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Sub-Milankovitch rhythmic features in sedimentary records have been reported from throughout geological time. However, their origin remains enigmatic, in particular during so-called greenhouse periods in Earth’s history. To better understand such short-term climatic changes, we sampled two 3-m-thick intervals of early Devonian hemipelagic carbonate at 1 cm resolution in the Pod Barrandovem section (Czech Republic). Greenhouse conditions prevailed during early Devonian times, and the chosen resolution enables the detection of millennial-scale climate change as recorded by elemental abundances. We used a previously published astrochronology for the section to transform the studied series from the stratigraphic into the time domain. Spectral analysis of the time-calibrated log-transformed Ti records reveal obliquity and precession cycles, confirming the applied astrochronology. Additional spectral peaks with periods of 2.3–2.7, 6–8, and 10–12 k.y. appear in both records. Furthermore, a 1.5 k.y. periodicity, close to the Pleistocene Dansgaard-Oeschger oscillation, is also identified, but only in the record with higher accumulation rate (∼3.5 cm/k.y.). Bi-coherence spectra reveal that the 6–8 and 10–12 k.y. periodic components are combination tones of Milankovitch cycles. We infer the shorter ∼2.5 k.y. periodicity to be the result of solar forcing, related to the Hallstatt cycle. These new observations strengthen the case for an external origin of millennial-scale features.

Frictional heating during earthquake rupture reveals important information on earthquake mechanisms and energy dissipation. The amount of annealing varies widely and is, as yet, poorly constrained. Here we use magnetic susceptibility versus temperature measurements during cycling to increasingly elevated temperatures to constrain the maximum temperature a slip zone has experienced. The case study comprises sheared clay cored from the Japan Trench subduction plate-boundary fault zone (décollement), which accommodated the large slip of the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake. The décollement was cored during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 343, the Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project (JFAST). Heating signatures with estimated maximum temperatures ranging from ∼300 to over 500 °C are determined close to the multiple slip surfaces within the décollement. Since it is impossible to tie a specific slip surface to a certain earthquake, thermal evidence for the cumulative effect of several earthquakes is unveiled. This as yet preliminary rock magnetic ‘geothermometer’ would be a useful tool to detect seismic heating along faults that experienced medium temperature rise, a range which is difficult to assess with other approaches.

Inconsistent polarity patterns in sediments are a common problem in magnetostratigraphic and paleomagnetic research. Multiple magnetic mineral generations result in such remanence "haystacks." Here we test whether end-member modeling of isothermal remanent magnetization acquisition curves as a basis for an integrated rock magnetic and microscopic analysis is capable of isolating original magnetic polarity patterns. Uppermost Miocene-Pliocene deep-marine siliciclastics and limestones in East Timor, originally sampled to constrain the uplift history of the young Timor orogeny, serve as case study. An apparently straightforward polarity record was obtained that, however, proved impossible to reconcile with the associated biostratigraphy. Our analysis distinguished two magnetic end-members for each section, which result from various greigite suites and a detrital magnetite suite. The latter yields largely viscous remanence signals and is deemed unsuited. The greigite suites are late diagenetic in the Cailaco River section and early diagenetic, thus reliable, in the Viqueque Type section. By selecting reliable sample levels based on a quality index, a revised polarity pattern of the latter section is obtained: consistent with the biostratigraphy and unequivocally correlatable to the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale. Although the Cailaco River section lacks a reliable magnetostratigraphy, it does record a significant postremagnetization tectonic rotation. Our results shows that the application of well-designed rock magnetic research, based on the end-member model and integrated with microscopy and paleomagnetic data, can unravel complex and seemingly inconsistent polarity patterns. We recommend this approach to assess the veracity of the polarity of strata with complex magnetic mineralogy.

We have identified millennial-scale variations in magnetic mineral diagenesis from Pacific Ocean sediments offshore of Japan that we correlate with changes in organic carbon burial that were likely driven by Asian monsoon fluctuations. The correlation was determined by identifying offsets between the positions of fossil diagenetic fronts and climatically induced variations in organic carbon burial inferred from magnetic and geochemical analyses. Episodes of intense monsoon activity and attendant sediment magnetic mineral diagenesis also appear to correlate with Heinrich events, which supports the existence of climatic telecommunications between Asia and the North Atlantic region. Several lines of evidence support our conclusions: (1) fluctuations in down-core magnetic properties and diagenetic pyrite precipitation are approximately coeval; (2) localized stratigraphic intervals with relatively stronger magnetic mineral dissolution are linked to enhanced sedimentary organic carbon contents that gave rise to nonsteady state diagenesis; (3) down-core variations in elemental S content provide a proxy for nonsteady state diagenesis that correlate with key records of Asian monsoon variations; and (4) relict titanomagnetite that is preserved as inclusions within silicate particles, rather than secondary authigenic phases (e.g., greigite), dominates the strongly diagenetically altered sediment intervals and are protected against sulfidic dissolution. We suggest that such millennial-scale environmental modulation of nonsteady state diagenesis (that creates a temporal diagenetic filter and relict magnetic mineral signatures) is likely to be common in organic-rich hemipelagic sedimentary settings with rapidly varying depositional conditions. Our work also demonstrates the usefulness of magnetic mineral inclusions for recording important environmental magnetic signals.

