This paper demonstrates that - under favorable conditions - by using multichannel recording and subsequent stacking of adjacent records marine airgun shots have been detected at offset distances up to 700 km, the maximum offset at which the authors attempted to record data.^Besides a powerful airgun array, a low noise environment at the recording site and the elimination of static shifts are the prerequisites to obtain refracted and reflected arrivals from the crust and upper mantle at such large offsets.^Primary arrivals detected at offsets between 400 and 700 km image the upper mantle from 70 to about 120 km depth.^Stacking of neighboring shots and/or receivers successfully increases the signal-to-noise ratio, if the traces have been corrected for offset differences, which requires knowledge of the apparent phase velocities.^The data presented here were collected in autumn 1989 during the BABEL Project on the Baltic Shield.

Several paleogeographic configurations for the Amazonian Craton have been suggested along its geological history. Paleomagnetic tests for suggested configurations are however restricted due to very sparce and low quality paleomagnetic data, especially for Paleoproterozoic. In an attempt to improve our understanding of the geodynamic evolution, a paleomagnetic study was performed on felsic volcanic rocks of the Colider Suite, and associated mafic rocks in the Rio Negro-Juruena Province, southwestern Amazonian Craton. These rocks have well dated zircon U-Pb ages between 1.80-1.78 Ga. Very stable northern (southern) directions with moderate to steep negative (positive) inclinations were isolated during AF and thermal demagnetization. Rock magnetism experiments show that the magnetization, which is probably of primary origin, in the felsic rocks is carried by hematite and in the mafic rocks by Ti-poor titanomagnetite. A preliminary mean direction (D=187.4°, I=50.9°, N=16, A95=11.3°, K=11.7) yield a paleomagnetic pole located at 289.4°E, 65.4°S (A95=12.9°), which is classified with quality factor of Q=5. Paleogeographic reconstructions using key Paleoproterozoic poles suggest that Laurentia, Baltica, North China, and Amazonian Craton were located in laterally contiguous positions forming a large continental mass at 1.83-1.77 Ga ago.

In an attempt to improve our understanding of the Paleoproterozoic geodynamic evolution, a paleomagnetic study was performed on 10 sites of acid volcanic rocks of the Colider Suite, southwestern Amazonian Craton. These rocks have a well-dated zircon U-Pb mean age of 1789 +/- 7 Ma. Alternating field and thermal demagnetization revealed northern (southern) directions with moderate to high upward (downward) inclinations. Rock magnetism experiments and magnetic mineralogy show that this characteristic magnetization is carried by Ti-poor magnetite or by hematite that replaces magnetite by late-magmatic cleuteric alteration. Both magnetite and hematite carry the same characteristic component. The mean direction (Dm = 183.0 degrees, Im = 53.5 degrees, N = 10, alpha(95) = 9.8 degrees, K = 25.2) yielded a paleomagnetic pole located at 298.8 degrees E, 63.3 degrees S (alpha(95) = 10.2 degrees, K = 23.6), which is classified with a quality factor Q = 5. Paleogeographic reconstructions using this pole and other reliable Paleoproterozoic poles suggest that Laurentia, Baltica, North China Craton and Amazonian Craton were located in laterally contiguous positions forming a large continental mass at 1790 Ma ago. This is reinforced by geological evidence which support the existence of the supercontinent Columbia in Paleoproterozoic times.

The Nuna supercontinent was probably assembled in the Paleoproterozoic, but its paleogeography and the timing for its demise are still a matter of debate. A paleomagnetic and geochronological study carried out on the Mesoproterozoic Nova Guarita dyke swarm (northern Mato Grosso State, SW Amazonian Craton) provides additional constraints on the duration of this supercontinent. Paleomagnetic AF and thermal treatment revealed south/southwest (northeast) magnetic directions with downward (upward) inclinations for nineteen analyzed sites. These directions are carried by PSD magnetite with high unblocking temperatures as indicated by additional magnetic tests, including thermomagnetic curves, hysteresis loops and the progressive acquisition of isothermal remanence in selected samples. A positive contact test with the host granite in one of the studied dykes further attests to the primary origin of the characteristic magnetic component. A mean site direction was calculated at Dm = 220.5°, Im = 45.9° (α95 = 6.5°, K = 27.7), which yielded a paleomagnetic pole located at 245.9°E, 47.9°S (A95 = 7.0°). 40Ar/39Ar dating carried out on biotites from four analyzed dykes yielded well-defined plateau ages with a mean of 1418.5 ± 3.5 Ma. The Nova Guarita pole precludes a long-lived Nuna configuration in which Laurentia, Baltica, North China, and Amazonia formed a long and continuous block as previously proposed for the Paleoproterozoic. It is nevertheless fully compatible with a SAMBA (Amazonia-Baltica) link at Mesoproterozoic times.

