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Influence of non‐dipole field on determination of Plio‐Pleistocene true polar wander
Author(s) -
Schneider David A.,
Kent Dennis V.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl013i005p00471
Subject(s) - paleomagnetism , polar , earth's magnetic field , dipole , geology , polar wander , plio pleistocene , geophysics , apparent polar wander , polar cap , geodesy , offset (computer science) , polar motion , geomagnetic pole , magnetometer , secular variation , paleontology , magnetic field , physics , earth's rotation , ionosphere , pleistocene , astronomy , programming language , quantum mechanics , computer science
Some studies of global paleomagnetic data have found an offset of the magnetic pole during the Plio‐Pleistocene which has been interpreted as indicating a period of rapid True Polar Wander, with a rate of movement comparable to the present‐day rate of polar motion deduced from astronomical observations. We show that much of the polar offset determined from the paleomagnetic data may be due to deviations in pole position caused by persistent non‐dipole zonal components of the geomagnetic field. A correction of paleomagnetic poles for the long‐term non‐dipole field reduces the polar offset and thus suggests a slower or shorter episode of True Polar Wander over the past 5 million years.