Variations of Earth Magnetic Field Intensity for the Past 5 Myr Derived From Marine Magnetic Anomalies in a Slow‐to‐Intermediate Spreading South Atlantic Ridge

Abstract

AbstractWe investigated sea‐surface magnetic anomaly data for the past 5 Myr in the slow‐to‐intermediate spreading South Atlantic Ridge. After error analysis and signal processes, the sea surface magnetic anomaly profiles were downward continued to 1.5 km below sea level, and then the distance from spreading axis was converted to time by matching the observed anomalies with forward models of known polarity reversals. The stacked anomaly profiles from South Atlantic Ridge exhibit short‐wavelength wiggles superimposed on the first‐order variations of magnetic anomalies. The stacked anomaly profiles were first compared with commonly used geomagnetic palaeointensity data synthesized from sedimentary relative intensity records in the past and were further correlated with other available magnetic profiles derived from Central Indian Ridge, East Pacific Rise, and Pacific‐Antarctic Ridge. We found that short wavelength variations in the South Atlantic Ridge can be ascribed to geomagnetic intensity variations from excursions or short polarity events. Spectral analysis of marine magnetic anomalies records reveals that there is no obvious dominant periodicity for the geomagnetic field behavior during the past 5 Myr.