Magnetic ages of some Indian laterites

P. W. Schmidt*, Vanka Prasad, P. K. Ramam

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    66 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The results of an extensive palaeomagnetic investigation of laterites from peninsular India are described. From 62 samples, 693 specimens were step-wise thermally demagnetised to eliminate secondary magnetisations. The ages of laterite formation were estimated after calculation of pole positions from site mean directions and comparison with the Mesozoic-Tertiary apparent polar wander path (APWP) for India. The high-altitude laterites have undergone a complex magnetic history during the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary. The low-altitude laterites are mid- to late Tertiary in age. A fundamental mechanism in laterite formation and preservation is suggested. When the Indian laterite results are compared with those from Australia, they are seen to be consistent with the relative timing of the northward drift of India and Australia.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)185-202
    Number of pages18
    JournalPalaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
    Volume44
    Issue number3-4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1983

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