Coercivity and Vector Magnetization Analysis of Obsidian Samples from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

Abstract

This note presents initial results of a paleomagnetic study of obsidian from twenty localities in the eastern, central and western sectors of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt in central Mexico. We focus on the coercivity and vector composition of the remanent magnetization, which are critical for paleodirectional and paleointensity studies. Alternating field demagnetization shows that obsidians carry single and two-component magnetizations residing in low- and high-coercivity magnetic minerals, with discrete and overlapping coercivity spectra. Magnetic minerals are likely iron-titanium oxides with fine-grain sizes characterized by pseudo-single domain states.