Transitional Virtual Geomagnetic Poles Research Articles

Indicators of mantle control on the geodynamo from observations and simulations

There has been longstanding controversy about whether the influence of lateral variations in core-mantle boundary heat flow can be detected in paleomagnetic records of geomagnetic field behavior. Their signature is commonly sought in globally distributed records of virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) paths that have been claimed to exhibit specific longitudinal preferences during polarity transitions and excursions. These preferences have often been linked to thermal effects from large low seismic velocity areas (LLVPs) in the lowermost mantle, but the results have been contested because of potential sensitivity to sparse temporal and spatial sampling. Recently developed time varying global paleofield models spanning various time intervals in 1–100 ka, three of which include excursions, allow us to complement assessments of spatial distributions of transitional VGP paths with distributions of minimum field intensity. Robustness of the results is evaluated using similar products from four distinct numerical dynamo simulations with and without variable thermal boundary conditions and including stable geomagnetic polarity, excursions and reversals. We determine that VGP distributions are less useful than minimum field intensity in linking the influences of thermal CMB structure to geographical variations in actual paleofield observables, because VGP correlations depend strongly on good spatial sampling of a sufficient number of relatively rare events. These results provide a basis for evaluating comparable observations from four paleofield models. The distribution of VGP locations provide unreliable results given the restricted time span and available data locations. Rough correlations of global distributions of minimum intensity with areas outside the LLVPs give some indications of mantle control during excursions, although the results for the eastern hemisphere are complex, perhaps highlighting uncertainties about the hemispheric balance between thermal and compositional variations in the lowermost mantle. However, access to other geomagnetic properties (such as intensity and radial field at the CMB) provides a strong argument for using extended and improved global paleofield models to resolve the question of mantle influence on the geodynamo from the observational side.

A centennial-resolution terrestrial climatostratigraphy and Matuyama\u2013Brunhes transition record from a loess sequence in China

Terrestrial records of the last geomagnetic reversal often have few age constraints. Chronostratigraphy using suborbital-scale paleoceanic events during marine isotope stage 19 may contribute to solving this problem. We applied the method to an 8 m long, high-resolution paleomagnetic record from a loess sequence in China and revealed millennial-to-sub-centennial scale features of the Matuyama–Brunhes (MB) transition. All samples were subjected to progressive thermal demagnetization with 14–15 steps up to 650–680 °C. As a result, 96% of the samples yielded a high-quality remanent magnetization. The MB transition terminated with a 75 cm thick zone with nine polarity flips. The polarity flip zone, dated at about 779–777 ka, began between the warm events “I” and “J” and terminated at the end of the cooling event coincident with the lowest axial-dipole strength interval. Most polarity flips occurred within 70 years. The virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) in the upper polarity flip zone clustered in the SW Pacific region, where the MB transitional VGPs from lavas of the Hawaiian and Canary Islands and lacustrine deposits of Java also clustered. These sites were probably dominated by dipolar fields. The absence of transitional fields across polarity flips implies a short time span for averaging fields due to a thin loess-magnetization lock-in zone. The reverse-to-normal polarity reversal dated at about 778 ka in Lingtai occurred at the end of the SW Pacific VGP zone, an important key bed for MB transition stratigraphy. The reversal is a good candidate for the main MB boundary. We found an excursion at about 766 ka spanning about 1 ka.

Volcanic Record of the Last Geomagnetic Reversal in a Lava Flow Sequence From the Azores

We present paleomagnetic and geochronological data of twenty-five stacked lava flows from São Miguel Island (Azores) that were emplaced during the last geomagnetic reversal (Matuyama-Brunhes, M-B). The characteristic direction of natural remanent magnetization was isolated through alternating field and/or thermal demagnetization. From bottom to top, the directional changes display a first phase with reverse, transitional and normal directions which is followed by a second phase with transitional and normal directions. Dating by Potassium-Argon (K-Ar) of fresh separated groundmass provide ages of 768 ± 5 ka and 765 ± 5 ka (1σ) for the first and second transitional episodes, respectively. We infer that this sequence recorded the last reversal and reveal the presence of a rebound that occurred soon after the transition. The age of the transition is 5-15 kyr younger than at other volcanic localities, but in agreement with astronomical ages that were recently proposed for the transitional interval. The reversal is characterized by weak field intensity during the transition, a recovery phase and a subsequent decrease during the rebound. The two transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) that characterize the transition are found above the South Atlantic and the North Pacific. When compared to other M-B records, no VGP is found above preferred locations.

