ALBERT

Description: This is the second of three papers investigating properties of titanohematite-bearing quartzo-feldspathic rocks that create a significant remanent magnetic anomaly in the Modum District, South Norway. The first paper provided initial magnetic results, mineralogical characterization and evidence for the presence of lamellar magnetism. In this paper, knowledge of lamellar magnetic properties is explored through experiments where ilmenite lamellae were magnetized below 57 K, and interact magnetically along interfaces with the titanohematite host. Samples with known NRM directions were placed in specific orientations in an MPMS then cooled in zero field to 5 K, where hysteresis loops were measured in fields up to 5 Tesla. This assured that results were ultimately related to the natural lamellar magnetism produced during cooling ~1 billion years ago. In a second set of experiments the same oriented samples, were subjected to a +5 Tesla (T) field then field cooled to 5 K before hysteresis experiments. The first experiments consistently produced asymmetric shifted hysteresis loops with two loop separations, one in a positive field and one in a negative field. Without exception, when the NRM was oriented toward the negative field end of the MPMS, the bimodal loop showed a dominant loop separation in a positive field. By contrast, when the NRM was oriented toward the positive field end of the MPMS, the bimodal loop showed a dominant loop separation in a negative field. Both observations are consistent with antiferromagnetic coupling between the hard magnetization of ilmenite and the more easily shifted lamellar magnetism of the hematite. The bimodal nature of the loops indicates that the NRMs are vector sums of natural lamellar moments, which are oriented both positively and negatively, and that these opposite moments control the orientations of ilmenite magnetizations when cooling through 57 K. Here, extreme exchange biases up to 1.68 T were measured. The second set of experiments produced asymmetric shifted hysteresis loops with one opening always in the negative field. These observations indicate that the +5 T field applied at room temperature rotated the hematite lamellar magnetism in a positive direction, so that upon cooling all the ilmenite lamellae acquired negative magnetic moments, thus causing unimodal negatively shifted loops. Here, the largest exchange bias among the unimodal loops was only 0.7 T. These results will be used in paper III to build a better understanding of lamellar magnetism at the atomic layer scale.

Description: The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility ( –T curves) and magnetization ( M–T curves) has been used as a routine rock magnetic tool to characterize the magnetic mineralogy and magnetic granulometry of Chinese loess/palaeosols. However, palaeoclimatic interpretation of these thermomagnetic analyses remains controversial. In the present study, total organic carbon (TOC), thermomagnetic and low-temperature magnetic experiments on Mid-Late Pleistocene loess/palaeosols in Central Asia and the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) have been conducted. We found that the M ( T ) cooling curves at room temperature were mostly lower than the corresponding heating curves, whereas for the ( T ) analyses the cooling curves at room temperature were always much higher than the heating curves. Low-temperature magnetic measurements demonstrated that a large amount of superparamagnetic ferrimagnetic particles were produced during the thermal treatment and resulted in the aforementioned differences. This finding further indicated that the use of the M–T curves to estimate the relative content of maghemite in the loess/palaeosols from the CLP was problematic. In addition, a positive correlation exists between the TOC and the frequency-dependent susceptibility ( FD ) in the CLP, suggesting that stronger pedogenesis would result in the simultaneous increase in the content of both maghemite and organic matter. Consequently, the parameters 1 (representing the relative content of pedogenic maghemite), 2 ([ ph – ] + 1 ) and ph (related to the organic matter concentration), which can be calculated from the –T analyses, can potentially be used as new indicators of pedogenesis and palaeoclimate in Central Asia and the CLP.

Description: Previous magnetotelluric (MT) studies of the high-temperature Coso geothermal system in California identified a subvertical feature of low resistivity (2–5 Ohm m) and appreciable lateral extent (〉1 km) in the producing zone of the East Flank field. However, these models could not reproduce gross 3-D effects in the recorded data. We perform 3-D full-tensor inversion and retrieve a resistivity model that out-performs previous 2-D and 3-D off-diagonal models in terms of its fit to the complete 3-D MT data set as well as the degree of modelling bias. Inclusion of secondary Z xx and Z yy data components leads to a robust east-dip (60) to the previously identified conductive East Flank reservoir feature, which correlates strongly with recently mapped surface faults, downhole well temperatures, 3-D seismic reflection data, and local microseismicity. We perform synthetic forward modelling to test the best-fit dip of this conductor using the response at a nearby MT station. We interpret the dipping conductor as a fractured and fluidized compartment, which is structurally controlled by an unmapped blind East Flank fault zone.