Today's paleomagnetic and magnetic proxy studies involve processing of large sample collections while simultaneously demanding high quality data and high reproducibility. Here we describe a fully automated interface based on a commercial horizontal pass-through “2G” DC-SQUID magnetometer. This system is operational at the universities of Bremen (Germany) and Utrecht (Netherlands) since 1998 and 2006, respectively, while a system is currently being built at NGU Trondheim (Norway). The magnetometers are equipped with “in-line” alternating field (AF) demagnetization, a direct-current bias field coil along the coaxial AF demagnetization coil for the acquisition of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) and a long pulse-field coil for the acquisition of isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM). Samples are contained in dedicated low magnetization perspex holders that are manipulated by a pneumatic pick-and-place-unit. Upon desire samples can be measured in several positions considerably enhancing data quality in particular for magnetically weak samples. In the Bremen system, the peak of the IRM pulse fields is actively measured which reduces the discrepancy between the set field and the field that is actually applied. Techniques for quantifying and removing gyroremanent overprints and for measuring the viscosity of IRM further extend the range of applications of the system. Typically c. 300 paleomagnetic samples can be AF demagnetized per week (15 levels) in the three-position protocol. The versatility of the system is illustrated by several examples of paleomagnetic and rock magnetic data processing.

Environmental conditions in one of Earth's most densely populated regions, East Asia, are dominated by the monsoon. While Quaternary monsoon variability is reasonably well understood, pre-Quaternary monsoon variability and dynamics remain enigmatic. In particular, little is known about potential relationships between northern hemispheric monsoon response and major Cenozoic changes in Antarctic ice cover. Here we document long-term East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensification through the Late Miocene–Pliocene (∼8.2 to 2.6 Ma), and attribute this to progressive Antarctic glaciation. Our new high-resolution magnetic records of long-term EASM intensification come from the Late Miocene–Pliocene Red Clay sequence on the Chinese Loess Plateau; we identify underlying mechanisms using a numerical climate-model simulation of EASM response to an idealized stepwise increase in Antarctic ice volume. We infer that progressive Antarctic glaciation caused intensification of the cross-equatorial pressure gradient between an atmospheric high-pressure cell over Australia and a low-pressure cell over mid-latitude East Asia, as well as intensification of the cross-equatorial sea-surface temperature (SST) gradient. These combined atmospheric and oceanic adjustments led to EASM intensification. Our findings offer a new and more global perspective on the controls behind long-term Asian monsoon evolution.

Fluid infiltration within fault zones is an important process in earthquake rupture. Magnetic properties of fault rocks convey essential clues pertaining to physicochemical processes in fault zones. In 2011, two shallow holes (134 and 54 m depth, respectively) were drilled into the Yingxiu-Beichuan fault (Longmen Shan thrust belt, China), which accommodated most of the displacement of the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. Fifty-eight drill core samples, including granitic host rock and various fault rocks, were analyzed rock-magnetically, mineralogically, and geochemically. The magnetic behavior of fault rocks appears to be dominated by paramagnetic clay minerals. Magnetite in trace amounts is identified as the predominant ferrimagnetic fraction in all samples, decreasing from the host rock, via fault breccia to (proto-)cataclasite. Significant mass-losses (10.7–45.6%) are determined for the latter two with the “isocon” method. Volatile contents and alteration products (i.e., chlorite) are enriched toward the fault core relative to the host rocks. These observations suggest that magnetite depletion occurred in these fault rocks—exhumed from the shallow crust—plumbed by fluid-assisted processes. Chlorite, interpreted to result from hydrothermal activity, occurs throughout almost the entire fault core and shows high coefficients of determination (R2 > 0.6) with both low and high-field magnetic susceptibility. Close relationships, with R2 > 0.70, are also observed between both low and high-field magnetic susceptibility and the immobile elements (e.g., TiO2, P2O5, MnO), H2O+, and the calculated mass-losses of fault rocks. Hence, magnetic properties of fault rocks can serve as proxy indicators of fluid infiltration within shallow fault zones.

