Remagnetization of Jutal dykes in Gilgit area of the Kohistan Island Arc: Perspectives from the India–Asia collision

Abstract

SUMMARY The Kohistan Island Arc (KIA) occupies the northwestern region of the Himalayan Mountains, sandwiched between Asia and India plates. Its formation, collision with plate boundaries, and evolution has been controversially discussed for a couple of decades. To better understand this, a palaeomagnetic study has been conducted on the Jutal dykes (ca. 75 Ma), intruded in the northeastern part of the KIA. Comprehensive rock magnetic investigations reveal that the magnetic carrier minerals are pyrrhotite and magnetite. An intermediate temperature component (ITC) predominates the natural remanent magnetization and shows good coincidence within-site; it is carried by pyrrhotite and is considered reliable, yielding a mean direction at Dg/Ig = 11.5°/39.9° (kg = 28.4, α95 = 3.5°) before and Ds/Is = 8.6°/12.1° (ks = 5.1, α95 = 9.1°) after tilt correction. A high-temperature component that is carried by magnetite exhibits random distribution within-site. The fold test for the ITC is negative, indicating a post-folding origin. Scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicates that the magnetic carrier minerals were influenced by metamorphism or thermochemical fluids. The comparison of mean palaeolatitude (22.6 ± 3.5°N) of the ITC with the collisional settings and thermal history of the study area implies that the remagnetization occurred at ∼50–35 Ma, consistent with the previous reported palaeomagnetic data of the KIA. We propose a tectonic model that shows the evolution of the Jutal dykes, supporting the concept that India collided with the KIA first, followed by a later collision with Asia.