Brunhes–Matuyama paleomagnetism in three lava sections in Iceland

Abstract

This paper reviews previous field research on the paleomagnetism of volcanics in Iceland at localities whose age is presumed to span the Brunhes–Matuyama chron boundary. Additional mapping and laboratory measurements are presented from three localities of late Quaternary reverse-to-normal transitions. At two, Tjörnes in north Iceland and Eyjafjöll in south Iceland, the identity of the transition is confirmed by K–Ar dating. At Tjörnes and at Ingólfsfjall in southwest Iceland, short-period variations of the paleomagnetic field are demonstrated to be useful in stratigraphic mapping.