Inclination shallowing and preferred transitional VGP paths

Transitional VGP paths recorded in sediments cluster into two antipodal preferred longitude bands that tend to lie 90° away from their site longitudes, the latter also being clustered. VGP paths obtained from lava flow sequences, though much fewer, appear not to show these biases, suggesting a rock-magnetic influence on VGP paths recorded in sediments. Inclination shallowing of detrital magnetic remanence, enhanced under low transitional field strengths, is the most likely candidate.

We illustrate the effects of inclination shallowing by applying a simple shallowing model (tan I_R = f tan I_A, where I_A is the inclination of the magnetic remanence and I_A is the inclination of the ambient field) with field variation to hypothetical data sets. Shallowing-induced clustering increases as f decreases and becomes extreme as f approaches 0.1.

We have used the model to ‘de-shallow’ the available set of transitional VGP sediment records for various values of f. The probability that the observations arise from inclination shallowing of a uniform random distribution of paths increases as f decreases. When f drops to 0.13 there is a 50% chance of getting at least as much grouping as observed. To decide if inclination shallowing is a dominant factor in the clustering, we need to know whether such extreme shallowing is widespread in sedimentary records under transitional field conditions. Field and laboratory redeposition data are not yet adequate to resolve this question.     

Evidence of widespread Cretaceous remagnetisation in the Iberian Range and its relation with the rotation of Iberia

A palaeomagnetic investigation has been carried out at 13 sites of Jurassic age in the Iberian Range (northern Spain). Two components of remanent magnetisation have been found at each site. A primary high-temperature component shows an average counterclockwise rotation with respect to the north of 33±2° clockwise about a vertical axis corresponding to the absolute rotation of the Iberian plate since the Jurassic. A secondary low-temperature component shows a systematic declination difference of 16±4° with respect to the primary component. This indicates that a rotation of Iberia must have occurred between the two acquisition times. Comparison of the magnetisation directions with previous palaeomagnetic data and with sea-floor spreading data, constrains the age of the remagnetisation between 95 and 125 Ma. The remagnetisation may be associated with the extensional phases in the Iberian Basin in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian–early Albian) or Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian). A principal characteristic of the remagnetisation is its widespread character in the Iberian Range.     

Preliminary Results from Paleomagnetic Records on Lake Sediments from South America

The preliminary results of paleomagnetic and radiocarbon dating of late pleistocene-holocene sediments from two lakes of south-western Argentina (41°S, 71.5°W) are presented. The magnetic susceptibility, intensity and direction of the natural remanent magnetisation were measured. The stability of the natural remanent magnetisation was investigated by alternating field demagnetisation. The magnetic parameters allowed the cores within each lake to be correlated. ¹³ C analysis, total organic content measurements and C ¹⁴ dating were carried out. A model of sedimentation is suggested. Using this model and the correlation, curves of variations of magnetic inclination and declination in time are shown.     

Paleoposition of Southwest Japan at 16 Ma: Implication from paleomagnetism of the Miocene Ichishi Group

New paleomagnetic data from shallow-marine sediments of the Ichishi Group suggest a clockwise tectonic rotation of Southwest Japan in the Middle Miocene. Samples have been collected from mud or tuff layers at 17 sites. Stability of remanent magnetization has been examined by using alternating field and thermal demagnetization. The polarity sequence, composed of four normal and seven reversed polarity sites, is correlated to Polarity Epoch 16 (15.2–17.6 Ma), based on micropaleontological assignment of the upper Ichishi Group to Blow's Zone N8. The mean paleomagnetic direction of the 11 sites shows an anomalous declination toward the northeast. This result suggests that Southwest Japan was subjected to a clockwise rotation through 45° since 16 Ma. The clockwise rotation can be explained by the drift of Southwest Japan associated with the spreading of the Japan Sea during the Middle Miocene.     

Behaviour of the earth's magnetic field as recorded in the sediment of Loch Lomond

