Age of the Laschamp excursion determined by U-Th dating of a speleothem geomagnetic record from North America
Open accessAbstract
The Laschamp geomagnetic excursion was the first short-lived polarity event recognized and described in the paleomagnetic record, and to date remains the most studied geomagnetic event of its kind. In addition to its geophysical significance, the Laschamp is an important global geochronologic marker. The Laschamp excursion occurred around the time of the demise of Homo neanderthalensis, in conjunction with high-amplitude, rapid climatic oscillations leading into the Last Glacial Maximum, and coeval with a major supervolcano eruption in the Mediterranean. Thus, precise determination of the timing and duration of the Laschamp excursion would help in elucidating major scientific questions situated at the intersection of geology, paleoclimatology, and anthropology. Here we present a North American speleothem geomagnetic record of the Laschamp excursion that is directly dated using a combination of high-precision 230Th dates and annual layer counting using confocal microscopy. We have determined a maximum excursion duration that spans the interval 42,250-39,700 yr BP, and an age of 41,100 ± 350 yr BP for the main phase of the excursion, during which the virtual geomagnetic pole was situated at the southernmost latitude in the record. Our chronology provides the first age bracketing of the Laschamp excursion using radioisotopic dating, and improves on previous age determinations based on 40Ar/39Ar dating of lava flows, and orbitally-tuned sedimentary and ice-core records.
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The rise in Δ14C in IntCal20 is coincident within dating uncertainties with the beginning of the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion as recorded in a Missouri stalagmite.
“The rise in Δ 14 C in IntCal20 is coincident within dating uncertainties with the beginning of the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion as recorded in a Missouri stalagmite (Lascu et al. 2016).”
From The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 cal kBP) (2020) · cites this paper as Lascu et al. 2016
The Introduction identifies a Laschamp record from a Missouri speleothem, and the Abstract dates the excursion’s maximum span to 42.25–39.70 ka B.P. The paper does not compare its beginning with a rise in Δ14C in IntCal20, so it does not establish the claimed coincidence within dating uncertainties. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe highest Δ14C values in IntCal20 correspond within dating uncertainties to the timing of the main phase of the Laschamp Event at 41.10 ± 0.35 ka BP, which is within 1σ of the timing of the event in GLOPIS.
“The highest Δ 14 C values in IntCal20 also correspond within dating uncertainties to the timing of the main phase of the Laschamp Event at 41.10 ± 0.35 ka BP (Lascu et al. 2016) which is within 1 σ of the timing of the event in GLOPIS (Laj et al. 2014).”
From The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 cal kBP) (2020) · cites this paper as Lascu et al. 2016
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The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 cal kBP)
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“The duration of the Laschamps event is shown as an open box with the main phase shown as solid red (Lascu et al. 2016).”
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Self-citationA short note on marine reservoir age simulations used in IntCal20
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- Authors
- Lascu, I., Feinberg, J. M., Dorale, J. A., Cheng, H., & Edwards, R. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Minnesota (US)
- University of Iowa (US)
- Venue
- Geology
- Publisher
- Geological Society of America
- Published
- 2016-01-04
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 139-142
- ISSN
- 0091-7613 (ISSN-L)
- 1943-2682
- OpenAlex
- W2232994685
- Semantic Scholar
- e35dd4cbcd65099718db07368ae4f7a4d6476174
- Cited by
- 84
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 4.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Locations
- Geology (publishedVersion)
- Department of Earth Sciences EPrints Repository (acceptedVersion)
- Apollo (University of Cambridge) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Keywords
- Laschamp geomagnetic excursion, speleothems, U-Th dating, magnetic field reversal, virtual geomagnetic poles, Last Glacial Maximum, Neanderthal extinction, North America
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