Absolute palaeointensity study of the Mono Lake excursion recorded by New Zealand basalts

One of the geomagnetic excursions recorded in basalts of the Auckland volcanic field, New Zealand, has recently been correlated unequivocally with the Mono Lake excursion, making it the only confirmed record from the southern hemisphere. This record is also exceptional in occurring in five separate monogenetic basaltic volcanoes. Absolute palaeointensity determinations using the microwave technique, based on a comprehensive suite of samples of the Auckland basalts recording the excursion, show that the geomagnetic field in New Zealand at the time of the Mono Lake excursion was reduced to about 14 μT i.e. to 30% of its normal value. This result confirms previous estimates based on more limited sampling. In addition, it provides a comparison of the microwave and LDT-DHT Shaw methods of measuring palaeointensity, which give results that are statistically indistinguishable. The palaeointensities determined from the five different volcanoes are also indistinguishable, though the palaeodirection data suggest that a very small segment of the VGP path may have been recorded. This study confirms the reliability of palaeointensity and palaeodirection determinations from these particular New Zealand basalts, which together with their definitive 40Ar/39Ar ages, establishes this record of the Mono Lake excursion as one of the best documented. Consequently, there is significant potential in searching for records of this excursion elsewhere in the Pacific region for use as a stratigraphic marker in studies of recent volcanism and palaeoclimate reconstructions.