The British Siluro‐Devonian palaeofield, the Great Glen Fault and analytical methods in palaeomagnetism: comments on paper by K. M. Storetvedt et al.

Abstract

Late Silurian‐early Devonian palaeomagnetic poles throughout the British Isles lie in a coherent group about 1°S and 314°E (A95= 9.6°). The clustering of these poles, which are derived from 11 individual studies of Siluro‐Devonian rocks of all the major tectonic elements of Britain, carries two important tectonic implications: the British sector of the Iapetus Ocean, recognizable from Ordovician poles, had closed by late Silurian times; and any postulated mega‐shear, whether related to Acadian or Hercynian deformation, is below the limit of palaeomagnetic resolution. The collective rejection of all Siluro‐Devonian results by Storetvedt et al. (1990a, b) is demonstrated to be unfounded. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved