Nature 354, 273 - 277 (28 November 1991); doi:10.1038/354273a0

Long-lived transitional states of the geomagnetic field and the two dynamo families

Kenneth A. Hoffman

Physics Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California 93407, USA

Palaeomagnetic data from lavas produced at the Hawaii and Society Islands hotspots suggest that one or more specific, long-lived field configurations recur during successive polarity reversals spanning perhaps several million years. The apparent quasistationarity of these states and the relative placement of the two recording sites offer a rare opportunity to explore the fundamental geometrical properties of transitional fields.

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