Rare palaeomagnetic evidence of long-term mantle control of the geodynamo and possible role of the NAD field in the reversal process

SUMMARY The degree to which the lowermost mantle influences behaviour of the geodynamo has been debated over the past quarter century. Our analysis of a comprehensive set of 17 Cenozoic palaeomagnetic transitional field records obtained from lavas in the Southern Hemisphere provides robust evidence of stable mantle control since the Pliocene. The records come from a region where—given a significantly weakened axial dipole—the magnetic field today would be largely controlled by the non-axial dipole (NAD) flux patch currently emanating from Earth's outer core beneath western Australia. The palaeomagnetic recording sites from west to east include the south Indian Ocean, eastern Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia. The analysed records contain from 2 to 26 sequential transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs). 10 of the 17 records supply at least one VGP within a narrow longitudinal band 10°-wide between 60°S and the equator, centred along 102.4°E. That is, transitional data from 59 per cent of the Cenozoic recordings are found to reside in a region that encompasses a mere 2.8 per cent of the VGP transitional area on Earth's surface. A robust Monte Carlo approach applied to this data set, one that takes into account the number of transitional VGPs contained in each record, finds this result highly improbable (p-value = 0.0006). The present-day pattern of vertical flux at the core–mantle boundary shows an anomalously strong, thin Southern Hemisphere longitudinal band off the west coast of Australia that strikingly coincides with this unusual palaeomagnetic finding. We conclude with a high degree of confidence that this band of flux has remained virtually unmoved for at least the past 3 Myr. Seemingly independent of the behaviour of the axial dipole, our findings indicate that it has dominated the magnetic field over an area of considerable size during attempts by the geodynamo to reverse polarity.

Detailed Jaramillo field reversals recorded in lake sediments from Armenia – Lower mantle influence on the magnetic field revisited

While it is well established that the Earth's magnetic field is generated by a self sustaining dynamo that reversed its polarity at irregular intervals in the geological past, the very mechanisms causing field reversals remain obscure. Paleomagnetic reconstructions of polarity transitions have been essential for physically constraining the underlying mechanisms in terms of time scale, but thus far remain ambiguous with regard to the transitional field geometry. Here we present new paleomagnetic records from a rapidly deposited lacustrine sediment sequence with extraordinarily stable paleomagnetic signals, which has captured in unprecedented detail the bottom (reverse to normal: R–N) and top (normal to reverse: N–R) transitions of the Jaramillo subchron (at 1.072 Ma and at 0.988 Ma). The obtained virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) path indicates an oscillatory transitional field behavior with four abrupt transequatorial precursory jumps across the Pacific.The distribution of VGP positions indicates regions of preferred occurrence. Our results are in agreement with previously proposed bands of transitional VGP occurrence over the Americas and Australia/northwest Pacific. Additionally, our VGP positions seem to avoid large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) above the core mantle boundary (CMB). Thus, our data supports the idea that the transitional field geometry is controlled by heat flux heterogeneities at the CMB linked to LLSVPs.

