Cooling behaviour of partial thermoremanences induced in multidomain magnetite

Accepted versio

Testing the use of viscous remanent magnetisation to date flood events

© 2015 Muxworthy, Williams and Heslop. Using erratics associated with large flood events, this paper assesses whether their viscous remanent magnetisation (VRM) can be used to date the flood events. We tested this method using flood erratics from three large events: (1) the Late Pleistocene Bonneville mega-flood in Idaho, USA, (~14–18 ka), (2) the 1918 A.D. Mt. Katla, Iceland, eruption and associated jökulhaup (meltwater flood) at Mýrdalssandur, and (3) the Markarfljót jökulhaup due to an earlier eruption of Mt. Katla (~2.5 ka). We measured 236 specimens, 66 of which yielded clear identifiable and measurable viscous magnetisation signals from erratics with clustered VRM directions. From the VRM unblocking temperatures, age estimates were made. The age estimate for the most recent event (Mýrdalssandur) worked well, with a median estimated age of 80 years (with individual erratic estimates distributed between 61–105 years) compared to the known age of 91 years. The ages of the other two events were over-estimated. The estimates for Markarfljót [15 ka (7–33 ka)] were based on the results of just one erratic. For the Bonneville flood the estimates were too old, however, this locality had the largest uncertainty in the ambient temperature used in the age determination; the VRM acquired is strongly dependent on the ambient temperature, the older the event the greater the uncertainty. Southern Idaho currently has hot summers, with average summer maximum temperatures of ~31°C, but a mean annual temperature of only ~ 9°C. It is suggested that the VRM dating method works best for recent events (<2–3 ka) where the ambient temperature history can be constrained

Greigite formation in aqueous solutions: critical constraints into the role of iron and sulphur ratios, pH and Eh, and temperature using reaction pathway modelling

Greigite forms as an intermediate phase along the pyrite reaction pathway. Despite being considered metastable, it is observed in numerous shallow natural systems, suggesting it could be a unique proxy for diagenetic and environmental conditions. We use thermodynamic reaction pathway modelling in PHREEQC software, to understand the role of iron and sulphur ratios, pH and Eh, and temperature on the formation and retention of greigite in aqueous solutions. With newly available experimental thermodynamic properties, this work identifies the chemical boundary conditions for greigite formation in aqueous solutions. Greigite precipitation is likely favourable in anoxic and alkaline aqueous solutions at or below 25 °C. Our numerical experiments show that greigite is closer to saturation in iron-rich solutions with minor sulphur input. Greigite precipitation in strongly alkaline solutions suggest polysulfides and ferric iron-bearing minerals may be favourable reactants for its formation. Greigite precipitates at iron and sulphur concentrations that are over two orders of magnitude greater than iron sulphide-hosted natural porewaters. This disparity between model and field observations suggest microenvironments within bulk solutions may be important for greigite formation and retention. These constraints suggest greigite is more likely to form alongside pyrite in shallow, non-steady state aqueous solutions

A re-appraisal of the proposed rapid Matuyama–Brunhes geomagnetic reversal in the Sulmona Basin, Italy

An extremely sharp magnetic reversal observed in lacustrine sediments in central Italy has been interpreted as a record of the Matuyama-Brunhes geomagnetic polarity reversal that may represent less than a decade (Sagnotti et al., 2014. 2016). Here, we report new results from the same Sulmona Basin outcrop that question this interpretation. In particular, we find evidence of reversed (Matuyama) directions well above the proposed Matuyama-Brunhes Boundary (MBB). Coercivity spectra of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) imply a 3-component magnetic mineralogy: low-, intermediate-, and high-coercivity. The low-coercivity component is found in all but one of the samples and carries a strong modern overprint seen throughout the section. The high-coercivity component is dominated by volcanic material which is prone to remagnetization. Since it is much more magnetic than the surrounding lacustrine sediments, it may influence the remanence signal even when present at very low concentrations. The intermediate-coercivity component is the main carrier of any true primary remanence, but whether or not this can be isolated depends on the blocking-temperature and coercivity spectra of individual samples, and on the demagnetization method used. The complexity of the magnetization, the reversed zones above the proposed MBB, and the normal zones that Sagnotti and 2 colleagues found below it, lead to the conclusion that this section does not carry a reliable high-resolution record of the geomagnetic field. Thus, we feel that inferences about the stratigraphic position and duration of the MBB are premature

