Teh Preliminary Study of the Carboniferous Palaeomagnetism in Southern Guizhou

This paper deals with palaeomagnetic reconstruction of Guizhou in Southwest China. It is evident that the South China block drifted episodically northwards or southwards during its geological evolution. Being a part of the South China block, Guizhou is thought to be placed around 24° north latitude during the Late Devonian. Until well into the Early Carboniferous, the South China block continued to drift southwards to 15.1° north latitude during the Tangbagou stage, then returned northwards to 19.4° north latitude during the Xiangbai stage, migrated southwards again to 8.7° north latitude during the late Datang stage. and lastly to 7.8° north latitude during the Late Carboniferous. The block may be close to the equator during the Permian, and subsequently moved towards the southern hemisphere. It once migrated dramatically between 20° and 30° north latitude from Middle Triassic to Jurassic times. It follows that the drifting of the block may be regarded as a leading factor controlling the distribution of reefs and ore deposits, especially the bauxite deposits.
Detailed magnetic study may also serve as a useful tool for palaeogeographic reconstruction.