Paleomagnetic results on Early Tertiary lava flows from west Greenland and their bearing on the evolution history of the Baffin Bay – Labrador Sea region: Reply

Abstract

Paleomagnetic investigations have been carried out on about 250 oriented block samples collected from Early Tertiary lava flows representing an altitude span of about 1200 m on the Disko Island and 600 m on the Nugssuaq Peninsula of West Greenland. The results reveal a record of two polarity transitions on the Disko Island and the existence of normal (N) and reverse (R) groups of lava flows on the Nugssuaq Peninsula. A tentative correlation of the lava sequences from the two areas, on the basis of polarity of magnetization, has been suggested. Subject to the assumption of relatively uniform extrusion rates in northern Disko, a correlation of the comparatively thick sequence of reverse (R) polarity flows with the relatively long reverse epoch between the anomaly no. 25 (ca. 63 m.y.) and anomaly no. 24 (ca. 60.5 m.y.B.P.), has been attempted and an age estimate of the lava flows has been obtained.The Early Tertiary paleomagnetic pole for Greenland, computed from stable remanent magnetic directions of the Di...