The British Siluro-Devonian palaeofield, the Great Glen Fault and analytical methods in palaeomagnetism: comments on paper by K. M. Storetvedtet al.

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SUMMARY Late Silurian-early Devonian palaeomagnetic poles throughout the British Isles lie in a coherent group about 1°S and 314°E (A95= 9.6°). The clustering of these poles, which are derived from 11 individual studies of Siluro-Devonian rocks of all the major tectonic elements of Britain, carries two important tectonic implications: 1 the British sector of the Iapetus Ocean, recognizable from Ordovician poles, had closed by late Silurian times; and 2 any postulated mega-shear, whether related to Acadian or Hercynian deformation, is below the limit of palaeomagnetic resolution. The collective rejection of all Siluro-Devonian results by Storetvedt et al. (1990a, b) is demonstrated to be unfounded.