Measurement of the effect of particle size variation on the detrital remanent magnetization to anhysteretic remanent magnetization ratio in some abyssal sediments

Abstract

Deposition experiments have been carried out to measure the effect of particle size variation on the relationship between detrital remanent magnetization (DRM), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), and geomagnetic field intensity in sediments. Foraminiferal ooze from a box core taken in the Columbian Basin south of Jamaica was separated into several particle size ranges and redeposited in the laboratory in known magnetic fields. The intensity and alternating field (AF) demagnetization characteristics of the DRM and a subsequently applied ARM were compared for the various particle size ranges. The results show a variation of DRM/ARM ratios with particle size. The DRM intensities and directions indicate that particle sizes greater than 38 μm do not contribute significantly to the DRM of the total sediment. ARM intensities for larger particle sizes and particle size analysis of the whole sediment indicate that the fraction greater than 38 μm does make a significant contribution to the total ARM of a sample. Use of the DRM/ARM ratio in experimental measurements of magnetic paleointensity indicates that the method is unsatisfactory for sediments having a significant fraction of magnetic particles larger than 38 μm. It is also shown that, for sediments having a significant fraction of high-coercivity magnetic grains, the relative orientation of the ARM and DRM will affect ARM intensities, making necessary the use of corrected ARM and DRM intensities for ratio calculations.