Paleomagnetic record of a geomagnetic field reversal from late miocene mafic intrusions, southern nevada

Science. 1994 Oct 21;266(5184):412-6. doi: 10.1126/science.266.5184.412.

Abstract

Late Miocene (about 8.65 million years ago) mafic intrusions and lava flows along with remagnetized host rocks from Paiute Ridge, southern Nevada, provide a high-quality paleomagnetic record of a geomagnetic field reversal. These rocks yield thermoremanent magnetizations with declinations of 227 degrees to 310 degrees and inclinations of -7 degrees to 49 degrees , defining a reasonably continuous virtual geomagnetic pole path over west-central Pacific longitudes. Conductive cooling estimates for the intrusions suggest that this field transition, and mafic magmatism, lasted only a few hundred years. Because this record comes principally from intrusive rocks, rather than sediments or lavas, it is important in demonstrating the longitudinal confinement of the geomagnetic field during a reversal.