Paleomagnetic
directions for the Nokopo Mudstone, a time-transgressive
marine cover formation derived from erosion of the relict
Miocene arc as it was uplifted progressively from NW to
SE during oblique collision. The pattern of decreasing declination
along the arc gives rise to the plate-tectonic model for
collision and accretion of the Finisterre Arc. The rate
of rotation relative to the Australian continent of 8 degrees
per million years is in good agreement with the modern value
obtained from GPS geodesy. (See Data-zoom
for details.)