Description: The magnetic susceptibility measured in alternating field can in general be resolved into a component that is in-phase with the applied field and a component that is out-of-phase. While in non-conductive diamagnetic, paramagnetic and many ferromagnetic materials the phase is effectively zero, in some ferromagnetic minerals, such as pyrrhotite, hematite, titanomagnetite or small magnetically viscous grains of magnetite, it is clearly non-zero. The anisotropy of out-of-phase susceptibility (opAMS) can then be used as a tool for the direct determination of the magnetic subfabrics of the minerals with non-zero phase. The error in determination of out-of-phase susceptibility non-linearly increases with decreasing phase angle. This may result in imprecise determination of the opAMS in specimens with very low phase angle. The degree of opAMS is higher than that of ipAMS, which may in contrast result in slightly increasing precision n the opAMS determination. It is highly recommended to inspect the results of the statistical tests of each specimen and to exclude the specimens whose opAMS is determined with insufficient precision from further processing. In rocks, whose magnetism is dominated by the mineral with non-zero out-of-phase susceptibility, the principal directions of the opAMS and ipAMS are virtually coaxial, while the degree of opAMS is higher than that of ipAMS. In some specific cases, the opAMS provides us with similar data to those provided by anisotropies of low-field dependent susceptibility and frequency-dependent susceptibility. The advantage of the opAMS compared to the other two anisotropies is its simultaneous measurement with the ipAMS during one measuring process, while the other two anisotropies require the AMS measurements in several fields or at least at two operating frequencies.

Description: The spectral complex conductivity of a water-bearing sand during interaction with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is influenced by multiple, simultaneous processes. These processes include partial saturation due to the replacement of conductive pore water with CO 2 and chemical interaction of the reactive CO 2 with the bulk fluid and the grain-water interface. We present a laboratory study on the spectral induced polarization of water-bearing sands during exposure to and flow-through by CO 2 . Conductivity spectra were measured successfully at pressures up to 30 MPa and 80 °C during active flow and at steady-state conditions concentrating on the frequency range between 0.0014 and 100 Hz. The frequency range between 0.1 and 100 Hz turned out to be most indicative for potential monitoring applications. The presented data show that the impact of CO 2 on the electrolytic conductivity may be covered by a model for pore-water conductivity, which depends on salinity, pressure and temperature and has been derived from earlier investigations of the pore-water phase. The new data covering the three-phase system CO 2 -brine-sand further show that chemical interaction causes a reduction of surface conductivity by almost 20 per cent, which could be related to the low pH-value in the acidic environment due to CO 2 dissolution and the dissociation of carbonic acid. The quantification of the total CO 2 effect may be used as a correction during monitoring of a sequestration in terms of saturation. We show that this leads to a correct reconstruction of fluid saturation from electrical measurements. In addition, an indicator for changes of the inner surface area, which is related to mineral dissolution or precipitation processes, can be computed from the imaginary part of conductivity. The low frequency range between 0.0014 and 0.1 Hz shows additional characteristics, which deviate from the behaviour at higher frequencies. A Debye decomposition approach is applied to isolate the feature dominating the data at low frequencies. We conclude from our study that electrical conductivity is not only a highly sensitive indicator for CO 2 saturation in pore space. When it is measured in its full spectral and complex form it contains additional information on the chemical state of the system, which holds the potential of getting access to both saturation and interface properties with one monitoring method.

