Brunhes–Matuyama reversal

The Brunhes–Matuyama reversal, named after Bernard Brunhes and Motonori Matuyama, was a geologic event, approximately 780,000 years ago, when the Earth's magnetic field last underwent reversal. The reversal may have occurred slowly over several thousand years, or more quickly; opinions vary.^[1][2][3] The apparent duration at any particular location varied from 1,200 to 10,000 years depending on geomagnetic latitude and local effects of non-dipole components of the Earth's field during the transition.^[4] The event is useful in dating ocean sediment cores and subaerially erupted volcanics.

See also

• Geomagnetic reversal
• Jaramillo reversal

References

1. ^ Witze, Alexandra (Sep. 2, 2010). "Geomagnetic field flip-flops in a flash". ScienceNews. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/62947/title/Geomagnetic_field_flip-flops_in_a_flash. Retrieved 3 September 2010. 
2. ^ Coe, R.S.; Prévot, M.; Camps, P. (20 April 1995). "New evidence for extraordinarily rapid change of the geomagnetic field during a reversal". Nature 374 (6524): 687. doi:10.1038/374687a0. http://www.es.ucsc.edu/~rcoe/eart110c/Coeetal_Steens_Nature95.pdf. 
3. ^ Bogue, S. W.; Glen, J. M. G. (2010). "Very rapid geomagnetic field change recorded by the partial remagnetization of a lava flow". Geophysical Research Letters 37: L21308. Bibcode 2010GeoRL..3721308B. doi:10.1029/2010GL044286. 
4. ^ Bradford M. Clement (8 April 2004). "Dependence of the duration of geomagnetic polarity reversals on site latitude". Nature 428 (6983): 637. doi:10.1038/nature02459. PMID 15071591. 

Further reading

• Behrendt, J.C., Finn, C., Morse, L., Blankenship, D.D. "One hundred negative magnetic anomalies over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), in particular Mt. Resnik, a subaerially erupted volcanic peak, indicate eruption through at least one field reversal" University of Colorado, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Texas. (U.S. Geological Survey and The National Academies); USGS OF-2007-1047, Extended Abstract 030. 2007.