A palaeomagnetic record of geomagnetic secular variation during the last 7000 years has been obtained from the sediments of Loch Lomond, Scotland. The magnetic direction fluctuations repeat well between cores and show greater detail, especially over the last 5000 years, than other European records. A time scale has been derived from¹⁴C analyses on the Lomond sediment and comparison with other¹⁴C-dated sediments. Investigation of relative palaeointensity determination methods has shown that the widely used normalization parameter of partial ARM is insensitive to even small sediment grain size fluctuations.The new high-fidelity direction record and improved time scale show that geomagnetic field changes have not followed a simple oscillatory pattern during the last 7000 years. The record enhances the application of palaeomagnetism to dating recent sediments, as the main declination swings are now characterized by fine detail, and paired inclination data are also available. The problem of mismatching swings when correlating with other paired directional records is thus reduced.The palaeomagnetic record agrees well with some archaeomagnetic results. It confirms the period of anticlockwise motion of the geomagnetic field vector, between 1000 and 600 years B.P., which was first documented by English archaeomagnetic investigations. Clockwise motion is shown to predominate during the remainder of the last 5500 years. The VGP path does not correlate with that of Japanese archaeomagnetic results nor North American sediment data from 2000 to 0 years B.P. This suggests that the secular changes are dominated by local non-dipole sources rather than wobbling of the main geomagnetic dipole.     

The late Pleistocene geomagnetic field as recorded by sediments from Fargher Lake,Washington, U.S.A.

Measurement of the remanent magnetization of a 6.88-m oriented core of soft sediments and tephras from Fargher Lake near Mount St. Helens in southwestern Washington State shows that no significant geomagnetic reversals were recorded in the sediments of the lake. Radiocarbon and palynological dating of the tephra layers from the lake bed indicates deposition during the interval 17, 000–34, 000 years B.P. although geochemical correlation of a prominent tephra layer in the core with tephra set C of Mount St. Helens could mean that the maximum age of the sediments may be at least 36, 000 years B.P. The core was divided into specimens 0.02 m long, each representing approximately 55 years of deposition assuming a constant rate of sedimentation. Pilot alternating field demagnetization studies of every tenth specimen indicated a strong, stable remanence with median destructive field of 15 mT, and the remaining specimens were subsequently demagnetized in fields of this strength. The mean inclination for all specimens exclusive of the unstably magnetized muck and peat from near the surface is 56.1° which is 8° shallower than the present axial dipole field at this site, perhaps because of inclination error in the detrital remanent magnetization of the sediments, although because of the variability in the data, this departure from the axial dipole field may not be significant. The ranges of inclination and declination are comparable to those of normal secular variation at northern latitudes. Although three isolated specimens have remanence with negative inclination, these anomalous directions are due to sampling and depositional effects. Measurement of a second core of 6.86 m length also revealed only normal magnetic polarity, but this result is of little stratigraphic value as this core failed to penetrate the distinctive tephra found near the base of the former core.Studies of a concentrate of the magnetic minerals in the sediments by optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction indicate that the primary magnetic constituent is an essentially pure magnetite of detrital origin. The magnetite occurs in a wide range of grain sizes with much of it of sub-multidomain size (< 15 μm).As a whole, this study provides substantial evidence against the existence of large-scale worldwide geomagnetic reversals during the time interval of Fargher Lake sedimentation, a segment of geological time for which many excursions and reversals have been reported elsewhere.     

Paleosecular variations 12–20 Kyr as recorded by sediments from Lake Moreno (Southern Argentina)

We present results of paleomagnetic and sedimentological studies carried out on three cores Lmor1, Lmo98-1, Lmor98-2 from bottom sediments of Lake Moreno (south-western Argentina), and integrate them with data from our previous studies. Measurements of directions (declination D and inclination I) and mass specific intensity of natural remanent magnetization (NRM intensity), magnetic susceptibility (specific, χ and volumetric, κ), isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM), saturation of isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM), and back field remanent coercivity (B_0CR) were performed. The stability of the NRM was investigated using alternating-field demagnetization. The results show that these sediments meet the criteria required to construct a reliable paleomagnetic record. The cores were correlated very well based on magnetic parameters, such as χ and NRM intensity, as well as with lithological features. Tephra layers were identified from the lithological profiles and magnetic susceptibility logs. We obtained the D and I logs of the characteristic remanent magnetization for the cores as a function of shortened depth. The data from the three cores were combined to form a composite record using the Fisher method. A comparison between stacked inclination and declination records of Lake Moreno and those obtained in previous works on Lake Escondido and Lake El Trébol shows good agreement. This agreement made it possible to transform the stacked curves into time series spanning the interval 12–20 kyr. The results obtained improved our knowledge of SV and the behaviour of the geomagnetic field and also allowed us to determine the range of past inclination variations from −70° to −45° for the southern hemisphere, where data are scarce.     

