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1. Paleomagnetic secular variation records from Holocene sediments of Lake Victoria (0.5°S, 33.3°E)

   https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683619901214  

   Lund, Steve ; Platzman, Ellen ; Johnson, Thomas C. ( February 2020 , The Holocene)

   We have conducted a paleomagnetic study of Holocene sediments from Lake Victoria in order to develop a high-resolution record of paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV). This study has recovered PSV records from two cores (V95-1P and V95-7P) in northern Lake Victoria (0.5°S). The PSV is recorded in fine-grained detrital magnetite/titanomagnetite grains, but the rock magnetic data suggest that significant magnetic mineral dissolution has occurred, which limits our paleomagnetic studies to the uppermost ~5 m of both cores. Detailed alternating field (af) demagnetization of the natural remanence (NRM) shows that a distinctive characteristic remanence (ChRM) is demagnetized from ~10 to 40 mT, which decreases simply toward the origin. The resulting directional PSV records for 1P and 7P are correlatable with 22 distinct inclination features and 19 declination features. Radiocarbon dating of the cores is based on eight radiocarbon dates from core 1P, which can be correlated into core 7P using both the PSV and rock magnetic/environmental measurements. The final PSV time series cover the last 11,000 years with an average sediment accumulation rate of ~40 cm/kyr. The Lake Victoria PSV records can be correlated with new PSV records from Lake Malawi. Comparison of the correlatable PSV feature ages between the two lakesmore »indicates that the PSV records are not significantly different in age, although Lake Victoria PSV ages might average ~100 years younger. We think that the Lake Victoria and Lake Malawi PSV records, together, provide the most accurate, well-dated, and consistent record of Holocene PSV for Africa yet developed.

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2. Late-Holocene paleomagnetic secular variation records from Lake Turkana, East Equatorial Africa

   https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836211066590  

   Lund, Steve ; Platzman, Ellen ; Scholz, Chris ( January 2022 , The Holocene)

   We have carried out a paleomagnetic study of three piston cores collected from Lake Turkana. The goal is to recover a Holocene paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) record for this lake and to correlate it with other Holocene PSV records from the East Africa Rift Valley (EARV). All three cores were sampled with u-channels and magnetic measurements of magnetic susceptibility, the natural remanence (NRM), and two artificial remanences, anhysteretic remanence (ARM) and saturation isothermal remanence (SIRM), were made on them. The remanences were routinely step-wise demagnetized and measured at 10 mT steps up to 60 mT. The NRMS had a simple pattern of demagnetization with a characteristic direction (ChRM) removed between 10 and 60 mT. ARM and SIRM demagnetization indicated that the magnetic grains were relatively soft with median destructive fields (MDF) less than 30 mT. We interpret the magnetic grains to be multi-domain (silt-sized) magnetite/titanomagnetite. The resulting magnetic records of all three cores could be correlated. A chronology for these cores was determined from four radiocarbon dates on core 4P. We also estimated the sediment ages by correlating the PSV to two other well-dated PSV records from the same region, Lakes Malawi and Victoria. PSV age estimation indicates that the radiocarbon dates are aboutmore »500 year too old; a correction for that offset causes three of the four radiocarbon ages to become consistent with the PSV age estimates. The final composite Lake Turkana PSV record for the last ~4000 years is the highest resolution directional record of PSV (~200 cm/ky) ever to be recovered from Africa.

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3. High resolution inclination records from the Gulf of Alaska, IODP Expedition 341 Sites U1418 and U1419

   https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggab479  

   Velle, Julie Heggdal ; Walczak, Maureen H. ; Reilly, Brendan ; St-Onge, Guillaume ; Stoner, Joseph S. ; Fallon, Stewart ; Mix, Alan C. ; Belanger, Christina ; Forwick, Matthias ( November 2021 , Geophysical Journal International)

   International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 341 recovered sediments from the south Alaska continental slope that preserves a well resolved and dated inclination record over most of the past ∼43 000 yr. The Site U1419 chronology is among the highest resolution in the world, constrained by 173 radiocarbon dates, providing the ability to study Palaeomagnetic Secular Variation (PSV) on centennial to millennial timescales. This record has an exceptionally expanded late Pleistocene sedimentary record with sedimentation rates commonly exceeding 100 cm kyr–1, while also preserving a lower resolution Holocene PSV record at the top. Natural and laboratory-induced magnetic remanences of U1419 u-channels from the 112-m-long spliced record were studied using stepwise AF demagnetization. Hysteresis loops were obtained on 95 and IRM acquisition curves on 9 discrete samples to facilitate magnetic domain state, coercivity and magnetic mineralogical determinations. Due to complexities related to lithology, magnetic mineralogy, and depositional and post-depositional processes, Site U1419 sediments are not suitable for palaeointensity studies and declination could not be robustly reconstructed. Progressive (titano-)magnetite dissolution with depth results in decreasing NRM intensity and signal-to-noise that is exacerbated at higher demagnetization steps. As a result, inclination measured after the 20 mT AF demagnetization step provides the most reliable directional record.more »Inclination appears to be well resolved with removal of just a few intervals influenced by depositional and/or sampling and coring deformation. The shipboard inclination stack from nearby IODP Site U1418, on a new age model developed from 19 radiocarbon dates on U1418 and 18 magnetic susceptibility-based tie-points to site survey core EW0408-87JC, verifies centennial to millennial scale variations in inclination observed in U1419. Comparisons with other independently dated records from the NE Pacific and western North America suggest that these sites likely capture regional geomagnetic variability. As such, this new high-resolution and well-dated inclination record, especially robust between 15 and 30 cal kyr BP, offers new geomagnetic insights and a regional correlation tool to explore this generally understudied part of the world.

