Evidence against large-scale carboniferous strike-slip faulting in the appalachian–caledonian orogen

ABSTRACT Kent and Opdyke1 have argued that during the late Devonian and early Carboniferous, the eastern part of the northern Appalachians (Acadia) was situated ∼1,500 km further south

relative to cratonic North America than it is at present, and that it moved to its present position sometime later in the Carboniferous (Fig. 1). Van der Voo and Scotese2 proposed an even

greater displacement of 2,000 km which they attribute to motion between cratonic North America and Europe, Acadia being attached to Europe (Fig. 1). The argument is that palaeolatitudes

(_λ_p) derived palaeomagnetically from Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous rocks of cratonic North America are 15–20° more northerly than those of Acadia and Europe. The proposed shear

zone passes through central Newfoundland. Using palaeomagnetic results from eastern and western Newfoundland we show here that no such motion occurred. We also show that Kiaman (late

Carboniferous and Permian) overprinting is widespread in Newfoundland, and that these secondary magnetizations agree (with two exceptions attributed to dextral rotation of the Colorado

Pleateau) with observations from late Devonian and early Carboniferous rocks of the North American craton, confirming the proposal3 that magnetizations of the cratonic early Carboniferous

rocks are Kiaman, not early Carboniferous in age. Our results also enable us to extend this proposal3 to late Devonian rocks of the craton. Hence the palaeolatitudinal offset of Fig. 1 is

almost certainly not tectonic, but is an artefact of the wrong assumption of the equivalence of rock and magnetization ages. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a

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Google Scholar  Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Pacific Geoscience Centre, PO Box 6000, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada, V8L 4B2 E. Irving & D. F.

Strong * Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada, A1B 3X5 E. Irving & D. F. Strong Authors * E. Irving View author publications You can

also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * D. F. Strong View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and

permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Irving, E., Strong, D. Evidence against large-scale Carboniferous strike-slip faulting in the Appalachian–Caledonian orogen. _Nature_ 310,

762–764 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/310762a0 Download citation * Received: 10 April 1984 * Accepted: 25 June 1984 * Issue Date: 30 August 1984 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/310762a0

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