paleomagnetism of the Qiangtang Block since Permian to Triassic and Its Constraints on the Evolution of the Tethyan Ocean

WEI Bitian1, 2, CHENG Xin2*, JIANG Nan3, ZHANG Dongmeng2, XING Longyun2, ZHOU Yanan2, LI Shihu1, DENG Chenglong1, WU Hanning2   

  1. (1. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; 2. State Key Laboratory of Continental Evolution and Early Life, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China; 3. School of Petroleum Engineering and Environmental Engineering, Yan’an University, Yan’an Shaanxi 716000, China)
  • Online:2025-10-31 Published:2025-10-31
  • About author:WEI Bitian, research area includes paleomagnetism. E-mail: btwei@mail.iggcas.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42504059, 42274097); The Project of Theory of Hydrocarbon Enrichment under Multi-Spheric Interactions of the Earth.

WEI Bitian, CHENG Xin, JIANG Nan, ZHANG Dongmeng, XING Longyun, ZHOU Yanan, LI Shihu, DENG Chenglong, WU Hanning. Progress in Paleomagnetism of the Qiangtang Block since Permian to Triassic and Its Constraints on the Evolution of the Tethyan Ocean[J]. Advances in Earth Science, DOI: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2025.070.

Abstract:The Qiangtang block, separated into North Qiangtang Block (NQB) and South Qiangtang block (SQB) by Longmuco-Shuanghu suture zone, was originated from the northern margin of Gondwana and splitting from it in the Paleozoic subsequently drifting northward to collide with Laurasia in the Mesozoic. Its drift history is particularly important to understanding the evolution of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Tethyan geodynamics. In this paper, we compiled reliable paleomagnetic data from SQB and NQB, establishing an epoch-level Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP) for the NQB and a paleolatitude evolution curve for the SQB during the Late Carboniferous to Late Triassic. The NQB occupied lower-middle latitudes (~20°~30°S) in the Late Carboniferous to Middle Permian, while the SQB connected with Gondwana until the Early Permian. The SQB spalled from the northern margin of Gondwana and drifted may have begun in the late Early Permian. By the Middle Permian, its paleolatitude converged to a similar position as the NQB. Subsequently, they drifted coherently northward at an average rate of 16 cm/a until early Late Triassic. The drift rate slowed during the Late Triassic. Using palaeomagnetic result together with other paleomagnetic data and geologic observations, we argue that the main domain of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean was located between the NQB and the Tarim-North China Block (i. e., Jinshajiang Ocean) during the Late Paleozoic. The Neo-Tethys Ocean opened between the late Early Permian and the Middle Permian and had a width of ~2 000 km at ~265 Ma. In late Middle Triassic to early Late Triassic time, the Paleo-Tethys Ocean is limited expanse (~1 000 km) and finally completely closed at around ~230 Ma. More specifically, using paleomagnetic data to precisely characterize the kinematic evolution of the Qiangtang block can provide important constraints on key scientific issues such as the evolutionary history of the Paleo –Neo- Tethys Ocean.
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