paleolatitude

Paleolatitude is the latitude at which a location on Earth was situated at some time in the geologic past, as inferred from paleomagnetic data. It represents the past geographic position of rocks or continents rather than the current coordinates.

The main source of paleolatitude information is the remanent magnetization preserved in rocks and sediments. As minerals form, they can lock in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field. Under the geocentric axial dipole approximation, the inclination of the ancient field relates to latitude: steeper inclinations indicate higher latitudes toward the poles, while shallower inclinations indicate lower latitudes toward the equator. By measuring magnetization directions in numerous samples, scientists estimate past latitudes and reconstruct past positions using virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) and apparent polar wander paths (APWP) for continents.

Paleolatitude is used to test and improve reconstructions of past continental configurations, track plate movements, and study past climates. By combining paleolatitude with paleomagnetic polarity data, researchers can constrain the historical positions of continents like Gondwana and Pangea and better understand the timing of tectonic events.

Limitations and uncertainties arise from deviations from the ideal dipole field, inclination shallowing in sediments, remagnetization, tectonic rotations after rock formation, and sampling biases. Despite these challenges, paleolatitude remains a fundamental tool in paleomagnetism, complementing fossil, stratigraphic, and geochronological evidence in reconstructing Earth's tectonic and climatic history.