Paleomagnetic record of two successive Miocene geomagnetic reversals in western Crete

Abstract

Two geomagnetic reversals (R → N followed by N → R) have been recorded in a sequence of Miocene marine clays of Tortonian-Messinian age in western Crete (Greece). The time span of each transition is found to be of the order of 5000-10,000 years. The transitional VGP paths are largely constrained in longitude either near the site longitude (R → N) or opposite to it (N → R). A normalized magnetization intensity record has also been obtained and its variations during reversals are found to be in excellent agreement with the predictions of Hoffman's phenomenological model. © 1981.