Abstract
Palaeomagnetic records from Australasian basalts provide a rare view of transitional field behaviour, as seen from mid-southern latitudes. These data suggest that a geomagnetic reversal is accomplished in two steps, separated by an interval of relative dynamo quiescence. A potentially long-lived field configuration, developed early, is observed to be the ‘stepping stone’ from which both successful and unsuccessful reversal attempts are made. Several aborted attempts involving the same intermediate field geometry may precede an actual polarity transition.
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Hoffman, K. Transitional field behaviour from Southern Hemisphere lavas: evidence for two-stage reversals of the geodynamo. Nature 320, 228–232 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/320228a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/320228a0
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