A palaeomagnetic study of the Last Interglacial calcareous tufa sequence at the archaeological site of Caours (northern France) identified a geomagnetic excursion that we interpret as the Blake Event. Earlier palaeontological (molluscs, mammals) and geochemical proxy studies at this site allowed recognition of full interglacial conditions prevailing during the deposition of the tufa sequence. The tufa sequence and associated Palaeolithic levels have been dated to the Eemian interglacial by a set of TIMS U/Th measurements on calcitic concretions (average : 123 ± 3 ka). By previous correlations of the Blake Event with the Eemian sensu stricto (as defined in the Netherlands) pollenzones at Neumark Nord 2 (Germany) and Rutten (The Netherlands) it has been shown that the continental Eemian starts after the peak of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e. The identification of the Blake Event at Caours implies a post MIS 5e peak age for all four levels of the Palaeolithic occupation. In perspective of the time lag between the MIS 5e peak and the beginning of the Eemian identified in other studies, it is very likely that during the main occupation of Caours a significant barrier was in place between north western France and Great Britain, in the form of the English Channel. It is possible that the chronological position of the Last Interglacial environments in northwestern Europe in relation to sea-level change is a key factor behind the apparent absence of Last Interglacial Palaeolithic sites in Great Britain.

Aluminum-substituted hematite (here referred to as Al-Hm) is an important magnetic mineral for paleo and environmental magnetism. However, the magnetic properties of nanosized Al-Hm are poorly known. In this study, a series of Al-Hm samples (fourteen samples) and their nonsubstituted counterparts (referred to as pure-Hm) (seven samples) were synthesized with particle sizes ranging from 14 to 124 nm. With decreasing particle size, coercive force (Bc), magnetic remanence (Mr) acquired in a 5 T field at room temperature, and the maximum blocking temperature (Tb) of Al-Hm descend gradually; Tb drops abruptly from 800 to 200 K at 17.2 ± 3.7 nm. This size defines the superparamagnetic (SP)/single-domain (SD) threshold of Al-Hm which is significantly lower than that of pure-Hm (27.5 ± 1.5 nm). The antiferromagnetic high-field susceptibility (χanti) and the saturation magnetization (Ms) for the weak ferromagnetic component in hematite are both correlated negatively with temperature between 20 and 300 K, and grain size in the vicinity of the SP threshold. For very small grains (below 16–17 nm), Tb increases with increasing particle size. However, beyond this size, it descends with increasing particle size up to 19 nm before increasing with grain size again. These trends are attributed to the competition of surface anisotropy and bulk anisotropy (elastic anisotropy). This new study substantially improves our understanding of the complex magnetic properties of fine-grained Al-Hm and pure-Hm in natural sample, which is significant for the paleoenvironmental and climatic studies of natural samples, e.g., red beds/soils.

The outcome of paleointensity experiments largely depends on the rock-magnetic properties of the samples. To assess the relation between volcanic emplacement processes and rock-magnetic properties, we sampled a vertical transect in a ∼6 m thick inflated lava flow at Hawaii, emplaced in ∼588 AD. Its rock-magnetic properties vary as function of distance from the flow top; the observations can be correlated to the typical cooling rate profile for such a flow. The top and to a lesser extent the bottom parts of the flow cooled faster and reveal a composition of ∼TM60 in which the magnetic remanence is carried by fine-grained titanomagnetites, relatively rich in titanium, with associated low Curie and unblocking temperatures. The titanomagnetite in the slower cooled central part of the flow is unmixed into the magnetite and ülvospinel end-members as evidenced by scanning electron microscope observation. The remanence is carried by coarse-grained magnetite lamella (∼TM0) with high Curie and unblocking temperatures. The calibrated pseudo-Thellier results that can be accepted yield an average paleointensity of 44.1 ± 2.4 μT. This is in good agreement with the paleointensity results obtained using the thermal IZZI-Thellier technique (41.6 ± 7.4 μT) and a recently proposed record for Hawaii. We therefore suggest that the chance of obtaining a reliable paleointensity from a particular cooling unit can be increased by sampling lavas at multiple levels at different distances from the top of the flow combined with careful preliminary testing of the rock-magnetic properties.