Experimental test of the heating and cooling rate effect on blocking temperatures

The cooling rates at which rocks acquire thermoremanent magnetizations (TRMs), affect their unblocking temperatures in thermal demagnetization experiments; similarly the heating rates at which the thermal demagnetization experiments are done also affect the unblocking temperature. We have tested the effects of variable cooling and heating rates on the unblocking temperatures of two natural non-interacting, magnetically uniform (single-domain, SD) (titano)magnetite samples and a synthetic SD magnetoferritin sample. While previous studies have only considered unblocking temperatures for stepwise thermal demagnetization data (i.e. the room-temperature magnetization after incremental heating), in this work we derive an expression for continuous thermal demagnetization of both TRMs and viscous remanent magnetizations (VRMs) and relate the heating rate to an effective equivalent hold time of a stepwise thermal demagnetization experiment. Through our analysis we reach four main conclusions: First, the theoretical expressions for the heating/cooling rate effect do not accurately predict experimentally observed blocking temperatures. Empirically, the relation can be modified incorporating a factor that amplifies both the temperature and the heating rate dependence of the heating/cooling rate effect. Using these correction factors, Pullaiah nomograms can accurately predict blocking temperatures of both TRMs and VRMs for continuous heating/cooling. Second, demagnetization temperatures are approximately predicted by published ‘Pullaiah nomograms’, but blocking occurs gradually over temperature intervals of 5–40 K. Third, the theoretically predicted temperatures correspond to ∼54–82 per cent blocking, depending on the sample. Fourth, the blocking temperatures can be used to obtain estimates of the atomic attempt time τ0, which were found to be 3 × 10−10 s for large grained (titano)magnetite, 1 × 10−13 s for small grained (titano)magnetite below the Verwey transition and 9 × 10−10 s for magnetoferritin (∼8 nm)

Observation of thermally-induced magnetic relaxation in a magnetite grain using off-axis electron holography

A synthetic basalt comprising magnetic Fe3O4 grains (~ 50 nm to ~ 500 nm in diameter) is investigated using a range of complementary nano-characterisation techniques. Off-axis electron holography combined with in situ heating allowed for the visualisation of the thermally-induced magnetic relaxation of an Fe3O4 grain (~ 300 nm) from an irregular domain state into a vortex state at 550˚C, just below its Curie temperature, with the magnetic intensity of the vortex increasing on cooling

Interpreting high-temperature magnetic susceptibility data of natural systems

High-temperature susceptibility (HT-χ) data are routinely measured in Earth, planetary, and environmental sciences to rapidly identify the magnetic mineralogy of natural systems. The interpretation of such data can be complicated. Whilst some minerals are relatively unaltered by heating and are easy to identify through their Curie or Néel temperature, other common magnetic phases, e.g., iron sulphides, are very unstable to heating. This makes HT-χ interpretation challenging, especially in multi-mineralogical samples. Here, we report a review of the HT-χ data measured primarily at Imperial College London of common magnetic minerals found in natural samples. We show examples of “near pure” natural samples, in addition to examples of interpretation of multi-phase HT-χ data. We hope that this paper will act be the first reference paper for HT-χ data interpretation

Visualized effect of oxidation on magnetic recording fidelity in pseudo-single-domain magnetite particles

Magnetite (​Fe3O4) is an important magnetic mineral to Earth scientists, as it carries the dominant magnetic signature in rocks, and the understanding of its magnetic recording fidelity provides a critical tool in the field of palaeomagnetism. However, reliable interpretation of the recording fidelity of ​Fe3O4 particles is greatly diminished over time by progressive oxidation to less magnetic iron oxides, such as maghemite (γ-Fe2O3), with consequent alteration of remanent magnetization potentially having important geological significance. Here we use the complementary techniques of environmental transmission electron microscopy and off-axis electron holography to induce and visualize the effects of oxidation on the magnetization of individual nanoscale ​Fe3O4 particles as they transform towards γ-Fe2O3. Magnetic induction maps demonstrate a change in both strength and direction of remanent magnetization within ​Fe3O4 particles in the size range dominant in rocks, confirming that oxidation can modify the original stored magnetic information