Transitional field clusters from uppermost Oligocene volcanic rocks in the central Walker Lane, western Nevada

Three sections of the Candelaria Hills volcanic sequence, west-central Nevada, appear to have recorded parts of two transitional field records or reversal excursions. Paleomagnetic data and / laser fusion sanidine age estimates for pyroclastic rocks and associated flows show that these rocks recorded the unusual field behavior at about 25.7 Ma and about 23.8 Ma. Fifteen sites yield northeast declination, moderate to shallow negative inclination mean directions and 16 sites yield west to southwest declination, moderate negative inclination directions. Both populations of site mean directions, representing a total of 12 independent eruptive units, are highly discordant to a time-averaged late Tertiary field direction, and neither can be explained by a geologically reasonable magnitude of vertical axis rotation. Virtual paleomagnetic poles (VGPs), estimated from the directional data, lie at low to intermediate latitudes; 29 of the 31 flows at intermediate latitudes (<60°), and 11 at very low latitudes (<30°). Two well-grouped VGP clusters are defined by these data with each cluster roughly corresponding to one of the age groups. Stratigraphically corrected VGPs from most of the 23.8 Ma group roughly cluster at intermediate to low latitudes at about 150°E longitude. The cluster at about 150°E corresponds to VGP clusters that have been interpreted to reflect a long lasting near-dipole configuration during several field reversals. The second stratigraphically corrected cluster lies at intermediate to low latitudes at about 80°E longitude and, notably, is defined by pyroclastic flows of the 25.7 and 23.8 Ma age groups. The VGP data at about 80°E do not fall into any previously identified preferred longitudinal band, however, they are consistent with data from some sedimentary records of reversal excursions in western North America. We recognize that the VGPs returned to a preferred location in both age populations, which we interpret as a preferred directional position, thus reflecting a potentially stable non-dipole component during a complete reversal or a reversal excursion. The observation that the VGPs maintained a preferred location during separate high amplitude events supports the hypothesis that preferred VPG clusters and thus persistent non-dipole field components can factor into the behavior of the geomagnetic field during full reversals or reversal excursions.     

Remanent magnetism of the Twin Sisters Dunite Intrusion and implications for the tectonics of the western Cordillera

The Twin Sisters Dunite Intrusion has a homogeneous remanent magnetization directed nearly due east and inclined about 60° below the horizontal. It was emplaced in the Early Tertiary as a solid intrusion, but probably was above its Curie temperature at the time and so became magnetized substantially in situ. If so, it must have undergone considerable tectonic disturbance subsequent to emplacement and magnetization, including an important component of clockwise rotation. Examination of paleomagnetic data for the westernmost Cordillera shows that an abnormal number of rock bodies have discordant directions of remanent magnetization, mostly clockwise rotations of declination, flattened inclinations, or both. This sense of discordance in turn suggests that the western margin of the North American plate may have been deformed intermittently by right-lateral shear for at least some few tens of millions of years.     

Short-Period Secular Variations (SPSV) of the geomagnetic field recorded in highly scattered palaeomagnetic records of Holocene lake sediments from North Poland

A simple method of calculating running means over different intervals within palaeomagnetic records has been used to identify short-period secular variations of the geomagnetic field. The records from Polish lake sediments reveal variations in declination with a period between 290 and 372 years. The periodicity of variations in the inclination has been estimated to be between 522 and 670 years.     

Paleomagnetic and sedimentological studies at Lake Tahoe,California-Nevada

Three closely spaced 6-m piston cores were taken in the central part of Lake Tahoe. Cores were split into two complete replicates for paleomagnetic study and the remaining sections were used for stratigraphic and mineralogical analysis.Stratigraphic correlation of the cores is based on two distinctive horizons (volcanic ash and diatomite) and upon three different sedimentological regimes dominated by (1) poorly bedded silts and muds, (2) well bedded graded units, and (3) finely laminated silts. These correlations served as the standards for the evaluation of the paleomagnetic data. Extrapolation of¹⁴C dates obtained in the upper sections of the Lake Tahoe sediments suggests that the lower sections of the cores may reach ages of 25,000–30,000 years B.P.X-ray, optical, Curie point, and hysteresis measurements show that magnetite is the only important magnetic mineral in the sediments and occurs in the size range of 10 μm. Hematite is essentially absent. Based on large changes in the declination and inclination of the natural remanent magnetism (NRM) within single graded layers the paleomagnetic signature is a post-depositional remanent magnetism (PDRM). This PDRM is believed to be caused by magnetic orientation during compaction.Paleomagnetic measurements show three regimes that are correlated with the stratigraphic regimes. NRM declination and inclination data show good correlation between the three cores and agree well with the correlations based on sediment character. NRM intensity variations are due largely to the variations in magnetite content and its occurrence as either single detrital grains or as inclusions within the larger silicates. Thus the variation in paleo intensity was not determined.Comparisons of Lake Tahoe data with that from Mono Lake show fair correlations of declination and inclination. The occurrence of a short-wavelength, high-amplitude event in the lower section of the Lake Tahoe cores may provide confirmation of the Mono Lake geomagnetic excursion.     

