Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer/Terra Scientific Publishing Company
Résumé : International audience
We report oil the discovery of magnetite nanoparticles ranging in size from 2 to 14 full in the mineralized zones of the Pena Colorada iron-ore deposit, southern Mexico. Micrometric scale magnetite was magnetically reduced and divided into distinct size ranges: 85-56 mu m, 56-30 mu m, 30-22 mu m, 22-15 mu m, 15-10 mu m, 10-7 mu m and 7-2 mu m. Nanometric-scale magnetite in the size range 2-14 nm was identified. The magnetite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmitted and reflected light microscope, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high angle annular dark field, Mossbauer spectroscopy and its magnetic properties. Crystallographic identification of nanostructures Was performed using high-resolution TEM. Characteristic changes were observed when the particles make the size transition from micro- to nanometric sizes, as follows: (1) frequency-dependent magnetic Susceptibility percentage (chi FD%) measurements Show high Values (13%) for the 2-14 nm fractions attributed to dominant fractions of superparamagnetic particles; (2) variations of chi FD% < 4.5% in fractions of 56-0.2 mu m occur in association with the presence of microparticles formed by magnetite aggregates of nanoparticles (< 15 nm) embedded in berthierine; (3) Mossbauer spectroscopy results identified a superparamagnetic fraction; (4) nanometric and 0.2-3 mu m grain size magnetite particles require a magnetic field up to 152 mT to reach saturation during the isothermal remanent magnetization experiment; (5) coercivity and remanent magnetization of the magnetite increase when the particle size decreases, probably due to parallel Coupling effects; (6) two-magnetic Susceptibility versus temperature experiments of the same 2-14 nm sample show that the reversibility during the second heating is due to the formation of new magnetite nanoparticles and growth of those already present. during the first heating process.
ISSN: 1343-8832

hal-00413053
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00413053

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer/Terra Scientific Publishing Company
Résumé : International audience
Numerous phases of igneous activity took place in Egypt during the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic but no paleointensity results have ever been published from these rocks. Therefore a preliminary Survey was conducted in the northern part of Egypt and in Sinai to test the Suitability of these basalts for paleointensity determinations. Three Oligo-Miocene sites have been sampled north of Cairo: Abu Zaabal, Qatrani, and 6th of October City. In Sinai, we sampled Jurassic basalts in Wadi Budra and Oligo-Miocene rocks from Wadi Nukhul. The main magnetic carriers of these rocks are titanomagnetites with varying Ti content. Large secondary components are present in most middle Jurassic basalts and discrepancies remain in the directional analysis so this sill cannot be used for paleointensity experiments and the associated poles should not be considered for paleomagnetic reconstructions either. Directional analysis of the Oligo-Miocene basalts is very straightforward and updated mean VGPs have been calculated from the Cairo area (68.9 degrees N, 91.3 degrees E; Kappa = 274; A(95) = 3.7) and from Wadi Nukhul (72.7 degrees N, 13.4 degrees E; Kappa = 528; A(95) = 5.4). Pseudo-paleointensity results obtained as well from stable Egypt as from Sinai are promising, with values lower or similar (between 29 to 58 mu T) to present-day field intensity.
ISSN: 1343-8832