Directional change during a Miocene R‐N geomagnetic polarity reversal recorded by mafic lava flows, Sheep Creek Range, north central Nevada, USA

AbstractRecurring transitional field directions during three Miocene geomagnetic reversals provide evidence that lateral inhomogeneity of the lower mantle affects flow in the outer core. We compare new paleomagnetic results from a composite sequence of 15.2 Ma lava flows in north central Nevada (Sheep Creek Range; 40.7°N, 243.2°E), erupted during a polarity reversal, to published data from Steens Mountain (250 km to the northwest in Oregon) and the Newberry Mountains (650 km to the south in California) that document reversals occurring millions of years and many polarity switches earlier. Alternating field demagnetization, followed by thermal demagnetization in half the samples, clearly isolated the primary thermoremanent magnetization of Sheep Creek Range flows. We correlated results from our three sampled sections to produce a composite record that begins with a single virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) at low latitude in the Atlantic, followed by two VGPs situated near latitude 30°N in NE Africa. After jumping to 83°N (one VGP), the pole moves to equatorial South America (one VGP), back to NE Africa (three VGPs), to high southern latitudes (two VGPs), back to equatorial South America (three VGPs), and finally to high northern latitudes (nine VGPs). The repeated visits of the transitional VGP to positions in South America and near NE Africa, as well as the similar behavior recorded at Steens Mountain and the Newberry Mountains, suggest that lower mantle or core‐mantle boundary features localize core flow structures, thereby imparting a discernible regional structure on the transitional geomagnetic field that persists for millions of years.

New Paleomagnetic results and evidence for a geomagnetic field excursion during the pleistocene-holocene transition at Pichincha province, Ecuador

Paleomagnetic data from three sedimentary sections in Pichincha province -Quito City (QC), Mullimica (Mu) and El Tingo (ET)- Ecuador (northwestern South America) are reported. Analysis of natural remanent magnetization directions obtained from 109 oriented samples taken at 4 sites, shows that some samples recorded a magnetic component different from the normal present geomagnetic field (GMF). The characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) was determined by progressive AF demagnetization. The analysis shows that the sections recorded ChRM of normal, intermediate and reverse polarities during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and Holocene. Normal directions were recorded in QC, while normal and intermediate polarity directions at Mu and, reverse VGPs at ET. QC and the upper portion of Mu correspond to the paleosecular variation Holocene record for Ecuador during the ∼≤4.7 ka BP. On the other hand, the lower portion of Mu logs represents the transition from normal to intermediate directions occurring at ∼≥5.6 ka BP. Sites from ET recorded two stable oblique reverse records with a large fluctuation far from the present GMF at ∼10.5 ka BP. The transitional virtual geomagnetic poles generally agree with those registered during the possible Pleistocene-Holocene excursion observed in other places of the planet. When plotted in a present world map, VGPs calculated from normal samples at QC are very well clustered in Northern North America, Greenland and Northern Europe; most VGP's calculated from Mu are situated between 30° and 60° northern latitude in Northern North America, Greenland, western Europe, Africa and North Pacific Ocean. Interestingly, the majority of the reverse directions from ET conforms a patch located in southern Africa, and a few ones are situated in central Africa, eastern Australia and Antarctica. An Ecuadorian paleopole was calculated with data resulting from QC and Mu. Also other paleopoles of the same age were processed from other North and South American sites. Remarkably they agree well, although they do not agree with the geographical pole showing ∼15o angular difference in relation to the rotation's axis of the Earth. Finally, is discussed the hypothesis of the global excursional state of the GMF during the last ∼11.0 ka BP and the potential use as dating tool the excursion dated at 10.5 ka BP.

Geomagnetic field excursion recorded 17 ka at Tianchi Volcano, China: New40Ar/39Ar age and significance

AbstractNew40Ar/39Ar dating of a comenditic lava atop Tianchi Volcano, China, indicates eruption at 17.1 ± 0.9 ka. The flow interior records a pair of transitional virtual geomagnetic poles and a low paleointensity of ~25 μT. Thus, it records a geomagnetic field excursion that is younger than the 41 ka Laschamp or 32 ka Auckland excursions. Implications are: (1) following a repose of several tens of kyr, Tianchi Volcano became highly active immediately following termination of the last glaciation maximum. The flare‐up of silicic eruptions may reflect rapid deglaciation of the edifice. (2) A 17 ka age for the Tianchi excursion provides the first direct radioisotopic evidence that excursional behavior, which is imprecisely dated and less well documented magnetically at several other sites, is a global feature of geodynamo behavior. (3) During the Brunhes chron, 13 well‐dated excursions cluster into two periods, including seven between 17 and 212 ka, and six between about 530 and 730 ka.

