New archaeointensity data from Italy and geomagnetic field intensity variation in the Italian Peninsula

We present new archaeointensity results from three Italian kilns situated at Ascoli Satriano, Vagnari and Fontanetto Po obtained with the Thellier modified by Coe double heating method. These data complement the directional results previously published. All sites are dated on the basis of archaeological information and/or thermoluminescence dating. The results are corrected for the anisotropy of the thermoremanent magnetization and the cooling rate effects. The new data are compared with previously published archaeointensity data from Italy and nearby countries within 900 km radius from Viterbo. An initial data set including archaeointesity data mainly coming from Italy, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece and Bulgaria has been compiled. After the application of strict selection criteria, the most reliable data have been used for the calculation of a preliminary Italian intensity secular variation (SV) curve for the last 3000 yr. The new curve covers the 300 BC–400 AD and 1200–1900 AD periods. It is established by means of sliding windows of 200 yr shifted by 100 yr. The lack of reliable data for the 1000–200 BC and 400–1200 AD time intervals does not permit the calculation of a continuous curve. Clearly, more high-quality archaeointensity data from Italy and Europe are still needed to draw a robust intensity SV curve for the Italian Peninsula that could be used for archaeomagnetic dating in combination with the directional data

Magnetic hysteresis and rotational hysteresis properties of hydrothermally grown multidomain magnetite

Accepted versio

Controlled-atmosphere thermal demagnetization and paleointensity analyses of extraterrestrial rocks

We describe a system for conducting thermal demagnetization of extraterrestrial rocks in a controlled atmosphere appropriate for a wide range of oxygen fugacities within the stability domain of iron. Thermal demagnetization and Thellier-Thellier paleointensity experiments on lunar basalt synthetic analogs show that the controlled atmosphere prevents oxidation of magnetic carriers. When combined with multidomain paleointensity techniques, this opens the possibility of highly accurate thermal demagnetization and paleointensity measurements on rocks from the Moon and asteroids.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NNX12AH80G)

Anatomy of a pressure-induced, ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition in pyrrhotite: Implications for the formation pressure of diamonds

Meteorites and diamonds encounter high pressures during their formation or subsequent evolution. These materials commonly contain magnetic inclusions of pyrrhotite. Because magnetic properties are sensitive to strain, pyrrhotite can potentially record the shock or formation pressures of its host. Moreover, pyrrhotite undergoes a pressure-induced phase transition between 1.6 and 6.2 GPa, but the magnetic signature of this transition is poorly known. Here we report room temperature magnetic measurements on multidomain and single-domain pyrrhotite under nonhydrostatic pressure. Magnetic remanence in single-domain pyrrhotite is largely insensitive to pressure until 2 GPa, whereas the remanence of multidomain pyrrhotite increases 50\% over that of initial conditions by 2 GPa, and then decreases until only 33\% of the original remanence remains by 4.5 GPa. In contrast, magnetic coercivity increases with increasing pressure to 4.5 GPa. Below ∼1.5 GPa, multidomain pyrrhotite obeys Néel theory with a positive correlation between coercivity and remanence; above ∼1.5 GPa, it behaves single domain-like yet distinctly different from uncompressed single-domain pyrrhotite. The ratio of magnetic coercivity and remanence follows a logarithmic law with respect to pressure, which can potentially be used as a geobarometer. Owing to the greater thermal expansion of pyrrhotite with respect to diamond, pyrrhotite inclusions in diamonds experience a confining pressure at Earth’s surface. Applying our experimentally derived magnetic geobarometer to pyrrhotite-bearing diamonds from Botswana and the Central African Republic suggests the pressures of the pyrrhotite inclusions in the diamonds range from 1.3 to 2.1 GPa. These overpressures constrain the mantle source pressures from 5.4 to 9.5 GPa, depending on which bulk modulus and thermal expansion coefficients of the two phases are used

Magnetic fingerprint of southern Portuguese speleothems and implications for paleo- and environmental magnetism

Environmental magnetism of speleothems is still in its early stage of development. Here we report on our investigation of the environmental and paleomagnetic information that has been recorded in speleothems, and what are the factors that control its preservation and reliability. To address these issues, we used a multidisciplinary approach, including rock magnetism, petrography, scanning electron microscopy, stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions, and major and trace element concentrations. We applied this to a set of samples from different stages of speleothem evolution: present-day dripwater (glass plates), a weathered stalactite, a fresh stalagmite, cave sediments, and terra rossa soils. These samples come from the Penico and Excentricas caves, located in two distinct aquifers of the Algarve region, South Portugal. Our results show that the main magnetic carriers of the speleothems under study are primary (detrital) and consist of maghemite (and magnetite?). Similarities in coercivity and temperature dependence of the studied set of samples suggest that iron oxides are inherited from the terra rossa soils that cap the cave and were transported to the speleothems by dripwater. Hence, they represent a regional environmental signature. Interestingly, a stable and probably detrital remanent magnetization could be isolated in the fresh stalagmite, whereas the weathered stalactite yielded chaotic magnetic directions and very low remanent intensities. We propose that these low intensities can be the result from(i) different remanence acquisition mechanisms between stalagmite and stalactite and/or (ii) iron dissolution by fungal activity. We also suggest that magnetic properties and color and the content in detrital elements in the fresh speleothem inform about environmental processes acting on the interface of rock (soil)-atmosphere, while oxygen isotope composition and alkaline-earth element concentrations inform about calcite-water interaction processes. These results provide a better understanding of how environmental information is recorded in speleothems and what the factors are that control the reliability of the paleomagnetic and paleo-environmental signal.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Exceptionally Preserved Jellyfishes from the Middle Cambrian

Cnidarians represent an early diverging animal group and thus insight into their origin and diversification is key to understanding metazoan evolution. Further, cnidarian jellyfish comprise an important component of modern marine planktonic ecosystems. Here we report on exceptionally preserved cnidarian jellyfish fossils from the Middle Cambrian (∼505 million years old) Marjum Formation of Utah. These are the first described Cambrian jellyfish fossils to display exquisite preservation of soft part anatomy including detailed features of structures interpreted as trailing tentacles and subumbrellar and exumbrellar surfaces. If the interpretation of these preserved characters is correct, their presence is diagnostic of modern jellyfish taxa. These new discoveries may provide insight into the scope of cnidarian diversity shortly after the Cambrian radiation, and would reinforce the notion that important taxonomic components of the modern planktonic realm were in place by the Cambrian period