Stable Remanent Magnetization Research Articles

Paleomagnetic and paleoclimatic investigation at Laguna Melincue (Pampean Plains, Argentina): preliminary results

Laguna Melincue is a shallow lake located in Santa Fe Province, Argentina (33°41′27.8″S, 61°31′36.5″W). The catchment area is around 1495 km2 and it is located in the Pampean Plains. It was reduced to 678 km2 by the construction of the San Urbano channel in 1941 and reconditioned in 1977, which was built to avoid floods. The floods are related to some El Nino episodes, with high precipitation events. The lake has been previously studied from different approaches, mainly to understand hydrological and climatic variations, but more multidisciplinary studies are needed to understand its complex hydrological situation. Here we present the first paleomagnetic and rock magnetic studies made on a short sediment core collected from the lake in order to contribute to identifying paleoclimatic proxies and to present the first paleomagnetic results for the site. Rock magnetic analyses suggest that the well-preserved magnetic mineralogy is dominated by pseudo single-domain (titano)magnetite and/or maghemite. The results also indicate that a stable characteristic remanent magnetisation can be isolated and thus the directions of the geomagnetic field may be obtained, providing evidence for the use of this lake for paleomagnetic and paleoenvironmental studies. Changes in magnetic grain size and concentration of magnetic minerals suggest environmental variations and changes in the lake level, which are consistent with historical reports. The paleomagnetic results agree well with Cals3k.3 model for inclination and declination of the geomagnetic field except for the dry period probably due to the fact that the core was extracted near the shore.

Relative palaeointensity and reservoir effect on Lake Esmeralda, Antarctica

AbstractFour cores from the bottom sediments of Lake Esmeralda, Vega Island, Antarctica (60°48'S, 57°37'W) were studied. Analysis of rock magnetics indicates that the main carriers of magnetization are ferrimagnetic minerals, predominantly pseudo-single-domain (titano-) magnetite with a small proportion of paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic minerals. The magnetic grain size of the samples is in the range of 1–5 μm and the variation of the interparametric ratios is less than one order of magnitude. Demagnetization of the natural remanent magnetization shows a stable remanent magnetization in most of the samples. Thus, the samples fulfil the necessary conditions to calculate relative palaeointensity (RPI) and the curves obtained correlated with global models enabling dating of the cores. The 250 cm of sediment recovered spans the last 10 200 yr bp. Finally, some samples with high organic matter content were dated by accelerator mass spectrometry 14C. By comparison with the age defined by the RPI curves, a reservoir effect of c. 5200 years is suggested for this region of Vega Island.

Fracture network, fluid pathways and paleostress at the Tolhuaca geothermal field

In this study, we examine the fracture network of the Tolhuaca geothermal system located in the Southern Andean volcanic zone that may have acted as a pathway for migration and ascent of deep-seated fluids under the far/local stress field conditions of the area. We collected the orientation, slip-data and mineralogical content of faults and veins recovered on a ca. 1000 m deep borehole (Tol-1) located in the NW-flank of the Tolhuaca volcano. Tol-1 is a non-oriented, vertical borehole that recovered relatively young (<1 Ma) basaltic/andesitic volcanic rocks with subordinate pyroclastic/volcanoclastic interbedded units of Pleistocene age. Here, we examined and measured the inclination, geometry, texture, mineralogy, and relative sense of displacement of veins and faults. To determine the actual azimuthal orientation of fault and veins we reoriented 66 segments (89 standard mini-cores) of Tol-1 using stable Characteristic remanent magnetization component (ChRM) obtained by thermal demagnetization methodology. Paleo-declination of ChRM vectors was used to re-orient the borehole pieces, as well as fault and veins, to a common anchor orientation value consistent with the Geocentric Axial Dipole approximation (GAD). Inversion of RM-corrected fault-slip data reveals a local tensional stress field with a vertically oriented σ1 axis (083/74) and a subhorizontal, NS-trending σ3 axis (184/03). Within the topmost 400 m of the borehole, faults and veins are randomly oriented, whereas below 400 m depth, faults and veins show preferential NE-to EW-strikes and steep (>50°) dips. The EW-striking veins are compatible with the calculated local stress field whereas NE-striking veins are compatible with the regional stress field, the morphological elongation of volcanic centers, alignments of flank vents and dikes orientation. Our results demonstrate that the paleomagnetic methodology proved to be reliable and it is useful to re-orient vertical boreholes such as Tol-1. Furthermore, our data show that the bulk transpressional regional stress field has local variations to a tensional stress field within the NE-striking fault zone belonging to the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault System, favoring the activation of both NW- and NE-striking pre-existent discontinuities, especially the latter which are favorably oriented to open under the prevailing stress field. The vertical σ1 and NS-trending subhorizontal σ3 calculated in the TGS promote the activation of EW-striking extensional veins and both NE and NW-striking hybrid faults, constituting a complex fluid pathway geometry of at least one kilometer depth.