40Ar/39Ar chronology and paleomagnetism of Quaternary basaltic lavas from the Perşani Mountains (East Carpathians)

Quaternary volcanism in the Perşani Mountains forms an Na-alkali basaltic province inside the bend area of the Carpathians in the southeastern part of Europe. Previous K–Ar ages and paleomagnetic data reveal several transitional virtual geomagnetic poles, which were tentatively associated with the Cobb Mountain subchron and a Brunhes chron excursion. We report a new paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic study coupled with 40Ar/39Ar geochronology to better constrain the age of geomagnetic reversals or excursions that might be recorded and the timing of volcanism. Of the paleomagnetic directions obtained from sampled lava flows 4 are reversed polarity, 19 are normal polarity and 16 have transitional polarity. 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages determined from incremental heating experiments on groundmass indicate that two of the reversely magnetized lavas erupted at 1142±41 and 800±25ka, four of the normally magnetized lavas erupted at 1060±10, 1062±24, 684±21, and 683±28ka, and two transitionally magnetized lavas formed at 1221±11 and 799±21ka. Both the new 40Ar/39Ar ages and the paleomagnetic data suggest at least five episodes of volcanic activity with the most active periods during the Jaramillo and Brunhes chrons. This results shows that the last phases of alkalic and calc-alkaline magmatism in the South-East Carpathians were contemporaneous. The age of the older transitionally magnetized lava flow is within error of recent unspiked K–Ar and astrochronologic ages for the reversal that defines the onset of the Cobb Mountain normal polarity subchron. The age of the younger transitional lava is similar to that of an excursion that preceded the Matuyama–Brunhes polarity reversal and which has come to be known as the Matuyama–Brunhes precursor. Omitting the excursion data, the dispersion of the virtual geomagnetic poles (around 19°) is larger than the expected value around 45°N from the global compilation, but closer to the value obtained only from the Time Averaged geomagnetic Field Initiative studies.

High-resolution record of the Matuyama–Brunhes transition constrains the age of Javanese Homo erectus in the Sangiran dome, Indonesia

A detailed paleomagnetic study conducted in the Sangiran area, Java, has provided a reliable age constraint on hominid fossil-bearing formations. A reverse-to-normal polarity transition marks a 7-m thick section across the Upper Tuff in the Bapang Formation. The transition has three short reversal episodes and is overlain by a thick normal polarity magnetozone that was fission-track dated to the Brunhes chron. This pattern closely resembles another high-resolution Matuyama-Brunhes (MB) transition record in an Osaka Bay marine core. In the Sangiran sediments, four successive transitional polarity fields lie just below the presumed main MB boundary. Their virtual geomagnetic poles cluster in the western South Pacific, partly overlapping the transitional virtual geomagnetic poles from Hawaiian and Canary Islands' lavas, which have a mean (40)Ar/(39)Ar age of 776 ± 2 ka. Thus, the polarity transition is unambiguously the MB boundary. A revised correlation of tuff layers in the Bapang Formation reveals that the hominid last occurrence and the tektite level in the Sangiran area are nearly coincident, just below the Upper Middle Tuff, which underlies the MB transition. The stratigraphic relationship of the tektite level to the MB transition in the Sangiran area is consistent with deep-sea core data that show that the meteorite impact preceded the MB reversal by about 12 ka. The MB boundary currently defines the uppermost horizon yielding Homo erectus fossils in the Sangiran area.

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

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.

