Middle to late ediacaran magnetostratigraphy of the Avellaneda Formation, Rio de La Plata Craton

Abstract

The Avellaneda Formation represents an opportunity to access magnetic field information of the middle to late Ediacaran world, a critical period for the Earth. We performed a preliminary magnetostratigraphy study from data obtained in marls of the Avellaneda Formation (La Providencia Group) exposed in the Río de la Plata craton. Two drill cores were sampled (TSE-34 and TSE-7). Paleomagnetic analyses by standard stepwise thermal demagnetization revealed a high-temperature and dual polarity components persistent in both drill core analysed. As result, the presence of one normal and reversed polarity zone has potential for providing a timescale that could be applied to constrain sediment accumulation rates, estimate the duration of geological events, and construct a high-resolution chronostratigraphy that may be a useful marker for global correlation.