A re-assessesment of the shallow paleomagnetic inclinations of the Western Cyclades, Greece

Consistently shallow paleomagnetic inclinations measured in Early to Middle Miocene lacustrine and dacitic volcanic rocks of the Kymi-Aliveri basin have been cited as evidence for an anomalous geomagnetic field geometry or northward drift of the Aegean Sea region. We present new paleomagnetic data from the lacustrine beds that are instead not anomalously shallow and consistent with deposition near their present-day latitude as predicted by global apparent polar wander paths. Anomalously shallow inclinations and easterly declinations reported from the Oxylithos volcanics are an artifact of an inappropriate tilt correction. The excessively shallow paleomagnetic inclinations reported from the deformed Middle Miocene plutons on Mykonos and Naxos are consistent with reorientation of an original thermoremanent magnetization acquired during cooling below 580°C by subsequent ductile strain at temperatures of 400-500°C. Magnetization overprints observed in these rocks may reflect the acquisition of a stable chemical remanent magnetization lying parallel to the transposed high-temperature magnetization as the result of low-temperature (&lt;350°C) maghemitization. We therefore find no convincing evidence for an anomalous Middle Miocene field geometry, northward drift of the Aegean, or back-tilting of the low-angle normal faults that constitute the North Cycladic Detachment System.

New constraints on the magnetic history of the CV parent body and the solar nebula from the Kaba meteorite

Recent paleomagnetic studies of Allende CV chondrite as well as thermal modeling suggest the existence of partially differentiated asteroids with outer unmelted and variably metamorphosed crusts overlying differentiated interiors. To further constrain the magnetic history of the CV parent body, we report here paleomagnetic results on Kaba CV chondrite. This meteorite contains 11 wt% pseudo-single domain magnetite, making it a rock with an excellent paleomagnetic recording capacity. Kaba appears to carry a stable natural remanent magnetization acquired on its parent body upon cooling in an internally generated magnetic field of about 3 μT from temperatures below 150 °C during thermal metamorphism about 10 to several tens of Myr after solar system formation. This strengthens the case for the existence of a molten advecting core in the CV parent body. Furthermore, we show that no significant magnetic field (i.e. lower than ∼0.3 μT) was present when aqueous alteration took place on the Kaba parent body around 4 to 6 Myr after solar system formation, suggesting a delay in the onset of the dynamo in the CV parent body and confirming that nebular fields had already decayed at that time.

Temporal constraints on genesis of the Caravia-Berbes fluorite deposits of Asturias, Spain, from paleomagnetism