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4. Hysteresis parameters and magnetic anisotropy of silicate-hosted magnetite exsolutions

   https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggac007  

   Nikolaisen, Even S ; Harrison, Richard ; Fabian, Karl ; Church, Nathan ; McEnroe, Suzanne A ; Sørensen, Bjørn Eske ; Tegner, Christian ( February 2022 , Geophysical Journal International)

   SUMMARY Anisotropy of remanent magnetization and magnetic susceptibility are highly sensitive and important indicators of geological processes which are largely controlled by mineralogical parameters of the ferrimagnetic fraction in rocks. To provide new physical insight into the complex interaction between magnetization structure, shape, and crystallographic relations, we here analyse ‘slice-and-view’ focused-ion-beam (FIB) nano-tomography data with micromagnetic modelling and single crystal hysteresis measurements. The data sets consist of 68 magnetite inclusions in orthopyroxene (Mg60) and 234 magnetite inclusions in plagioclase (An63) were obtained on mineral separates from the Rustenburg Layered Suite of the Bushveld Intrusive Complex, South Africa. Electron backscatter diffraction was used to determine the orientation of the magnetite inclusions relative to the crystallographic directions of their silicate hosts. Hysteresis loops were calculated using the finite-element micromagnetics code MERRILL for each particle in 20 equidistributed field directions and compared with corresponding hysteresis loops measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) on silicate mineral separates from the same samples. In plagioclase the ratio of remanent magnetization to saturation magnetization (Mrs/Ms) for both model and measurement agree within 1.0 per cent, whereas the coercivity (Hc) of the average modelled curve is 20 mT lower than the measured value of 60 mT indicating the presence of additionalmore »sources of high coercivity in the bulk sample. The VSM hysteresis measurements of the orthopyroxene were dominated by multidomain (MD) magnetite, whereas the FIB location was chosen to avoid MD particles and thus contains only particles with diameters <500 nm that are considered to be the most important carriers of palaeomagnetic remanence. To correct for this sampling bias, measured MD hysteresis loops from synthetic and natural magnetites were combined with the average hysteresis loop from the MERRILL models of the FIB region. The result shows that while the modelled small-particle fraction only explains 6 per cent of the best fit to the measured VSM hysteresis loop, it contributes 28 per cent of the remanent magnetization. The modelled direction of maximal Mrs/Ms in plagioclase is subparallel to [001]plag, whereas Hc does not show a strong orientation dependence. The easy axis of magnetic remanence is in the direction of the magnetite population normal to (150)plag and the maximum calculated susceptibility (χ*) is parallel to [010]plag. For orthopyroxene, the maximum Mrs/Ms, maximum χ* and the easy axis of remanence is strongly correlated to the elongation axes of magnetite in the [001]opx direction. The maximum Hc is oriented along [100]opx and parallel to the minimum χ*, which reflects larger vortex nucleation fields when the applied field direction approaches the short axis. The maximum Hc is therefore orthogonal to the maximum Mrs/Ms, controlled by axis-aligned metastable single-domain states at zero field. The results emphasize that the nature of anisotropy in natural magnetite does not just depend on the particle orientations, but on the presence of different stable and metastable domain states, and the mechanism of magnetic switching between them. Magnetic modelling of natural magnetic particles is therefore a vital method to extract and process anisotropic hysteresis parameters directly from the primary remanence carriers.« less
5. Expedition 397T Preliminary Report: Return to Walvis Ridge Hotspot

    Sager, W. ; Blum, P. ( December 2022 , Preliminary report)

