Paleomagnetic Study of Devonian and Carboniferous Rocks of the Southern Urals: An Independent Test of Collision between the Magnitogorsk Island Arc and the Passive Margin of the Continent of Laurussia

Abstract

New paleomagnetic data on Devonian and Lower Carboniferous rocks of the Magnitogorsk Zone (Southern Urals) are presented. The paleomagnetic pole calculated for the Lower–Middle Devonian is quite close to the coeval pole of the Baltica Paleocontinent (Laurussia), which indicates that the Magnitogorsk island arc was probably located close to the continent, but not being accreted with it. Paleomagnetic data obtained for Lower Carboniferous rocks may indicate that the Magnitogorsk island arc was turned in the Early Carboniferous and collided with the continent of Laurussia forming a single continent.