Paleomagnetic results of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks from Xingshan-Zigui section in Hubei Province, South China

The paleomagnetic reconnaissance study of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks from the Yangtze Block (YZB) was made to conduct the Apparent Polar Wander Path (APWP) of the YZB during the Phanerozoic. A total of 825 samples from 84 sites were collected from a continuous section along the Xiangxi River valley in Xingshan and Zigui counties in Hubei Province, northern margin of the YZB. Stepwise thermal/alternating demagnetization isolated well defined characteristic magnetization (ChRM) at a higher temperature in most of the samples, and relatively thermal stability and high coercivity were revealed from these samples. All the ChRMs can pass the fold and/or reversal tests, suggesting that they are probably primary. Therefore, new pole positions are presented for the YZB.