A Sediment Magnetic Record in the North Pacific Across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition and its Implication on Asian Dust Evolution

Eolian dust deposited in the North Pacific is an important archive of the evolutionary history of Asian interior source regions and climate system. Here, we present a ∼1 Myr sediment magnetic record from the central North Pacific to characterize eolian dust properties since the middle Pleistocene. For the studied sediments, magnetic components are mainly identified as biogenic magnetite and detrital magnetic minerals (dust and volcanic origins) based on coercivity analysis, microscopic observations, and sedimentological information. The detrital magnetic component is characterized by high coercivity (>100 mT) and shows a long-term increase in concentration since ∼1 Ma. In particular, the concentration shows a considerable increase at ∼0.8–0.7 Ma compared to the inorganic silicate fraction, indicative of magnetic mineral enrichment in detrital sediment fraction. At the same time, the coercivity distribution of the detrital component also decreases, which can be attributed to an increase in the ferrimagnetic mineral contribution. As the detrital sediments are primarily wind-blown particles, such ferrimagnetic enrichment implies a change in dust source materials after ∼0.8 Ma, which could be explained by the reorganization of atmospheric circulation and/or regional aridification in source regions across the mid-Pleistocene transition. The dust property change in source areas is likely to be synchronized across the North Pacific based on the similarity of the long-term trend of magnetic signals.

A 62-ka geomagnetic palaeointensity record from the Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic

This work represents the first palaeomagnetic study carried out on the sedimentary record of lake Levinson-Lessing, which is the deepest lake in northern Central Siberia. Palaeomagnetic analyses were carried out on 730 discrete samples from the upper 38 m of the 46 m-long core Co1401, which was recovered from the central part of the lake. Alternating field demagnetisation experiments were carried out to obtain the characteristic remanent magnetisation. The relative palaeointensity is determined using the magnetic susceptibility, the anhysteretic remanent magnetization and the isothermal remanent magnetization for normalization of the partial natural remanent magnetization. The chronology of Co1401 derives from accelerated mass spectrometer radiocarbon ages, optically stimulated luminescence dating, and correlation of the relative palaeointensity of 642 discrete samples with the GLOPIS-75 reference curve. This study focuses on the part >10 ka but although includes preliminary results for the upper part of the core. The record includes the geomagnetic excursions Laschamps and Mono Lake, and resolves sufficient geomagnetic features to establish a chronology that continuously covers ~62 ka. The results reveal continuous sedimentation and high sedimentation rate between 45 and 95 cm ka−1. High lock-in depths are suggested from the low variability of the magnetic record compared to data sets of reference records with lower sedimentation rate. Although the horizontal component of the characteristic remanent magnetization can only be used with caution because Co1401 was cored without core segment overlap, the magnetic record of Co1401 is the only high-resolution record of relative palaeointensity and palaeosecular variations from the Arctic tangent cylinder going back to ~62 ka.

Paleomagnetism indicates that primary magnetite in zircon records a strong Hadean geodynamo

Determining the age of the geomagnetic field is of paramount importance for understanding the evolution of the planet because the field shields the atmosphere from erosion by the solar wind. The absence or presence of the geomagnetic field also provides a unique gauge of early core conditions. Evidence for a geomagnetic field 4.2 billion-year (Gy) old, just a few hundred million years after the lunar-forming giant impact, has come from paleomagnetic analyses of zircons of the Jack Hills (Western Australia). Herein, we provide new paleomagnetic and electron microscope analyses that attest to the presence of a primary magnetic remanence carried by magnetite in these zircons and new geochemical data indicating that select Hadean zircons have escaped magnetic resetting since their formation. New paleointensity and Pb-Pb radiometric age data from additional zircons meeting robust selection criteria provide further evidence for the fidelity of the magnetic record and suggest a period of high geomagnetic field strength at 4.1 to 4.0 billion years ago (Ga) that may represent efficient convection related to chemical precipitation in Earth’s Hadean liquid iron core.