Abstract
Palaeomagnetic records of the path of the pole during reversals of the Earth's magnetic field provide a test of the hypothesis that dipolar or low-order axisymmetric components of the field dominate during reversals. Multiple records of reversals during the past 12 Myr show no simple or consistent geographical pattern. Although a more robust analysis of the transitional field awaits a greater number of well-distributed sampling sites, the present data are not inconsistent with the simplest models, in which a field reminiscent of the non-dipole component of the present-day field becomes dominant.
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Pierre Valet, J., Tucholka, P., Courtillot, V. et al. Palaeomagnetic constraints on the geometry of the geomagnetic field during reversals. Nature 356, 400–407 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/356400a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/356400a0
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