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Copyright 1987 by the American Geophysical Union. ELLSWORTH-WHITMORE MOUNTAINS CRUSTAL BLOCK, WESTERN ANTARCTICA: NEW PALEOMAGNETIC RESULTS AND THEIR TECTONIC SIGNIFICANCE A. H. Grunow, I. V. D. Dalziel, 1 and D. V. Kent Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964 Abstract. Preliminary paleomagnetic study of of global plate interaction, paleoclimate, and granitic and sedimentary rocks from the Ellsworth paleobiogeography. It was with this in mind that Whitmore Mountains crustal block (EVH), Vest Ant the joint U.K.-U.S. Vest Antarctic Tectonics Proj arctica, leads to the following conclusions: (1) ect was initiated (Dalziel and Pankhurst, this The EVH has a paleogole for the Middle Jurassic volume). Paleomagnetic studies are clearly an "' located at 235°E, 41 S, (ag 5 5.3, N = 8 sites) essential part of such a project, especially in assuming that no widespreaCI regional tilting has the light of evidence that some geologic terranes occurred since the magnetization measured was bordering the Pacific Ocean have been displaced acquired. A Middle Jurassic paleolatitude of 47°S large distances (Coney et al., 1980; Vander Voo is indicated for the sites and precludes an origi et al., 1980; Stone et al., 1982]. Existing nal location for the EVH block south of the Ant paleomagnetic data suggest that the four ujor arctic Peninsula crustal block (AP). (2) This crustal blocks of Vest Antarctica (Figure 1) have pole is not significantly different from the pre been in close proximity to the East Antarctic viously published Middle Jurassic paleopole ob craton at least since the Late Jurassic to Early tained from rocks of the northern Antarctic Penin Cretaceous (for review see Dalziel and Grunow sula. The combined AP-EVH paleopole, compared to (1985]). The data base is not extensive, however, the Middle Jurassic mean paleopole obtained from and there are indications from "overlap" in Gond igneous rocks of the Ferrar Supergroup in East wanaland reconstructions, from geologic correla Antarctica, suggests about 15° tectonic clockwise tion, and from some of the paleomagnetic results, rotation of the AP and EVH. Since the AP and EVH that linli ted relative motion of these blocks and poles coincide, these two crustal blocks may have of East Antarctica has occurred (for review see moved as one unit since the Middle Jurassic. ( 3) Dalziel and Elliot (1982]). Radiometric ages of The new data are compatible with two different approximately 175 Ha reported from granites in Gondwanaland reconstructions. The first considers nunataks south of the Ellsworth Mountains (Crad the AP and EVH as separate entities. The second dock, 1983] gave cause for optimism that paleomag is based on the movement of the AP and EVH as one netic poles might be obtained for a critical time block. For the Middle Jurassic, both reconstruc period prior to Gondwanaland breakup. At this tions would locate the EVH west of Coats Land and time (Middle Jurassic (Kent and Gradstein, 1985]), south of the Falkland Plateau, with the adjacent Antarctica was in a middle latitude position, and AP located south of southernmost South America. hence subsequent rotations should be resolved more (4) Enigmas concerning the structural trend and readily than with poles for the Cretaceous and isolation of the thick Ellsworth Mountains Paleo Tertiary when Antarctica vas at a very high lati zoic succession persist. tude (Norton and Sclater, 1979; Delisle, 1983]. During the 1983-1984 and 1984-1985 field sea Vest Antarctica and the Pacific Margin sons, therefore, two of us (A.H.G. and I.V.D.D.) of Gondwanaland made extensive collections for paleomagnetic stud ies in the Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountains crustal Vest Antarctica and New Zealand are the most block (EVH), the adjoining Thiel Mountains (part difficult parts of Gondwanaland to reconstruct. of the Transantarctic Mountains) (Figure 2), and This is partly due to the extensive tectonism that the Thurston Island-Eights Coast crustal block occurred along the margin of the Pacific Ocean (Figure 1). The collection sites were chosen on during and since fragmentation of the superconti the basis of the field observations described by nent. It is also partly a result of the extensive Storey and Dalziel (this volume]. The samples ice cover in Antarctica. Yet, as has been pointed were studied in the paleomagnetic laboratory at out elsewhere, the tectonic evolution of this re Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory by A.H.G. gion has important implications for understanding and D.V.K. Radiometric age control for the study is provided by the work of Millar and Pankhurst 1 Now at Institute for Geophysics, University of (this volume]. Although few of the exposed rocks Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78751. are