Sediment dynamics in limnic, fluvial and marine environments can be assessed by granulometric and rock-magnetic methodologies. While classical grain-size analysis by sieving or settling mainly bears information on composition and transport, the magnetic mineral assemblages reflect to a larger extent the petrology and weathering conditions in the sediment source areas. Here, we combine both methods to investigate Late Quaternary marine sediments from five cores along a transect across the continental slope off Senegal. This region near the modern summer Intertropical Convergence Zone is particularly sensitive to climate change and receives sediments from several aeolian, fluvial and marine sources. From each of the investigated five GeoB sediment cores (494–2956 m water depth) two time slices were processed which represent contrasting climatic conditions: the arid Heinrich Stadial 1 (~ 15 kyr BP) and the humid Mid Holocene (~ 6 kyr BP). Each sediment sample was split into 16 grain-size fractions ranging from 1.6 to 500 μm. Concentration and grain-size indicative magnetic parameters (susceptibility, SIRM, HIRM, ARM and ARM/IRM) were determined at room temperature for each of these fractions. The joint consideration of whole sediment and magnetic mineral grain-size distributions allows to address several important issues: (i) distinction of two aeolian sediment fractions, one carried by the north-easterly trade winds (40–63 μm) and the other by the overlying easterly Harmattan wind (10–20 μm) as well as a fluvial fraction assigned to the Senegal River (

Pelagic marine carbonates provide important records of past environmental change. We carried out detailed low-temperature magnetic measurements on biogenic magnetite-bearing sediments from the Southern Ocean (Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Holes 738B, 738C, 689D, and 690C) and on samples containing whole magnetotactic bacteria cells. We document a range of low-temperature magnetic properties, including reversible humped low-temperature cycling (LTC) curves. Different degrees of magnetite oxidation are considered to be responsible for the observed variable shapes of LTC curves. A dipole spring mechanism in magnetosome chains is introduced to explain reversible LTC curves. This dipole spring mechanism is proposed to result from the uniaxial anisotropy that originates from the chain arrangement of biogenic magnetite, similar to published results for uniaxial stable single domain (SD) particles. The dipole spring mechanism reversibly restores the remanence during warming in LTC measurements. This supports a previous idea that remanence of magnetosome chains is completely reversible during LTC experiments. We suggest that this magnetic fingerprint is a diagnostic indicator for intact magnetosome chains, although the presence of isolated uniaxial stable SD particles and magnetically interacting particles can complicate this test. Magnetic measurements through the Eocene section of ODP Hole 738B reveal an interval with distinct magnetic properties that we interpret to originate from less oxidized biogenic magnetite and enrichment of a biogenic "hard" component. Co-occurrence of these two magnetic fingerprints during the late Eocene in the Southern Ocean indicates less oxic conditions, probably due to increased oceanic primary productivity and organic carbon burial.

The dominant dipolar component of the Earth’s magnetic field has been steadily weakening for at least the last 170 years. Prior to these direct measurements, archaeomagnetic records show short periods of significantly elevated geomagnetic intensity. These striking phenomena are not captured by current field models and their relationship to the recent dipole decay is highly unclear. Here we apply a novel multi-method archaeomagnetic approach to produce a new high-quality record of geomagnetic intensity variations for Hawaii, a crucial locality in the central Pacific. It reveals a short period of high intensity occurring ~1,000 years ago, qualitatively similar to behaviour observed 200 years earlier in Europe and 500 years later in Mesoamerica. We combine these records with one from Japan to produce a coherent picture that includes the dipole decaying steadily over the last millennium. Strong, regional, short-term intensity perturbations are superimposed on this global trend; their asynchronicity necessitates a highly non-dipolar nature.

The so-called Blake Event, an event of the geomagnetic fi eld, was identifi ed in the Middle Palaeolithic Neumark-Nord 2 (NN2) site in Germany by Sier et al. (2o11). These authors discussed the implications for the positioning of the Eemian in the Marine isotope stage (MIS) scale in northern-central Europe. The NN2 data showed a lagtime of ~5ooo years between the MIS 5e peak and the start of the Eemian in central Europe. This increased lagtime forces us to rethink the terrestrial- marine climatic relationships for this part of Europe during the last interglacial. Here we analyse the magnetic properties of the sedimentary sequence at the NN2 site, and correlate these data to the pollen zonation established for the same site. This enables an assessment of the magnetic property expression of Eemian climatic and environmental changes. Our study demonstrates that the expression of the magnetic properties at NN2 is closely related to variability in open or closed environments during the Eemian in the catchment area of the NN2 basin. It indicates the presence of a wet to dry climate transition in the NN2 deposits (top pollen zone IVb3) which is typical of this period of the Eemian in Europe. Moreover, the magnetic property study supports our claim of having found a primary palaeomagnetic signal of the Blake Event at NN2.