The Gilsá excursion and the Matuyama/Brunhes transition recorded in40Ar/39Ar dated lavas from Lanai and Maui, Hawaiian Islands

SUMMARY Directional results, Thellier-type palaeointensity determinations and Ar/Ar ages are presented from volcanic units of Pleistocene age from the Hawaiian islands of Maui and Lanai. Twenty-nine non-contiguous lava flows were sampled on Lanai. The lava flows formed during the late Matuyama polarity chron about 1.6 Ma and recorded the Gilsa geomagnetic polarity excursion. The obtained ages of 1.6 Ma for the Lanai lavas are significantly older than ages previously obtained for this island. These new ages are, however, in agreement with the age progression of the Hawaiian hotspot. The palaeomagnetic record over the sampled succession is characterized by reversed and intermediate directions. palaeointensities are generally very low, about half the present-day field intensity, dropping to values of ∼5 μT during transitional field states. Transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) from Lanai are situated first near the west coast of South America and then switch to offshore western Australia. Normal polarity is never reached in the sampled succession. Transitional VGPs located close to Australia accompanied by relatively low palaeointensities are found in most records of short geomagnetic excursions during the Matuyama polarity chron (e.g. the Cobb Mountain subchron, the Punaru event and the Matuyama/Brunhes precursor) suggesting very similar physical processes likely related to dipolar dominance during the onset of these excursions and influences of lower mantle heterogeneities. Approximately 800 kyr after the Gilsa excursion, lava flows on Maui recorded the last reversal, the Matuyama/Brunhes transition. Fourteen lava flows were sampled which recorded the pre- and post-transitional behaviour of the Earth's magnetic field. The geomagnetic field intensity is low prior to the reversal, approximately 8 μT, and increases strongly afterwards up to ∼63 μT. These values of about twice the present field intensity of Hawaii after the transition emphasize a strong asymmetry between pre- and post-transitional fields, which is particularly strong in the region of Hawaii.

Paleomagnetic directions of the Gauss-Matuyama polarity transition recorded in drift sediments (IODP Site U1314) in the North Atlantic

Abstract The geomagnetic field direction during the Gauss-Matuyama (G-M) polarity transition was investigated from a high-accumulation-rate (≥10 cm/kyr) sediment core drilled in the Gardar drift in the North Atlantic at Site U1314 during Expedition 306 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). A well-defined characteristic remanent magnetization was generally obtained by alternating field demagnetization. The consistency of the results with records from Icelandic lavas confirms that the North Atlantic drift sediments contain a high-fidelity record of the geomagnetic field change. During the G-M transition, the virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) latitude shows north-south-north-south rebounding, with the three VGP paths falling within different longitudinal bands. Two of the three paths are close to or within the preferred bands in which transitional VGPs are suggested to be longitudinally confined. Three additional loops occur that approach mid-to-low latitudes from the North or South pole regions. In addition, the VGPs show rapid movement (directional jumps) between VGP clusters.

High-resolution magnetic stratigraphy at Bosso Stirpeto (Marche, Italy): Anomalous geomagnetic field behaviour during early Pliensbachian (early Jurassic) times?

We report on a high-resolution magnetostratigraphic analysis of a continuous 97.5 m thick upper Sinemurian–Pliensbachian pelagic limestone section (“Corniola” formation) exposed at Bosso Stirpeto (Marche, Italy), where detailed ammonite and calcareous nannofossil biozonation is available. The early Pliensbachian (Carixian) is notably expanded (74.35 m excluding few slumps), implying an average sedimentation rate of 28.6 m/Myr. Both the Carixian boundaries and three additional intra-Carixian ammonite zone boundaries are tied up with polarity magnetozones. We find that a normal polarity characterizes the latest Sinemurian and Sinemurian/Carixian boundary, while a reverse polarity (punctuated by three short normal polarity magnetozones) dominates the Carixian. In the lower Carixian sediments, two 3.39–4.65 m thick (excluding the slumps) intervals are characterized by persistent transitional (between 45°N and 45°S) virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) latitudes, but this seems not to be the result of mineral magnetic artefacts, antipodal polarity averaging, or sedimentary layer disturbance. Thus we suggest that in two ∼ 120 and 160 kyr-long time intervals during the early Carixian, the VGPs were predominantly confined at tropical–equatorial latitudes of the Earth. Such geomagnetic feature has never been documented before elsewhere in other time intervals, and requires further paleomagnetic investigation of other expanded Carixian section to be confirmed. The magnetic polarity profile (including the transitional direction intervals) of Bosso Stirpeto may compare with that from similarly expanded Carixian sections (Breggia, Switzerland), and cores (Montcornet, Paris basin). However, the matching of magnetic polarity zones requires a significant aging of some parts of the magnetostratigraphic profile at both Breggia and Montcornet.