Key palaeomagnetic poles are defined as those which pass basic reliability criteria and are precisely and accurately dated. They allow a more rigorous analysis of Precambrian continental drift and continental reconstructions than the traditional apparent polar wander path (APWP) approach using mostly non-key poles. Between ca. 2.45 and 2.00 Ga in the early Palaeoproterozoic, key poles define the drift of the Archaean Superior craton of Laurentia, yielding a result that is quite unlike the drift interpreted in earlier studies using the APWP method. There are no early Palaeoproterozoic key poles for the other Archaean cratons that amalgamated to form Laurentia and Baltica prior to 1.8 Ga, so that a rigorous test of early Palaeoproterozoic reconstruction models is not possible. Key poles from Laurentia between ca. 1.46 and 1.267 Ga and Baltica between 1.63 and 1.265 Ga help to define, in a preliminary fashion, the early Mesoproterozoic drift of the two shields. The key pole age match at ca. 1.265 Ga is consistent with Baltica located adjacent to eastern Greenland, and geological considerations suggest that the most reasonable fit aligns the Labradorian belt of Laurentia with the Gothian belt of Baltica. Although there is limited support from non-key poles and key poles that are not matched in age for such a fit as early as ca. 1.8 Ga, no rigorous assessment will be possible until a match in key pole ages is achieved. In the late Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic, Laurentia's drift is reasonably well documented by seven key poles between 1.235 and 0.73 Ga. There are no key poles in this period from Baltica, however, so that a ≈90° clockwise rotation of Baltica relative to Laurentia between 1.265 and 1.0 Ga, widely used in the literature, cannot be confirmed.

Of many hundreds of well-defined palaeomagnetic poles that have been reported from cratons around the world in the 1700-500 Ma period, only a few are precisely dated. However, such ‘key' palaeopoles are a prerequisite for establishing rigorous palaeomagnetic reconstructions in order to chart the assembly, drift and breakup of the postulated late Precambrian supercontinent of Rodinia. Most key palaeopoles are derived from mafic dykes and sills that have been dated by U-Pb techniques. Most are from Laurentia, the largest and best studied of the continental fragments that are thought to have comprised Rodinia. Thirteen key Laurentia palaeopoles form an incomplete reference set that can be used for comparison with key palaeopoles from other cratons as they become available. Currently, there are four key palaeopoles for Baltica between 1700 and 500 Ma, although only one allows a direct comparison with a similar aged pole from Laurentia. The 1265 Ma match between Baltica and Laurentia is consistent with reconstructions in which Baltica is adjacent to present-day east Greenland, with the ca. 1700-1500 Ma Gothian and Labradorian belts aligned. Few key palaeopoles are yet available from other cratons. However, recent U-Pb dating of dykes, sills, or volcanic rocks in the Siberian, Australian and Kalahari cratons and in Coats Land of Antarctica constrains the ages of individual palaeopoles from each of these areas. Most of these are not key palaeopoles because they have not been conclusively demonstrated to be primary, or local tectonic rotations have not been ruled out. Nevertheless, they are useful in testing Rodinia reconstructions. In this paper, a U-Pb baddeleyite age is reported from the late Gardar magmatic rocks of southwest Greenland. Along with the previously published palaeopole for this unit, this age helps constrain the Mesoproterozoic location of southwest Greenland relative to North America.

New palaeomagnetic results are presented from nine dolerites from central Sweden. Data are also presented from four porphyry sites and one granite site. The data obtained are compared with previously published data from the area. Based on the directions of the characteristic magnetizations isolated in the various rock units a division into five groups, A-E, has been made. Group A consists of dolerites of late Sveconorwegian (c. 1050-850 Ma) age and group B comprises dolerites belonging to the Central Scandinavian Dolerite Group (c. 1250-1150 Ma). Groups C and D are less clearly defined. Group C, with a shallow negative northerly remanence inclination represents the Tuna dykes (c. 1370 Ma). The D direction, with a shallow positive northerly inclination, may represent an older generation of dolerites. The border between groups C and D is diffuse and may be the result of a prolonged mid-Proterozoic period with dolerite intrusions in Dalarna during which significant apparent polar wander occurred. Group E comprises dolerites with a steep positive inclination close to the direction of the Earth's present field. The porphyries and the granite studied carry group D and E remanence directions. This strengthens the evidence for a D-group generation of dolerites contemporary with the porphyries and the granite, c.1650 Ma ago.

