Pre- and post-folding magnetizations from the early Devonian Snowy River Volcanics and Buchan Caves Limestone, Victoria

Abstract

Multicomponent magnetizations of the Snowy River Volcanics have been resolved into pre-folding (dec. = 340.1°, inc. = -59.2°) and post-folding (dec. = 10.5°, inc. = -72.3°) elements. The former is attributed to initial cooling of the volcanics while the latter is probably related to the waning stages of the deformational episode which was presumably accompanied by cooling. We argue that the pole position from the pre-folding magnetizations (lat. = 74.3°S, long. = 222.7°E) represents the Australian palaeopole for the early Devonian. A reassessment of other Australian pole positions determined from rocks of about this age suggests that remagnetization during the Carboniferous may be common.