hal-00413086
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00413086

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Reliable measurements of the intensity of the palaeomagnetic field are notoriously difficult to obtain. The approach generally taken is to produce multiple estimates per rock unit and assume that those which meet certain minimum standards of technical quality will combine to produce an accurate mean. However, here, using results produced from a package of 20th century basaltic lava flows from Mount Etna in Sicily, we demonstrate that this approach can fail. In this case, the application of typical sets of selection criteria actually introduces bias into the mean determination that we measure. We demonstrate that this is caused by two types of non-ideal behaviour acting in combination. The first is a result of the multidomain grains that the samples contain and the second is caused by differences in the natural and laboratory cooling rates. We discuss means of avoiding these sources of error in future palaeointensity studies performed on ancient rocks. We also develop a new, more general reliability criterion which is effective here and which we argue should be applied wherever possible in future palaeointensity studies in conjunction with standard criteria. It requires two distinct types of materials which both produce some good-quality palaeointensity measurements and uses their range of overlap to constrain the true palaeointensity. Both the application of this criterion and general reliability considerations require that future palaeointensity studies should measure many samples per cooling unit and that these should be as diverse in terms of their rock magnetic properties and cooling histories as possible.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00407943
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407943
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.03.017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer/Terra Scientific Publishing Company
Résumé : International audience
This study of the Cajati deposit provides evidence that the ore was neither purely hydrothermal, nor volcanic in origin, as previous workers have proposed. The ores were formed from magnetite-rich magmas, hydrothermally altered and intruded at an indicated crustal depth in excess of 500 m. The mineralogical and textural association between magnetite and magnesioferrite in the carbonatite, and between the titanomagnetite and magnesioferrite-Ti mineralization in the pyroxenite of hedenbergite, seems to be analog mineralizations strongly related to the ionic substitution of Fe2+ by Mg. Relatively high Q ratios (>= 5) for Jacupirangite-pyroxenite may indicate a thermo remanent magnetization (TRM) by the ore during post-metamorphic cooling, however it call also be developed from chemical remanent magnetization (CRM). Vector plots for the pyroxenite samples show reasonably linear and stable magnetic components. The intensity decay Curves show that only two components of magnetizations are likely present. Continuous susceptibility measurements with increasing temperature show that the main magnetic phase seems to be magnetite. Maghemite is probably produced during the cooling process. Susceptibility recorded from low temperature (liquid nitrogen (- 196 degrees C)) to room temperature produces typical Curves. indicating Verwey transition of magnetite. Hysteresis parameters point Out that nearly all values fill in a novel region of the Day plot, parallel to but below magnetite SD + MD mixing curves.
ISSN: 1343-8832

hal-00420922
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00420922

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : We describe, test, and explain the relative effectiveness of six thermal and microwave techniques of absolute palaeointensity determination applied to lava samples from Mount Etna (Sicily) that acquired their thermoremanence (TRM) in a known geomagnetic field. The application of a single alternating field demagnetisation treatment prior to each measurement in a standard Thellier experiment is demonstrated to be beneficial: increasing the quality of the results and making the analysis simpler. A new quasi-perpendicular (QP) method dramatically improves the linearity of Arai plots by reducing or altogether eliminating non-ideal effects due to multidomain (MD) grains. Two broad types of sample were encountered by this study and the QP method is the only one capable of producing accurate measurements from them both. Its ease of use, speed, and increased reliability should allow it to replace standard double heating methods in studies such as these where laboratory alteration can be detected by other means than pTRM checks. The results of experiments performed using a microwave palaeointensity system provide further proof that the microwave (de)magnetisation process is equivalent to conventional thermal excitation. They also demonstrate that microwave experiments are subject to the same risks as conventional experiments when performed on samples containing MD grains. The behaviour of the samples in both the thermal and microwave experiments is in good agreement with a recently proposed model of MD TRM which is based on first-order symmetry of the remagnetisation process.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00407671
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407671
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2007.03.016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Anisotropy of low-field magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of basaltic lava flows can give some clues about post-emplacement tilting occurring in volcanic sequences. Such a study has been carried out on a sequence of 19 successive lava flows from Kerguelen Archipelago. Surprisingly, two different patterns were observed. The first one - herein called normal fabric - is consistent with the lava-flow direction inferred from geological observations, whereas the second one observed for about 70 per cent of the analysed samples - herein called abnormal fabric - appears to be unrelated to the shear history of the lava flows during their emplacements. These abnormal fabrics are not strictly inverse fabric but seem to have a more complex origin. The unusual nature of these abnormal fabrics has been confirmed by lattice preferred orientation of plagioclases obtained from high-resolution electron backscattered diffraction measurements. The aim of this study is to propose a physical interpretation of these fabrics. A first step in our understanding was to clearly identify the nature and the magnetic properties of the Fe-Ti oxides assemblage. Thus, we present a comprehensive rock magnetic analysis relying on low- and high-temperature thermomagnetic curves (K-T), crossover diagrams, first-order reversal curves, ore-microscopy, Mössbauer measurements and electron backscattered images. We found that in the present case the abnormal fabrics are probably linked to a mixture of prevailing single domain (SD) strongly interacting grains population and a subsidiary multidomain grains population. SD grains are identified as small magnetite crystallized within the interstitial glass in globular aggregates along the silicate framework. Then a question arises: to what extent such SD interacting grains in globular aggregates can affect the magnetic susceptibility and its anisotropy? To answer this question, we developed a physical model in which the total energy density of an SD grain with an uniaxial anisotropy is minimized. In this model, the distribution function of the direction of the magnetic interaction field is comprised between two boundary states. It is either isotropic, which formally corresponds to the thermal demagnetized state, or it is ordered, which formally corresponds to the Alternative Field demagnetized state. We show that in both cases the degree of anisotropy decreases as the interaction field increases. Thus, we conclude that the abnormal fabric encountered in this study can be simply explained by strong magnetostatic interactions that would explain the large scattering of AMS often observed in basaltic lava flows.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00716449
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00716449
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00716449/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00716449/file/gji-S-12-HAL.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/J.1365-246X.2012.05421.X