We apply a new diagenetic dating technique to determine the age of magnetization for Precambrian sedimentary rocks in the SW Amazon craton. Two new palcomagnetic poles are reported from the rocks of the Aguapei Gp.: red beds of the Fortuna Fm. (P-lat = 59.8 degrees N, P-lon = 155.9 degrees E, A(95)=9.5, K= 14, 18 sites, N/n 128/115, Q=5) and the reverse-polarity mudstones of the overlying Vale da Promissao Formation (P-lat=49.5 degrees N, P-lon = 89.3 degrees E, A(95) = 12.5, K=30, 6 sites, N/n=94/80, Q=4). The Fortuna Fm. magnetization is hosted by massive, interstitial hematite cement and constitutes a post-depositional remanence. The age of diagenesis of the red beds is well-constrained by the 1149 +/- 7 Ma U-Pb age of authigenic xenotime rims on detrital zircons determined by SHRIMP analysis. The magnetite-hosted remanence of the Vale da Promissao Fm. may be detrital in origin, but the age of deposition is poorly constrained. The reliable and precisely-dated Fortuna Fun. pateomagnetic pole fixes the paleogeographic position of the Amazon craton near the SE Appalachians portion of North America at 1.15 Ga. These data demonstrate a mobile Grenvillian link between these two cratons, and support the recent identification of Amazon crust in the Blue Ridge province region of North America

The configuration and the timing of assembly and break-up of Columbia are still matter of debate. In order to improve our knowledge about the Mesoproterozoic evolution of Columbia, a paleomagnetic study was carried out on the 1420 Ma Indiavaí mafic intrusive rocks that crosscut the polycyclic Proterozoic basement of the SW Amazonian Craton, in southwestern Mato Grosso State (Brazil). Alternating field and thermal demagnetization revealed south/southwest ChRM directions with downward inclinations for sixteen analyzed sites. These directions are probably carried by SD/PSD magnetite with high coercivities and high unblocking temperatures as indicated by additional rock magnetic tests, including thermomagnetic data, hysteresis data and the progressive acquisition of isothermal remanent magnetization. Different stable magnetization components isolated in host rocks from the basement 10 km NW away to the Indiavaí intrusion, further support the primary origin of the ChRM. A mean of the site mean directions was calculated at Dm = 209.8°, Im = 50.7° (α95 = 8.0°, K = 22.1), which yielded a paleomagnetic pole located at 249.7°E, -57.0°N (A95 = 8.6°). The similarity of this pole with the recently published 1420 Ma pole from the Nova Guarita dykes in northern Mato Grosso State suggests a similar tectonic framework for these two sites located 600 km apart, implying the bulk rigidity of the Rondonian-San Ignacio crust at that time. Furthermore these data provide new insights on the tectonic significance of the 1100-1000 Ma Nova Brasilândia belt –a major EW feature that cuts across the basement rocks of this province, which can now be interpreted as intracratonic, in contrast to previous interpretation. From a global perspective, a new Mesoproterozoic paleogeography of Columbia has been proposed based on comparison of these 1420 Ma poles and a 1780 Ma pole from Amazonia with other paleomagnetic poles of similar age from Baltica and Laurentia, a reconstruction in agreement with geological correlations.

Paleomagnetic studies carried out on the 1.42 Ga Indiavaí mafic intrusive rocks, that crop out in the SW Mato Grosso State provides a great opportunity to test the proposed paleogeographic models for Columbia. Paleomagnetic AF and thermal treatment revealed south/southwest magnetic directions with downward inclinations for sixteen analyzed sites. These directions are probably carried by SD/PSD magnetite with high coercivities and high unblocking temperatures as indicated by additional magnetic tests, including thermomagnetic curves, hysteresis loops and the IRM acquisition curves. A different magnetization obtained for host mafic rocks from the basement ca. 10 km NW away from the Indiavaí intrusive, further attests to the primary origin of the characteristic magnetic component. A mean site direction was calculated at Dm=209.8°, Im=50.7° (α95=8.0°, K=22.1), which yielded a paleomagnetic pole located at 249.7°E, -57.0°N (A95=8.6°). Comparison of this pole with other paleomagnetic poles of similar age from Baltica and Laurentia provides evidence for a link of north-northeastern Amazonian craton, southwestern Baltica and Laurentia, as previously suggested from the similar Mesoproterozoic geological evolution of their margins.

