Relative geomagnetic paleointensity and δ18O at ODP Site 983 (Gardar Drift, North Atlantic) since 350 ka

At ODP Site 983, relative geomagnetic paleointensity and planktic and benthic δ18O records have been acquired for the last 350 kyr. The mean sedimentation rate in this interval is 11.3 cm/kyr. Magnetic properties and hysteresis ratios indicate that pseudo-single domain magnetite is the remanence carrier. Volume susceptibility (k), anhysteretic (ARM) and isothermal (IRM) remanence values vary by a factor of 3–4, well within the criteria usually cited for paleointensity studies. Natural remanent magnetization (NRM) is normalized by ARM and IRM to acquire the paleointensity proxy. Arithmetic means of NRM/ARM and NRM/IRM, calculated for five demagnetization steps in the 25–45 mT range, constitute the relative paleointensity estimates. Some paleointensity lows (particularly those at ∼40, ∼120 and ∼188 ka) are associated with directional excursions of the field, especially the event at ∼188 ka (referred to here as the Iceland Basin Event) that constitutes a short-lived polarity reversal. For the last 200 kyr, the records can be correlated with other high-resolution paleointensity records such as those from the Labrador Sea, Mediterranean/Somali Basin and Sulu Sea, implying that the millennial scale features are globally synchronous. A labeling system for paleointensity features is proposed that ties prominent highs and lows to oxygen isotope stages.