The Caravia-Berbes district is a major fluorite producing area in Europe. The fluorite occurs as mantos replacing breccio-conglomerates of the Middle Permian Caravia Formation and as veins and irregular replacive bodies in the unconformably underlying limestone of the Late Carboniferous Caliza de Montaña Formation. Paleomagnetic analyses were done using alternating field and thermal step demagnetization and saturation remanence methods. Ten sites (82 specimens) in massive and disseminated fluorite ore from the Emilio manto yielded a stable chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) in hematite inclusions with a direction of Decl. 20.1°, Incl. 67.3° (α95=6.1°). After correction for Neogene Pyrenean tilt, the manto's paleoinclination gives a CRM acquisition age of 206±8Ma that dates a major hydrothermal and ore emplacement event. The age is coeval with the onset of Pangea's break up as the Iberian microplate began to split from the Armorican terrane of Eurasia as part of the ocean-forming CAMP (Central Atlantic Magmatic Province) event. Another 11 sites (109 specimens) of silicified dolostone of the Caliza de Montaña Formation just below the Cueto L'Aspa manto yielded a stable CRM that resides in single and pseudosingle domain magnetite inclusions that has a direction of Decl. 328.7°, Incl. 76.6° (α95=4.9°). After Neogene tilt correction, the altered zone's paleopole gives a CRM acquisition age of 115±3Ma. This age shows that the western Cantabrian basin also underwent a major hydrothermal alteration and remagnetization event by fluid flow through steep re-activated faults when Iberia rotated 35±2° away from Eurasia during Aptian-Albian time.

Magnetism of a very young lunar glass

AbstractRecent paleomagnetic studies of Apollo samples have established that a core dynamo existed on the Moon from at least 4.2 to 3.56 billion years (Ga). Because there is no lunar dynamo today, a longstanding mystery has been the origin of magnetization in very young lunar samples (&lt;~200 million years old (Ma)). Possible sources of this magnetization include transient fields generated by meteoroid impacts, remanent fields from nearby rocks magnetized during an earlier dynamo epoch, a weak late dynamo, and spontaneous remanence formed in a near‐zero field. To further understand the source of the magnetization in young lunar samples, we conducted paleomagnetic, petrographic, and 40Ar/39Ar geochronometry analyses on a young impact melt glass rind from the exterior of ~3.35 Ga mare basalt 12017. Cosmic ray track densities and our 40Ar/39Ar and cosmogenic 38Ar analyses constrain the glass formation age to be &lt;7 Ma and most likely &lt;20 thousand years (kyr), making it likely the youngest extraterrestrial sample yet studied with paleomagnetic methods. Despite its relatively high fidelity magnetic recording properties compared to most lunar rocks, we find that the glass carries no stable primary natural remanent magnetization and that it formed in a field &lt;~7 μT (with a 2 σ upper limit of &lt;11 μT). Given the poor magnetic recording properties of the majority of lunar samples, this provides further evidence that many or perhaps even all previous paleointensity estimates for ≤1.5 Ga rocks are upper limits on the true paleofield and therefore require neither a protracted strong (&gt;10 μT) core dynamo field nor impact‐generated fields.

Combined paleomagnetic and geochronological study on Cretaceous strata of the Qiangtang terrane, central Tibet

A combined paleomagnetic and geochronological investigation has been performed on Cretaceous rocks in southern Qiangtang terrane (32.5°N, 84.3°E), near Gerze, central Tibetan Plateau. A total of 14 sites of volcanic rocks and 22 sites of red beds have been sampled. Our new U–Pb geochronologic study of zircons dates the volcanic rocks at 103.8±0.46Ma (Early Cretaceous) while the red beds belong to the Late Cretaceous. Rock magnetic experiments suggest that magnetite and hematite are the main magnetic carriers. After removing a low temperature component of viscous magnetic remanence, stable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) was isolated successfully from all the sites by stepwise thermal demagnetization. The tilt-corrected mean direction from the 14 lava sites is D=348.0°, I=47.3°, k=51.0, α95=5.6°, corresponding to a paleopole at 79.3°N, 339.8°E, A95=5.7° and yielding a paleolatitude of 29.3°±5.7°N for the study area. The ChRM directions isolated from the volcanic rocks pass a fold test at 95% confidence, suggesting a primary origin. The volcanic data appear to have effectively averaged out secular variation as indicated by both geological evidence and results from analyzing the virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) scatter. The mean inclination from the Late Cretaceous red beds, however, is 13.1° shallower than that of the ~100Ma volcanic rocks. After performing an elongation/inclination analysis on 174 samples of the red beds, a mean inclination of 47.9° with 95% confidence limits between 41.9° and 54.3° is obtained, which is consistent with the mean inclination of the volcanic rocks. The site-mean direction of the Late Cretaceous red beds after tilt-correction and inclination shallowing correction is D=312.6°, I=47.7°, k=109.7, α95=3.0°, N=22 sites, corresponding to a paleopole at 49.2°N, 1.9°E, A95=3.2° (yielding a paleolatitude of 28.7°±3.2°N for the study area). The ChRM of the red beds also passes a fold test at 99% confidence, indicating a primary origin. Comparing the paleolatitude of the Qiangtang terrane with the stable Asia, there is no significant difference between our sampling location in the southern Qiangtang terrane and the stable Asia during ~100Ma and Late Cretaceous. Our results together with the high quality data previously published suggest that an ~550kmN–S convergence between the Qiangtang and Lhasa terranes happened after ~100Ma. Comparison of the mean directions with expected directions from the stable Asia indicates that the Gerze area had experienced a significant counterclockwise rotation after ~100Ma, which is most likely caused by the India–Asia collision.