The South American platform is composed of four major cratons (Amazonian, São Francisco, Rio de la Plata and São Luis) and other smaller continental blocks and terrains that may have taken part in supercontinental assemblages. Here, paleogeographic configurations from the Paleoproterozoic up to the Cambrian are tested by means of an updated paleomagnetic and geochronologic record of South America, including new high-quality poles from the Amazonian and São Francisco cratons. These poles are compared to those of other cratons thought to have interacted with South American units in the Proterozoic, such as Baltica and Laurentia. The oldest assemblage of continents to be addressed is the Paleoproterozoic Columbia (~1800 Ma), for which our data support a configuration aligning Laurentia, Baltica, North China and Amazonia through their Paleo-Mesoproterozoic belts. For Neoproterozoic times (~1200-1000 Ma) a connection between Laurentia and the Amazonian craton in an evolving configuration (with relative movement between the two units) is supported by a pole-to-pole comparison. In contrast, striking differences in Laurentia's drift history compared to São Francisco, São Luis (=West Africa) and Kalahari rule-out the effective participation of these cratons in Rodinia. The assembly of Gondwana has probably occurred in different steps, comprising first (~630 Ma) the connection between Sao Francisco, Rio de la Plata, other minor blocks and the African cratons, followed by the collision of these central Gondwanan blocks with the Amazonian craton and adjoining blocks by mid-Cambrian times (~530 Ma), after the opening of the Iapetus ocean basin between Laurentia and the Amazonian craton. In this scenario, the West Gondwana was not a coherent tectonic unit before the end of Precambrian times.

The connection between Amazonia and Laurentia at late Meso- proterozoic times through the Grenville/Sunsas-Aguapei collisional belts is a key feature of Rodinia paleogeography.However, at least three different geometries are proposed for such connection, mainly due to the paucity of paleomagnetic data for Amazonia.Connections along Greenland and Labrador were initially proposed based on the fit of geological provinces and scarse virtual geomagnetic poles.More recently, a connection through the Llano belt in Texas was proposed based on a single well dated 1.2 Ga paleopole obtained in mafic rocks from the Nova Floresta Formation. We present a series of poles obtained on sedimentary rocks of the Aguapei Group (western Matto Grosso State-Amazonian Craton) and intrusive mafic rocks, whose evolution is related to the Meso-Neoproterozoic Aguapei-Sunsas orogeny (1.3-0.9 Ga).Together with the 1.2 Ga Nova Floresta pole, they define a straight apparent polar wander path which matches the Laurentia APWP by 1.1 Ga for a connection along the (present day) Labrador region. The pole's trajectories imply a high degree of obliquity for such a collision in agreement with tectonic models put forward for the southwestern margin of Amazonia, the southeastern margin of Laurentia and the southwestern margin of Baltica.

Complete text of publication follows. The Hoting Gabbro is located in the western part of the Central Svecofennian Subprovince, and dates about 1.786+-0.010 Ga. In the Hoting area, dykes intruded at around 1.6 Ga, and partly remagnetized the gabbros. Previous paleomagnetic and geochemical studies indicated that the stable characteristic remanent magnetization was acquired at about 1.7 Ga, when the slow cooling of the gabbro is taken into account. Preliminary palaeointensity studies from gabbros in the Hoting area suggested a very low field of about 5.8+-1.9 muT. Unfortunately, at that stage, only two sites out of nine yielded results. During 2008, we sampled seven sites from the Hoting area in order to perform new palaeointensity experiments. At Scripps, we applied the IZZI method on 60 specimens, and 39 yielded reliable results varying between 3 and 20 muT, and confirm the previous low results. Low field values have been associated with oxyexolution processes that might bias the palaeointensity result towards low values, and so we are currently investigating the mineralogy of the samples with SEM analyses. We will present the details of the palaeointensity and mineralogical results, and infer the evolution of the geomagnetic field during Precambrian.

Paleointensities from Precambrian rocks are rare and might be biased by remagnetization processes. Here we present new analyses of samples from a 1.786 Ga gabbro near Hoting, Central Sweden. Rock magnetic and mineralogical analyses indicate that one of the sites (site 5) may be pristine, whereas the others exhibit evidence of alteration. Characteristic remanent magnetization was determined using principal component analysis for each sample and was compared with results obtained in a previous study of Elming et al. (2009). Intensity measurements from site 5 show higher values compared to those of the other sites, suggesting that alteration processes may lead to underestimation of the field intensity. After cooling rate and anisotropy correction, the field moment at 1.786 Ga was estimated to be 25.6 ± 3.3 ZAm2 and 15.2 ± 6.1 ZAm2 from site 5 only and from all sites respectively. We consider the result from site 5 to be more accurate owing to the lack of evidence for alteration; our estimates agree well with the Proterozoic VDM values suggested by Biggin et al. (2009).

