Evaluation of Paleomagnetic Bias in Ediacaran Global Paleogeographic Reconstructions

Abstract

AbstractPaleogeographic models provide first‐order insights into Earth's tectonic evolution in deep geologic time. However, there is a lack of objective metrics to distinguish between rival models. Using a recent compilation of reliable Precambrian paleomagnetic data, we quantify the extent of paleomagnetic compliance of existing Ediacaran global reconstruction models. We determine spherical arc distances between modeled paleopositions of the geographic South Pole and reconstructed coordinates of all paleopoles from a continent acquired at various times. We identify significant paleomagnetic bias for a reconstructed location of a continent if arc distances of the majority of high‐quality paleopoles with reliable age constraints are greater than their standard errors at the 95% confidence interval. Our study provides quantifiable measures of paleogeographic bias that allows researchers to make informed decisions when selecting among existing global models as a foundation for interpreting their geologic data.