Full-Vector Geomagnetic Field Records for the Late Quaternary from El Hierro and the Eifel

Abstract:

Twenty-eight flows in the age range of c. 100 to c. 500 ka were sampled on the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain) and twelve in the Eifel (Germany). All sites from the Eifel had been previously dated, whereas the ages of the El Hierro flows were approximated by stratigraphic and directional coherency with a dated section c. 4 km to the north-east. Additionally, seven flows were dated using the ThermoFisher Helix multi-collector mass spectrometer at VU University Amsterdam (the Netherlands). The rocks were subjected to standard rock magnetic and palaeomagnetic experiments. Palaeodirections were obtained using both thermal and alternating-field demagnetisation techniques. Apart from two sites that appear to have been struck by lightning, all sites yielded reliable palaeodirections. Absolute palaeointensities were obtained using three different methods: IZZI-Thellier, the multispecimen protocol and the calibrated pseudo-Thellier technique. Nineteen sites from El Hierro and all twelve sites from the Eifel passed the selection criteria for one or more of these methods, with the pseudo-Thellier technique having the highest success rate (c. 35% for El Hierro and 55% for the Eifel). The palaeointensities obtained for El Hierro were mostly between 20 and 40 μT and for the Eifel between 20 and 50 μT, both with a tendency to be somewhat low compared to the present-day field of c. 39 μT and c. 49 μT, respectively. The pseudo-Thellier and multispecimen methods generally yielded lower palaeointensities than IZZI-Thellier, but no clear trend was visible.