Apparent polar wander (APW) can be defined as the movement of the pole with respect to a given tectonic element (plate, continent, craton, block, etc.) that is assumed to be fixed in the present-day geographic coordinate system. Since most of the evidence for APW has come from paleomagnetism (the study of the remanent magnetization in rocks), the pole referred to here is the magnetic pole. However, it is assumed that the magnetic polar axis, on the average, coincides with the rotation axis of the Earth, so APW may also refer to the geographic pole. Paleomagnetic studies of Late Tertiary to Recent rocks and studies of paleoclimates and paleolatitudes support this assumption (Irving, 1964; McElhinny, 1973).
There are two methods of presenting paleomagnetic information for the geological past. By measuring the direction of the magnetic vector in rock samples and by carefully applying reliability criteria to these measurements, paleomagneticians can deduce the orientation and the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Briden, J. C., Morris, W. A.; and Piper, J. D. A.; 1973, Paleomagnetic studies in the British Caledonides—VI. Regional and global implications, Royal Astron. Soc. Geophys. Jour. 34, 107–134.
Hicken, A., Irving, E.; Law, L. K.; and Hastie, J., 1972, Catalogue of paleomagnetic directions and poles, Earth Physics Branch, Dept. Energy, Mines and Resources, Ottawa, Publ. 45, 135p.
Irving, E., 1964, Paleomagnetism and its Application to Geological and Geophysical Problems. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 399p.
Irving, E., and McGlynn, J. C., 1976. Proterozoic magnetic stratigraphy and the tectonic evolution of Laurentia, Royal Soc. London Philos. Trans. 280A, 433–468.
Jurdy, D. M., and Van der Voo, R., 1975, True polar wander since the Early Cretaceous, Science, 187, 1193–1196.
McElhinny, M. W., 1973, Paleomagnetism and Plate Tectonics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 358p.
Van der Voo, R., 1981, Paleomagnetism of North America—a brief review, in M. W. McElhinny and D. A. Valencio, eds., Paleoreconstruction of the Continents, Geodynamics Series, vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union, 159–176.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Van Der Voo, R. (1987). Apparent polar wander . In: Structural Geology and Tectonics. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31080-0_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31080-0_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-0-442-28125-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-31080-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive