An appraisal of the full geomagnetic vector in wind-blown sediments - does it have a future? (Invited)

Recent progress in the relative paleointensity (RPI) studies of the loess and paleosol deposits of China demonstrate the applicability of the technique in some sections. The PRI record of the Lingtai section (Pan et al., 2001) is mostly comparable to the reference curves of Valet et al. (2005) and Channel et al. (2009). Climate driven chemical alterations of remnant magnetization signal is additionally suggested as an explanation to the intervals of dissimilarities. The newest results of Yang et al. (2012) reveal more complex situations. At the Baoji section, where pedogenesis is relatively weak, the RPI results might possibly suggest a reflection of global paleointensity variations. The record from the Xifeng section, where pedogenesis is stronger, does not reveal any interpretable results. Studies of the Luochuan section suggest that chemical remnant magnetization is strongly linked to the pedogenesis process implying serious constrains on the interpretation of the high resolution paleomagnetic records from the paleosol and the underlying loess intervals (Liu and Zhang, 2013). At the same time, recent paleomagnetic and mineral magnetic investigations indicate that the Alaskan loess is an excellent geomagnetic direction recorder in the upper Matuyama and Brunhes epoch (Evans et al., 2011). The fine structure of the geomagnetic field can be accurately evaluated for the intervals, which are reliably dated with modern techniques (Jensen, 2013). The strong magnetic signal carried by magnetite from the igneous rock sources overwrites complexities caused by the pedogenesis process, therefore our newly obtained Alaskan geomagnetic record is the first candidate for both reliable paleointensity data set from the wind-blown sediments and the fine structure of the full geoomagnetic vector (inclination, declination, RPI). High resolution geochronology and high latitude position of the Alaskan loess help resolving the fine features of the geomagnetic excursions which are present in the record. Example of the Alaska loess magnetic record (Gold Hill section) to illustrate the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary interval. Lithological column darker layers represent soils. Inclination, declination, normalized RPI parameters are compared to SINT-2000 (Valet et al., 2005). Inclination and declination are from Evans et al. (2011); lithological column is from Jensen et al. (2011).