Paleomagnetic investigation of the Early Permian Panjal Traps of NW India; regional tectonic implications

The ∼289 Ma Panjal Traps of NW India (Kashmir) are part of a series of rift-related mafic suites (Abor, Sikkim etc.) that were erupted onto northern India (present-day coordinates) around the same time as separation of the Cimmerian blocks of Qiangtang and Sibumasu. We report new data from only the second paleomagnetic investigation of this unit. Standard alternating field and thermal demagnetization methods were used to isolate characteristic magnetizations from seven outcrops at three locations within the Kashmir Valley, NW India. Analysis of four sections (14 individual cooling units) from close to Srinagar, that together form a tectonically coherent sequence spanning ∼3 km of stratigraphy, yield a single-component, primary magnetization with a mean direction of Dec: 134.8°, Inc: 55.3° (α95 = 8.9°, k = 21.0). An inclination-only mean of 52.5° (α95 = 8.9°, k = 47.2) gives a paleolatitude of ∼33°S (±5°). A paleopole of 110.5°E 8.4°S (A95 = 10.7) is also calculated. Assuming the magnetization records a portion of the reverse polarity Kiaman Superchron, the new result indicates extrusion of the Panjal Traps basalts at mid-latitudes in the southern hemisphere. By inference this constrains the location of central Gondwana, and informs debates related to Cimmeria's detachment from Gondwana.