Abstract
RECENT palaeomagnetic studies1–4 of geomagnetic polarity reversals have presented conflicting interpretations of the behaviour of the Earth's magnetic field during reversals. Some have argued that the grouping of transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) suggests the presence of large-scale, perhaps even dipolar, symmetries during some reversals1–3, whereas others have claimed that the available data do not support the interpretation of simple transitional field geometries4. An earlier comparison5of two North Atlantic sedimentary records of reversals bounding the Cobb Mountain subchron (1.1 Myr ago) with a volcanic record from Tahiti6 revealed striking similarities in the sequences of transitional VGPs, suggesting the presence of large-scale sym-metries in these fields. Here I augment this comparison with two new records of the Cobb Mountain subchron from the western Pacific7, which greatly extend the geographical and temporal coverage. These records exhibit sequences of VGP positions that are very similar to those observed in the North Atlantic and Tahiti, providing evidence of dipolar transitional fields during the Cobb Mountain reversals.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tric, E. et al. Phys. Earth planet. Inter. 63, 319–336 (1991).
Clement, B. M. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 104, 48–58 (1991).
Laj, C., Mazaud, A., Weeks, R., Fuller, M. & Herrero-Bervera, E. Nature 351, 447 (1991).
Valet, J.-P., Tucholke, P., Courtillot, V. & Meynadier, L. Nature 356, 400–407 (1992).
Clement, B. M. & Martinson, D. G. J. geophys. Res. 97, 1735–1752 (1992).
Chauvin, A., Roperch, P. & Duncan, R. A. J. geophys. Res. 95, 2727–3752 (1990).
Hsu, V., Merrill, D. L. & Shibuya, H. Geophys. Res. Lett. 17, 2069–2072 (1990).
Clement, B. M. & Kent, D. V. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 81, 253–264 (1987).
Watkins, N. D. Geophys. J.R. astr. Soc. 17, 121–149 (1969).
Hoffmann, K. A. & Slade, S. B. Geophys. Res. Lett. 13, 483–486 (1986).
Rochette, P. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 98, 33–39 (1990).
Hoffman, K. A. Science 196, 1329–1332 (1977).
Fuller, M., Williams, I. & Hoffman, K. A. Rev. Geophys. 17, 179–203 (1979).
Williams, I. & Fuller, M. J. geophys. Res. 86, 11657–11665 (1981).
Constable, C. G. J. geophys. Res. 95, 4587–4596 (1990).
Weeks, R. J., Fuller, M. & Williams, I. J. geophys. Res. 93, 11613–11620 (1988).
Bogue, S. W. & Merrill, R. T. A. Rev. Earth planet. Sci. 20, 181–219 (1992).
Dziewonski, A. M. & Woodhouse, J. H. Science 236, 37–48 (1987).
Merrill, R. T. et al. Phys. Earth planet. Inter. 64, 87–101 (1990).
Jeanloz, R. A. Rev. Earth planet Sci. 18, 347–386 (1990).
Hoffman, K. A. Nature 354, 273–277 (1991).
Merrill, R. T. & McFadden, P. L. J. geophys. Res. 93, 11589–11597 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clement, B. Evidence for dipolar fields during the Cobb Mountain geomagnetic polarity reversals. Nature 358, 405–407 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/358405a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/358405a0
This article is cited by
-
References
Surveys in Geophysics (1996)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.