Geology: Geomagnetic intensity

Variations in the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field are well documented for the past 50,000 years, but for earlier periods only relative intensities have been available. Now a long-term record of geomagnetic intensity during the past 780,000 years has been established, based on near-seafloor measurements of the magnetic field over the East Pacific Rise. As well as giving a timeline for variations in the Earth's magnetic field, such a record may help refine our understanding of crustal accretion processes at mid-ocean ridges.

Geomagnetic intensity variations over the past 780 kyr obtained from near-seafloor magnetic anomalies
JEFFREY S. GEE, STEVEN C. CANDE, JOHN A. HILDEBRAND, KATIE DONNELLY, ROBERT L. PARKER
Nature 408, 827-832 (14 December 2000)
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14 December 2000 table of contents