Late Triassic paleomagnetic result from the Baoshan Terrane, West Yunnan of China: Implication for orientation of the East Paleotethys suture zone and timing of the Sibumasu-Indochina collision

In order to better understand the paleogeographic position of the Baoshan Terrane in the northernmost part of the Sibumasu Block during formation of the Pangea supercontinent, a paleomagnetic study has been conducted on Late Triassic basaltic lavas from the southern part of the Baoshan Terrane in the West Yunnan region of Southwest China. Following detailed rock magnetic investigations and progressive thermal demagnetization, stable characteristic remanent magnetizations (ChRMs) were successfully isolated from Late Triassic Niuhetang lava flows. The ChRMs are of dual polarity and pass fold and reversal tests with magnetic carriers dominated by magnetite and subordinate oxidation-induced hematite; we thus interpret them as a primary remanence. This new paleomagnetic result indicates that the Baoshan Terrane was located at low paleolatitudes of ∼15°N in the Northern Hemisphere during Late Triassic times. Together with available paleomagnetic data from the Baoshan Terrane and surrounding areas, a wider paleomagnetic comparison supports the view that the East Paleotethys Ocean separated the Sibumasu and Indochina blocks and closed no later than Late Triassic times. We argue that the currently approximately north-to-south directed Changning-Menglian suture zone is very likely to have been oriented nearly east-to-west at the time of the Sibumasu-Indochina collision.

Late Triassic paleolatitude of the Qiangtang block: Implications for the closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean

To better constrain the Late Triassic paleolatitude of the Qiangtang block and the closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, a combined paleomagnetic and zircon U/Pb geochronological study has been conducted on the Upper Triassic Jiapila Formation volcanic rocks on the northern edge of the Qiangtang block of Central Tibet (34.1°N, 92.4°E). These rocks are dated to 204–213 Ma. Progressive thermal or alternating field demagnetization successfully isolated stable characteristic remanent magnetizations (ChRM) that pass both the fold and reversal tests, consistent with a primary magnetization. These are the first volcanic-based paleomagnetic results from pre-Cretaceous rocks of the Qiangtang block that appear to average secular variation well enough to yield a reliable paleolatitude estimate. Based on our new paleomagnetic data from Upper Triassic lavas, we conclude that the Late Triassic pole of the Qiangtang block was located at 64.0°N, 174.7°E, with A95=6.6° (N=29). We compile published paleomagnetic data from the Qiangtang block to calculate a Late Triassic latitude for the Qiangtang block at 31.7 ± 3.0°N. The central Paleo-Tethys Ocean basin was located between the North China (NCB) and Tarim blocks to the north and the Qiangtang block to the south during Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic. A comparison of published Early Triassic paleopole from the Qiangtang block with the coeval paleopoles from the NCB and Tarim indicates that the Paleo-Tethys Ocean could not have closed during the Early Triassic and that its width was approximately ∼32–38° latitude (∼3500–4200 km). However, the comparison of our new combined Late Triassic paleomagnetic result with the Late Triassic poles of the NCB and Tarim, as well as numerous geological observations, indicates that the closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean at the longitude of the Qiangtang block most likely occurred during the Late Triassic.