Paleomagnetism of Pleistocene widespread tephra deposits and its implication for tectonic rotation in central Japan

Abstract   A single layer of widespread tephra deposits possibly can provide an instantaneous record of the past geomagnetic field and potentially can indicate even a small-scale tectonic rotation compared to a range of geomagnetic secular variations. We report paleomagnetic data of the Ebisutoge–Fukuda tephra, which is dated at approximately 1.8 Ma and is distributed in central Japan between the Osaka–Kyoto area and the Boso Peninsula. The Fukuda volcanic ash layer and its correlative ash deposits in the Osaka–Kyoto area, near Lake Biwa and in the Mie and Niigata areas yield identical site mean declinations of approximately −170° after tilt correction, whereas moderate inclination shallowing is observed in the upper unit at several localities. Anisotropy measurements both of low-field magnetic susceptibility and of anhysteretic remanent magnetization suggest that the inclination shallowing results from the biased alignment of magnetic grains, which were deposited in the fluvial environment. The source volcanic unit, Ebisutoge pyroclastic deposits in the Takayama area, yields a mean declination of approximately −155°, showing clockwise deflection from the magnetic directions of the correlative tephra deposits. These results suggest that no significant rotation occurred between the Osaka–Kyoto, Mie and Niigata areas, but that the Takayama area suffered a clockwise rotation in respect to the other areas during the Quaternary. This rotation might have been caused under an east–west stress field associated with the collision of the Okhotsk Plate with the Eurasia Plate.     

Magnetostratigraphic dating of Early Miocene deep-sea fossils from the Morozaki Group in central Japan

Early Miocene sediments of the Morozaki Group in central Japan contain deep-sea fossils that have been dated using biostratigraphic and radiometric data. In this study, we utilize magnetostratigraphy to provide a more precise age for mudstones from just below the layer containing the fossils. Rock magnetic experiments suggest that both magnetic iron sulfide and Ti-poor titanomagnetite carry the remanent magnetization of the mudstones. Two different stratigraphic sites have normal polarity directions with a northeastern declination, which can be correlated with Chronozone C5Dn. Given their magnetostratigraphic position near the C5Dn/C5Dr chronozone boundary (17.466 Ma) and a high sedimentation rate, the estimated age for both the sites and the deep-sea fossils is ~17.4 Ma. The northeasterly-directed site-mean directions suggest clockwise tectonic rotation, most likely due to the Early Miocene clockwise rotation of Southwest Japan associated with the back-arc opening of the Japan Sea. The deep-sea fossils, dated at ~17.4 Ma, represent organisms deposited within a submarine structural depression formed by crustal extension during the back-arc opening stage.     

Dynamic manifestations of the geomagnetic field in the Quaternary continental sediments of Czechoslovakia

Summary The paper brings a brief geological asessment of the sedimentational cycles, analyses the methods of collection and investigation of samples and the representativeness of the results obtained. Problems of magnetic cleaning and the types of demagnetization curves investigated are discussed. The continuous nature of the variations of the magnetic declination, inclination and remanent magnetization, determined by palaeomagnetic investigation of Quaternary sediments, is also discussed. The conclusion contains the principal facts about the dynamics of the geomagnetic field in the Quaternary and points out the possibility of applying them to the theory of the geomagnetic field, as well as to geological correlations.     

