Geochronology and Paleomagnetism of Mafic Igneous Rocks in the Olenek Uplift, Northern Siberia: Implications for Mesoproterozoic Paleogeography

We present a new, reliably dated Mesoproterozoic paleopole for Siberia, based on a combined geochronological and paleomagnetic study of mafic rocks within the Mesoproterozoic Sololi Group of the Olenek Uplift in northern Siberia. Ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb analysis of zircon and baddeleyite yields crystallisation ages of 2036 ± 11 Ma for a basement granite and 1473 ± 24 Ma for a large dolerite sill within the Kyutingde Formation. The baddeleyite result indicates that the lower Sololi Group is significantly older than was suggested by previous K-Ar results. Paleomagnetic analysis of the dolerite sill and related mafic intrusive rocks yields a paleopole at 33.6° N, 253.1° E, A95 = 10.4°. A positive baked-contact test between the Kyutingde sill and sedimentary country rocks shows that the magnetisation is primary. Comparison of this paleopole with coeval results for Laurentia provides a revised reconstruction between Siberia and Laurentia, and implies that these two continents were parts of a single Mesoproterozoic supercontinent since at least 1473 Ma. We argue that Siberia, Laurentia, and Baltica belonged to the same supercontinent between 1473 Ma and mid-Neoproterozoic time.