Genetic constraints from paleomagnetic dating for the Aliva zinc–lead deposit, Picos de Europa Unit, northern Spain

Aliva has been the most productive Zn–Pb mine in the Picos de Europa Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) district of Spain’s Cantabrian Zone. The mineralisation is hosted in a Variscan thrust sheet by strata of the Late Carboniferous (~309 ± 3 Ma) Picos de Europa limestone–shale formation. Paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses of 194 specimens from 23 sites show that the sphalerite–galena–dolomite ore carries a stable characteristic remanent magnetisation (ChRM) in magnetite–titanomagnetite with minor pyrrhotite. Uncorrected for bedding tilt, the ChRM’s direction is declination (D) = 347.2°, inclination (I) = 61.8° (N = 20 sites, k = 75.4, α95 = 4.3°). A negative paleomagnetic fold test shows that the MVT mineralisation is in one or more carbonate olistoliths of the Picos de Europa Formation in shales of the overlying Late Carboniferous Lebena Formation and that the ChRM entirely postdates Variscan orogenic deformation. No plausible tilt correction of the ChRM’s paleopole supports a previously proposed late Variscan (Permian–Triassic) age for the genesis of the MVT mineralisation at Aliva. The paleopole does support an age of 112 ± 8 Ma for the hydrothermal dolomitisation and MVT mineralisation event with a subsequent increase in bedding tilt by ~10° NNE during the Oligocene–Miocene Pyrenean (Alpine) Orogeny. The 112 ± 8 Ma Aptian–Albian age ties ore genesis to the 35° ± 2 counterclockwise rotation of the Iberian peninsula relative to stable Europe and strongly favours an origin in the rift’s flank associated with rift hydrothermal activity.

The curved Magallanes fold and thrust belt: Tectonic insights from a paleomagnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility study

The Magallanes fold and thrust belt (FTB) presents a large-scale curvature from N-S oriented structures north of 52°S to nearly E-W in Tierra del Fuego Island. We present a paleomagnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) study from 85 sites sampled in Cretaceous to Miocene marine sediments. Magnetic susceptibility is lower than 0.0005 SI for 76 sites and mainly controlled by paramagnetic minerals. AMS results indicate that the sedimentary fabric is preserved in the undeformed areas of Tierra del Fuego and the more external thrust sheets units, where an incipient lineation due to layer parallel shortening is recorded. Prolate AMS ellipsoids, indicating a significant tectonic imprint in the AMS fabric, are observed in the internal units of the belt. AMS results show a good correlation between the orientation of the magnetic lineation and the fold axes. However, in Península Brunswick, the AMS lineations are at ~20° counterclockwise to the strike of the fold axes. Pretectonic stable characteristic remanent magnetizations (ChRM) were determined in seven sites. A counterclockwise rotation (21.2° ± 9.2°) is documented by ChRM data from four sites near the hinge of the belt in Península Brunswick and near Canal Whiteside while there is no evidence of rotation near the nearly E-W oriented Vicuña thrust within Tierra del Fuego. The curved shape of the Cenozoic Magallanes FTB is not related to vertical axis rotation, and thus, the Magallanes FTB can be considered as a primary arc.