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer/Terra Scientific Publishing Company
Résumé : We analyse the results of Thellier palaeointensity experiments modified so that the measured magnetisation at any stage may be decomposed into components of natural remanent magnetisation (NRM) and laboratory thermal remanent magnetisation (TRM). We demonstrate that the very long high temperature tails of pTRM acquired by multidomain (MD) grains may be detected in Thellier experiments without recourse to explicit pTRM tail check measurements. This can save time in the experimental process and provides a more sensitive indication of how MD behaviour may affect that particular experiment than either pTRM tail checks or the observation of zigzagging in an IZZI experiment. We observe that the action of imparting a pTRM tail also involves some removal of NRM. However, the pTRM tails are not the analogues of classical overprints as may be intuitively expected but instead appear to favour remagnetisation over demagnetisation. This and other observed behaviour is not consistent with any phenomenological model of MD TRM but is consistent with predictions made by kinematic theory.
ISSN: 1343-8832

hal-00407946
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407946

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer/Terra Scientific Publishing Company
Résumé : International audience
Samples were obtained from three baked contacts and one lava flow along the upper Turonian-lower Coniacian Tovuz section, two baked contacts along the upper Coniacian-lower Santonian Paravakar section in the northern part of Armenia, and three baked contacts along the Titonian-Valanginian Kafan section in southern Armenia. A total of 130 samples were studied. Updated mean paleomagnetic poles were calculated for the Upper Cretaceous Tovuz-Paravakar sections (65.6 degrees N, 162.2 degrees E, A(95) = 4.3, paleolatitude = 27.0 +/- 3.4 degrees) and the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Kafan section (61.7 degrees N, 158.9 degrees E, A(95) = 4.8 degrees, paleolatitude = 24.7 +/- 3.8 degrees). Paleointensity determinations could be estimated from two of the upper Cretaceous and three of the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous baked contacts, corresponding to a 30% success rate. The mean virtual dipole moments obtained were low (1.7-5.5 x 10(22) A m(2)), which is in agreement with data published by Bol'shakov and Solodovnikov (1981a, 1983) for the same sections (3.0-4.4 x 10(22) A m(2)). Our results support the hypothesis of the Mesozoic Dipole Low, even though the overall data arc widely dispersed.
ISSN: 1343-8832

