Geomagnetic polarity timescale
Publication date
2019
Authors
Langereis, Cor G.
Krijgsman, Wouter
Editors
Cochran, J. Kirk
Bokuniewicz, Henry J.
Yager, Patricia L.
Advisors
Supervisors
Document Type
Part of book
Metadata
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taverne
Abstract
Dating and time control are essential geoscience, because they allow us to rock sequences from different environments of deposition. Most importantly, accurate time control allows us to calculate rates of change, which is necessary for understanding underlying processes and mechanisms. Since the 1840s, biostratigraphy has been used to correlate rocks, giving the geological age of sedimentary rocks. Radiometric dating has provided numerical ages. Here we discuss the application of magnetostratigraphy: the recording of the ancient geomagnetic field observed as intervals with different polarity. This produces an often distinctive “bar code” in the rock record that often is distinctive. If one can construct a calibrated “standard” or a so-called “geomagnetic polarity timescale” (GPTS), dated by radiometric methods and/or by orbital tuning, one can derive the age of the sediments. Magnetostratigraphy has become a standard tool in ocean sciences.
Keywords
Chemical remanent magnetization, Curie temperature, Detrital remanent magnetization, Dipole field, Geological time scale, Magnetic anomaly, Magnetostratigraphy, Midocean ridges, Non-dipole field, Paleomagnetism, Stratigraphy, Thermoremanent magnetization, Taverne, General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Citation
Langereis, C G & Krijgsman, W 2019, Geomagnetic polarity timescale. in J K Cochran, H J Bokuniewicz & P L Yager (eds), Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences : Third Edition. vol. 4, Elsevier, pp. 505-512. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.11380-6