Further paleomagnetic results for lower Permian basalts of the Baoshan Terrane, southwestern China, and paleogeographic implications

The Baoshan Terrane of southwestern China is considered to have been part of the Cimmerian block during the late Paleozoic; consequently, knowledge of its paleoposition and geological evolution can provide constraints on the Permian breakup of northern East Gondwana. Therefore, we conducted paleomagnetic and rockmagnetic studies on lower Permian basalts from four localities in the Baoshan Terrane. The basalts hold a stable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) at high temperatures (300–680°C) that is carried by magnetite, maghemite, and hematite with both pseudo-single and multiple domains. To test the reliability of data from these volcanic rocks, we analyzed the geomagnetic secular variation (GSV) and reliability of both the present data and previous paleomagnetic data. The results from 23 sites yield a single reversed polarity directed downwards to the southwest, giving a site-mean direction of Dg/Ig=156.7°/56.6° (kg=8.0, α95=11.4°) before tilt correction, and Ds/Is=218.3°/60.1° (ks=14.1, α95=8.4°) after tilt correction. The result passed the fold test, but the GSV was able to be averaged out in only two sections. All available data were examined section-by-section using the angular dispersion (SB) of virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) to ensure that the GSV was completely averaged out. Because the dispersion in declinations is likely to have been affectedby subsequent tectonic deformation, the paleosecular variation (PSV) could not be evaluated from all the data amassed from different sections, and the PSV was able to be removed from only four (combined) sections. A small-circle fit of these VGPs gives an averaged paleocolatitude of 51.9°±3.7° (N=31 sites) centered on 24°N, 99°E. The result indicates that the sampled area of the Baoshan Terrane was located at a latitude of 38°S±3.7° during the late early Permian. A comparison of this result with early Permian data from Gondwanan blocks suggests that the Baoshan Terrane was situated near the junction of northern India and northwestern Australia, and that it broke away from western Australia after the early Permian.

Archaeological, archaeomagnetic and thermoluminescence investigation of a baked clay kiln excavated at Chieri, northern Italy: contribution to the rescue of our cultural heritage

&lt;p&gt;Combining different dating techniques is fundamental to constrain the ages of archaeological findings, mainly when direct evidences for their chronological context are not available. This paper presents the results of a combined archaeological, archaeomagnetic and thermoluminescence study of a kiln discovered during a rescue excavation at Chieri, northern Italy. The archaeological site is quite complex mainly due to the interposition of different stratigraphic levels that span from Roman times to present day. The studied kiln belongs to the post-medieval stratigraphic level but the lack of datable diagnostic objects strongly limits the possibility of its accurate dating only by means of archaeological evidences. Archaeomagnetic study was performed on 26 baked clay samples, isolating stable characteristic remanent magnetizations. The statistic comparison of the averaged direction with reference secular variation curves suggests two possible dating intervals. Independent dating from thermoluminescence study of 2 samples is consistent with the second time interval proposed by archaeomagnetism, suggesting that the kiln was abandoned at the beginning of the 17th century. The successful combination of the two independent laboratory techniques provides accurate dating of archaeological baked clays and can be used as routine for future archaeological investigations of rescue excavations.&lt;/p&gt;

Paleomagnetism and U‐Pb zircon geochronology of Lower Cretaceous lava flows from the western Lhasa terrane: New constraints on the India‐Asia collision process and intracontinental deformation within Asia

AbstractTo better understand the India‐Asia collisional process and intracontinental deformation within Asia, a paleomagnetic study has been conducted on the Qushenla Formation lava flows dated at ~132–120 Ma from the Yanhu area in the western Lhasa terrane. Stepwise thermal demagnetization isolates stable characteristic remanent magnetizations, which include dual polarity and pass fold tests at a 99% confidence level, indicating primary magnetizations. The tilt‐corrected site‐mean direction for 51 sites is D = 28.2°, I = 34.5°, and k = 74.3° with α95 = 2.3°, corresponding to a paleopole at 61.4°N, 192.9°E (A95 = 2.1°). Our new paleomagnetic data, combined with previous Cretaceous volcanic paleomagnetic data from the Lhasa terrane, show that the precollisional southern margin of Asia was at ~16.8°N with a relatively E‐W alignment and that the Lhasa terrane did not experience significantly discrepant north‐south movement although local vertical axis rotations did take place after the Cretaceous. Comparison with the apparent polar wander paths (APWPs) of India and the Cretaceous‐Paleocene paleopoles of the Tethyan Himalaya shows that the India‐Asia collision was at ~54.3 Ma and the Greater India during the Paleocene had a large northern extent of ~2000 km (~18.1°) beyond its present northern margin. Comparison with the Cretaceous Eurasian APWP indicates that a latitudinal convergence of ~1000 km has taken place between the Lhasa terrane and Eurasia since the India‐Asia collision. The amount of north‐south shortening deduced from Cretaceous paleomagnetic data is consistent with that accommodated by the Cenozoic fold and thrust belts between the Lhasa terrane and the Hexi corridor.

