Geomagnetic field paleointensity in the cretaceous from Upper Cretaceous rocks of Georgia

Abstract

A representative collection of Upper Cretaceous rocks of Georgia (530 samples from 24 sites) is used for the study of magnetic properties of the rocks and the determination of the paleodirection and paleointensity (H an) of the geomagnetic field. Titanomagnetites with Curie points of 200–350°C are shown to be carriers of natural remanent magnetization (NRM) preserving primary paleomagnetic information during heatings to 300–350°C. The characteristic NRM component of the samples is identified in the interval 120–350°C. The Thellier and Thellier-Coe methods are used for the determination of H an meeting modern requirements on the reliability of such results. New paleointensity determinations are obtained and virtual dipole magnetic moment (VDM) values are calculated for four sites whose stratigraphic age is the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian). It is shown that, in the interval 99.6–70.6 Ma, the VDM value was two or more times smaller than the present value, which agrees with the majority of H an data available for this time period. According to our results, the H an value did not change at the boundary of the Cretaceous normal superchron.