The Tjårrojåkka area is located about 50 km WSW of Kiruna, northern Sweden, and hosts one of the best examples of spatially and possibly genetically related Fe-oxide and Cu-Au occurrences in the area. The bedrock is dominated by intermediate and basic extrusive and intrusive rocks. An andesite constrains the ages of these rocks with a U-Pb LA-ICPMS age of 1878±7 Ma. They are cut by dolerites, which acted as feeder dykes for the overlying basalts. Based on geochemistry and the obtained age the andesites and basaltic andesites can be correlated with the 1.9 Ga intermediate volcanic rocks of the Svecofennian Porphyrite Group in northern Sweden. They formed during subduction-related magmatism in a volcanic arc environment on the Archaean continental margin above the Kiruna Greenstone Group. Chemically the basalts and associated dolerites have the same signature, but cannot directly be related to any known basaltic unit in northern Sweden. The basalts show only minor contamination of continental crust and may represent a local extensional event in a subaquatic back arc setting with extrusion of mantle derived magma. The intrusive rocks range from gabbro to quartz-monzodiorite in composition. The area is metamorphosed at epidote-amphibolite facies and has been affected by scapolite, K-feldspar, epidote, and albite alteration that is more intense in the vicinity of deformation zones and mineral deposits. Three events of deformation have been distinguished in the area. D1 brittle-ductile deformation created NE-SW-striking steep foliation corresponding with the strike of the Tjårrojåkka-Fe and Cu deposits and was followed by the development of an E-W deformation zone (D2). A compressional event (D3), possible involving thrusting from the SW, produced folds in the central part of the area and a NNW-SSE striking deformation zone in NE.

This palaeomagnetic investigation comprises basic rocks from six localities from the Svecokarelian zone in northern Sweden. Most of the pole positions in this study and other reported poles of Svecokarelian and post-Svecokarelian rocks fall within an approximately 12 degrees wide band running from east to west representing ages of magnetizations from 1880-1700 to ∼ 1530 Ma. Thermal demagnetizations of specimens of the probably oldest massifs indicate a possible backward continuation of the polar wandering path. Mineralogical studies of thin sections of the rocks show ore symplectites and myrmekitic textures indicating a slow rate of cooling at least at the end of the rock formation. Signs of metamorphism are demonstrated by the existence of secondary minerals, including magnetite, not related to late magmatic alterations. The distribution of site means as well as the change of directions of the remanence vectors during thermal demagnetization can be explained by a slow rate of cooling and where signs of metamorphism exist by partial remagnetization of the rock. This study has, apart from the palaeomagnetic results, demonstrated the difficulty of correlating radiometric ages with ages of magnetization

Palaeomagnetic and Ar39/Ar40 studies have been performed on basic dykes and dyke swarms in central and northern Sweden. At least five different generations of dykes have been defined and will be discussed in a plate tectonic context. Reliable palaeomagnetic data have been obtained from a big gabbro diabase and a geographically related dyke swarm in the northern part of Sweden from which poles similar to those calculated from Svecofennian gabbros (ca 1.86 Ga) are defined. In another swarm of palaeomagnetically similar age, just north of the Skellefte district, partially remagnetized dykes indicate a possible Subjotnian or Caledonian regional remagnetization. The dykes are younger when moving towards the south and in the central part there is a significant dyke swarm with at least two generations of dykes (ca. 1.7 and 1.6 Ga, respectively), one of which is related with rapakivi magmatism. Palaeomagnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data from the huge ca 1.25 Ga sill complexes in central Sweden and western Finland and from basic intrusions in Greenland suggest that Baltica and Laurentia were joined at that time. The similar stress field as indicated by the AMS data and the tensional regime reflected by the sill complexes is interpreted related to the break up of Baltica from Laurentia. New data from ca 1.1 Ga dykes in central Sweden confirms a clockwise rotation of Fennoscandia between 1.25 and 1.1 Ga, a rotation that is not seen for Laurentia.

