| Summary: | Palaeomagnetic studies have been completed on several classic Palaeogene sections in the London and Hampshire Basins. The investigation initially required the development of new techniques for sampling poorly consolidated sediments for palaeomagnetic work. Using these techniques ten localities have been examined including the exposures of the Palaeogene sediments at Alum Bay and Whitecliff Bay on the Isle of Wight, and Herne Bay and Pegwell Bay in Kent. From the results an attempt has been made at establishing a magnetostratigraphic zonation scheme for the late Palaeocene to middle Eocene sediments of this region. This has been used to produce a preliminary palaeomagnetic correlation for these sections. The stratigraphic units studied have included the Thanet Formation, Reading Formation, Oldhaven Formation, London Clay Formation and the Bracklesham Group. The results have been compared with established Palaeogene polarity time scales, and also with biostratigraphic zonation schemes. On the basis of the dinoflagellate zones for southern England which in turn have been correlated with dinoflagellate zones for the Northeast Atlantic, the sequence of eight normal polarity intervals defined are thought to correlate with marine magnetic anomalies 26 to 21. From this correlation it would appear that anomaly 24A is comprised of two separate short normal polarity intervals. The results of this investigation demonstrate the value of magnetostratigraphy for geological correlation, particularly when biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic information is utilized to control and refine the interpretations. In addition although the correlation between the polarity sequence established as a result of this work and the standard Cenozoic polarity time scale is only tentative, comparisons between polarity reversals defined in sedimentary sequences on land and marine magnetic anomaly patterns allow possible relationships between geological and major tectonic events to be examined.
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