Quaternary high latitude magnetostratigraphy

Abstract

Magnetostratigraphic dating of Quaternary sediments is in general exclusively based on the identification of the Brunhesl Matuyama boundary and the Jaramillo and Olduvai Subchrons within the Matuyama Chron. Mounting evidence suggests, however, that short excursions or reversal events of the earth's field have also occurred during the Brunhes Chron (Verosub 1982). Although absolute age, duration and global synchronism of these features remain a matter of controversy, they are potentially very useful in establishing high resolution Quaternary stratigraphies. This should be particularly true for the high latitudes where biostratigraphic and oxygen-isotope studies typically face considerable problems in this period. In a recent paper Lsvlie et al. (1986) for the first time presented paleomagnetic data for short gravity cores from the Arctic Ocean which they interpret as a recording of two geomagnetic excursions within oxygen isotope stage 2-3.