Description: The 69 Ma Prospector Mountain stock is located in southwestern Yukon in the northern Canadian Cordillera. This massive monzonite-syenogranite stock is thought to be the intrusive volcanic centre for the surrounding coeval Carmacks Group volcanics. Anomalous palaeomagnetic data from these volcanics have provided the only evidence for the commonly posited hypothesis that the Yukon-Tanana terrane (YTT) was part of the far-travelled (1950 ± 600 km northward) ‘Baja BC’ terrane from 70 to 50 Ma. All other geologic evidence and averaged palaeomagnetic data support a northward displacement of ~415 ± 15 km. This study provides a direct test of the Carmacks volcanics’ estimate and examines the possible causes of its anomalous results. Both the stock and volcanics are unmetamorphosed and rest unconformably on metamorphosed basement rocks of the YTT. Palaeomagnetic and mineral magnetic results from 17 of 19 tested sites (218 specimens) in the Prospector stock and its peripheral skarn isolated a stable thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) in magnetite or low-Ti titanomagnetite that was mostly determined on demagnetization between temperatures of 500 and 580 °C. The TRM has a direction of Decl. = 8.3°, Incl. = 82.4° ( N = 17, k = 71.9, α 95 = 4.2°), providing a non-significant northwards translation estimate of 70 ± 880 km for the YTT. The normal-polarity TRM direction at Prospector Mountain provides a highly significant palaeomagnetic reversals test with the reversed-polarity TRM of the 70 Ma Swede Dome stock, another volcanic centre of the Carmacks Group about 190 km to the north. The test affirms to a high probability that both stocks carry primary TRMs and have not been tectonically tilted significantly since emplacement. Combining the palaeopoles for these two stocks with that for the 75 Ma Mount Lorne volcanic centre stock about 210 km south of Prospector Mountain yields a combined northward translation estimate of 330 ± 400 km for the YTT since ~71 Ma. This estimate agrees closely with the 415 ± 15 km estimate from geological constraints on strike-slip motion along the inboard Tintina fault zone since ~70 Ma, and with the palaeomagnetic estimate of 650 ± 450 km northward since ~108 Ma from four mid-Cretaceous batholiths. In contrast, the palaeomagnetic directions from four areas of the ~70 Ma Carmacks volcanics are poorly clustered. Nonetheless their estimates of ~1900 km northward have been used for a quarter of a century to support a far-travelled ‘Baja BC’ tectonic model for the YTT. This paper discusses and concludes that the anomalous far-travelled estimates from the Carmacks volcanics are attributable to the unfortunate additive effects of inadequate averaging of secular variation, dipole offset error, unrecognized primary dip and other possible causes.

Description: As a consequence of measuring time variations of the electric and the magnetic field, which are related to current flow and charge distribution, magnetotelluric (MT) data in 2-D and 3-D environments are not only sensitive to the geoelectrical structures below the measuring points but also to any lateral anomalies surrounding the acquisition site. This behaviour complicates the characterization of the electrical resistivity distribution of the subsurface, particularly in complex areas. In this manuscript we assess the main advantages of complementing the standard MT impedance tensor ( Z ) data with interstation horizontal magnetic tensor ( H ) and geomagnetic transfer function ( T ) data in constraining the subsurface in a 3-D environment beneath a MT profile. Our analysis was performed using synthetic responses with added normally distributed and scattered random noise. The sensitivity of each type of data to different resistivity anomalies was evaluated, showing that the degree to which each site and each period is affected by the same anomaly depends on the type of data. A dimensionality analysis, using Z , H and T data, identified the presence of the 3-D anomalies close to the profile, suggesting a 3-D approach for recovering the electrical resistivity values of the subsurface. Finally, the capacity for recovering the geoelectrical structures of the subsurface was evaluated by performing joint inversion using different data combinations, quantifying the differences between the true synthetic model and the models from inversion process. Four main improvements were observed when performing joint inversion of Z , H and T data: (1) superior precision and accuracy at characterizing the electrical resistivity values of the anomalies below and outside the profile; (2) the potential to recover high electrical resistivity anomalies that are poorly recovered using Z data alone; (3) improvement in the characterization of the bottom and lateral boundaries of the anomalies with low electrical resistivity; and (4) superior imaging of the horizontal continuity of structures with low electrical resistivity. These advantages offer new opportunities for the MT method by making the results from a MT profile in a 3-D environment more convincing, supporting the possibility of high-resolution studies in 3-D areas without expending a large amount of economical and computational resources, and also offering better resolution of targets with high electrical resistivity.

