Palaeomagnetism and K—Ar ages of Lower Ordovician and Upper Silurian—Lower Devonian rocks from north‐west Argentina

Abstract

Summary. In this paper we present palaeomagnetic data from 87 hand samples collected in a sequence of tuffs and shales (Surf Formation) of Llanvirnian age, exposed in north‐western Argentina (27° 47’ S, 68° 06’ W). After cleaning, the majority of samples showed reversed polarity and yielded a palaeomagnetic pole at 5.9° E, 8.5° S (α 95 = 5.9°). They also showed reversals of declination and inclination at the top of the sequence, which we have associated with geomagnetic excursions. Whole rock K—Ar age de‐terminations suggest an age older than 416 ± 25 Myr for the Suri rocks. The predominant reversed stable remanence of these rocks is consistent with the reversed polarity reported for Early Llanvirnian rocks from USSR. The palaeomagnetic pole for the Suri Formation is consistent with the interpretation that Gondwana was a single unit in Early Palaeozoic times. Palaeomagnetic data from 27 hand samples collected from 10 igneous units of Late Silurian—Early Devonian age (Ñuñorco Formation), exposed in the same area, are also given. The majority of the igneous units showed reversed polarity after cleaning. The positions of VGP's for the Ñuñorco igneous units are scattered and they are not used for geodynamic interpretations. Whole rock K—Ar age determinations suggest ages of 416 ± 25 and 360 ± 10 Myr for two igneous units of the Ñuñorco Formation. Copyright © 1980, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved