Absolute Paleolatitude of Northern Zealandia From the Middle Eocene to the Early Miocene

Abstract

AbstractThe absolute position during the Cenozoic of northern Zealandia, a continent that lies more than 90% submerged in the southwest Pacific Ocean, is inferred from global plate motion models, because local paleomagnetic constraints are virtually absent. We present new paleolatitude constraints using paleomagnetic data from International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1507 on northern Zealandia and Site U1511 drilled in the adjacent Tasman Sea Basin. After correcting for inclination shallowing, five paleolatitude estimates provide a trajectory of northern Zealandia past position from the middle Eocene to the early Miocene, spanning geomagnetic polarity chrons C21n to C5Er (∼48–18 Ma). The paleolatitude estimates support previous works on global absolute plate motion where northern Zealandia migrated 6° northward between the early Oligocene and early Miocene, but with lower absolute paleolatitudes, particularly in the Bartonian and Priabonian (C18n–C13r). True polar wander (solid Earth rotation with respect to the spin axis), which only can be resolved using paleomagnetic data, may explain the discrepancy. This new paleomagnetic information anchors past latitudes of Zealandia to Earth's spin axis, with implications not only for global geodynamics, but also for addressing paleoceanographic and paleoclimate problems, which generally require precise paleolatitude placement of proxy data.