Geomagnetic moment variation and paleomagnetic excursions since 400 kyr BP:: a stacked record from sedimentary sequences of the Portuguese margin

A paleomagnetic study was performed in clayey-carbonate sedimentary sequences deposited during the last 400 kyr on the Portuguese margin (Northeast Atlantic Ocean). Declination and inclination of the stable remanent magnetization present recurrent deviations from the mean geomagnetic field direction. The normalized intensity documents a series of relative paleointensity (RPI) lows recognized in other reference records. Three directional anomalies occurring during RPI lows chronologically correspond to the Laschamp excursion (42 kyr BP), the Blake event (115-122 kyr BP) and the Icelandic basin excursion (190 kyr BP). A fourth directional anomaly recorded at 290 kyr BP during another RPI low defines the 'Portuguese margin excursion'. Four non-excursional RPI lows are recorded at the ages of the Jamaica/Pringle Falls, Mamaku, Calabrian Ridge 1, and Levantine excursions. The RPI record is characterized by a periodicity of similar to 100 kyr, paleointensity lows often coinciding with the end of interglacial stages. This record sets the basis of the construction of an authigenic Be-10/Be-9 record from the same sedimentary sequences [Carcaillet et al., this issue]. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.