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Proterozoic low orbital obliquity and axial-dipolar geomagnetic field from evaporite palaeolatitudes

Nature volume 444, pages 51–55 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Palaeomagnetism of climatically sensitive sedimentary rock types, such as glacial deposits and evaporites, can test the uniformitarianism of ancient geomagnetic fields and palaeoclimate zones. Proterozoic glacial deposits laid down in near-equatorial palaeomagnetic latitudes can be explained by ‘snowball Earth’ episodes, high orbital obliquity or markedly non-uniformitarian geomagnetic fields. Here I present a global palaeomagnetic compilation of the Earth’s entire basin-scale evaporite record. Magnetic inclinations are consistent with low orbital obliquity and a geocentric-axial-dipole magnetic field for most of the past two billion years, and the snowball Earth hypothesis accordingly remains the most viable model for low-latitude Proterozoic ice ages. Efforts to reconstruct Proterozoic supercontinents are strengthened by this demonstration of a consistently axial and dipolar geomagnetic reference frame, which itself implies stability of geodynamo processes on billion-year timescales.

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Figure 1: Evaporite palaeomagnetic latitudes through time, assuming a GAD field as a null hypothesis.
Figure 2: Two sporadically evaporitic pre-Ediacaran basins that are palaeomagnetically well constrained throughout their depositional histories.
Figure 3: Plot of magnetic inclination against same-sign geomagnetic octupole component relative to a purely GAD field.

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Acknowledgements

I thank J. Emerson, K. Grey, J. Grotzinger, P. Hoffman, D. Kent, R. Rainbird, Tim and Theresa Raub, S. Sherwood and P. Southgate for discussions, and R. Van der Voo for constructive comments on the manuscript. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation provided support.

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  1. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, Connecticut, 06520-8109, New Haven, USA

    David A. D. Evans

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This document contains individual descriptions of evaporite deposits, with references to information on stratigraphy, ages, and palaeomagnetic constraints. (DOC 202 kb)

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Evans, D. Proterozoic low orbital obliquity and axial-dipolar geomagnetic field from evaporite palaeolatitudes. Nature 444, 51–55 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05203

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