New Early Cretaceous paleomagnetic results from Qilian orogenic belt and its tectonic implications

Lower Cretaceous red sedimentary rocks from the depositional basin of East Qilian fold belt have been collected for a paleomagnetic study. Stepwise thermal demagnetization reveals two or three components of magnetization from dark red sandstones. Low-temperature magnetic component is consistent with the present Earth Field direction in geographic coordinates. High-temperature magnetic components are mainly carried by hematite. The mean pole of 19 sites for high-temperature magnetic components after tilt-correction is λ=62.2° N, ϕ=193.4° E, A ₉₅ =3.2°, and it passes fold tests at 99% confidence level and reversal tests at 95% confidence level. The paleopole is insignificantly different from that of Halim et al. (1998) from the same sampling area at the 95% confidence level. Compared with paleomagnetic results for North China, South China, and Eurasia, our results suggest that no significant relative latitudinal displacement has taken place between Lanzhou region and these blocks since Cretaceous time. Remarkably, the pole of Lanzhou shows a 20° clockwise rotation with respect to those of North China, South China, and Eurasia. Geological information indicates that the crustal shortening in the western part of Qilian is greater than that in eastern part. In this case, the clockwise rotation of sampling area was related to India/Eurasia collision, and this collision resulted in a left-lateral strike-slip motion of the Altun fault in north Tibetan Plateau after the Cretaceous.