PALEOMAGNETIC RESULTS FROM JURASSIC VOLCANICS OF THE EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN MARGIN

The cycle of supercontinent formation and breakup is a dramatic example of plate tectonics, and involves processes from the interior of Earth up through the crust. Associated with the opening of new ocean basins and the breakup of supercontinents is the formation of large igneous provinces (LIPs), accumulations of igneous rocks across a wide area that may be sourced from mantle plumes or larger upwellings. The beginning of the breakup of Pangea (~200 Ma) is associated with the emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) in what is now Africa, South America, Europe, and North America. Paleomagnetic directional data has been used to put constraints on the motion of the North American craton following this breakup, but debate remains concerning the nature of motion throughout the Jurassic Period. Igneous rocks from later pulses of magmatism (~150 Ma) along the Eastern North American Margin (ENAM), in addition to CAMP rocks, have the ability to record paleomagnetic data, but have seen limited research. These data may add additional constraints on the motion of the North American craton during this interval. We have sampled volcanic rocks along the southern ENAM located in Virginia and West Virginia (~150 Ma), and North Carolina and South Carolina (~200 Ma). Here we present paleomagnetic results, field test results, and rock magnetic results, and discuss our interpretations and how they pertain to the viability of future paleomagnetic studies within the Mesozoic rocks of the Southeast.