Density and magnetic properties were determined on some 1350 rock samples, taken from the different lithologies in the Caledonides of Jmtland, Sweden. The density determinations showed a strong trend of increasing density when moving from east to west in the investigated area. There was also a general increase in density upwards in the tectono-stratigraphy from the autochthon to the Seve of the Seve-Kli Nappe Complex. The determination of magnetic properties showed that east of the Caledonian Front the dominating high-susceptibility rock was the Rtan granite. In the Eastern Complex, west of the Caledonian Front, high-susceptibility rocks were found in the parautochthonous and allochthonous crystalline basement, whereas in the Western Complex the Ottfjllet dolerite in the Srv Nappe was the dominating high-susceptibility rock.

Plate tectonics provides the linking framework for all tectonic and magmatic activity seen today, but it is not known when plate tectonics first developed on Earth. New deep seismic reflection and coincident refraction profiles across an exposed, 1.89-Gyr-old volcanic arc complex show a 10-km-thick offset in the Moho and bivergent reflectors in the crust, which were most probably created by plate convergence, subduction and accretion during the Early Proterozoic. Hence, plate tectonic models seem to be applicable for at least the second half of Earth's history.

Gravimetric measurements have been carried out within a c. 500 km2 area of western Jämtland in the Swedish Caledonides. Using different types of regional-residual gravity field separations, various geological models have been tested to fit the measured gravity data. Information on the geology and density of the rocks have reduced the number of possible models which are presented along two profiles. These models confirm the existence of antiforms and synforms running approximately parallel to the mountain range. The main profile crosses the two synforms over which positive anomalies are identified. Both in the western Tnnfors Synform and the eastern re Synform this is explained by the presence of high density Seve rocks, in the former case occurring beneath a cover of Kli Nappes. The depth to the base of the Seve Nappe units in the Tnnfors Synform is calculated at 4.5 km and in the re Synform at 3 km. The maximum depth to the interface between Kli and Seve rocks in the Tnnfors district is 3.2 km. Gravimetric models of the basement rocks in the windows, and difference in physical properties between the crystalline rocks of the windows and those of the autochthonous basement east of the Caledonian thrust front, imply that the basement exposed in the antiforms is allochthonous. A gravity minimum east of the re Synform is interpreted as a southern continuation of low density granites related to the Olden Complex. The inferred thickness of these low density rocks suggests that it may be a part of the autochthonous basement.

A palaeomagnetic study has been performed on Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic basic intrusions and volcanic rocks from the Fennoscandian shield in northern Sweden. Three, possibly four, different generations of magnetizations were identified, the oldest assigned to a Svecofennian age (1.86-1.89 Ga). A second generation is related to the intrusion of granitoids of 1.80-1.76 Ga. In this geological event probably also the third group of directions has its origin. These different magnetizations may indicate that there are at least two different generations of basic intrusions in northern Sweden. A fourth group of directions is isolated as overprints. This magnetization is interpreted to be a Subjotnian magnetization, reflecting a previously unrecognized regional Subjotnian metamorphic event in the northwestern part of the Fennoscandian shield. The drift history for the Fennoscandian shield during the period 1.88-1.50 Ga has been defined based on these new palaeomagnetic data

A palaeomagnetic study of rocks, from inside and outside the impact structure has been carried out, with the aim of identifying natural remanent magnetizations (NRMs) related to the impact event. Three different directions of magnetizations, not recognized elsewhere, were identified within the central part of the structure. These three magnetizations are defined in terms of coercivity and blocking temperature. The implications of the results are discussed in relation to ages obtained from Ar-Ar dating of impact melt

A new key palaeomagnetic pole (Plat. = 64.3°S, Plon. = 271.0°E, N = 14, A95= 9.2°; Q = 5) is calculated from a primary magnetization isolated in early Neoproterozoic Aguapei basic sills and dykes hosted by 1.3-1.0 Ga sedimentary rocks from the southwestern part of the Amazon craton. The characteristic remanence carried by stable, pseudo-single domain titanomagnetite shows two antipodal polarities that pass a reversals test. Magnetic anisotropy for most sites shows fabric orientations that are typical of sills, with horizontal magnetic foliations concordant to the flat-lying bedding of the host sedimentary rocks. 40Ar/39Ar analyses for one of the sills reveal a well-defined plateau age at 981 ± 2 Myr. A tectonic reconstruction for Amazonia relative Laurentia based on this new pole 'is consistent with' a position of the present northwestern part of Amazonia attached with eastern Laurentia close to Greenland at ca. 981 Ma. On basis of palaeomagnetic and geological data, we propose a scenario where Amazonia moved northeastwards along the present southeast coast of Laurentia from ca. 1200 to 980 Ma. By 980 Ma, Amazonia is placed alongside Laurentia and Baltica, in a position similar to other reconstructions of Rodinia but with a significantly different orientation.