Description: Non-heating palaeointensity methods are a vital tool to explore magnetic field strength variations recorded by thermally sensitive materials of both terrestrial and extraterrestrial origin. One such method is the calibrated pseudo-Thellier method in which a specimen's natural remanent magnetization is alternating field demagnetized and replaced with a laboratory induced anhysteretic remanent magnetization (as an analogue of a thermoremanent magnetization, TRM). Using a set of 56 volcanic specimens given laboratory TRMs in fields of 10–130 μT, we refine the calibration of the pseudo-Thellier method and better define the uncertainty associated with its palaeointensity estimates. Our new calibration, obtained from 32 selected specimens, resolves the issue of non-zero intercept, which is theoretically predicted, but not satisfied by any previous calibration. The range of individual specimen calibration factors, however, is relatively large, but consistent with the variability expected for SD magnetite. We explore a number of rock magnetic parameters in an attempt to identify selection thresholds for reducing the calibration scatter, but fail to find a suitable choice. We infer that our careful selection process, which incorporates more statistics then previous studies, may be largely screening out any strong rock magnetic dependence. Some subtle grain size or mineralogical dependencies, however, remain after selection, but cannot be discerned from the scatter expected for grain size variability of SD magnetite. As a consequence of the variability in the calibration factor, the uncertainty associated with pseudo-Thellier results is much larger than previously indicated. The scatter of the calibration is ~25 per cent of the mean value, which implies that, when combined with the scatter of results typically obtained from a single site, the uncertainty of averaged pseudo-Thellier results will always be 〉25 per cent. As such, pseudo-Thellier results should be complementary to, and cross-validated with results from other methods. Nevertheless, the pseudo-Thellier method remains a valuable tool for obtaining palaeointensity estimates from thermally sensitive terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials and with careful data selection and analysis can yield results that are accurate to within a factor of 4 or better.

Description: Two lava flows from the Ceboruco volcano in west-central Mexico were sampled for palaeomagnetic dating. The younger one was emitted in 1870 and used to validate the method, while the older one known as Ceboruco flow is of unknown age but probably younger than ~1005 AD and older than 1528 AD. Each flow was sampled in at least four sites, in order to unravel between site variations. For the 1870 flow, between site differences were notable and additionally post-cooling block movements were important; therefore, two sites had to be rejected. Three sites from the vent area and one at the tip of the 1870 flow provided well-constrained directions. This is also true for Ceboruco lava flow, and overall mean directions and palaeointensities were then used for palaeomagnetic dating applying the Matlab tool archaeo_dating and the global palaeosecular variation model SHA.DIF.14k. For the 1870 lava flow, the dating resulted in an age ranging between 1755 and 1871 AD (95 per cent probability level), which includes the real emplacement age. In addition, the Ceboruco lava flow was dated between 1000 and 1134 AD, which is close to the large plinian Jala eruption producing the crater of Ceboruco volcano around 1005 AD. This age is older than previously assumed and suggests an emplacement only shortly after the Jala eruption. As this lava flow is considered to be the youngest one of seven post-Jala lava flows, the age also defines a period of inactivity of Ceboruco volcano of about 730–860 yr before the historic 1870 eruption. Future volcanic hazard analysis will have to take into account this result. Our work also shows that multiple sampling of single lava flows is important to obtain a reliable mean direction. Sampling sites have to be carefully selected so that they represent un-tilted parts of the flows. We interpret this to be the case for the Ceboruco lava flow, while three of the six sites of the 1870 lava flow may have been partly or completely affected by movements after thermoremanent magnetization acquisition. Unfortunately, no better sites were found for this flow.

Description: We carried out an archaeomagnetic directional study on 38 oriented samples (bricks and baked clays) collected from four archaeological locations at three provinces in China. The ages of our samples, spanning from ~3000 BCE to ~1300 CE, were constrained using a combination of archaeological context, radiocarbon dating and stratigraphic information. Rock magnetic results demonstrate that the main magnetic minerals of the studied samples are magnetite and/or hematite in single domain and superparamagnetic states. A total of 20 new reliable archaeodirectional data from 12 independent sites are obtained after thermal demagnetization experiments. These are the first set of archaeodirectional data in China produced since the 1990s. The published data are largely from the past 2 kyr and data from older time periods are rare. Our new data, especially those from period older than 3 ka, fill many gaps of the presently published dataset and will provide strong constraints on palaeosecular variation of the geomagnetic field in Eastern Asia and on the improvement of global models. Quite a few inflection points in the direction of the geomagnetic field are recorded in Eastern Asia over the past 10 kyr and some of them synchronize with the maximums or minimums of the palaeointensity. The palaeosecular variation rates are very low (based on present data distribution) before 2000 BCE and then start to increase and fluctuate afterward, which is generally consistent with the pattern of palaeointensity variations in this area.