Oxidation processes and their effects on the magnetic remanence of Early Cretaceous subaerial basalts from Sierra Chica de Córdoba, Argentina

Abstract We carried out magnetic analyses on a sequence of Cretaceous alkaline–transitional subaerial basalts of Córdoba Province, Argentina, which have high-Ti magnetite as the main opaque phase. Three different groups are identified based on the degree of high-temperature oxidation during the lava extrusion, combined with superimposed maghemitization and hematization. In the first group, titanomagnetites are optically homogeneous or exhibit coarse intergrowths with ilmenite. The magnetic susceptibility and its variation with temperature and magnetic field point to Ti-poorer compositions than those indicated by electron microprobe, which is interpreted as due to low-temperature oxidation with subsolvus microexsolution. The second group of basalts suffered moderate high-temperature oxidation, with crowded exsolved ilmenite laths within a Ti-poor magnetite ss host, followed by maghemitization and hematite replacement. The third group shows a strongly advanced degree of low-temperature alteration, with the virtual disappearance of magnetite. Based on magnetic properties and field tests applied to the magnetic remanence, we interpret that maghemitization and hematization must have been responsible for the acquisition of a stable magnetic remanence, in the presence of hydrothermal fluids coeval with volcanism. The most advanced degree of alteration, typical of highly porous amygdaloidal lava flows and volcanic breccias, occurred later, probably due to weathering.

Insights into magmatic processes and hydrothermal alteration of in situ superfast spreading ocean crust at ODP/IODP site 1256 from a cluster analysis of rock magnetic properties

AbstractWe analyze magnetic properties from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)/Integrated ODP (IODP) Hole 1256D (6°44.1' N, 91°56.1' W) on the Cocos Plate in ∼15.2 Ma oceanic crust generated by superfast seafloor spreading, the only drill hole that has sampled all three oceanic crust layers in a tectonically undisturbed setting. Fuzzy c‐means cluster analysis and nonlinear mapping are utilized to study down‐hole trends in the ratio of the saturation remanent magnetization and the saturation magnetization, the coercive force, the ratio of the remanent coercive force and coercive force, the low‐field magnetic susceptibility, and the Curie temperature, to evaluate the effects of magmatic and hydrothermal processes on magnetic properties. A statistically robust five cluster solution separates the data predominantly into three clusters that express increasing hydrothermal alteration of the lavas, which differ from two distinct clusters mainly representing the dikes and gabbros. Extensive alteration can obliterate magnetic property differences between lavas, dikes, and gabbros. The imprint of thermochemical alteration on the iron‐titanium oxides is only partially related to the porosity of the rocks. Thus, the analysis complements interpretation based on electrofacies analysis. All clusters display rock magnetic characteristics compatible with an ability to retain a stable natural remanent magnetization suggesting that the entire sampled sequence of ocean crust can contribute to marine magnetic anomalies. Paleointensity determination is difficult because of the propensity of oxyexsolution during laboratory heating and/or the presence of intergrowths. The upper part of the extrusive sequence, the granoblastic dikes, and moderately altered gabbros may contain a comparatively uncontaminated thermoremanent magnetization.

