Palaeomagnetic results from the late Precambrian Chela Group of southwest Angola
Abstract Palaeomagnetic results from fourteen sites (56 samples) in the late Precambrian Chela Group of southwest Angola are reported. After alternating field demagnetization eight of the sites have mean directions closely grouped around D = 123°, I = −44 1 2 ° ; the dispersion of these directions increases substantially after tectonic corrections suggesting magnetic overprinting. Intensive thermal demagnetization proved more effective than alternating field demagnetization in resolving magnetic components. After removal of viscous components, samples from five sites (Group I) show a single component, similar to that observed after alternating field demagnetization. At four more sites (Grou…
Elements of the Archean thermal history and apparent polar wander of the eastern Kaapvaal Craton, Swaziland, from single grain dating and paleomagnetism
Abstract Single grains of zircon, hornblende, biotite and feldspar have been dated to define the thermal history of the Archean Mbabane Pluton, Swaziland. Coincident207Pb/206Pb zircon and40Ar/39Ar hornblende ages suggest that the pluton underwent rapid cooling to about 450°C at the time of emplacement at ∼ 2690 Ma. Because the Mbabane Pluton is one of a suite of granites which represent the last major Archean intrusive event in the eastern Kaapvaal Craton, this time of emplacement marks the end of cratonization. Much younger biotite and feldspar ages indicate argon loss, perhaps due to several low-temperature events related to dike intrusion at 2000–2300 Ma. From such a thermal history, the…