The Kamikatsura event and the Matuyama–Brunhes reversal recorded in lavas from Tjörnes Peninsula, northern Iceland

Abstract

We report paleomagnetic results from four overlapping stratigraphic sections (55 flows) through the lava pile in Tjörnes peninsula (North Iceland). The initial aim of our study was to check the existence of intermediate directions previously interpreted as belonging to the Matuyama–Brunhes geomagnetic reversal (MBR), and complete this record with Thellier–Thellier paleointensity determinations and 40Ar/ 39Ar radioisotopic dating. The directional results corroborate the findings by Kristjánsson et al. (1988): a sequence of reversed, transitional, normal, and transitional polarity (R–T–N–T) is found in each section. The polarity change is characterized by a jump from reversed virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) to a quasi-cluster of transitional VGPs located over China, followed by a second jump to a cluster of normal polarity before moving again towards intermediate polarities. Reversely magnetized flows exhibit a magnetic mineralogy well suited for paleointensity determination. Of these 25 flows, 20 yielded paleointensity estimates of good quality. Unfortunately, the systematic presence of coarse multidomain (MD) titanomagnetite in the transitional and normal polarity flows hampered paleointensity estimates for these flows. The Virtual Dipole Moments (VDM) calculated for the reversed polarity flows vary from 4.9 to 7.0 × 10 22 Am 2 with an arithmetic mean value of 5.5 ± 0.8 × 10 22 Am 2. This value is identical to the mean VDM obtained for the 0.3–5 Ma time window and thus strengthens the conclusion that the recent geomagnetic field strength is anomalously high compared to that older than 0.3 Ma. 40Ar/ 39Ar isochron ages were obtained with the incremental heating technique on groundmass separates or phenocryst-poor whole rock samples. Six of the transitionally magnetized lavas yielded isochron ages that are indistinguishable from one another at the 95% confidence level. The weighted average age is 862 ± 51 ka. In the upper part of this volcanic sequence, the normally magnetized flows yielded a weighted average age of 787 ± 40 ka. This finding supports the conclusion that a geomagnetic excursion within the Matuyama chron is recorded in the lower part of the Tjörnes volcanic sequence, whereas only the latest portion of the MBR is recorded by flows in the upper part of the lava pile. This conclusion is supported via comparison of the VGPs obtained from the lavas with those predicted by a geomagnetic field model.