Magnetic signature of large exhumed mantle domains of the Southwest Indian Ridge – results from a deep-tow geophysical survey over 0 to 11 Ma old seafloor

Abstract. We investigate the magnetic signature of ultramafic seafloor in the eastern part of the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). There, detachment faulting, continuous over 11 Myr, exhumed large areas of mantle-derived rocks. These exhumed mantle domains occur in the form of a smooth rounded topography with broad ridges locally covered by a thin highly discontinuous volcanic carapace. We present high-resolution data combining deep-tow magnetics, side-scan sonar images and dredged samples collected within two exhumed mantle domains between 62° E and 65° E. We show that, despite an ultra-slow spreading rate, volcanic areas within robust magmatic segments are characterized by well-defined seafloor spreading anomalies. By contrast, the exhumed mantle domains, including a few thin volcanic patches, reveal a weak and highly variable magnetic pattern. The analysis of the magnetic properties of the dredged samples and careful comparison between the nature of the seafloor, the deep-tow magnetic anomalies and the seafloor equivalent magnetization suggest that the serpentinized peridotites do not carry a sufficiently stable remanent magnetization to produce seafloor spreading magnetic anomalies in exhumed mantle domains.

Scaling up the production of magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications: cost‐effective fabrication from basalts

AbstractWe report here the first results on magnetic nanoparticles fabricated from basalt fragments of the eruption that took place in Lanzarote (Canary Islands) between 1730 and 1736, to be used in technologies of biomedicine. This approach was inspired by the strong and extremely stable remanent magnetization of slowly cooled rocks from basaltic lavas containing finely members of the hematite–ilmenite (Fe2O3–FeTiO3) series. Besides, the presence of titanium may promote good biocompatibility and an adequate corrosion resistance, as it does in prosthesis. The green, simple, fast, and cost‐effective synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles was attempted using solar vapor‐phase condensation. This technique allows the preparation of large volumes of nanoparticles presenting a narrow particle size distribution without purification steps. Alternatively, high‐energy ball‐milling of rock powder in the presence of organic surfactants was also studied as a potential method to produce, in a one‐step approach, large quantities of nanostructured particles for biomedical applications. As a proof of concept, we explore these materials as candidates to be used in hyperthermia therapy, which promotes selective necrosis of cancer cells by raising the temperature of the tissue slightly above 43 ºC. Results are correlated to their chemical and structural properties and compared to initial igneous rock characteristics. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &amp; Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Experimental evidence for lamellar magnetism in hemo-ilmenite by polarized neutron scattering

Large local anomalies in the Earth's magnetic field have been observed in Norway, Sweden, and Canada. These anomalies have been attributed to the unusual magnetic properties of naturally occurring hemo-ilmenite, consisting of a paramagnetic ilmenite host ($\ensuremath{\alpha}$-Fe${}_{2}$O${}_{3}$-bearing FeTiO${}_{3}$) with exsolution lamellae ($\ensuremath{\approx}$$3\phantom{\rule{0.222222em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}$m thick) of canted antiferromagnetic hematite (FeTiO${}_{3}$-bearing $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-Fe${}_{2}$O${}_{3}$) and the mutual exsolutions of the same phases on the micron to nanometer scale. The origin of stable natural remanent magnetization (NRM) in this system has been proposed to be uncompensated magnetic moments in the contact layers between the exsolution lamellae. This lamellar magnetism hypothesis is tested here by using polarized neutron diffraction to measure the orientation of hematite spins as a function of an applied magnetic field in a natural single crystal of hemo-ilmenite from South Rogaland, Norway. Polarized neutron diffraction clearly shows that the ilmenite spins do not contribute to the NRM and that hematite spins account for the full magnetization at ambient temperature. Hematite sublattice spins are shown to adopt an average angle of 56${}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ with respect to a saturating magnetic field, which is intermediate between the angle of 90${}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ predicted for a pure canted moment and the angle of 0${}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ predicted for a pure lamellar moment. The observed NRM is consistent with the vector sum of lamellar magnetism and canted antiferromagnetic contributions. The relative importance of the two contributions varies with the length scale of the microstructure, with the lamellar contribution increasing when exsolution occurs predominantly at the nanometer rather than the micrometer scale.