Transitional geomagnetic field behavior: Volcanic records from French Polynesia

Abstract

Here we report the behavior of the earth's magnetic field for transitions recorded on volcanic islands from Polynesia in the South Central Pacific Ocean. Detailed transitional fields are observed on Huahine Island; the data suggest the record of an excursion N‐N following the Kaena event. The Jaramillo termination and the Brunhes onset are recorded in a volcanic sequence from Tahiti Island. The transitional field is mainly characterized by low intensities. While the beginning of the transition appears to be consistent with the zonal model of reversal, large deviations from a north‐south planar distribution of the intermediate directions show that non dipolar fields without preferential axisymmetry control the middle of the transition. Copyright 1987 by the American Geophysical Union.