Preliminary Paleomagnetic Results From Tertiary Rocks of Sedimentary Basins in Northern Vietnam and Tectonic Implications

The South China Sea (SCS) is a classical representative of western Pacific marginal seas and contains records of Cenozoic tectonic events of SE Asia. The SCS has been at the center stage of many first-order tectonic and paleoclimatic events since the Mesozoic. One clear way to evaluate the relationship between tectonic uplift and climate is to study the resulting changes in marginal sea strata. To this end, we will conduct an integrated paleomagnetic and stratigraphic investigation on Tertiary strata from Phu Tho and Yen Bai provinces, northern Vietnam to help understand the causal linkages among geological and tectonic events and their consequences related to the SCS evolution. We will collect paleomagnetic samples at sections where the most continuous, complete, and best preserved Eocene-Miocene successions. Standard paleomagnetic field tests, such as the fold, reversal, and conglomerate tests will be used to determine the relative age of the magnetization. In addition to detailed thermal and alternating field demagnetization and analysis, selected samples will also be subjected to several rock magnetic analyses to identify magnetic carriers in the rocks. In particular, the hysteresis parameters Jrs/Js and Hcr /Hc ratios will enable us to apply techniques for detecting low-temperature remagnetization of sedimentary rocks. Preliminary finding of this ongoing project will be presented.