Due to a dearth of data from high‐latitude paleomagnetic sites, it is not currently clear if the geocentric axial dipole (GAD) hypothesis accurately describes the long‐term behavior of the geomagnetic field at high latitudes. Here we present new paleomagnetic and paleointensity data from the James Ross Island (JRI) volcanic group, located on the Antarctic Peninsula. This data set addresses a notable lack of data from the 60°–70°S latitude bin and includes 251 samples from 31 sites, spanning 0.99–6.8 Ma in age. We also include positive fold, conglomerate, and baked contact tests. Paleointensity data from three methods (Thellier‐Thellier, pseudo‐Thellier, and Tsunakawa‐Shaw) were collected from all sites. The Thellier‐Thellier method had low yields and produced unreliable data, likely due to sample alteration during heating. Results from the Tsunakawa‐Shaw and pseudo‐Thellier methods were more consistent, and we found a bimodal distribution of paleointensity estimates. Most sites yielded either <15 μT or >40 μT, which together span a range of estimates from long‐term geomagnetic field models, but do not favor any model in particular. Alternating‐field demagnetization of these samples, when combined with preexisting data, yields a revised paleomagnetic pole of −87.5°, 025°,
This study presents the first set of Holocene, high‐quality absolute paleointensity data from Alaska, USA. Existing paleointensity data for the Holocene are generally located at mid‐northern latitudes in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and eastern Asia. Relatively few data are from the Alaska region. IZZI‐modified paleointensity experiments were conducted on glassy volcanic materials from Aniakchak volcano, a mid‐ to high‐latitude composite volcano on the Alaska‐Aleutian arc. The CCRIT selection criteria were applied to the paleointensity results. A total of 30 specimens from six samples with estimated ages ranging from 1931 CE to 2,300 years before present passed all selection criteria. The sample‐mean paleointensities ranged from 49.5 to 68.0 microTesla (μT). The sample‐mean paleointensity results are comparable to modeled intensities, however all except for one sample‐mean paleointensity are lower than those predicted by geomagnetic field models. The paleointensity estimate for the historical 1931 CE eruption was about 15 μT greater than the expected field strength. This overestimate may result from unrecognized alteration or non‐ideal remanence carriers in this sample. Further evaluation of samples from the 1931 CE eruption using a Bayesian estimation method resulted in a paleointensity estimate that encompasses the historical field strength within uncertainty. These new paleointensity results are a valuable contribution to the mid‐ to high‐northern latitude paleomagnetic data set. Incorporation of these data into future geomagnetic field models will improve the predictions of geomagnetic field behavior in the Alaska region.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10363452
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
- Volume:
- 22
- Issue:
- 12
- ISSN:
- 1525-2027
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract α 95 = 3.6° for the Antarctic Peninsula over the last ∼5 Ma, which suggests that the current data set is sufficiently large to “average out” secular variation. Finally, the C2r/C2n transition was probably found at a site on JRI, and further geochronological and paleomagnetic study of these units could refine the age of this reversal. -
Feinberg, Joshua (Ed.)Twenty-two sites, subjected to an IZZI-modified Thellier-Thellier experiment and strict selection criteria, recover a paleomagnetic axial dipole moment (PADM) of 62.24$\pm$ 30.6 ZAm$^2$ in Northern Israel over the Pleistocene (0.012 - 2.58 Ma). Pleistocene data from comparable studies from Antarctica, Iceland, and Hawaii, re-analyzed using the same criteria and age range, show that the Northern Israeli data are on average slightly higher than those from Iceland (PADM = 53.8 $\pm$ 23 ZAm$^2$, n = 51 sites) and even higher than the Antarctica average %\cite{asefaw21} (PADM = 40.3 $\pm$ 17.3 ZAm$^2$, n = 42 sites). Also, the data from the Hawaiian drill core, HSDP2, spanning the last half million years (PADM = 76.7 $\pm$ 21.3 ZAm$^2$, n = 59 sites) are higher than those from Northern Israel. These results, when compared to Pleistocene results filtered from the PINT database (www.pintdb.org) suggest that data from the Northern hemisphere mid-latitudes are on average higher than those from the southern hemisphere and than those from latitudes higher than 60$^{\circ}$N. The weaker intensities found at high (northern and southern) latitudes therefore, cannot be attributed to inadequate spatio-temporal sampling of a time-varying dipole moment or low quality data. The high fields in mid-latitude Northern hemisphere could result from long-lived non-axial dipole terms in the geomagnetic field with episodes of high field intensities occurring at different times in different longitudes. This hypothesis is supported by an asymmetry predicted from the Holocene, 100 kyr, and five million year time-averaged geomagnetic field models.more » « less
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Abstract Twenty‐two sites, subjected to an IZZI‐modified Thellier‐Thellier experiment and strict selection criteria, recover a paleomagnetic axial dipole moment (PADM) of 62.2 ± 30.6 ZAm2in Northern Israel over the Pleistocene (0.012–2.58 Ma). Pleistocene data from comparable studies from Antarctica, Iceland, and Hawaii, re‐analyzed using the same criteria and age range, show that the Northern Israeli data are on average slightly higher than those from Iceland (PADM = 53.8 ± 23 ZAm2,
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