Simulated geomagnetic reversals and preferred virtual geomagnetic pole paths

SUMMARY The question of whether virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) recorded during reversals and excursions show a longitudinal preference is a controversial one amongst palaeomagnetists. One possible mechanism for such VGP clustering is the heterogeneity of heat flux at the core–mantle boundary (CMB). We use 3-D convection-driven numerical dynamo models with imposed non-uniform CMB heat flow that show stochastic reversals of the dipole field. We calculate transitional VGPs for a large number of token sites at the Earth's surface. In a model with a simple heat flux variation given by a Y22 harmonic, the VGP density maps for individual reversals differ substantially from each other, but the VGPs have a tendency to fall around a longitude of high heat flow. The mean VGP density for many reversals and excursions shows a statistically significant correlation with the heat flow. In a model with an imposed heat flux pattern derived from seismic tomography we find maxima of the mean VGP density at American and East Asian longitudes, roughly consistent with the VGP paths seen in several palaeomagnetic studies. We find that low-latitude regions of high heat flow are centres of magnetic activity where intense magnetic flux bundles are generated. They contribute to the equatorial dipole component and bias its orientation in longitude. During reversals the equatorial dipole part is not necessarily dominant at the Earth's surface, but is strong enough to explain the longitudinal preference of VGPs as seen from different sites.

Matuyama–Brunhes reversal and Kamikatsura event on Maui: paleomagnetic directions, 40Ar/39Ar ages and implications

Eighty-nine basaltic lava flows from the northwest wall of Haleakala caldera preserve a concatenated paleomagnetic record of portions of the Matuyama–Brunhes (M–B) reversal and the preceding Kamikatsura event as well as secular variation of the full-polarity reversed and normal geomagnetic field. They provide the most detailed volcanic record to date of the M–B transition. The 24 flows in the transition zone show for the first time transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) that move from reverse to normal along the Americas, concluding with an oscillation in the Pacific Ocean to a cluster of VGPs east of New Zealand and back finally to stable polarity in the north polar region. All but one of the 16 Kamikatsura VGPs cluster in central South America. The full-polarity flows, with 40Ar/39Ar ages spanning a total of 680 kyr, pass a reversal test and give an average VGP insignificantly different from the rotation axis, with standard deviation consistent with that for other 0–5 Ma lava flows of similar latitude. Precise 40Ar/39Ar dating consisting of 31 incremental heating experiments on 12 transitional flows yields weighted mean ages of 775.6±1.9 and 900.3±4.7 ka for the M–B and Kamikatsura transitional flows, respectively. This Matuyama–Brunhes age is ∼16 kyr younger than ages for M–B flows from the Canary Islands, Tahiti and Chile that were dated using exactly the same techniques and standards, suggesting that this polarity transition may have taken considerably longer to complete and been more complex than is generally believed for reversals.

Revisiting the Jurassic geomagnetic reversal recorded in the Lesotho Basalt (Southern Africa)

