Spiking the Geomagnetic Field

Abstract:

Geomagnetic field intensities corresponding to virtual axial dipole moments of up to 200 ZAm², more than twice the modern value, have been inferred from archeomagnetic measurements on artifacts dated at or shortly after 1000 BC. Anomalously high values occur in the Levant and Georgia, but not in Bulgaria. The origin of this spike is believed to lie in Earth's core: however, its spatio-temporal characteristics and the geomagnetic processes responsible for such a feature remain a mystery. We show that a localized spike in the radial magnetic field at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) must necessarily contribute to the largest scale changes in Earth's surface field, namely the dipole. Even the limiting spike of a delta function at the CMB produces a minimum surface cap size of 60 degrees for a factor of two increase in paleointensity. Combined evidence from modern satellite and millennial scale field modeling suggests that the Levantine Spike is intimately associated with a strong increase in dipole moment prior to 1000 BC and likely the product of north-westward motion of concentrated near equatorial Asian flux patches like those seen in the modern field. New archeomagnetic studies are needed to confirm this interpretation. Minimum estimates of the power dissipated by the spike are comparable to independent estimates of the dissipation associated with the entire steady state geodynamo. This suggests that geomagnetic spikes are either associated with rapid changes in magnetic energy or strong Lorentz forces.