Paleomagnetism of Permian through Early Triassic sequences in central Spitsbergen: implications for paleogeography

Upper Carboniferous through Lower Triassic sediments from Spitsbergen have yielded paleomagnetic results, with those for the Late Gzhelian-Early Permi an being the more reliable. The corresponding pole (38 degrees N, 171 degre es E) is fully concordant with the Early Permian segment of the apparent po lar wander path for Baltica. It does not support hypotheses about post-Carb oniferous mobilism of Spitsbergen with respect to Stable Europe. Neither Me sozoic nor later rifting processes changed the position of Spitsbergen cons iderably in relation to the Stable Europe. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.