   International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 397T sought to address the shortage of drilling time caused by COVID-19 mitigation during Expedition 391 (Walvis Ridge Hotspot) by drilling at two sites omitted from the earlier cruise. A week of coring time was added to a transit of JOIDES Resolution from Cape Town to Lisbon, which would cross Walvis Ridge on its way north. These two sites were located on two of the three seamount trails that emerge from the split in Walvis Ridge morphology into several seamount chains at 2°E. Site U1584 (proposed Site GT-6A) sampled the Gough track on the east, and Site U1585 (proposed Site TT-4A) sampled the Tristan track on the west. Together with Site U1578, drilled on the Center track during Expedition 391, they form a transect across the northern Walvis Ridge Guyot Province. The goal was to core seamount basalts and associated volcanic material for geochemical and isotopic, geochronologic, paleomagnetic, and volcanologic study. Scientifically, one emphasis was to better understand the split in geochemical and isotopic signatures that occurs at the morphologic split. Geochronology would add to the established age progression but also give another dimension to understanding Walvis Ridge seamount formation by giving multiple ages atmore »the same sites. The paleomagnetic study seeks to establish paleolatitudes for Walvis Ridge sites for comparison with those published from hotspot seamount chains in the Pacific, in particular to test whether a component of true polar wander affects hotspot paleolatitude. Hole U1584A cored a 66.4 m thick sedimentary and volcaniclastic section with two lithostratigraphic units. Unit I is a 23 m thick sequence of bioturbated clay and nannofossil chalk with increasing volcaniclastic content downhole. Unit II is a >43 m thick sequence of lapillistone with basalt fragments. Because the seismic section crossing the site shows no evidence as to the depth of the volcaniclastic cover, coring was terminated early. Because there were no other shallow nearby sites with different character on existing seismic lines, the unused operations time from Site U1584 was shifted to the next site. The seismic reflector interpreted as the top of igneous rock at Site U1585 once again resulted from volcaniclastic deposits. Hole U1585A coring began at 144.1 mbsf and penetrated a 273.5 m thick sedimentary and volcaniclastic section atop a 81.2 m thick series of massive basalt flows. The hole was terminated at 498.8 mbsf because allotted operational time expired. The sedimentary section contains four main units. Unit I (144.1–157.02 mbsf) is a bioturbated nannofossil chalk with foraminifera, similar to the shallowest sediments recovered at Site U1584. Unit II (157.02–249.20 mbsf), which is divided into two subunits, is a 92.2 m thick succession of massive and bedded pumice and scoria lapillistone with increased reworking, clast alteration, and tuffaceous chalk intercalations downhole. Unit III (249.20–397.76 mbsf) is 148.6 m thick and consists of a complex succession of pink to greenish gray tuffaceous chalk containing multiple thin, graded ash turbidites and tuffaceous ash layers; intercalated tuffaceous chalk slumps; and several thick coarse lapilli and block-dominated volcaniclastic layers. Befitting the complexity, it is divided into eight subunits (IIIA–IIIH). Three of these subunits (IIIA, IIID, and IIIG) are mainly basalt breccias. Unit IV (397.76–417.60 mbsf) is a volcanic breccia, 19.8 m thick, containing mostly juvenile volcaniclasts. The igneous section, Unit V (417.60–498.80 mbsf) is composed of a small number of massive basaltic lava flows. It is divided into three lithologic units, with Unit 2 represented by a single 3 cm piece of quenched basalt with olivine phenocrysts in a microcrystalline groundmass. This piece may represent a poorly recovered set of pillow lavas. Unit 1 is sparsely to highly olivine-clinopyroxene ± plagioclase phyric massive basalt and is divided into Subunits 1a and 1b based on textural and mineralogical differences, which suggests that they are two different flows. Unit 3 also consists of two massive lava flows with no clear boundary features. Subunit 3a is a 10.3 m thick highly clinopyroxene-plagioclase phyric massive basalt flow with a fine-grained groundmass. Subunit 3b is a featureless massive basalt flow that is moderately to highly clinopyroxene-olivine-plagioclase phyric and >43.7 m thick. Alteration of the lava flows is patchy and moderate to low in grade, with two stages, one at a higher temperature and one at a low temperature, both focused around fractures. The Site U1585 chronologic succession from basalt flows to pelagic sediment indicates volcanic construction and subsidence. Lava eruptions were followed by inundation and shallow-water volcaniclastic sediment deposition, which deepened over time to deepwater conditions. Although the massive flows were probably erupted in a short time and have little variability, volcaniclasts in the sediments may provide geochemical and geochronologic data from a range of time and sources. Chemical analyses indicate that Site U1585 basalt samples are mostly alkalic basalt, with a few trachybasalt flow and clast samples and one basaltic trachyandesite clast. Ti/V ratios lie mostly within the oceanic island basalt (OIB) field but overlap the mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB) field. Only a handful of clasts from Site U1584 were analyzed, but geochemical data are similar. Paleomagnetic data from Site U1585 indicate that the sediments and basalt units are strongly magnetic and mostly give coherent inclination data, which indicates that the basaltic section and ~133 m of overlying volcaniclastic sediment is reversely polarized and that this reversal is preserved in a core. Above this, the rest of the sediment section records two normal and two reversed zones. Although there are not enough basalt flows to give a reliable paleolatitude, it may be possible to attain such a result from the sediments.« less