Reappraisal of surface wave magnitudes in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East

We report on a detailed palaeomagnetic study of the Miocene Farellones volcanic formation in the Chilean Andes near Santiago (two sections, 37 sites, about 400 orientated cores). Petrological observations show evidence of low-grade metamorphism increasing downwards through the volcanic sequence. Optical observations of opaque minerals and magnetic experiments suggest that in many cases maghemitization is associated with hydrothermal alteration. However, thermal demagnetization data indicate that the low-grade metamorphism did not significantly modify the direction of the primary remanent magnetization recorded at the time of emplacement of the volcanic lava flows. Four intervals of polarity with two intermediate palaeodirections were observed in the ~650-m-thick composite section. According to the dispersion of flow average directions, palaeosecular variation was slightly larger than that observed in general during the Upper Cenozoic. The site mean directions obtained in this study differ significantly from the expected Miocene direction. Clockwise rotations of up to 20° of small blocks are probably associated with the deformation of the Andean Cordillera since middle Miocene times. Geomagnetic palaeointensity data were obtained, using the Thellier method, on 24 samples from eight distinct lava flows. The flow mean VDM varies from 1.4 to 4.0 × 10²² A m^?2. Altogether, our data seem to suggest the existence of a relatively low geomagnetic field undergoing large fluctuations. Although a linear relationship was observed between the natural remanent magnetization and the thermal remanent magnetization acquired during the Thellier–Thellier experiments, undetected chemical alteration of the magnetic minerals during hydrothermalism may also explain the unusually low palaeointensity obtained.