Combining relative and absolute paleointensity methods to obtain high-resolution geomagnetic field intensity records: a case study of the Big Island, Hawaii (USA)

Reliable records of absolute paleointensity as function of time for a given region are notoriously difficult to obtain. Yet such records are indispensible for model descriptions of the behavior of the geomagnetic field. Here, we take a new approach to compile a regional paleointensity curve for the Big Island of Hawaii (USA), completing the full vector description of the Earth's magnetic field for this region since its directional behavior is well known. Our approach consists of applying both absolute and relative paleointensity techniques on a sample set that comprises 57 independent sites on Hawaii; we provide a paleointensity curve for the past 1500 years. Firstly, we obtained a relative paleointensity record using the 'pseudo-Thellier' technique. The record was calibrated using 29 flows from the IGRF age range. To calibrate our relative record for older ages, we applied absolute paleointensity techniques: both Thellier-Thellier and multispecimen experiments. The large number of sites allows us to use stringent criteria to select only the most reliable absolute paleointensities. With this approach regional intensity curves with high resolution and precision can be successfully acquired. The obtained paleointensity curve for the Big Island of Hawaii reveals a step-wise decay of the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field since 1000 AD. We find an intensity of ~58 microTesla around 1000 AD, decaying to ~40 microTesla around 1400 AD, at a rate of about 0.5 microTesla per decade. Between 1400 and 1800 AD a relatively constant field intensity is suggested (a decay of just 0.05 microTesla per decade). The historically observed decay from 1800 AD onwards has a rate of approximately 0.3 microTesla per decade to the current field intensity of ~35 microTesla and is consistent with our data. Our results, although regional in character, support the trend proposed by Gubbins et al. (2006) rather than the trend of the GUFM1 model by Jackson et al. (2000). Gubbins, D., Jones, A.L., Finlay, C.C., 2006. Fall in Earth's Magnetic Field Is Erratic. Science 312, 900-902. Jackson, A., Jonkers, A.R.T., Walker, M.R., 2000. Four centuries of geomagnetic secular variation from historical records. Philos T Roy Soc A 358, 957-990.