Rotation history of Chios Island, Greece since the Middle Miocene

Superimposed on a regional pattern of oroclinal bending in the Aegean and west Anatolian regions, the coastal region of western Anatolia, shows a complex and chaotic pattern of coexisting clockwise and counterclockwise rotations. Here, we report new palaeomagnetic data from the eastern Aegean island of Chios, to test whether this fits the regional palaeomagnetic pattern associated with the Aegean orocline, or should be included in the narrow zone of chaotic palaeomagnetic directions. Therefore, a combined palaeomagnetic study of Miocene sediments and volcanic rocks has been carried out. Thermal and AF demagnetization of a 130-m thick Middle Miocene succession from the Michalos claypit allowed a stable component of both polarities to be isolated while rock magnetic experiments showed that the main magnetic carrier is magnetite. When compared with the Eurasian reference, the mean declination of 348 ± 5.1° implies 15° of counterclockwise rotation since Middle Miocene times. The obtained shallow inclination of 38 ± 6.7° was corrected to 61.8 ± 3.9°, by applying the elongation/inclination correction method for inclination shallowing. This result is similar to the expected inclination of 58° for the latitude of Chios. The palaeomagnetic analysis (demagnetization treatment and corresponding rock magnetic measurements) of the volcanic rocks identify a stable, predominantly normal, ChRM with poorly constrained mean declination of about 290 ± 19.8° based on five successfully resolved components. The significantly different palaeomagnetic results obtained from an island as small as Chios (and a very short distance), and the relatively large rotation amounts do not fit the regional palaeomagnetic direction of Lesbos and basins in northwestern Turkey which show little or no significant rotation. We thus prefer to include Chios in the coastal zone of chaotic rotations, which may represent a previously inferred tectonic transfer zone that accommodates lateral differences in extensional strain within the Aegean back-arc.     

Manifestation of the Gothenburg geomagnetic field excursion in the Barents Sea bottom sediments

An analysis of the paleomagnetic characteristics of the bottom sediments taken in 2000 in the northern Barents Sea for the first time revealed the Gothenburg geomagnetic field excursion (13 000–12 000 years ago) at the time boundary of the transition from the glacial period to the recent warm epoch (the Holocene). The obtained data confirm the excursion complex structure: the presence of two successive time intervals of variations in the geomagnetic field inclination. An increase in the magnetic susceptibility and natural remanent magnetization of the samples at the above boundary and about 15 000 years ago indicates that the magnetic parameters of the sediments respond to climate changes in the environment in this time interval.     

The middle to late Pleistocene geomagnetic field recorded in fine-grained sediments from Summer Lake, Oregon, and Double Hot Springs, Nevada, U.S.A.

A 400,000 year record of the paleomagnetic field has been acquired from 22 meters of middle to late Pleistocene fine-grained sediments from Summer Lake in south-central Oregon and Double Hot Springs in northwestern Nevada. The stratigraphy is based on 55 tephra layers, nine of which have been correlated with tephra layers from other localities on the basis of their distinct major- and trace-element geochemistry and their distinct petrography. The paleomagnetic samples carry a strong and stable magnetization that does not appear to have been affected by the inclination error commonly associated with the magnetization of sediments. The samples have accurately recorded the declination and inclination of the geomagnetic field at or near the time of deposition except for errors arising from rotations of discrete blocks of sediment predominantly about vertical axes. Errors introduced by this type of rotation were corrected by using paleomagnetic directions associated with correlated tephra layers. The Summer Lake paleomagnetic record suggests that secular variations occurred throughout the middle and late Pleistocene often maintaining the same waveform through several oscillations. The amplitudes of these variations were similar to those of Holocene variations, and the periods ranged from 15,000 years to greater than 100,000 years.     

Paleomagnetic records of secular variation from Lake Michigan sediment cores

Continuous measurements of the natural remanent magnetization of six cores from central Lake Michigan have been made, using a cryogenic magnetometer designed to permit the passage of long cores through its sensing region. The output of each of the three-component sensors is deconvolved with the appropriate system response function and combined to yield continuous records of inclination, declination and intensity with a resolution of approximately 6 cm. The paleomagnetic record extends to about 13,500 years B.P. and includes two features which may be excursions of the earth's field. Other features may be correlated between different cores, and the magnetic sequence is, in general, consistent with the stratigraphic sequence. There is an indication of a repeated sequence of field changes, which is somewhat reminiscent of the solar field cycle.     

Rotation of the Iberian arc: Palaeomagnetic results from North Spain

NRM directions measured from 32 sites in Middle Cambrian, Upper Silurian/Lower Devonian and Lower Carboniferous redbeds follow the trend of the Variscan arc in North Spain. Thermal demagnetisation does not significantly alter this pattern. Fold tests show that the NRM is earlier than the ?₁ folds which form the arc; consistency of angle between bedding and the tilt-corrected NRM inclination (22–28°), similarity of the corresponding palaeolatitudes to Carboniferous values and microscopic evidence of Variscan redistribution of hematite indicates that the magnetisation is post-Lower Carboniferous. A statistical plot of the orientation of ?₁ fold traces against angle between ?₁ fold traces and declination of NRM shows that where these folds curve through 165° the NRM has been rotated through 110°: the arc is an orocline. Restoration of this rotation, and that needed to close the Bay of Biscay, brings the calculated mean palaeomagnetic pole reasonably close to the Upper Carboniferous part of the apparent polar wander path for Europe.