Paleomagnetic Constraints on the Spatial Relationship Between the Kerguelen Mantle Plume and the Circum-Eastern Gondwana Large Igneous Province

The spatial relationships of the widely distributed latest Jurassic–Early Cretaceous igneous rocks in the Tethyan Himalaya, northeastern India, and southeastern Australia are crucial for understanding the breakup of eastern Gondwana. However, available paleomagnetic datasets from the central Tethyan Himalaya are limited. To better constrain the distribution of these igneous rocks, new paleomagnetic data were obtained from the Weimei Formation volcanic rocks in the central Tethyan Himalaya. The tilt-corrected site-mean directions for 11 sites is Ds = 315.4°, Is = −58.4°, ks = 17.2, α95 = 11.3°, corresponding to a paleopole at 9.6° N, 297.3° E with dp/dm = 16.7°/12.4° and a paleolatitude of ~39.1 ± 12.4° S for the study area (29.7° N, 83.7° E). A positive regional fold test and the occurrence of dual polarity suggest that the characteristic remanent magnetization is of pre-fold origin. These new results, together with those from the eastern Tethyan Himalaya, northern India, and southwestern Australia, show that the ~147–130 Ma circum-eastern Gondwana large igneous province spans a latitudinal range of ~40.7–58.1° S, centered at ~49.4° S, which is consistent with the present Kerguelen hotspot (~49.0° S). Integrating other evidence, we consider that the Kerguelen mantle plume played a key role in the breakup of eastern Gondwana.