Paleomagnetic Constraints on the Origin and Drift History of the North Qiangtang Terrane in the Late Paleozoic

To better constrain the origin and drift history of the North Qiangtang terrane (NQT), we report a well-dated paleomagnetic pole from the Late Permian volcanics of the NQT that appears to average out secular variation. Our new results yield a paleolatitude of -7.6 +/- 5.6 degrees N at -259 Ma for our sampling area, which confirms the NQT drifted northward during the Permian and Triassic periods. The equatorial paleolatitude of the NQT is similar to that of the coeval South China block, demonstrating that they were in close proximity. Combined with palaeontological and magmatic evidence, paleomagnetic constraints on the drift of the NQT in the Permian indicate that the NQT moved northward together with the South China block at this time. The paleolatitude evolution of the NQT implies that the NQT rifted from the northern margin of the Gondwana in the Devonian, which is earlier than the departure time of the South Qiangtang terrane. Plain Language Summary The Tibetan Plateau is composed of several different blocks that accreted to the southern margin of Asia. There are still several unanswered questions, such as the following: Where did these blocks originate? How did these blocks accrete to Asia? How did the oceanic basin evolve? In this work, we provide robust evidence to show that the Northern Qiangtang was located at equatorial latitude (-7.6 +/- 5.6 degrees N) during the Late Permian (similar to 259 Ma). The northward drift history together with features of the Northern Qiangtang and South China block indicates that they moved northward together during the Permian and that the Northern Qiangtang rifted from the northern margin of the Greater India margin of Gondwana during the Devonian