Paleomagnetic arguments for block rotations along the Arakapas fault (Cyprus)

Paleomagnetic data from the sheeted dike complex north of the Arakapas fault reveal significant internal rotations. The north-south-trending dikes have remanent magnetization directions close to the well-known westerly paleomagnetic direction of the Troodos massif, whereas the east-west-trending dikes near the Arakapas fault have northerly remanent magnetization directions. The paleomagnetic data are in agreement with the apparent clockwise rotation of the dikes. Contrary to recent geological analyses which postulate that the pattern of dike trends is due to dike injection into a sigmoidal stress field along a sinistral transform fault, the paleomagnetic results indicate clockwise rotations about vertical axes in response to a dextral shear. In addition to the rotations around vertical axes, small rotations around subhorizontal axes are inferred from the paleomagnetic data for tilted dikes. Thus, these data reinforce the vertical intrusion hypothesis.