Late Cambrian geomagnetic instability after the onset of inner core nucleation

Yong-Xiang Li (), John A. Tarduno, Wenjun Jiao, Xinyu Liu, Shanchi Peng, Shihua Xu, Aihua Yang and Zhenyu Yang
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Yong-Xiang Li: Nanjing University
John A. Tarduno: University of Rochester
Wenjun Jiao: Nanjing University
Xinyu Liu: Nanjing University
Shanchi Peng: Nanjing Institute of Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shihua Xu: Nanjing University
Aihua Yang: Nanjing University
Zhenyu Yang: Capital Normal University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract The Ediacaran Period marks a pivotal time in geodynamo evolution when the geomagnetic field is thought to approach the weak state where kinetic energy exceeds magnetic energy, as manifested by an extremely high frequency of polarity reversals, high secular variation, and an ultralow dipole field strength. However, how the geodynamo transitioned from this state into one with more stable field behavior is unknown. Here, we address this issue through a high-resolution magnetostratigraphic investigation of the ~494.5 million-year-old Jiangshanian Global Standard Stratotype and Point (GSSP) section in South China. Our paleomagnetic results document zones with rapid reversals, stable polarity and a ~80 thousand-year-long interval without a geocentric axial dipole field. From these changes, we suggest that for most of the Cambrian, the solid inner core had not yet grown to a size sufficiently large to stabilize the geodynamo. This unusual field behavior can explain paleomagnetic data used to define paradoxical true polar wander, supporting instead the rotational stability of the solid Earth during the great radiation of life in the Cambrian.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40309-7

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