One hundred million years of geomagnetic polarity history

Research Article| September 01, 1981 One hundred million years of geomagnetic polarity history William Lowrie; William Lowrie 1Institut für Geophysik, ETH-Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Walter Alvarez Walter Alvarez 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information William Lowrie 1Institut für Geophysik, ETH-Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland Walter Alvarez 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1981) 9 (9): 392–397. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1981)9<392:OHMYOG>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation William Lowrie, Walter Alvarez; One hundred million years of geomagnetic polarity history. Geology 1981;; 9 (9): 392–397. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1981)9<392:OHMYOG>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Since 1968, absolute ages have been assigned to the Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic geomagnetic reversal time scale by fixing the ages of two or more calibration points in a composite marine magnetic-anomaly profile and interpolating between or extrapolating beyond these points, assuming constant spreading rates in each interval. Previously, no more than 4 calibration points were used, but it is now possible to specify 11 calibration points, in addition to the 0 m.y. datum. This improvement is based on magnetostratigraphic studies in Italian pelagic limestones; these studies closely tie the geomagnetic reversal sequence to the foraminiferal and coccolith zonations. Absolute ages of calibration points are provided by the best available dates on stage boundaries, which are located from the biostratigraphic zonation. The greatest changes from previous scales come in the late Paleocene–early Eocene, where the new ages are as much as 3 m.y. younger than in the 1977 scale of LaBrecque and others, and as much as 1.8 m.y. younger than in the 1980 scale of Ness and others. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.