Palaeomagnetism and rock magnetism of the Permian redbeds from the Velebit Mt. (Karst Dinarides, Croatia): dating of the early Alpine tectonics in the Western Dinarides by a secondary magnetization

• First detailed palaeomagnetic study of the Permian redbeds in the Velebit Mt.
• Redbeds were remagnetized at the beginning of folding during the Cretaceous burial.
• No significant post-Cretaceous vertical axis rotation is implied.
• Results indirectly point that the Dinaric tectonism began in the Cretaceous time.
• Results confirm African geotectonic affinity of the Velebit rocks.

The studied area of the Velebit Mt., a part of the Adria microplate, belonged to a NE margin of Gondwana during the Carboniferous and Permian. While the Carboniferous to the Early Permian was characterised by deposition of clastic rocks, younger sedimentation was dominated by a thick sequence of carbonate rocks. The Lower Permian deposits of the core part of the Velebit Mt. at Košna and Crne Grede localities were investigated using palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic measurements. The main remanence carriers were recognized as haematite with an increasing contribution of SP/SD magnetite in younger subsections. The AMS fabric with low anisotropy ratio (1–3%) is strongly oblate at Košna and weakly prolate at Crne Grede, reflecting differences in the contribution of magnetic phases.A significant remagnetization of the Permian rocks, as proved by results of a conglomerate test, probably caused by a combination of elevated temperatures and fluid migration, may be assigned to burial-related processes that affected the rocks before the final uplift of the Dinarides. Characteristic remanent magnetizations recorded in haematite are apparently similar to the Permian direction for Africa (shallow inclination with NNW declination), as expected for Velebit Mt. coordinates. Paradoxically, this orientation is observed in situ within the almost vertically dipping beds. We explain this relationship assuming a syn-folding Cretaceous remagnetization of the rocks at their subhorizontal position (ca. 30°S), in which a mean vector of the secondary remanence overlaps with the Cretaceous direction, expected for Africa at the Velebit Mt. geographical coordinates. Consequently, our results indirectly point to the Cretaceous time of incipient stages of the Dinaric tectonism, and suggest African geotectonic affinity of the Velebit rocks. No important vertical-axis rotation is implied by our results, in contrast to previously published data. The puzzling complete remagnetization carried by haematite at relatively low-to-moderate temperatures is also discussed.