The paleomagnetic history of the volcanic rocks of Easter
Island was investigated using standard paleomagnetic techniques.
The remanent magnetization of 673 specimens from the three volcanic
episodes recognized on the island were measured using a spinner
magnetometer. Inclinations, declinations and virtual geomagnetic
poles were calculated for each flow. The majority...
In this thesis anomalous downcore shallowing of paleomagnetic
inclinations is interpreted to be caused by sediment compaction. Thus,
compaction-induced inclination shallowing may influence tectonic
reconstructions that are based on inclinations from deep-sea sediment
cores.
Progressive downcore shallowing of the remanent inclination was
observed in a 120-m section of Plio- Pleistocene...
Ninety-five oriented samples were obtained from nine Recent
Cascade lava flows in Oregon. Directions and intensities of remanent
magnetization were measured on a spinner magnetometer which measures
directions of magnetization to within 1.2° s.d. Angle measurements
were plotted graphically using an equal area projection. Mean
directions and statistics were calculated...
Burial Lake sediments from the Noatak Basin in the northwest Brooks Range of Arctic Alaska (68.43°N, 159.17°W, 21.5 m water depth) provide the oldest continuous lacustrine record of paleo-environmental change and paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) in eastern Beringia. A precise radiocarbon chronology, determined through accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) allows us...
The Roza flow of the Columbia River Basalt group in
Washington State U.S.A. extruded at about 15 Ma during
intermediate geomagnetic polarity. The Roza is underlain
by normal polarity flows and overlain by reversed units.
The Roza is an extensive flow, up to 60 in thick. As the
remanence-blocking isotherms...
The Columbia River Basalt consists of dozens of seemingly identical flows of basalt covering thousands of square miles of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. For years, detailed mapping of the units relied almost entirely on subtle petrographic distinctions, the presence or absence of interbeds, and actual walking along contacts in the...
Stratigraphy and chronology are essential to sedimentological study of Earth system histories. And, stratigraphy and chronology are often challenging and interesting problems themselves. The Quaternary (2.588 Ma - present) experienced paleoenvironmental and paleo-geomagnetic variability well outside the range of the recent instrumental record, providing the opportunity to place recent observations...
Sedimentary records from the North Atlantic, instrumental in the development of modern paleo-geomagnetic concepts, show a highly variable field even during times of constant polarity. Yet, our understanding of how the magnetization is acquired in the sediments is poorly understood. Primary magnetizations preserved in deep-sea sediments are known to be...
This dissertation uses argon geochronology and cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating methods to address three research questions. The first question concerns a geomagnetic instability recorded in lava flows on the island of Floreana in the Galapagos Archipelago. Changes in the Earth’s magnetic field (intensity and orientation) occur frequently throughout geologic...