A palaeomagnetic study and age determinations have been performed on Ediacaran basalts from the northwestern Ukraine. Whole-rock ^sup 40^Ar/^sup 39^Ar age determination revealed plateau ages at 590-560 Ma and 393 Ma, the latter probably reflecting a resetting of the radiometric system. Palaeomagnetic poles have been calculated from five basalt flows, two of which (A poles) are considered reliable with ages that range from 580 to 560 Ma. Tentative poles (B poles), calculated from most probably primary magnetizations, have ages estimated at 580-545 Ma. Secondary magnetizations, possibly of late Ediacaran or Devonian age, have also been isolated (C poles). Based on the new poles, Baltica drifted together with Laurentia from an equatorial position at c. 750 Ma to occupy high southern latitude positions at c. 580 Ma. Baltica during that time period was joined to Laurentia in a similar relative position to that at 750 Ma. The two shields then split up from each other and from c. 550 Ma Baltica drifted at moderately high latitudes and rotated some 180° during the final opening of the Iapetus ocean. This reconstruction suggests that during the Ediacaran glaciation Baltica occupied high-latitude positions, which contradicts the high-obliquity model to explain low-latitude Neoproterozoic glaciations

A palaeomagnetic study has been performed on Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic basic intrusions from three crustal blocks of the Ukrainian Shield. At least three different generations of dykes has been identified and positive field tests can be demonstrated for some of them. A sequence of 2.1 to 1.72 Ga apparent polar wander has been defined on basis of the new palaeomagnetic and Ar/Ar data presented here and on basis of old data from anorthosites. The calculated poles are significantly different from poles of similar age from the Fennoscandian Shield. Although the poles are not perfectly coeval the tectonic reconstructions demonstrate that the Ukrainian Shield collided with Fennoscandia at 1.80-1.85 Ga and then rotated some 45° into its present relative position.

Palaeomagnetic, K-Ar and Ar40/Ar39 measurements have been made to elucidate Nicaragua's plate tectonic history. These show that the Nicaraguan Highland rotated 90° counterclockwise between 30 and 18 Myr ago, but the Pacific Coastal Plain has not rotated.A lack of data has prevented a direct comparison with the tectonic history of adjacent areas, in particular, the Chortis Block, which is the part of the Caribbean Plate that is geologically most closely related to the Nicaraguan Highland. However, our data suggest that the Caribbean Plate in this part of Central America was not consolidated until c. 15 Ma.

A paleomagnetic and chronogical study has been performed on the Turinge gabbro-diabase formation and on a cross cutting basic dyke in central Sweden and on the Joulovaara gabbro intrusion in northern Sweden in the Fennoscandian Shield. U-Pb age of baddeleyite and ⁴⁰Ar/ ³⁹Ar ages of hornblende and biotite reveal a cooling history of the deep gabbro-diabase intrusion in Turinge. The cooling is suggested to have taken place in two stages, one related to the time of intrusion in temperature down to ca 500 °C with a cooling rate up to 46 - 59°/Ma and another at a lower rate of ca 2.9 °C/Ma, which is suggested to be related with uplift. From this cooling history it can be concluded that the magnetization age of the diabase, ca 1695 – 1700 Ma is close to the crystallization age and the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of hornblende. Applying a similar cooling history for the other studied deep intrusion, the ca 1800 Ma gabbro of Joulovaara gabbro, it is estimated that the magnetization age of the gabbro should be close to that of the U-Pb age of the formation, although the pole of the Joulovaara gabbro is less reliable.

The cooling history presented here for the Turinge gabbro-diabase has implications for estimations of magnetization ages also for other deep intrusions.

The new pole (Plat. = 51.6°, Plon. = 220.2°; A95= 4.8°) of the Turinge gabbro-diabase passes most of the reliability criteria and is considered a new key pole for Fennoscandia.

The Basic dyke that cuts the Turinge gabbro-diabase was here dated at ca 1200 Ma (whole rock, ⁴⁰Ar/ ³⁹Ar) and the virtual geomagnetic pole calculated from its primary magnetization falls into the expected trend of APWP for Baltica.

The new Turinge key pole prolong the time of overlapping poles for Fennoscandia, indicating only small movements of the shield between ca. 1870 to 1700 Ma.