ideal for paleomagnetic study, primarily due 161 / 162 VEST ANTARCTICA, NEV PALEOMAGNETIC RESULTS and Bramall [1981). They interpreted the data as being compatible with a 90° counterclockwise rota tion of the Ellsworth Mountains relative to the East Antarctic craton since deposition of the Cam brian strata they studied. The detailed results of their extensive collecting have yet to be published. Ve therefore confined our work in the Ellsworth Mountains to collecting from the Permian Polarstar Formation that was not visited by Vatts and Bramall. Vith the exception of the Stewart Hills we col lected material from all other isolated nunataks or groups of nunataks in the EVM (Figure 2). The highly deformed metasedimentary strata of the Pacific Ocean Stewart Hills were judged to be unsuitable for (Panthalassa) paleomagnetic study. This part of the collection comprises Ellsworth Mountains, Permian sedimentary rocks; Haag Nunataks, Precambrian gneiss and minor intrusions; Hart Hills, undated gabbro (hand spec imens only); Martin Hills, undated metasedimentary rocks; Moreland Nunatak, undated sedimentary stra ta; Mount Johns, undated sedimentary strata; Mount Fig •. 1. Gondwanaland reconstruction of Norton and Moore, deformed metasedimentary rocks (hand spec Sclater [1979). Vest Antarctic microcontinents imens only); Mount Voollard, undated gneiss, am [from Dalziel and Elliot, 1982): AP, Antarctic phibolite, and pegmatites; Nash Hills, Middle Ju- Peninsula crustal block; EVM, Ellsworth-Vhi tmore Mountains crustal block; MBL, Marie Byrd Land crustal block; and TI, Thurston Island-Eights Coast crustal block. 100° IIO"W 0 250 to the absence of paleohorizontal markers, some of km the results already obtained from our first sea son's collecting in the EVM do provide new in sights into the tectonic evolution of Vest Ant arctica and hence of the Pacific margin of Gon dwanaland. It is therefore appropriate to present here a suamary of these results and our joint in terpretation of them. ro• Ellsworth-Vhitmore Mountains Crustal Block MT. JOHNSI • The geology of the Ellsworth-Vhitmore Mountains crustal Block is summarized in the paper by Storey MT. MOORE eo• S • •MT. WOOLLARO and Dalziel [this volume). The thick Paleozoic so• s sedimentary sequence of the Ellsworth Mountains is • IP'ARIT HILLS comparable to the Gondwana era ton cover exposed . along the Transantarctic Mountains and the south NASH HILLS. ern coast of Africa. Especially notable is the tMARTitl HILLS occurrence of upper Paleozoic glacial deposits, the Vhi teout Conglomerate, and Glossopteris bearing Permian strata, the Polarstar Formation .HITMORE MTS. [Craddock, 1969). Together with the isolation of the mountains and their anomalous north-south •PAGANO N. structural grain, this stratigraphic comparison HART HILLS• led Schopf [1969) to propose that the crustal •STEWART HILLS block containing the Ellsworth Mountains has been tJ displaced from an original location along the .SONNTAG N. eastern margin of the Veddell Sea between the Transantarctic Mountains and the Cape Mountains of ~HIELMTS. southern Africa. •LEWIS N. The geology of the Ellsworth Mountains them selves has been recently (1979-1980) studied by a large group of scientists and is to be described in a forthcoming memoir [Craddock et al., 1986). A paleomagnetic project was part of this effort. Fig. 2. Hap showing sample localities in the Preliminary results have been described by Vatts Ellsworth-Vhitmore Mountains crustal block. GRUNOV BT AL. 163 rassic granite, aplite, and undated metasedimen rocks are hornfelsed and appear to be roof pen tary rocks; Pagano Nunatak, Middle Jurassic gran dants in the granite body. Granite samples from ite and aplites; Pirrit Hills, Middle Jurassic two sites in the Nash Hills were demagnetized granitic rocks, aplites, and undated metasedimen using AF. A single component of magnetization tary rocks; Whitmore Mountains, Early to Middle with a downward dipping direction to the northwest Jurassic granitic plutons, aplites, and undated was found (Figures 3a and 4). In addition, horn metasedimentary rocks. felsed calcareous red siltstone from two sites was It should be noted that we include here the seen to be partially magnetically overprinted by Precambrian rocks of Haag Nunataks within the EIIH, the intrusion of the granite. This overprint although the nature of the basement in the latter magnetization has a directly antiparallel direc region is indeterminate [Garrett et al., this tion (upward dipping t~ the southeast) to that of volume]; see also Dalziel et al. [this volume). the Nash Hills granite (Figure 3b). AF de•agnet• Samgling and analytical procedures. A total of ization defined this secondary direction •ore 480 onented drill core samples

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