We carried out a detailed and continuous paleomagnetic sampling of the reversed to normal geomagnetic transition recorded by some 60 consecutive flow units near the base of the Lesotho Basalt (183  1 Ma). After alternating field or thermal cleaning the directions of remanence are generally well clustered within flow units. In contrast, the thermal instability of the samples did not allow to obtain reliable paleointensity determinations. The geomagnetic transition is incompletely recorded due to a gap in volcanic activity attested both by eolian deposits and a large angular distance between the field directions of the flows underlying or overlying these deposits. The transition path is noticeably different from that reported in the pioneer work of van Zijl et al. (1962). The most transitional Virtual Geomagnetic Poles are observed after the volcanic hiatus. Once continents are replaced in their relative position 180 Ma ago, the post-hiatus VGP cluster over Russia. However, two successive rebounds from that cluster are found, with VGP reaching repeatedly Eastern Asia coast. Thus, the VGP path is not narrowly constrained in paleolongitude. The decrease in intensity of magnetization as the field deviates from the normal or reversed direction suggests that the decrease in field magnitude during the reversal reached 80-90%. We conclude that although the reversal is of a dipole of much weaker moment than that which existed on average during Cenozoic time, the characteristics of the reversing geodynamo seem to be basically similar.

Some characteristics of geomagnetic reversals inferred from detailed volcanic records

The transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) of the five most detailed records lie within the longitudinal bands of America, western Europe and eastern Asia. This distribution does not support the hypothesis of a direct link with heterogeneities of the lower mantle underneath Americas and eastern Asia. A similar distribution of VGPs persists by adding less detailed records and show similarities with the distribution of maximum inclination anomalies predicted by time-averaged field models. However, the two databases are far too limited to infer any recurrence of non-dipole components during reversals. Clusters of VGPs are observed in most records at various geographical locations without preference for specific longitudes, which most likely result from intense volcanism during short time periods rather than from transitional dipolar states.

An examination of simulated geomagnetic reversals from a palaeomagnetic perspective

Four magnetic polarity reversals that occurred during two numerical simulations of the Glatzmaier–Roberts geodynamo display a range of behaviour that resembles records of real reversals of the Earth‘s magnetic field in some ways, and suggests additional insights in others. Two reversals happened during the homogeneous simulation, which prescribes spatially uniform heat flux at the core–mantle boundary (CMB); and two occurred during the tomographic simulation, which specifies variable CMB heat flux patterned after a low–order seismic velocity model from tomographic investigation of the lower mantle. All but one were accomplished within 2000–7000 (model) years, whereas the second tomographic reversal took 22 000 years. The two homogeneous transitions display low intensities typical of real reversals, with longer–term variation resembling what has been called ‘sawtooth’ behaviour. During the first tomographic reversal extremely high non–dipole fields occur in some regions, the result of strong patches of vertical flux that appear in less than 100 years and grow rapidly for several hundred more. The intensity during the second tomographic reversal is unusually low for a long time, and large–amplitude oscillations in direction are common. The fields in the middle of the polarity transitions are dominantly non–dipolar for all but the first tomographic reversal. One consists of spherical harmonics that are mainly antisymmetric about the equator, two by symmetric harmonics, and one by a mixture of symmetric and antisymmetric harmonics. Despite this wide variety of characteristics, all reversals occur when the non–dipole energy trend is upward. Finally, after running 300 kyr and reversing twice, the density of transitional virtual geomagnetic poles in the tomographic simulations exhibits a crude statistical correlation with areas of higher–than–average CMB heat flux, offering some support for hypotheses of preferred bands and patches.

Statistical assessment of preferred transitional VGP longitudes based on palaeomagnetic lava data

Summary We examine the statistical significance of a recent report indicating that palaeomagnetic lava data recording reversals and excursions over the past 20 Myr yield transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) tending to fall along American and Asian longitudes. Using a bootstrap analysis of spherical densitygrams, we find that this result is neither a sensitive function of nor heavily dependent upon particular transitional records. Previous analyses used χ2 and Kuiper tests of longitudinal uniformity of transitional VGPs. However, the bootstrap analysis presented here takes such statistical tests one step further, showing specifically that American and Asian longitudes are preferred, with significance at about the 95 per cent confidence level. Furthermore, provided the appropriate polarity convention is used, we confirm that Icelandic transitional VGPs tend to fall along Asian longitudes. These results are indicative of non-dipolar transitional fields whose structure is governed by some form of core–mantle coupling.