Remanent magnetization in dyke contact zones in the Hoting area of the Fennoscandian Shield in the central part of Sweden has been studied in order to establish the ambient temperature of the host rock and the depth of burial of the present erosion surface at the time of intrusion. A positive baked contact test for two Subjotnian dykes demonstrates the primary nature of the dyke magnetization. From the magnetic properties and the palaeomagnetic data, it can be concluded that the overprinting in the hybrid zone of one of the basic dykes is a partial thermoremanent magnetization. Reliable results were also obtained from a palaeointensity study of samples from the hybrid zone in the baked host rock. The study was performed in the laboratories at Luleå and at Scripps and a mean intensity of the Earth's magnetic field of 5.8 ± 1.9 μT was determined. The maximum temperature due to the dyke intrusion in the hybrid zone has been defined and from that an ambient temperature of 375 °C in the host rock at the time of intrusion has been calculated. This calculated temperature is not contradicted by the 40Ar/39Ar data. A palaeothermal gradient in the crust at ca. 1.6 Ga is calculated at ca. 34 °C km-1 and yields a depth of burial of the present erosion surface at ca. 10.4 km. This implies an uplift rate of 0.65 km (100 Ma)-1. A slow cooling of the gabbroic host rock (ca. 3.5 °C Ma-1) has been calculated from the difference in the U-Pb age of zircon (1.786 ± 0.010 Ga) and the 40Ar/39Ar biotite ages (1.648 ± 0.012 Ga; 1614 ± 0.024 Ga) of this study. This slow cooling resulted in a palaeomagnetic age of ca. 1.7 Ga for the gabbro, which is also the age of the determined palaeointensity. The calculated ca. 1.614 Ga palaeomagnetic pole from the basic dykes fulfils most of the criteria for a reliable pole and may be regarded as a new key-pole for Fennoscandia.

A palaeomagnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) study has been performed on dolerite sills of the Central Scandinavian Dolerite Group (CSDG) in the Fennoscandian Shield. The dolerites occur in four previously known complexes in central Sweden and Finland and from the results of this palaeomagnetic study another complex has been identified in northern Sweden. These complexes cover an area of at least 100 000 km2 and the palaeomagnetic data suggest a small difference in time between the intrusion of the dolerites. The measurements of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility reveal a magnetic fabric with almost horizontal foliation planes and lineations that indicate fairly uniform ca NW or SE directed magma flows. The dolerites of the CSDG are geochemically rather uniform and have compositions typical of mantle derived melts formed in continental tensional settings. In a palaeomagnetic reconstruction of Baltica versus Laurentia at ca 1.27 Ga the two continents were joined, with NE Greenland attached to NW Baltica. AMS data from a few dolerites and a basalt in NE Greenland indicate magma flow directions that in the tectonic reconstruction are more or less parallel to the flow of the dolerites in Sweden. This may suggest a common magma source located at the reconstructed contact between Baltica and Laurentia. Both the dolerites in Greenland and those in Sweden are of tholeitic composition indicating an intraplate origin, which supports the interpretation of joined continents at that time. The tensional regime, that is reflected by the huge sill complexes, is in our interpretation related to the break up of Baltica from Laurentia at ca 1.27 Ga ago.

A palaeomagnetic study has been performed on Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic rocks from three crustal blocks of the Ukrainian Shield, southern Sarmatia. Primary remanent magnetizations have been isolated in 2.0 Ga monzonite, 2.0-1.8 Ga sandstone, 1.77-1.72 Ga anorthosite and from mafic dykes of probably Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic ages. On basis of these results a sequence of 2.0-1.72 Ga apparent polar wander has for the first time been defined for the Ukrainian Shield. Palaeomagnetic and geological data indicate that there has probably not been any large scale tectonic movements within Sarmatia since the Mesoproterozoic. This suggests that tectonic reconstructions for the Ukrainian Shield may also include Sarmatia. The calculated pole positions for the Ukrainian Shield are significantly different from poles of similar age from the Fennoscandian Shield. The tectonic reconstructions demonstrate that the relative position and orientation of the Ukrainian Shield as a part of Sarmatia in the time interval 2.0-1.78 Ga was different from its present position relative to Fennoscandia. One pole from the Ukrainian Shield falls on the ca. 1.6 or 1.3 Ga part of the Fennoscandian APWP. This pole may represent a time when Fennoscandia was already accreted to Ukrainia. Contemporaneous rifting of the two cratons at ca. 1.35 Ga indicates that they were already joined to each other at that time, which means that the final accretion should have taken place sometimes after ca. 1.8 Ga ago.