hal-00413047
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00413047

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
We present archeointensity data carried out on pieces of incense burners from the ancient Maya city of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, covering much of the Mesoamerican Classic period, from A.D. 400 to A.D. 850. We worked on pieces from 24 incense burners encompassing the five Classic ceramic phases of Palenque: Motiepa (A.D. 400-500), Cascadas (A.D. 500-600), Otulum (A.D. 600-700), Murcielagos (A.D. 700-770), and Balunté (A.D. 770-850). All the samples come from highly elaborate, flanged pedestal of incense burners that are undoubtedly assigned to a ceramic phase by means of their iconographic, morphological and stylistic analyses. Archeointensity measurements were performed with the Thellier-Thellier's method on pre-selected samples by means of their magnetic properties. We obtained archeointensities of very good technical quality from 19 of 24 pieces, allowing the determination of a precise mean value for each ceramic phase, between View the MathML source29.1±0.9μT and View the MathML source32.5±1.2μT. The firing temperatures of ceramics were estimated with Mössbauer spectroscopy between 700 °C and 1000 °C. These values ensure that a full thermo-remanent magnetization was acquired during the original heating. Our results suggest a relative stability of the field intensity during more than 400 years in this area. The abundance of archeological material in Mesoamerica contrasts with the small amount of archeomagnetic data available that are, in addition, of uneven quality. Thus, it is not possible to establish a trend of intensity variations in Mesoamerica, even using the global databases and secular variation predictions from global models. In this context, our high technical quality data represent a strong constraint for the Mesoamerican secular variation curve during the first millennium AD. The corresponding Virtual Axial Dipole Moments (VADM) are substantially smaller than the ones predicted by the last global geomagnetic models CALS3k.4, suggesting the need for additional data to develop a regional model and a reference curve for Mesoamerica.
ISSN: 0012-821X

hal-00828696
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00828696
DOI : 10.1016/j.epsl.2012.12.035

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : 1 p.
International audience
The Patagonian plateau basalts are a sequence of flat-lying Late Cretaceous through Tertiary basaltic and andesitic rocks exposed east of the Andes in dissected mesetas of Chilean and Argentine Patagonia. The plateau basalts cover a total area of 120,000 km2 between 40°S and 52°S. These igneous rocks rest on generally flatlying older Mesozoic silicic volcanic or sedimentary rocks. Of major importance to the paleomagnetic investigation is the lack of significant tectonic disturbance of this portion of Patagonia from Late Cretaceous to present. 12 sites (107 cores) have been sampled in the Tertiary (Paleocene to Miocene) volcanic rocks between 43°S and 46°S in latitude and between 68°W and 70°W in longitude. Rocks are usually very fresh but, as they outcrop generally on top of the mesas, few hundred meters above the Plateau, remagnetization by lightning strikes is a major problem of the paleomagnetic analysis. Paleomagnetic, rock magnetic and paleointensity results will be presented.
Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union
Acapulco, Mexico

insu-00266820
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00266820

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Ash flow tuffs, or ignimbrites have been recently proposed to be a good material for palaeointensity determination. In this paper, we present a multidisciplinary study, combining geochronology, petrology, rock magnetism and palaeomagnetism, carried out on Oligocene to Early Miocene ignimbrites and related flows from the southern part of the Sierra Madre Occidental. Two new 40Ar/39Ar ages were determined for ignimbrites; 20.4 ± 0.2 Ma (the youngest age obtained so far in this area) and 29.2 ± 0.5 Ma. Density measurements, as a proxy for welding, proved to be extremely useful to estimate the emplacement temperature and the origin of the magnetizations carried by the ignimbrites. After alternating field and thermal demagnetizations, the mean palaeomagnetic pole (Lat = 66.8°N; Long = 180.5°E; Kappa = 142; A95 = 6.3°), calculated for the period 28-31 Ma, is in close agreement with our only Miocene determination. Comparison with the North America Synthetic Apparent Polar Path indicates a net counter-clockwise vertical axis rotation of about 10 ± 4° compared to stable North America, which occurred likely during the last extensional episode in the Late Miocene (ca. 12-9 Ma). Palaeointensity estimates, obtained with the Thellier-Coe method, are mainly questionable and should not be used for global interpretation. Therefore, these ignimbrites are not a viable material for reliable palaeointensity determinations.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-00854457
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00854457
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggt079