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Statistical Analysis of Palaeomagnetic Data from the Last Four Centuries: Evidence of Systematic Inclination Shallowing in Lava Flow Records

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Abstract

The main objective of this work is to compare directional (declination and inclination) volcanic and archaeomagnetic data for the last four centuries (~1600–1990) with the historical geomagnetic predictions given by the GUFM1 model which spans from 1590 to 1990. The results show statistical agreement between archaeomagnetic data and directions given by the geomagnetic field model. However, when comparing the volcanic data with the model predictions, marked inclination shallowing is observed. This systematically lower inclination has already been observed in local palaeomagnetic studies (Italy, Mexico and Hawaii) for the 20th century, by comparing recent lava flows with the International Reference Geomagnetic Field (IGRF) model. Here, we show how this inclination shallowing is statistically present at worldwide scale for the last 400 years with mean inclination deviation around 3° lower than the historical geomagnetic field model predictions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Fabio Donadini for his hard work in maintaining and updating the GEOMAGIA database. They are also grateful to the Spanish research project CGL2011-24790. F.J. Pavón-Carrasco thanks ME-Fulbright contract CT-2010-0663 at the Spanish Institution FECYT. He would also like to thank Prof. Roberto Lanza for offering the opportunity to work with his team at the Università degli Studi di Torino where this study was drawn up, and for being a great professor and excellent person. This article is dedicated to his memory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via Vigna Murata 605, 00143, Rome, Italy

    F. J. Pavón-Carrasco

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125, Turin, Italy

    E. Tema & R. Lanza

  3. Dpto. Física de la Tierra, Astronomía y Astrofísica I: Geofísica y Meteorología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avd. Complutense s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    M. L. Osete

  4. Instituto de Geociencias (IGEO) CSIC, UCM, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    M. L. Osete

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  1. F. J. Pavón-Carrasco
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  2. E. Tema
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  3. M. L. Osete
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  4. R. Lanza
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Correspondence to F. J. Pavón-Carrasco.

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R. Lanza passed away in the summer of 2013.

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Pavón-Carrasco, F.J., Tema, E., Osete, M.L. et al. Statistical Analysis of Palaeomagnetic Data from the Last Four Centuries: Evidence of Systematic Inclination Shallowing in Lava Flow Records. Pure Appl. Geophys. 173, 839–848 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-014-0946-0

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