Palaeomagnetic Results from the Okchon Belt: Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) and Tectonic Stress Field in the Taebaek Area

옥천대에 대한 고자기 연구 : 태백지역에서의 대자율 비등방성과 지구조적 응력장

A study of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) was conducted on the Ordovician-Eocene strata in the Taebaek area. The study area is a northeastern part of the Okchon belt, sometimes called as Paegunsan Synclinal Area. A total of 600 independently oriented samples were collected from 60 sites covering the whole area. With a few exception of late Cretaceous-Eocene volcanic rocks, all the sampled strata are nonmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks, mainly sandstones. Among the 60 sites, 5 sites showed flow lineation lying on the bedding plane, 11 sites showed load foliation parallel to the bedding plane, and 21 sites showed tectonic foliation unrelated to the bedding plane. The tectonic foliations are defined by $k_1-k_2$ ($k_{max}-k_{int}$) anisotropy plane, and are considered as a result of tectonic forces acted perpendicularly to the foliation plane in the geologic past. Regardless of sample-site locations, tectonic force directions defined by $k_3$ ($k_{min}$) axis perpendicular to the tectonic foliation are consistent among the strata of the same geologic age. In the course of geologic time, however, the tectonic force directions showed a clockwise rotation: approximately E-W in the Ordovician sites, NW-SE in the Permian sites, N-S in the Triassic sites, and lastly NE-SW in the late Cretaceous-Eocene sites. The pre-Permian directions showed better clustering in the in-situ (geographic) coordinates, while the younger directions become better clustered after the bedding-tilt correction. It is interpreted that the major tectonic structures of the Taebaek area were controlled by the above-mentioned tectonic forces: The Paegunsan Syncline and the Hambaeksan Fault must have been generated by the NW-SE force of late Permian-early Triassic time. It was then reactivated in the reverse (dextral) sense by the N-S force of Triassic time. The Osipchon Fault in the eastern part of the study area was either generated or reactivated by the NE-SW force of late Cretaceous-Eocene time. The Permo-Triassic NW-SE force should be an expression of the Songnim Disturbance in the Korean peninsula, which is in turn related with the SCB/NCB collision in China.