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Palaeomagnetic constraints on the geometry of the geomagnetic field during reversals

Nature volume 356, pages 400–407 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

Palaeomagnetic records of the path of the pole during reversals of the Earth's magnetic field provide a test of the hypothesis that dipolar or low-order axisymmetric components of the field dominate during reversals. Multiple records of reversals during the past 12 Myr show no simple or consistent geographical pattern. Although a more robust analysis of the transitional field awaits a greater number of well-distributed sampling sites, the present data are not inconsistent with the simplest models, in which a field reminiscent of the non-dipole component of the present-day field becomes dominant.

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Author notes

  1. Piotr Tucholka: Laboratoire de Géophysique, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 504, 91405 Orsay, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, 4 Place Jussieu, Tour 14–24, 75252, Paris, Cedex 05, France

    Jean Pierre Valet, Piotr Tucholka, Vincent Courtillot & Laure Meynadier

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  1. Jean Pierre Valet
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  2. Piotr Tucholka
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  3. Vincent Courtillot
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  4. Laure Meynadier
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Pierre Valet, J., Tucholka, P., Courtillot, V. et al. Palaeomagnetic constraints on the geometry of the geomagnetic field during reversals. Nature 356, 400–407 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/356400a0

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