People: Lisa Tauxe, Steve Cande, Jeff Gee, Yongjae Yu

Current models of the time averaged geomagnetic field have significant long term departures from a geocentric axial dipole. The models shown on the bottom (from Johnson and Constable, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc, Ser. A, 354, 89-141, 1996) are based on records of the ancient geomagnetic field stored in lava flows from the last five million years.



The SIO paleomagnetic/geomagnetic group has taken part in a multi-institutional project to collect reliable data of the geomagnetic field over the last 5 million years to build a new time averaged field model. The goal is to collect and analyze samples from lava flows erupted over the last 5 million years from a pole to pole transect. The locations that Scripps was responsible are shown below.



Related Publications:

Johnson, C. L., J. R. Wijbrans, Tauxe, L., Gee, J., and others, 40Ar/39Ar ages and paleomagnetism of Sao Miguel lavas, Azores, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 160, 637-649, 1998. [reprint]

Tauxe, L., Staudigel, H., Wijbrans, J.R., Paleomagnetism and 40Ar/39Ar ages from La Palma in the Canary Islands, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 1, 2000GC000063 [6717 words, 8 figures, 3 tables, 1 appendix], 2000.[reprint]

Tauxe, L., Constable, C., Johnson, C.L., Miller, W.R., Staudigel, H., Paleomagnetism of the southwestern U.S.A. recorded by 0-5 Ma igneous rocks, Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst., DOI 10.1029/2002GC000343, 2003.[reprint]

Johnson, C.L., Constable, C.G., and Tauxe, L., Mapping long-term changes in the Earth's magnetic field, Science, 300, 2044-2045, 2003.

Tauxe, L., Gans, P., Mankinen, E.A., Paleomagnetic and 40Ar/39Ar ages from Matuyama/Brunhes aged volcanics near McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, Geochem., Geophys., Geosyst., in press, 2004.[reprint]

Tauxe, L., Kent, D.V., A new statistical model for the geomagnetic field and the detection of shallow bias in paleomagnetic inclinations: Was the ancient magnetic field dipolar?, AGU Monograph, in press, 2004.[reprint]

Recent and ongoing research projects:

1. A paleointensity record from the ocean crust
2. Mapping sea surface magnetic anomalies
3. Characterizing the time-averaged magnetic field
4. Long term variations in geomagnetic intensity
5. Magnetization of meteorites and lunar samples
6. Applications of magnetic data to fabric development in cumulates