Description: This study of 118 discrete volcanic flows from the Columbia River Basalt Group is aimed to determine their distribution of geomagnetic field directions and virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) and to compare the inherent secular variation parameters with those from other studies. The magnetic signature of these rocks is uniformly carried by primary titanomagnetite, indicating that magnetic changes are due to variations in the magnetic field. Although most flows are flat lying, those that are tilted pass the Tauxe and Watson tilt test. Sequential flows with statistically similar site means were grouped, and directions that were considered outliers were evaluated and removed using the Vandamme cut-off method. Three normal-polarity (N-polarity) and three reversed-polarity (R-polarity) intervals are revealed by the stratigraphically ordered flows and have mean directions of N polarity (dec/inc = 6.6°/+61.2°, k  = 29.3, α 95  = 4.2°), and R polarity (dec/inc = 178.2°/–59.2°, k  = 16, α 95  = 5.5°). Regression analysis indicates that the secular variation analysis has not been affected by regional rotation, and that apparent polar wander is negligible. The VGP distribution is almost perfectly circular and supports the preference of VGP positions for the dispersion analysis. Dispersion parameters with corrections for within-site scatter ( S b ) show a range of 14.3°–25.5°, including error limits, and were consistently higher for R-polarity results than for those of N polarity. Published dispersion parameters for extrusives 〈5 Ma show S b values slightly lower than ours, yielding values of 16°–19°, although the difference is not statistically significant. In contrast, published dispersion parameters from high quality data from the Cretaceous Normal Superchron are lower than those for the Neogene, which suggests that the noisiness of the magnetic field correlates with the frequency of reversals. Our new results allow us to extend the Plio-Pleistocene palaeosecular variation database to the bottom of the middle Miocene. Many Miocene formations on a variety of continents are suitable targets for future analysis. Furthermore, the significant difference between the reversed and N-polarity dispersion parameters is intriguing and needs substantiation.

Description: We studied more than 80 lava flows from a ~600-m-thick pile of Upper Devonian (Frasnian) basalts and andesites of the Aral Formation in the North Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia). With the aid of stepwise thermal demagnetization, a high-temperature, dual-polarity component was reliably isolated from most flows. The primary origin of the high-temperature component is demonstrated by positive reversal, conglomerate and fold tests. The most prominent and intriguing feature of this Late Devonian data set involves a clear distinction in angular dispersion between the lower and upper parts of the studied section. A rather low concentration parameter ( k  = 13) and several directional anomalies characterize the lower section; in contrast, a much better grouping ( k  = 46) and a lack of directional outliers is observed for the dual-polarity vectors from the upper flow sequence of the formation. We analysed different mechanisms to account for this directional pattern and found that it is possible in just two ways. One is to assume that secular variation (SV) in the upper sequence is strongly underrepresented, and it is a coincidence that the mean directions of both polarities are statistically antipodal, and the corresponding concentration parameters are statistically equal. The other explanation is to hypothesize that the magnitude of SV can vary several-fold at the same palaeolatitude and over time intervals estimated as 10 5 –10 6 yr. This is in sharp contrast with other models of SV, where this magnitude has been assumed to be rather time-independent (for a given latitude). Our hypothesis accounts for the observed irregularities in palaeomagnetic data, but makes attempts to establish a correlation between SV and other parameters (geographic latitude, reversal frequency, age, etc.) more difficult. We are aware, however, that more data are needed to refute or confirm it.

Description: Paleomagnetic records show very often that the directions of normal and reverse polarity are not quite antipodal, as one would expect for an axial geocentric dipole model. Specifically, in magnetostratigraphic studies of Tertiary sediments, which include large data sets of paleomagnetic directions of both polarities, it is commonly observed that reverse polarity inclinations are shallower than those of normal polarity. Such an inclination anomaly has important implications for both paleomagnetism and paleogeographic reconstructions. We investigate the conventional explanation for such asymmetry, which involves the presence of a persistent, partially unremoved present day field magnetization in the studied rocks. Both plate motion history and inclination shallowing, which we evaluate in detail, can play an important role in the paleomagnetic record. Our analysis shows that alternatively, it is plausible that the inclination anomaly is due to a contribution of an axial octupole, in accordance with observations of the recent (0–5 Ma) geomagnetic field recorded in lava flows.

Description: Earth’s residual geoid is dominated by a degree-2 mode, with elevated regions above large low shear-wave velocity provinces on the core–mantle boundary beneath Africa and the Pacific. The edges of these deep mantle bodies, when projected radially to the Earth’s surface, correlate with the reconstructed positions of large igneous provinces...